At Rs 34 crore, Dhoni highest insured in IPL

MUMBAI: Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is the highest earning cricketer in the world, is the most heavily insured player for the forthcoming Indian Premier League T20 tournament which begins on April 8. 

An insurance firm official confirmed that the Indian captain, who led CSK to victory in IPL 3, has been insured for Rs 34 crore by the Oriental Insurance Company (OIC)-a rise of Rs 24 crore over his insurance cover for IPL 3. CSK has paid a premium of Rs 16 lakh, which includes travel risk cover, including medical emergencies, personal accident and loss of baggage. 

Suresh Raina, retained by CSK, will get an insurance cover of Rs 20.5 crore. Incidentally, little master Sachin Tendulkar, who will play for Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai Indians for the fourth consecutive season, has an insurance cover of only Rs 12 crore. 

Mahela Jayawardene, the skipper of Kochi Tuskers Kerala, has been insured for Rs 20.5 crore. "He seems to be most highly insured overseas player for the tournament," said a source, adding, "Speedster Dale Steyn from South Africa, who will be playing for Deccan Chargers, has been insured for Rs 16 crore." 

According to a source from the insurance industry, every insurance company and IPL team have a different methodology of finalizing an insurance policy. "For example, Ambani has decided to take comprehensive cover for his team, which includes event cancellation cover, workmen's compensation, personal accident cover, medical cover and so on," he said. "For this, he is likely to shell out a premium of around Rs 1.5 crore to the National Insurance Company." 

The cover will be active till the time the final is played on May 28. The policy can be invoked in the event of the death of a player or total disability, permanent partial disability or temporary total disability. The policy holder will be paid compensation for injuries that are sustained on and off the field during the duration of the tournament. One of the rules of IPL is that even if the player is benched due to a disability, he has to be paid his dues by the franchisee. The cover is being taken by the franchisee to cover his or her financial interest. 

Many owners are still in the process of finalizing the insurance cover for their team. "Most of the franchise representatives involved in the insurance negotiations don't understand the trade and there's a lot of confusion," said a source. "Hence the delay in finalizing the insurance policy for many of the teams." 

The official added that many franchise owners seemed to be keen to save money on premium. "However, they do not realize that most of the rates for such risky policies are based on those quoted by reinsures like Llyods of London. Hence, many teams are taking only partial cover to save money on premium, which is a bit risky," he said. Leander Dias, insurance official from OIC, who is an expert on cricket-related policy, is negotiating with several franchises but refused to comment on the developments. 

Incidentally, for the recently held ICC World Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) bought a group personal accident policy from OIC. Each player can expect a financial benefit up to Rs. 2.3 crore under this policy.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/At-Rs-34-crore-Dhoni-highest-insured-in-IPL/articleshow/7888086.cms

World Cup trophy lifted by Team India is a fake

It was a moment cherished by a billion Indians on Saturday. The moment India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lifted the glitteringICC World Cup, ending a 28-year drought of World one-day championship wins for a cricket mad nation. But that moment may be irreparably tarnished, not just for Team India, but all Indian fans.

Because the trophy that captain Dhoni and his teammates so passionately kissed, hugged and adored - and millions of fans worldwide cheered - was a fake.

A mere replica, not the original. This has never happened in the 36-year history of the cricket World Cup.

Did the Indian players know that the cup that Sharad Pawar, president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and India's agriculture minister, presented to them, the gold-and-silver trophy that President Pratibha Patil lovingly touched at a reception on Sunday, was not the real one?

Interestingly, a day before the final, Dhoni and his Sri Lankan counterpart Kumar Sangakkara had customarily posed with the same replica. And whether their teammates were aware of that? Chances are they were not.

The real trophy, valued at about $130,000 in money terms, but priceless for any cricket lover, was not at the Wankhede stadium, as the world had been led to believe.

It was rotting at a secure government godown, having been seized by the Mumbai Customs on its arrival from Colombo after the Sri Lanka-New Zealand semifinals on March 29.

