Shahid Afridi has downplayed the PCB’s decision to seek an “explanation” from him for the comments he made on Sunday after returning to Pakistan from the Caribbean

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2011Shahid Afridi has downplayed the PCB’s decision to seek an “explanation” from him for the comments he made on Sunday after returning to Pakistan from the Caribbean.”I have received a letter from the Board and will send my reply tomorrow,” Afridi told the . “It’s all the result of misunderstanding and I’m sure the matter will be resolved soon.”Afridi all but confirmed to reporters that there had been differences between him and the team management over selection issues during the five-match ODI series that Pakistan won 3-2, when he said, “Although the differences in team management are not such which could not be solved, I feel everyone should do his job and need not interfere in other’s work.”Though he didn’t take anyone’s name specifically, it was coach Waqar Younis he was referring to, growing differences between the pair a fact which PCB officials confirmed to ESPNcricinfo last week.The board took exception to the statement Afridi made and served him a notice on Monday to explain to the board what he has said, stating that he had violated the Code of Conduct by making such statements publicly.Afridi however said that he had made a few general comments and that he “didn’t say anything that I haven’t said before.”Afridi is no stranger to board notices and his public straight-talking ways have often landed him up at board headquarters with some explaining to do. Late last year, he criticised his team publicly after a Twenty20 loss to New Zealand and the fall-out was that he was almost removed from the limited-overs captaincy after a number of players grew unhappy with his comments.

Tanvir Ahmed and Pakistan’s phalanx of spinners put the tourists in control of the second Test against West Indies on the second day in Basseterre

The Bulletin by Osman Samiuddin21-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTanvir Ahmed kept West Indies in the field far longer than they would have liked•Associated Press

Tanvir Ahmed and Pakistan’s phalanx of spinners put the tourists in control of the second Test against West Indies on the second day in Basseterre. With Saeed Ajmal, Ahmed first put together a rousing, defiant last-wicket stand of 78 to not only prevent Pakistan’s first innings from going to total waste, but actually make it a little imposing.Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez then shared six wickets between them as West Indies slumped to 184 for eight on a still decent surface for batting; proof of that was in an elegant fifty from Marlon Samuels. The two sides are among the weakest batting-wise in cricket which is no bad thing for it makes for compelling cricket.More than anything, Pakistan’s spinners were persistent, working their way patiently through the bulk of the batting. Occasionally a partnership lingered or resistance emerged, an obstacle appeared; each time they found a way through.Ahmed had struck first in a spell which made up in control what it lacked in pace. Off the second ball of the innings, Lendl Simmons was sucked into a needless drive. Taufeeq Umar, once among the best slippers in Pakistan, took the first of three good catches. Another loose drive brought the wicket of debutante Kraigg Brathwaite, though the beneficiary Wahab Riaz was poor. He had nearly given away the initiative when Ramnaresh Sarwan took him for three boundaries in an over, but the arrival of spin halted progress.Rehman slotted in immediately, stopping runs, but it was Ajmal who caused strife. It wasn’t so much the succession of off-breaks, but what each subsequent one hid: the threat of the doosra. Pleasingly, not many came and it was to an off-break that Sarwan fell, another needless rush out of the crease.Mohammad Hafeez, more bowler than batsman this series, then chipped in. Darren Bravo, initially lost among Brathwaite’s debut and Sarwan’s blitz, fought neatly with Samuels till he edged Hafeez on the stroke of tea. Soon after the break, Hafeez struck again to remove Brendan Nash.Hafeez used, it was Rehman’s turn. Carlton Baugh wasn’t much of an issue, but the key breakthrough was the dismissal of Darren Sammy. Another promising partnership was building when Sammy tried to repeat a straight six from the previous Rehman over. He struck it well, only to see Umar Akmal running along the boundary to take an outstanding catch inches from the rope.The one obstacle that proved more durable than others was Samuels. Only in the XI because of Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s late withdrawal, Samuels at first looked precisely like a man playing his first Test in over three years. But a loose, brief second spell from Riaz in the run-up to tea allowed him to unfurl a couple of sweet square drives and settle down.After tea he looked better, secure in defence, surer in attack. He didn’t always read Ajmal, choosing to play him off the surface but it hardly mattered when he was driving him elegantly over extra cover for four and six. Rehman had already been dispatched over long-on.In between those strokes, he was patient and measured. But he took on Ajmal once too often. Having already hit him straight, there was little need for another and next ball, Taufeeq took his third, excellent catch of the innings, diving forward at long-off.That was fitting reward for a day that had been Pakistan’s, the first hour apart. In that, they lost three swift wickets and looked set to be rolled over for under 200. Only when Ahmed and Ajmal came together was the innings given unexpected solidity.Ahmed was his usual self, mixing muscular boundaries with those unique whips, Caribbean style. One such, over midwicket off Devendra Bishoo, brought up the fifty partnership half an hour before lunch. In the next over came two more, a punch through covers and a dainty clip wide of mid-on. And as lunch neared, a streaky edge brought an accomplished maiden fifty. He celebrated immediately, cutting for another boundary.Ajmal gave obdurate support, mixing fortune with pluck. He regularly and comically pulled, once going fine for four and once top-edging for six over slips. Other than that he stuck around, adding the odd run, frustrating the bowling.West Indies slumped swiftly, alarmingly. The second new ball was wasted, Kemar Roach either too full or short and Ravi Rampaul lacking the energy of earlier bursts. Sammy toiled, but Bishoo floundered as defensive fields were employed. Bishoo finally ended the stand, ten minutes before lunch trapping Ahmed in front but the tide had turned.

