BCCI grants five-day deadline extension to Modi

The BCCI has agreed to grant the five-day extension of the deadline requested by Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL chairman, to file his replies to the board's chargesheet. Modi was previously expected to appear at the BCCI headquarters on Monday to respond in person to the charges. The 15-day deadline that was initially agreed upon expires on Tuesday.

Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's chief administrative officer, confirmed Modi's request: "Lalit Modi has requested the board president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan to extend time. He was supposed to reply to the show-cause notice today. The board has taken a decision to extend time up to the May 15."

According to Shetty, Modi sought the extension because he wanted some more documents from the board that would help in preparing his defence. Modi was suspended by BCCI on April 26, soon after the conclusion of the IPL, which sent him a show-cause notice asking him to reply to a slew of charges relating to the conduct of the high-profile Twenty20 league. Modi was alleged to have indulged in financial deals without the knowledge of the IPL Governing Council, bid-rigging and of behavioural pattern which was not acceptable.

On Saturday, Mehmood Abdi, one of Modi's lawyers, submitted the first set of the documents to the board. Abdi was back in the board office today with the remaining papers including minutes of IPL Governing Council meetings, bid documents, franchisee agreements and all contracts starting from 2008 onwards. "This is the final phase of handing over of papers to the board from our side. We had earlier submitted a bigger bulk of papers on May 8," Abdi said.

The first set of documents, both original as well as notarised copies, included all franchisee agreements, global media rights agreements, global media rights packages, all bid documents, media rights licensee agreements, eligibility letters of bidders with details and sponsorship agreements entered into by IPL.

Modi has retained a copy of all the documents, which according to Abdi ran into thousand pages. "These have been endorsed by Shetty," Abdi pointed out.

BCCI sources said Modi's reply, once it comes in, will be taken up by the board's three-man disciplinary committee, comprising Manohar and two vice-presidents - Arun Jaitley and Chirayu Amin, who was appointed the interim IPL chairman after Modi's suspension. "The disciplinary committee is likely to meet in mid-June," a BCCI official said.

IPL appoints an advisor from corporate world

The BCCI has appointed Bharat Patel, a senior member of India's corporate world, as advisor to Chirayu Amin, the IPL's interim chairman. Patel is a former chairman of the MNC Procter & Gamble and, according to a BCCI statement, was associated in the setting up of the IPL in 2008 in an advisory capacity to Lalit Modi, the then chairman.

An IPL governing council member indicated that it was Amin who suggested Patel's name. The source also noted that any appointment would need the approval of the governing council. which is scheduled to meet in June.

Patel did not confirm or deny the news when Cricinfo contacted him, saying he would leave it to the BCCI to make any announcement. If Patel's appointment gets confirmed he is likely to take up a more permanent role with the IPL once the current crisis blows over. The current COO is Sundar Raman, who has held the post since the league's inception.

Following Modi's spectacular and swift downfall, culminating in his suspension two weeks ago, the work of the IPL has been divided. While Amin is on the disciplinary committee that is handling the Modi case, the cricket-related work - specifically planning the next season - has been entrusted to the three cricketers on the governing council, Sunil Gavaskar, MAK Pataudi and Ravi Shastri.

Like Amin, Patel - who was P&G chairman till March 2009 - enjoys a certain standing in the Indian corporate world. He is currently is the chairman of the Indian Society of Advertisers and serves on the brand protection committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, a top lobby group that Amin headed a few years ago.

To the fearless the spoils

The incessant tide of world cricket throws more cricket our way. For once it is welcome, for we in India have seen too many rumours, leaks and the like passing off as news. The allegations from the IPL are serious but sensationalism is not going to help get to the bottom of things. It is now in the hands of auditors, lawyers and tax sleuths; cricket analysts, commentators and reporters, who have had to pose as experts in recent times, can take a break. The IPL needs some peace to sort itself out, create a strong system of self-regulation, perhaps do away with a governing council, and take the right steps towards strengthening brand IPL and, indeed, brand India. So let's go back to watching cricket with old loyalties again; Indians supporting India, Australians supporting Australia, in what is probably the most open world event ever.

It will be interesting to see how much Twenty20 cricket has evolved in 10 months. If there is one thing the IPL has reinforced, it is that teams who play fearless cricket win. Teams who have tried to be defensive, safe, ended up looking anxious and lost. We saw that with Kolkata Knight Riders and we saw that but once from the Mumbai Indians. In England last year we saw South Africa play that way against Pakistan while chasing 150. I am not saying that teams must go hell for leather, self-destruct dramatically, but even closing down the game for two or three overs can be decisive.

Typically, then, teams must seek to play nine batsmen (okay, seven batsmen and two others who can get runs in the last three overs) and six bowlers. It means you must play three allrounders, your wicketkeeper must bat in the top six, and one of those batsmen must be good enough to bowl three or four overs. The conditions in the West Indies will determine whether teams with seam-bowling allrounders have a better chance or others, notably from the subcontinent, who have a greater preponderance of slow bowlers.

For various reasons, two teams catch the eye. Pakistan cricket may be in turmoil but that has rarely been an indicator of how they will play. And Twenty20 is just down their alley. It rewards instinct, freedom and fearlessness, and that has been the hallmark of Pakistan cricket. I suspect that the strength of the Pakistan team diminishes as the duration of the game rises, but in Twenty20 they will always look balanced. They have a spin-bowling allrounder in Shahid Afridi, a seam-bowling allrounder in Abdul Razzaq (both of whom can be match-winners with the bat) and a wicketkeeper who opens the batting. Perfect for balance. I believe the key for them is the quality of the top five batsmen, and Pakistan's fortunes may well be determined by how well those five play.