The reason: The trophy, according to India's Byzantine customs rules, was not eligible for exemption from import duty! And a combination of bumbling babudom, and the ICC's bungling, ensured that it stayed under lock and key at the airport. Now, it will be flying back to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Dubai headquarters on Monday - without having once being actually touched by the team which had fought so hard to win it.

A top official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and an ICC official confirmed that the trophy was going back to the ICC headquarters. "The trophy is being taken back to Dubai," said Suru Naik, World Cup tournament director (India). An ICC official confirmed: "The trophy is returning to Dubai on Monday."

The ICC, meanwhile, is getting in a tangle of mis-statements as it tries to desperately cover up its bungling. The ICC spokesperson insisted that the real trophy is never presented to the winning team, and that only the replica is presented to the winners.

But photographs of Australia captains Steve Waugh (1999) and Ricky Ponting (2003, 2007) receiving the original trophy, which was instituted in 1999, prove otherwise.

The base of the original trophy has names of all the winners since 1975 engraved on it while the one presented to Dhoni at the Wankhede Stadium had a blank black base.

A customs official at Mumbai's Chhatrapati International Airport confirmed the shocking development, and added a fresh twist to the sorry tale. "The ICC has been insisting that the trophy which came on the flight from Colombo (after the Sri Lanka-New Zealand semi-finals on March 29) is a replica of the original World Cup trophy that is already at the Wankhede Stadium," he said on Sunday.

So, if the original trophy was indeed at the Wankhede Stadium, then why were ICC officials desperate to have the 'replica' released from the customs. What would they have done with it by taking it inside the city? And if the real trophy was at the Wankhede, why wasn't it presented to Dhoni? These questions remain unanswered.

"ICC officials told us that that this trophy has no commercial value as it is used for promotions only. However, when examined by a valuer, the trophy was estimated to be worth Rs 60 lakh or so, made of pure silver and gold. The payable customs duty is about Rs15 lakh. If it is a replica, then does it have to be exactly of the same value as the supposed trophy?

Moreover, the ICC letter that the official was carrying said that it was the World Cup trophy. Nowhere did the letter say that it was a replica and it should be let out," the official said.

Interestingly, the department of revenue of the finance ministry had issued, "in the public interest", a notification (No. 7/2011-Customs) on February 9, 2011, to allow certain items to be imported. It listed five broad categories with specific conditions, but there is no mention of the 'World Cup trophy' in the list. It includes "sport equipments; medical instruments; photographic and audio-visual equipment and supplies; broadcast equipment and supplies; computer and other office equipment".

While BCCI and ICC officials are trying to play down the issue, government officials blame the BCCI for all the confusion. "It is clearly a lapse on the part of the ICC or BCCI. They should have added the words 'World Cup trophy' while applying to the government for customs exemption," a senior tax official said. "Moreover," he added, "why couldn't ICC and BCCI, which are extremely rich, pay the customs duty? The duty would be peanuts for them."

The Prudential Cup was the trophy that was presented in the first editions, from 1975 to 1983, when the Kapil Dev-led Indian team won it.

In 1987, it was called the Reliance Cup after the sponsors, as the tournament moved out of Britain for the first time .

In 1992, a crystal trophy was presented to Pakistan captain Imran Khan. In 1996, it became the Wills Trophy and in 1999, the ICC instituted a permanent trophy.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/134246/top-stories/india-vs-sri-lanka-world-cup-final-icc-trophy-lifted-by-team-india-is-a-fake.html

Was IPL auction fair? Mumbai Indians raise questions

MUMBAI: Until now, there were just rumours. Now, it seems that the IPL players' auction on January 8 and 9 could well have been rigged. Or so it would seem if you look at the angry letter that Mumbai Indians have shot off to every member of the IPL's governing council, demanding an explanation for the last-minute changes to the auction process. They have categorically stated that the changes were not only unjustified but also unacceptable.

The three-page letter, a copy of which is with TOI, points out that most franchises were taken by surprise when they were told about a change in the rules in the January 6 briefings, a day before the auction.

In the first briefing on December 17, the franchises were told that the players would be arranged in pre-defined sets. The plan, they were informed, would be to start with the marquee players and then move to sets of same specialization (meaning: batsmen, bowlers, allrounders etc).