It took less than an hour for Warwickshire to wrap-up victory on the final day of their Championship match against Somerset.

George Dobell at Edgbaston23-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Boyd Rankin earned praise from both sides after his efforts against Somerset•Getty Images

It took less than an hour for Warwickshire to wrap-up victory on the final day of their Championship match against Somerset.When Nick Compton’s obdurate resistance was finally ended – Compton, with only the hapless Charl Willoughby for company, was caught on the long-on boundary just five short of his second Championship century of the season – it left Warwickshire requiring only 23 runs for victory. They raced to the 10-wicket win in just 20 deliveries.In truth, this game was defined on the first afternoon. An unusually hostile spell of fast bowling from Boyd Rankin ensured Somerset were unable to take advantage of winning the toss on a flat pitch. Generating sharp pace and gaining steep bounce from his towering six feet, seven inch frame, Rankin also found enough swing to claim three wickets for four runs at one stage. It was a point not lost on Somerset captain, Marcus Trescothick afterwards.”Rankin just blew us away,” Trescothick admitted. “It was a really good spell of hostile fast bowling – right up there with anything I’ve faced this year – and it was too good for us. He was easily the fastest bowler on either side.”It’s the best I’ve seen him bowl. He’s up there in terms of pace, but it’s his bounce that really causes the problems. And now he’s swinging the ball, too. He hit me four times – that doesn’t happen very often – and I just couldn’t pick him up. There was nothing wrong with the pitch – it was a bit slow, if anything – and the sight screens are fine. He’s just improved massively.”Trescothick is no stranger to fast bowling, of course. So to hear him talk in such terms of the 26-year-old Irishman is noteworthy. England have quite a pack of tall fast bowlers at present, but if Rankin keeps performing like this, he’ll force himself into contention.Trescothick also credited Rikki Clarke as being “a very clever bowler.” That may surprise a few but the four wickets Clarke claimed in Somerset’s second innings take his Championship tally this season to 30 at just 21 apiece. He’s quietly become a bowling all-rounder. And a very good one.It might be stretching a point to suggest that Warwickshire should now be considered genuine title contenders. The way that Durham and Lancashire blew them away undermines that theory. But Warwickshire have now won five games this season – as many as when they won the title in 2004 – and, at full strength, have a battery of seamers to rival any side. The one worry is the slightly disappointing form of Chris Woakes. By the very high standards he has set himself, Woakes has yet to find his best form this season.Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, rated the performance as his side’s “best of the season” and had particular praise for Ian Westwood, who made the top score in the match in recording his first Championship century since September 2009.”Losing the toss could have ended with us facing a big deficit, but we were hugely disciplined throughout,” Giles said. “Westwood has had a tough time, so I’m overjoyed for him. From the outside, people don’t see the whole package a guy offers a team, but Ian is a pleasure to work with and really deserves his success.”Giles also had praise for Rankin. “He’s a big bastard,” Giles said, both simply and accurately. “And facing him upsets teams. He has a presence about him and you can see them talking, and worrying, about him.”We always knew he had the attributes: the height, the pace and the bounce. But now we’re seeing him become more consistent. That’s largely because he’s fitter now. In the past he was always in and out because of injuries.”Somerset’s season is now at something of a crossroads. Tipped by many as prospective champions at the start of the season, they’ve lost half of their first eight games and, on this form, look a side more likely to finish nearer the bottom than the top of the table. Their mis-firing middle-order, perhaps cosseted by the flat tracks of Taunton, is simply not performing in these post-heavy roller days.”We’re getting off to good starts, but then it’s clear to see where we’re going wrong,” Trescothick said, referring to his side’s middle-order woes. “We’re probably just lacking a bit of experience in the middle-order and losing Zander de Bruyn [to Surrey] is part of that. We can’t afford to keep losing.”Tellingly, Ashley Giles admitted he was “a little surprised” at how intimidated some of Somerset’s batsmen appeared to be by the pace of Rankin and Clarke.Meanwhile, the game marked the end of an era. By the time the next Championship game begins, in the best part of a month, Warwickshire hope to have moved into their new pavilion. The hand-over date – the day the club take possession of the new facility from the builders – is just one week away and there appears to be an enormous amount of work still to be completed. With 380 builders working at the ground today, however, the club are still confident that they are on track.

