Saturday, 24 December 2011


BCCI got Rs.2,168 crore government tax relief from 1997 to 2007

EXCLUSIVE

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in New Delhi


THE Indian cricket board harps on one particular point while defying the government on various issues: it doesn’t take financial assistance. That’s far from truth, as official figures show that it has received huge tax exemption over the years.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) got tax exemption worth Rs.2,168 crore in 10 years, from 1997- 98 to 2006- 07, according to a document furnished by the assistant commissioner of income tax ( Mumbai) to Rajya Sabha last month.

Then, after the BCCI changed its objects and memorandum in 2009 to sponsor athletes of other sports, the department withdrew the exemption as this contribution is also charitable as per the Central Board of Direct Taxes circular of 1984.

The income tax department slapped a tax demand of Rs.375.15 crore on the BCCI income for two financial years — 2007- 08 and 2008- 09 — as per the document.

The figures were disclosed under Section 18 of the RTI Act and as part of a reply to a complaint filed by RTI activists Subhash Chandra Agrawal and Alok Varshney from the Capital. By disclosing these figures the sports ministry has tried to prove that the BCCI does receive indirect funding from the government in terms of exemption on the income, besides the entertainment tax exemption, customs exemption, discounted land for building stadiums, and police provisions during international and domestic matches etc.

The ministry, while giving its opinion to the Central Information Commission on whether or not the BCCI was a ‘ public authority’, said that it should be classified as a national sports federation as it also uses one of the national emblems (‘ India’), which means that it’s ‘ under govt patronage’. Also, the BCCI has been importing expensive ground/ pitch equipment from Australia, England and other countries and for that it gets heavy customs exemption.

The income tax exemption — which the BCCI enjoyed u/s 12A of the Income Tax Act before changing its objective on June 1, 2006, and thus losing that privilege — is huge. According to the document, the between 1997- 98 and 2006- 07 was in 1998- 99 when the figure touched Rs.1,818.20 crore.

In 2006- 07, the financial year during which the Sharad Pawar- headed BCCI changed its objective, it got the exemption worth Rs.127.51 crore.

In the 2007- 08 financial year, when the department started imposing tax on BCCI’s income, the Board’s income was assessed at Rs.274.86 crore and a tax demand of Rs.118.03 crore was raised, as per the document. And in 2008- 09, the BCCI’s income was Rs.608.30 crore and the tax demand was Rs.257.12 crore. Will the tax department ever be able to force the BCCI to pay up?

(This story first appeared in Mail Today newspaper in New Delhi, on Dec 24, 2011)

Friday, 23 December 2011

Virender Sehwag’s brass statue to be put up in Jamia Millia Islamia, his alma mater in New Delhi (Exclusive)
By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in New Delhi
VIRENDER Sehwag will soon get a unique honour when his brass statue, worth around Rs 10 lakh, is installed at his alma mater, Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.

The central university and GMR Sports, whose IPL Delhi Daredevils team is captained by the swashbuckling batsman, have joined hands to pay this tribute to him.

Additionally, Jamia will name the pavilion of its ultra modern sports complex after Sehwag, who graduated from this central university in 2001- 02, and also establish a special Sehwag archives. The ground will now be known as Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Sports Complex.

The Sehwag statue — one of the few celebrities, after renowned poet Mirza Ghalib, installed in the university — is part of an agreement that GMR Sports is set to sign with Jamia for establishing a cricket academy, officials involved in the project disclosed.

“ A three- year agreement is going to be signed between the university and GMR soon for the opening of an academy at the sports complex, which was fully renovated for the Commonwealth Games. The parties have agreed in principle on the terms and conditions, and an agreement is expected to be signed next month,” an official told MAIL TODAY . “ As part of the agreement, a brass statue of Sehwag, worth around Rs. 10 lakh, will be installed in the pavilion that will now be called Virender Sehwag Pavilion.