Australia, on the other hand, slot in among the third tier of teams, placed below Bangladesh at No. 9. It is ironic that theirs are the players most valued in the IPL and in England, but collectively they have been shocking so far. Still, they have far too much going their way this year and should be a very decent bet to go all the way. A top six of David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Cameron White and Brad Haddin means there is a spinner, a seamer and a wicketkeeper already taken care of. Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait (surely Doug Bollinger must be in there) means four bowlers, two of whom can bat decently. Critically, there is some pace there, which, as the IPL has shown, is back in fashion. It means No. 7 can be a floater and anyone can play there.

India will await the return to form of Yuvraj Singh. If he is in form, India have a serious chance. There is a lot of batting, but without Yuvraj in form it looks a touch incomplete. And while India have a keeper in the top six, all their batsmen bowl slow, which suggests they are a team better suited for slightly sluggish pitches. The big weakness is the absence of a seam-bowling allrounder who could bowl the middle overs and bat at, say, No. 7. And so India must decide whether to play three seamers or get by with two and play both Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja, or indeed Piyush Chawla.

But seriously, any of those three or even Sri Lanka, South Africa, England or the West Indies could go all the way. And don't be surprised if Bangladesh create a little upset somewhere. That group - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia - is the one to watch in the first week.

In India, though, the tournament faces another threat. By May 10, Lalit Modi will have emerged with his defence and we will know then if people want to watch the news or the cricket. Or maybe, the news till 7pm and cricket thereafter!

We will surprise India: Afghan coach

St Lucia: Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan has warned the Indians, saying his side were unperturbed by their reputation and will look to exploit the surprise element to dazzle M S DHONI's men in their ICC World Twenty20 opener Saturday.

"On the technical side it is good that they don't know us because when they know about you they will plan.

The coaches will watch the videos and work on our weakness. Luckily, we know everything about them.

We have seen all their IPL games. We will give them a surprise which will make them remember us after the game," Kabir said.

Another important component of their team, all-rounder Karim Sadiq feels the fact that they don't depend on any individual gives them an edge over the mighty Indians.

"They have all performed. We haven't got a certain guy we bank on. We have got a batting line-up which runs down to number eight. And we have got seven bowlers to choose from.

"If one batsman fails, the other one will win us the match. If one bowler doesn't perform, another guy will bowl well. It has been a story of total team performance. I think we have good side which is capable of pulling off an upset," Karim explained.

Captain Nawroz Mangal also exuded confidence and said his side would give their everything and grab the opportunity of playing at such a high level.

"We are very happy that we are here. We worked really hard for it for the last two years and that has put us in the top 12 teams in the competition.

"We know there is a lot of pressure back home. But we have already fought in pressure cooker conditions and we are used to it.

We will give our 100 per cent in this pressure game," said Nawroz. More than their epoch-making performances, Nawroz was glad that cricket had unified the people of Afghanistan.

"It is a great achievement. If we have qualified, it is because of the whole nation's prayers. If the whole nation is praying for you, it means that it is bringing the whole nation together. Cricket is already playing a role in Afghanistan and it can play a major role in the peace process in the region," emphasised the 28-year-old.

"We have been playing together for the last seven-eight years. The players are united and they love their country. They are hungry for cricket and want to prove that they are the next coming cricket team nation in the world.

Hero Honda named as ICC global partner

Secures leading motorcycle manufacturer's involvement in cricket until 2012 at least

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat: "Without the commitment from our partners we would not be in a position to help our 104 Members grow the game as they do"

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Hero Honda Motors Ltd, the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world, today announced a three-year partnership through which Hero Honda will become a global partner with a major presence at all ICC events.

The deal will include the upcoming ICC World Twenty20, which takes place from 30 April to 16 May in the West Indies, and will run all the way to the end of 2012. This formal commitment follows Hero Honda's successful involvement in the last three high-profile events staged by ICC in England (ICC World Twenty20 2009), South Africa (ICC Champions Trophy 2009) and New Zealand (ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010).

This deal will position Hero Honda alongside existing global partners Reliance Mobile, LG Electronics and Pepsi and will include such world-class ICC events as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, the ICC World Twenty20 2010 and 2012, the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012 and the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 2010 among others.

This agreement will entitle Hero Honda to exercise certain promotional, advertising, marketing and other commercial rights on a world-wide basis in connection with the events.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "Hero Honda has already been a great supporter of cricket for many years and this deal is a great one for the game.

"The ICC and the global game of cricket has benefited enormously from its commitment to our great sport. Without that support from Hero Honda and our other commercial and broadcast partners, we would not be in a position to help our 104 Members grow the game through the significant funding we provide. And we would not be able to stage large-scale events, such as the ICC World Twenty20 that will take place in the West Indies, which provides such a great showcase for the sport.

"We believe, in turn, that Hero Honda will also benefit from this partnership, from being able to associate itself with some of the biggest and best cricket action - multilateral events that feature the top men's and women's players, pitting nation against nation on a truly global scale."

Pawan Munjal, Managing Director and CEO, Hero Honda Motors Ltd, said: "Hero Honda is all set to further strengthen its close to two decades-long association with cricket. It is a matter of great privilege and delight to once again be partnering the ICC as one of its global partners for all its international cricketing events.

"This is in keeping with our long-term commitment to promote cricket in every sphere. Our unwavering support to the game is also reflective of the great passion for the game across India and, indeed, all over the world. Cricket fever never dies in our country, and in keeping with that spirit, Hero Honda - one of the most loved youth brands in India - is delighted to play a role in bringing top-class cricket and cricketing icons closer to their fans."