Nottinghamshire avoided an embarrassing defeat by part-timers Unicorns in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a six-wicket victory under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2011
ScorecardNottinghamshire avoided an embarrassing defeat by part-timers Unicorns in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a six-wicket victory under the Duckworth/Lewis method.In a rain-affected match, Notts – who have never lost to a side other than the 17 first-class counties in any official competition in their history – seemed to be cruising after restricting the Unicorns to 157 for 6, Paul Franks taking three for 26. But Unicorns seamer Glen Querl bowled Riki Wessels and Alex Hales after Ali Brown was caught in the third over off Neil Saker as the hosts found themselves 17 for 3.Adam Voges and Samit Patel advanced the score to 89 and although Patel was then lbw for 37, Notts got home with 16 balls to spare after a heavy shower reduced their target to 122 from 29 overs, Voges finishing unbeaten on 54.While the Unicorns had won three of their CB40 matches last year, this season’s campaign has proved tougher going, with the team of former professionals and MCCU players having collected only one point from their opening seven matches.In overcast conditions and on a green Trent Bridge wicket, there was plenty on offer to the seamers throughout, with Notts’ experienced trio of Franks, Ben Phillips and Darren Pattinson all striking early as the visitors fell to 58 for four.Former Leeds-Bradford UCCE batsman James Campbell batted well to make his highest list A score of 49 before he was brilliantly stumped by Chris Read off Steven Mullaney.Craig Park hit 38 before he was yorked by Franks, who had earlier had Josh Knappett and Keith Parsons caught behind, while Luis Reece and Saker put on 36 in the last eight overs. Needing four runs an over, Notts’ top order collapsed with Ali Brown slicing to third man before Querl’s pace surprised Wessels and Hales to demolish their off stumps.While Saker and Querl were able to find a challenging line and length with the new ball, the back-up bowling could not maintain the pressure, with 13 coming off Reece’s first over. Patel was lbw to Amar Rashid in the 22nd over before rain forced the players from the field for 40 minutes.Notts returned needing a further 32 from six overs and Voges and Read did not hang about, with Querl being despatched over long-on for six by Voges while Read hit consecutive fours to mid-wicket. There was just time for Voges to reach 50 before his chip over cover sealed the win, lifting Notts to third in Group C, three points behind joint leaders Somerset and Essex, who both have games in hand.

Intikhab was appointed manager in October 2010 for the series against South Africa in UAE and his position will be taken by Naveed Akram Cheema, a member of the PCB’s governing board