We have also decided to change the venue’s name from Bhopal ground to Pataudi Sports Complex, after the late former India captain.” Interestingly, Sehwag laid the foundation stone of the EJ Kellat Viewers’ Gallery of the complex on June 4, 2004, minutes before he received his Bachelor of Arts degree at a special function organised by the outgoing vice- chancellor Syed Shahid Mahdi, on the last day of his tenure. After receiving the degree, Sehwag had said that “ perhaps it has given me more happiness than the triple century” scored in the first Test in Multan.

It was also at this venue that Sehwag, with his off- spinners, performed his only hat- trick, in a club match in 2007, when he was trying to stage a comeback to the Indian team. By the end of that year, he was back in India’s squad for the tour of Australia.

Apart from Sehwag, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has been honoured with a bust in 1984 and Rahul Dravid being depicted in a mural at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore years later.

Gavaskar’s bust was made by a professor at the Arts College of the Lucknow University, when he played a Gavaskar XI- Viswanath XI match at the KD Singh ‘ Babu’ Stadium in April 1984.

Officials of GMR Sports, mainly chief operating officer Amrit Mathur, and Sunil Valson, a part of its management and a member of the 1983 World Cup- winning team, were highly impressed with the ultra modern facilities at Jamia during the three- day trials in September to test new players for possible recruitment to the Delhi Daredevils squad.

“As per our understanding, GMR will give scholarships worth Rs 3 lakh per annum to promising Jamia students who are good at sports, mainly at cricket. Thanks to GMR, it would be a very good exposure for the university students as they would get to learn from Daredevils’ specialist coaches and players by being involved with them, or by simply watching them,” the official said.

“In return, GMR will use all the facilities, including practice pitches etc., all the year round.” There are three practice pitches at Jamia and there is a proposal to establish three more. The exact details will be known when the formal MoU is signed in the New Year.

“Jamia vice- chancellor Najeeb Jung, who is a sports lover, has played a crucial role in this project, as have the officials of the GMR Sports,” said the official. It’s perhaps the first tie- up between an Indian Premier League franchise and an educational institution as large as Jamia.

(This story first appeared in Mail Today on Dec 23, 2011)

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

British club to fund poor Indian children's cricketing lessons

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in New Delhi

NOT that money is a constraint in Indian cricket, but a prominent British club has pledged to finance free coaching to some poor kids in India with a fund of £25,000 to begin with.

Former British Prime Minister John Major, as head of the Lords and Commons Cricket Club, one of Britain’s oldest clubs, promised the scholarship after tying up with former India Test opener Chetan Chauhan’s New Delhi-based academy, which will soon be turned into a trust for the purpose.

“I am delighted that the Lords and Commons is giving practical and lasting support to Indian cricket and Indian society, and strengthening the relationship between our countries,” British MP Crispin Blunt, who managed a Parliamentary team’s tour to India a few years ago, said in a statement here through the British High Commission.

“That said, I will have slightly mixed feelings if any of the scholars turn up here at Lord’s in a few years time for India against England,” he said.

Chauhan, who scored a century against a team of British Parliamentarians in 2004-05, said that both the coaching and academic requirements of these poor kids will be taken care of.

“We would provide free coaching and also take full care of the boys’ academics. We will have boarding facilities for them. Although the modalities are yet to be chalked out, we will have five-six trainees between 12 to 19 years of age,” Chauhan told Mail Today.

“These trainees will be poor kids. Lots of such kids keep coming to my academy, but we will hold trials to select the trainees.”

Chauhan said his academy’s profile will change soon. “We are converting the academy into a trust and the process has already begun. The money that will come from Britain will be deposited in a bank and its interest will take care of the trainees’ needs,” he said. The trainees will be called the ‘Lords and Commons Cricket India Scholars’.

A High Commission statement here said that the trustees of the Lords and Commons scholarship fund are Crispin Blunt (MP), Prisons and Probation Minister Ian Gomes, and Mark Runacres, a former British Deputy High Commissioner to India.

“Mark was instrumental in this venture. He visited several academies, including mine, about one and half months ago for this purpose, though the talks about starting the scholarship started five months ago,” said Chauhan.

