Indian news round-up

Press Trust of India reported on Thursday that the Union Sports Ministry has given its approval for the India-Australia friendly match to be organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in order to raise funds for the earthquake victims in Gujarat.

PTI reported that Sports Ministry in the press release said that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has decided that the match could be played between the two teams and the proceeds be utilised for relief and rehabilitation of the earthquake victims. The release added that the exact date and venue of the match has not been finalised as yet.

Earlier the president of BCCI, AC Muthiah had said in Melbourne that the match could be played on March 23 in Chennai. Muthiah had added that Ian Chappell, Allan Border and Richie Benaud from Australia will participate in the fundraiser. The Indian side will include Sunil Gavaskar along with other big names of the past.

The ten Nation ICC/ACC Under-17 Asia Cup began after India's participation in the tourney was confirmed by the Indian Government. Bangladesh Minister of Sports, Obaidul Quader declared the ten day event open at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka in the presence of former cricket stars and the participating teams.

Speaking to reporters in Dhaka on Thursday the event manager, Mahmudul Huq Manu said that the Indian team will arrive in the Bangladesh capital tomorrow having received the all-clear from the government in New Delhi yesterday. Four Test playing nations - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - are taking part alongside six ICC associate member countries - UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Nepal, Singapore and Malaysia.

On the opening day, three 45-over matches were played. Sri Lanka outplayed Oman by 10 wickets, Pakistan smashed a 150-run win against Kuwait and Bangladesh beat Nepal by seven wickets. Pakistan hosted the first ICC/ACC U-17 Asia Cup tournament last year.

Australian pace spearhead Glenn McGrath said in Nagpur on Friday that he is raring to have a go at the Indian batsmen in the forthcoming three Test and five One-day series. The series kicks off with the Australians locking horns with the India A side skippered by VVS Laxman at the ground in Nagpur from February 17 to 19.

Speaking to Press Trust of India, McGrath said "I don't want them (Indians) to get on top of the bowling because if they do so, then it will become difficult to dislodge them so I would like to have a go at them at the very first opportunity." McGrath added that he has so far not targetted any single Indian batsman but would play aggressive cricket on the tour.

McGrath, who along with Mark Waugh and leg spinner Shane Warne have been rested for the tour opener, is expected to play the second three-day match against the Ranji champions Mumbai at Mumbai from February 22 to 24.

The former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India Raj Singh Dungarpur on Friday gave a new dimension to the debate over who the best batsman in the world was, rating Australian captain Steve Waugh higher than some of the greatest names ever.

Close on the heels of former South African great Barry Richards prefering Brian Lara over Sachin Tendulkar as his choice for the slot, Dungarpur told PTI in Jaipur that Waugh was the best as he scored runs when they were needed the most.

"As a batsman I think it is not Brian Lara, not Sachin Tendulkar, but Steve Waugh who is the best in the world as he scores runs when they are required the most," Dungarpur said.

The secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) and the convenor of the Central Zone, Jyoti Bajpai announced in Kanpur that Rahat Ilahi and Rahul Arora of Punjab would lead the Uttar Pradesh and Rest of India teams respectively for the Madhav Rao Scindia Trophy (under-16) match. The match is to be played at the Kamla Club Ground in Kanpur from February 18 to 20.

The teams:

Uttar Pradesh: Rahat Ilahi (captain), SK Shukla, T Abbas, V Francis, Ravikant Shukla, S Raina, A Alam, Alok Singh, T Srivastava, Puneet Kapoor, Naman Sharma, M Amir, P Gupta and Avinash Yadav.

Rest of India: Rahul Arora (captain), Anoop Pai, H Kuller, K Vasudeva Das, Prasanth Peter, S Kukreja, AV Maan, AS Gorai, SS Biswas, Nalin Reddy, T Kanis, PC Mayekar, V Yadav, MP Rajesh, SP Priyadarshan.