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2011The PCB has replaced former coach Intikhab Alam as Pakistan’s team manager for the tour of Zimbabwe. Intikhab was appointed manager in October 2010 ahead of the series against South Africa in UAE. Taking his position is Naveed Akram Cheema, a member of the PCB’s governing board. Assistant coach Aaqib Javed and assistant manager Shahid Aslam have also been left out of the Zimbabwe touring party.”Changing the manager is not performance related,” Subhan Ahmed, the PCB’s chief operating officer, told . “We appoint a manager on a series by series basis. Intikhab is also head of the development programme at the National Cricket Academy and wants to devote more time to the ongoing programmes. Cheema is a member of the governing board, so he has been appointed manager for the Zimbabwe series.”Intikhab also said his focus was now on working on the development of the game at the academy level. “We have started several programmes in the country which many upcoming players are attending. The Under-16s talent-hunt programme is underway in more than 45 districts throughout Pakistan and we are working on some more programmes for the winter. While I have enjoyed working as team manager, I need to dedicate more time to the programmes in our academies.”Cheema had accompanied Pakistan A on their tour of the West Indies last year and he is the managing director of the country’s largest power supply corporation – Water and Power Development Corporation. He said he would ask Intikhab for advice to help the team. “I will be seeking advice from my predecessor Intikhab Alam, who is also a dear friend,” he said. “Our collective aim is to ensure that the team do well on the tour and that there is harmony and unity among the squad members.”Intikhab’s tenure as manager coincided with a difficult time for Pakistan cricket. During the series against South Africa, wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider fled to the UK, later claiming he was threatened by bookmakers. Earlier this year, following Pakistan’s return from the Caribbean, Shahid Afridi was removed as ODI captain and he responded by retiring “conditionally” from international cricket. Intikhab, in his tour report, acknowledged a rift between coach Waqar Younis and Afridi. He described Afridi as a “highly hyper-active personality who lacks [the] temperament to listen to other people’s point of views or look for solutions for the betterment of the team.”The ICC’s Pakistan Task Team (PTT) in its recommendations to the ICC and the PCB, including ways to improve governance of cricket in Pakistan, questioned Intikhab’s multiple roles in the board. In addition to being the team manager at the time the report was submitted, Intikhab was also the chairman of the cricket committee, director of game development and a governing board member.

Cricket Kenya’s latest initiative to help develop the strength of the country’s domestic game gets underway later this week with the start of the new regional Twenty20 and 50-over franchise competitions

Martin Williamson15-Aug-2011Cricket Kenya’s latest initiative to help develop the strength of the country’s domestic game gets underway later this week with the start of the new regional Twenty20 and 50-over franchise competitions.For a long time there has been a huge gap between standards of the country’s premier league run by the NPCA and the national team. A previous attempt to organise a competition for the leading players failed because of funding and a lack of interest among participants.But following Kenya’s wretched performance at the World Cup, the board has made sweeping changes, backed by the government and stakeholders, and the East Africa Premier League and East African Cup are perhaps the boldest. Furthermore, the decision to include teams from neighbours Uganda will not only give an edge to matches, but will also help development in one of the most promising up-and-coming Associates.Four teams from Kenya will participate – the Nairobi Buffaloes, Kongonis both based in the capital, the Rift Valley Rhinos from Nakuru and Coast Pekee in Mombasa – while Rwenzori Warriors and Nile Knights will represent Uganda. Teams will be comprised of international players, senior club players and age group cricketers aiming to make the national squads of both countries. The top two teams in each competition will compete in live televised finals at the end of October.Cricket Kenya has agreed a broadcast deal with Supersport who will televise a number of live matches throughout Africa as well as a regular highlights and magazine programme.”This is a hugely exciting development for cricket in the region, one which we hope will improve playing standards and ignite a real interest and passion for the game throughout the region,” CK’s chief executive Tom Sears said. “We hope by concentrating the pool of talent we have into a smaller number of teams playing highly competitive cricket, the fortunes of our national teams will improve over time and lower down, in domestic and age group cricket, standards will improve as players strive to make one of the franchise teams.”There has already been significant interest in the East Africa Premier League and East African Cup from both the cricket and corporate worlds and we believe once the competition commences this will grow and continue to grow in future years.”

Shane Warne has declared that he will come out of retirement to play in the Big Bash League this summer, but he has not yet decided which team will win his services

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2011Shane Warne has declared that he will come out of retirement to play in the Big Bash League this summer, but he has not yet decided which team will win his services. Warne, 42, has not played elite cricket in Australia since his final Test, at the SCG in January 2007.His return will be a massive boost for the first season of the BBL, a competition that Cricket Australia has high hopes for when it starts in December. Warne said on on Channel Nine that he had not decided whether to turn out for the Melbourne Stars, who will play at the MCG, or the Docklands-based Melbourne Renegades, but that he was definitely planning to play.”It’s great that there’s two teams here,” Warne said. “I’m not leaning one way or the other. I’m definitely going to play a few games and have some fun. I think it will be nice to help the young players out and have a bit of fun with the Twenty20.”Warne retired from the IPL this year but has been hinting for some time at a possible comeback for the BBL. He won’t be the only former Australia star to come out of retirement for the Twenty20 tournament; the Brisbane Heat have already signed Matthew Hayden.