Chauhan, a former member of Parliament, has had a long association with Mark as they have played against each other during the British MPs’ cricket tour of India.
“Major pledged the fund to Anirudh Chaudhry, manager of the Indian touring team, during the first Test against England at Lord’s, London, on Monday,” said the statement.
(This story first appeared in Mail Today on July 26, 2011)

Friday, 3 June 2011

Wadekar wants BCCI to celebrate 40th annivarsary of 1971 Test triumph


(EXCLUSIVE)


By Qaiser Mohammad Ali


New Delhi: In the euphoria that engulfed the country after the memorable World Cup triumph and the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) soon after that in April, millions of Indian cricket fans forgot about the 40th anniversary of the national team’s momentous first Test series win abroad.

Others could miss April 19, 1971 -- the day India sealed a 1-0 series win over the formidable West Indies in the Caribbean -- but not Ajit Wadekar, captain of the team that included Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Sardesai, Srinivas Vekataraghavan, and Bishan Singh Bedi among other stalwarts.

With the 40th anniversary approaching, Wadekar wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to organise a felicitation function with two purposes in mind. Apart from seeking recognition for his team, his other idea was that youngsters in the Indian team should know about their illustrious seniors who walked the same path years ago.


“Basically, the idea was for recognition and nothing else... no one is asking for donation or financial help etc. It was for felicitation of the team, so that people know at least about that historic series,” Wadekar, 70, told Mail Today.


“Today’s youngsters don’t seem to have time because they are playing so much of cricket. Most of those, who are playing for India now, were not even born then. So, if the 1971 team is felicitated they would have an idea about that team and the series. It just occurred to me... But I never got any response from them (BCCI),” the left-handed batsman said.


Just for the comparison, sports ministers MS Gill and Ajay Maken felicitated the football teams of the 1956 Olympics and 1960 Olympics respectively.


Wadekar had written to the board president Shashank Manohar soon after the World Cup win on April 2 in Mumbai.


But the BCCI, which on Tuesday organised a function in Mumbai to felicitate Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s world champions, has still not replied to Wadekar. When contacted on Thursday, the top board officials’ response was lukewarm.


“I haven’t thought about it. I will have to talk to my colleagues. Maybe, we will discuss this at a working committee meeting,” Manohar told Mail Today.


BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said he had no idea about the proposal. “I haven’t seen the letter. I will have to check up,” he said.


Wadekar said he will not write to the board again. “I don’t think I will be writing to him (Manohar) again to remind him,” he said.


The man who played 37 Tests, however, pointed out the three successive Test series triumphs under his leadership. Soon after the win in the five-Test series in the West Indies, India registered a historic series victory over in England in 1971 and then a 2-1 verdict in a five-Test series against England in India in 1972-73.


The success in the West Indies, which had the likes of captain Gary Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai and David Holford, simply stood out. For India, the main performers were Gavaksar (774 at 154.80), who was playing his maiden series, late Sardesai (642 at 80.25), Vekataraghavan (41 wickets) and Bedi (33 wickets).


Similarly, the 1-0 win in the three-Test series against Ray Illingworth’s English side was no less creditable, points out Wadekar.


“I think that was a momentous chapter in the Indian cricket history. At that time there were no ratings, but England was considered the number one team. They were really the champions. On their own soil they were supposed to be difficult to beat,” he emphasised.


The architects of India’s win were late Eknath Solkar (210 runs), Wadekar (204), Venkataraghavan (13 wickets), BS Chandrasekhar (13) and Bedi (11).


Wadekar says the win was the greatest source of happiness for him. “Of course, it was the biggest thrill that I got in my career. That was the best moment of my life. My players also feel the same,” he said.


(This story was first published in Mail Today newspaper on June 3, 2011)

Thursday, 2 June 2011

Bhandari’s each wicket is worth Rs.1,000, says DDCA

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

New Delhi: The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has decided to present former India pacer Amit Bhandari a cheque of Rs.3.14 lakh for taking 314 wickets in first-class matches while representing Delhi and other teams.