Critically, they were told that "the order of all these sets will be determined by (a) random draw that will take place in the auction room."

At 5 pm on the eve of the auctions, though, the franchises received another email - just two hours before the GC was to take them through another briefing. It said: "An updated version of the auction briefing (has been sent). The only changes are in paragraphs 37 and 38. Please read as paragraph 38 will impact your strategy."

The MI letter says "the so called updated version of the auction briefing reads as follows: The final sentence of paragraph 18 is to be deleted. The sets will be presented to the Auction in order of the auction list (which need not have same speciality players in the same set)".

MI claim that the 'amended' rule resulted in a fundamental change to the auction process as "selection of sets at random" was substituted by a 'pre-decided order of the auction list'."

The primary purpose of deciding the order of auction (whether for subsequent sets or players within sets) through a random draw in the auction room in presence of bidders was to ensure transparency and a level-playing field. In the changed scenario, certain individuals or franchises could have been privy to the exact sequence of the auction which would have allowed them to plan better. More significantly, if they got this information earlier, they could have waited for the right moment to bid for the right player.

Therefore, MI says "Any last-minute change can have justification if, and only if, strong justifiable and emergent reasons can be demonstrated to be present" and adds further "we see a complete absence of such reason or justification. Kindly let us know how and whose instance these changes were introduced."

It should be mentioned here that Chennai Super Kings owner N Srinivasan sat as a member of the GC at the auctions even as his team bid for players and, as TOI had reported on January 10, franchises had already started murmuring that they were unhappy about last-minute changes.

Srinivasan's family owns the franchise even as he happens to be a GC member, BCCI secretary, its president-elect and president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). Interestingly, CSK successfully managed to bid for all premier Tamil Nadu cricketers.

TOI had also questioned GC chairman Chirayu Amin about the same on January 10, to which the answer was a meek one: "We always ensure complete transparency. If any franchise feels otherwise, they are free to mention it."

The agenda of the meetings were approved, the quorum and minutes were recorded, the basis - if any - on which order of sets in auction list was determined. Then, MI's question to the GC is "Who authorized to amend these rules and what was the source of such authority?"

If Amin says there was complete transparency, then why are these questions coming out of the closet now?

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/was-ipl-auction-fair-mumbai-indians-raises-questions/iplarticleshow/7375330.cms

Will Kolkata's Prince be Kochi king?

KOLKATA: Eleven days after the auctioneer brought down his hammer for the last time at IPL players' auction in Bangalore, a ray of hope has emerged for Sourav Ganguly, who was ignored by all the 10 franchises.

Team Kochi, which will be making its IPL debut in the ensuing T20 event, have belatedly realised their folly and are keen to take Ganguly on board. The Kochi management, who clearly showed no aptitude for team composition and failed to net a single capped Indian batsman other than VVS Laxman, have approached the Governing Council to allow them to sign the former India captain. However, they can do so only if the other nine franchises raise no objection to this out-of-auction deal.

The BCCI, on its part, has no objection. "If the franchises have no objection, why should we stand in any player's way to play in the IPL? However, there is no question of bending the rule or making an exception," said a Governing Council member.

IPL rules state that capped players put up for auction, can only be bought through an open bidding process. Ganguly, along with Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer and Punjab pacer VRV Singh were the only three Indian players to remain unsold at the end of the two-day auction.

The onus is clearly now on Kochi bosses to convince the other franchises to let them take Ganguly on board. Having rejected the southpaw outright at the auction, it is hard to fathom why the other franchises would object to Kochi hiring Ganguly - unless, of course, they are bent upon keeping Dada away from IPL.

If the Kochi deal works out, Sourav can look forward to joining forces with his old KKR mates Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge and Owais Shah and one-time Sri Lankan foes of Mahela Jayawardene and Muttiah Muralitharan.

For the moment, though, Ganguly is keeping his fingers crossed.

Source:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/Will-Kolkatas-Prince-be-Kochi-king/iplarticleshow/7329908.cms