The jury in the alleged spot-fixing trial heard on Thursday in-depth information on legitimate payments made to the players and the breakdown of how their earnings were distributed

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court13-Oct-2011The jury in the alleged spot-fixing trial involving Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif heard on Thursday in-depth information on legitimate payments made to the players and the breakdown of how their earnings were distributed, including a loyalty payment of £22,000 for declining the Indian Cricket League.Those payments and method of distribution is significant to the case, as large amounts of cash were found in the hotel rooms of the two players during police raids in August last year, on their tour of England. The players attempted to account for the money during police interviews at the time.On the seventh day of the trial at Southwark Crown Court, the prosecution called the former PCB director of cricket operations, Zakir Khan, to detail all of the various payments made to their contracted players.Zakir, appearing via a video link from the PCB offices in Lahore, forensically explained the breakdown of pay when prompted by Aftab Jafferjee for the prosecution and then the two players’ legal representatives.The most interesting aspect was perhaps a fee of three million Pakistani rupees made to players to deter them from signing up to the so-called ‘rebel’ ICL. That amount equates to about £22,000. That nugget of information was brought to the court by Butt’s barrister Ali Bajwa QC and confirmed by Zakir.Pakistan were the worst affected by the breakaway league and a team in the ICL even carried the name the Lahore Badshahs, captained by former Pakistan star Inzamam-ul-Haq and coached by ex-wicketkeeper Moin Khan.The ICL, which has since disbanded, was unsanctioned and not officially supported by the ICC and its members. With an exodus of Pakistan players to the ICL, also including players like Mohammad Sami, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammed Yousuf, the PCB made loyalty payments to players they did not wish to lose the ICL – Butt being one of them.From Bajwa’s probing, Zakir also confirmed to the court that the then PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf offered to triple player bonus payments for the match against India in the Kitply Cup in Bangladesh during 2008, when Butt scored an unbeaten 129.During the police searches a total of £30,002 was found in Butt’s hotel room (room 714 at the Marriott in Regents Park) as well as various cash in other currencies such as US$12,617, UAE Dhs 24,300 and 26,015 Pakistani rupees. Asif had just over £8,000 in sterling in his room (No. 130).With that background, the prosecution gleaned the legitimate breakdown of pay made to its players. Butt and Asif, the court was told, were both in the top pay bracket (A band) and were paid a monthly retainer of Rs 250,000 (approx £1800). For match fees they received Rs 350,000 per Test (£2500), 300,000 per one-day international (£2200) and 250,000 per Twenty20. Both of those payments were made by cheque in Pakistan.In terms of prize money, for items such as Man-of-the-Match or Series awards and series wins, those monies are calculated at the end of tours in the PCB office and again paid by cheque in Pakistan within 20 days of that tour or series finishing.The court was also told that players receive a share of 80 percent of the PCB’s annual sponsorship with Pepsi, which was worth approximately US$1 million in 2010. Then the fifth segment of income from the PCB related to incentive bonuses for items such as centuries scored, five-wicket hauls, four catches for a fielder and wicketkeeping catches and stumpings.Bajwa also pointed out that his client Butt earned a share of his US$150,000 salary for a contract with Kolkata Knight Riders in the first edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008.In terms of allowances, the jury was told that for the ten week tour of England in 2010, the maximum Butt could have pocketed from the PCB was £10,500. All players earned £8,000 for the tour but because Butt was captain he received an added captaincy bonus that was worth £250 a week.Expenses such as accommodation, breakfast and travel was paid for them, and the main items they would be expected to fund were dinners, refreshments, entertainment, laundry and shopping.In his testimony Zakir also confirmed that Pakistani President had paid the players Rs 500,000 per man for reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup and that such payments were not uncommon for excellent achievements. He also agreed that former captain Javed Miandad did not have to pay duty fees on a car he brought into the country in 1986 “but that type of thing doesn’t happen any more,” he said.The information on payments was explained before lunch, and after the break the court heard mostly legal arguments not in the presence of the jury and some cross-referencing and background of the phone records used in evidence. There is a possibility that Butt will commence his defence in the witness box on Friday but Justice Cooke may yet prefer him to start his testimony after the weekend.Butt and Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, relating to the Lord’s Test last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-determined no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.The case continues.