This figure has been calculated at the rate of Rs 1,000 per wicket that Bhandari has captured for Delhi, India A, the Board President’s XI and North Zone between 1997-98 and 2007-08. The 32-year-old bowler, who played two One-day Internationals, announced his retirement on Monday.

“We took the decision to honour Bhandari at an executive committee meeting on Tuesday,” DDCA general secretary SP Bansal told Mail Today.

“We will also honour the four Delhi players who were part of the Indian team that won the World Cup recently,” he said.

The Delhi government has already announced Rs 1 crore each for Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, and Virat Kohli as well as Rs 2 crore for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

It is learnt that the association would most likely honour the four players, and also a few top women players of the city, at its annual function in July at the conclusion of the DDCA league and the hot weather tournament.

Bansal said that an 11-member ad hoc has been constituted, as per instructions from a lower court, to conduct the rest of the DDCA league and handle other cricketing-related issues.

“This ad hoc committee will not conduct just the league but all cricket, in consultation with the Cricket Improvement Committee [comprising five eminent former Test players]. We haven’t named anyone to head the ad hoc panel, but we would do it soon,” said Bansal.

The need of an ad hoc panel arose after a Tis Hazari lower court on May 13 restrained the Sports Working Committee (SWC) from performing all its duties till steps were taken to hold the long over-due election to the committee.

The last election to the SWC was held on August 20, 2009, and its one-year tenure expired last year, but the same set of people continued without election being held. The 110-plus clubs vote to elect the SWC.

Bansal said an independent yet-to-be-named retired judge would identify the real voters representing the clubs and prepare a list for the election. “There’s no time frame for this as it depends on the number of objections that are raised while finalising the list. But we would like to go through the election process as soon as possible,” he pointed out.

The court, which empowered the DDCA executive to carry out the duties of the SWC under Article 47 and 48 of the Association until election is held, told the DDCA to write back to it by July 4 about the steps taken for holding the election.

The executive also ratified a nine-member finance committee.

(This story first appeared in Mail Today newspaper on June 2, 2011)

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Durrani receives CK Nayudu Award for lifetime achievement

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

New Delhi: SALIM Aziz Durrani’s selection for the CK Nayudu Award, the highest cricketing accolade of India, has made him nostalgic and brought back memories of his childhood.

As a child, he was attached to the man after whom the award is named — also India’s first Test captain — and used to respectfully call him nana abba ( maternal grandfather). Both families had a close bonding and it continued on Tuesday when Nayudu’s daughter Chandra met up with Durrani.

So, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) selected the former swashbuckling Test batsman for the 2010 awards last week, Durrani, 76, was simply thrilled as it brought him twin joy.

“The biggest thing for me is that our families had very close ties. My father, Abdul Aziz, played two unofficial ‘ Test’ matches under Nayudu,” Durrani told Mail Today hours before he received the trophy and the ` 15 lakh prize money on Tuesday at the BCCI’s annual awards function in Mumbai.

“I was very young when he [ Nayudu] used to visit us in Jamnagar and I used to call him ‘nana abba’. Some of his family members are still based in Indore and we often meet to continue our family ties,” said the hard- hitting batsman known for hitting sixes on demand of spectators.

Durrani, who played 29 Tests between 1960 and 1973, was the original heartthrob of the masses and he executed those big hits with bats, especially those made in India, that were not of a high quality.

But the Kabul- born batsman tried to play down his achievement. “Everything comes into play — new bats and new talent. In the present team, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli, for instance, are very talented. We did not have high quality bats produced in India. At times, we used to get bats from England. The bat does make a difference. I played my first Test with a bat made by Mehtab Sports, which used to supply sports equipment to my school,” he recalled.

Times have changed and third generation Durrani, his grandson Yaseen, now wields bats made with the latest technology.

“He is more interested in academics and is also very good at cricket. Education is very important. If you see, all members of the Indian team are graduates. I have been guiding him and he’s now 18. Hope he also makes a name for himself,” Durrani added. “But it will be his individual decision. I will never impose my choice on him.” Yaseen, son of his Durrani’s niece Fouzia, is a second year Bachelor of Arts student at Ferguson College in Pune.