Australia’s attack for the second Test might not be decided until the morning of the match as they wait to see how Ryan Harris pulls up from Wednesday’s training session

Brydon Coverdale in Johannesburg16-Nov-2011Australia’s attack for the second Test might not be decided until the morning of the match as they wait to see how Ryan Harris pulls up from Wednesday’s training session. If Harris, who the captain Michael Clarke said was “stiff and sore” after the defeat in Cape Town, does not play, it will almost certainly mean a debut for the 18-year-old Pat Cummins.Harris bowled only 24.3 overs in the three-day Test at Newlands and has had five days to recover but the Australians wanted to see how he felt on Thursday morning before confirming his place in the side. Harris, 32, has had a range of injury problems in recent years and is often seen walking laps of the ground to warm up while the rest of his team-mates engage in more vigorous activities.”He’s a bit stiff and sore from the last game no doubt,” Clarke said. “He’s an example of someone who needs to train today. We need to wait and see how he goes in the nets and then how he pulls up in the morning.”As is the case a lot in any form of the game, we generally have an optional session before the game which allows the players who don’t think they need to train or want to train to take that option. Generally, there’s a couple of guys who need to train to see if they will be fit for the game.”If Australia were to lose Harris it would be a significant blow. Although he has played only eight Tests he is the most consistent performer in Australia’s pace attack and in Cape Town last week his Test average dropped below 20 for a period. But Harris, who missed the final Test against Sri Lanka recently due to a minor hamstring strain, is unlikely to be the kind of bowler who can play every Test for Australia due to his brittle body.Even if Harris does play, the make-up of Australia’s bowling group was far from clear. Cummins still has a strong chance of becoming Australia’s second-youngest Test debutant, with Peter Siddle the man most likely to miss out if Harris makes the starting line-up.”I don’t want to give too much away right now but there’s certainly a chance that he could be playing tomorrow,” Clarke said of Cummins.The pitch is expected to be hard and Clarke said Australia would almost certainly play a spinner. He is also likely to back the left-armer Mitchell Johnson, who bowled superbly in the tour match in Potchefstroom but had a poor Test in Cape Town.

The BCCI has been served with 19 show-cause notices by India’s Directorate of Enforcement for alleged violations of the country’s Foreign Exchange Management Act

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2011The BCCI has been served with 19 show-cause notices by India’s Directorate of Enforcement for alleged violations of the country’s Foreign Exchange Management Act [FEMA] totaling approximately Rs 1077.43 crores (US$ 207.52 million), according to a government report investigating the board and its management of the IPL.The BCCI’s alleged violations of the FEMA regulations are believed to have occurred when the BCCI moved the Twenty20 tournament to South Africa in 2009 amid security concerns caused by the holding of India’ s national elections at the same time as the IPL.Speaking in Parliament earlier on Tuesday, Ajay Maken, India’s sports minister, said that various government agencies have conducted inquiries into the allegations of irregularities by the BCCI.These include the FEMA violations totalling Rs 1077.43 crores, Income Tax assessments of Rs.118.04 crores and Rs.257.12 crores for 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively (total Rs 375.16 crores) as well as the Service Tax department’s show cause notices involving an amount of Rs 159.12 crores to various service providers/ stakeholders in relation to the IPL for the recovery of service tax.The total payments being sought from the BCCI and its stakeholders amounts to more than Rs 1600 crores.The report states that the Income Tax department has withdrawn the tax exempt status of the board, and claimed back taxes amounting to Rs.118.04 crores and Rs.257.12 crores for the years 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively. The tax exempt status had been removed because the BCCI had “amended its objects” – that is changed the basic definition of its functioning from June 1, 2006, an act which had required a fresh registration. The change had been noticed only when the BCCI’s tax assessment proceedings were being carried out for the year 2007-08. Given that there had been no fresh registration done since the changes, the government had stated that the BCCI’s old registration did not survive and neither could its tax exempt status.Government investigations are also being conducted into “the source of foreign investments in individual teams is being investigated and references through the Foreign Tax Division.” The report also stated that “preliminary investigations have shown prima facie evidence of monopolistic nature of working of BCCI and the companies involved” in awarding media rights for the IPL. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has therefore been instructed to investigate these issues under the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002.