“He ( Durrani) hopes that Yaseen does something in cricket. My goal is also the same for him, along with excelling in academies,” said Fouzia, who teaches at St. Ann’s Convent in Jamnagar.

Fouzia who, along with Yaseen, attended the function, was thrilled at her uncle getting the award. “It’s nostalgic. It’s a great feeling when a player in his 70s once again comes into the limelight. His grandchild is also attending the function. It’s a wonderful feeling,” she said.

Durrani is living a retired life to the fullest and is content too. He is based in Jamnagar and travels as and when required. He is on the advisory committee of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, which he represented besides Saurashtra and Gujarat in Ranji Trophy.

Bishan Singh Bedi recalled his long association with his senior as well as Indian team rival as both bowled left- arm spin. “ He was quite a genius and I admire his cricketing ability. I always call him uncle and he treated me like his nephew,” he said. “ I met his father in Pakistan when toured in 1978- 79. We called him ‘ masterji’; he opted for Pakistan and coached Javed Miandad.”

(This story first appeared in Mail Today newspaper, New Delhi, on June 1, 2011)

Thursday, 5 May 2011

Sri Lanka T20 meet to have 2 Indians in each team


By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in New Delhi


THE recent tussle between the Indian and Sri Lankan cricket boards over the Lankan players availability for the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a thing of past.


In return for allowing Sri Lanka players for the IPL, the Indian board is set to let its players compete and earn a few dollars in the neighbouring countrys own version of the IPL. Not just that, a prominent former first- class Indian player will oversee the T20 tournament — the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL).


About 35 international players are expected to be seen in action in the tournament that begins on July 19, according Milind Rege, former Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain and a tournament manager of the recent World Cup, who has been appointed as head of the competition.


“There will be seven teams and each one will have two Indian players in the XI. So, 16 to 20 Indian players would be seen in action in the Sri Lankan Twenty20 competition. But the selection of the Indian players will depend on who all are picked for the Test series in England that will take place at the same time,” Rege told Mail Today.


The four-Test series against England begins on July 21 and ends on August 22, dates that suit the SLPL perfectly. Since the lone India- England Twenty20 International and the five One-day Internationals will take place after the Tests, the shorter version specialists from India will be free to play in Sri Lanka.


Also, since Sri Lankas tour of England, Ireland and Scotland finishes on July 13, it will allow the top Sri Lankan players to be available for the league.


According to reports in the Sri Lankan media, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan are among the players approached by the organisers. However, another prominent Indian player, who has been approached, said on Wednesday that the BCCI was yet to give the green signal.


“We are busy with the IPL now, so we’ll look into this after it finishes,” he told Mail Today. Those from other countries expected to play in the first edition of the SLPL include Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Herschelle Gibbs, Daniel Vettori, Dwayne Bravo, David Warner and Shaun Tait. The teams will be led by Tillakaratne Dilshan (Basnahira), Kumar Sangakkara (Kandurata), Mahela Jayawardane (Wayamba), Sanath Jayasuriya (Ruhuna), Chaminda Vaas (Uva), Afridi (Nagenahira) and Vettori (Uthuru).


“The important thing in SLPL is that the players are being selected by the Sri Lankan national selectors as this tournament is being organised by Sri Lanka Cricket ( SLC) and the International Cricket Council has approved it,” said Rege.


“There will be 24 matches in all, including the semi- finals and the final, and the starting time for two matches in a day will be 4 pm and 8 pm.” The matches will be held in Colombo.


Mumbai- based Rege said the name of the title sponsor would be announced either in Mumbai or in Colombo. “We are talking with two- three parties for that and the sponsors name will be announced later,” he said.


The organisers are also mum on how much money will be paid to the players. Singapore- based Somerset Entertainment Ventures Pte Ltd. (SEV) has won the commercial rights of the tournament and Rege said he is working with SEV and the SLC. “With political stability having returned to Sri Lanka after 30 years, the government intends to rebuild the country’s reputation as a world- class tourist destination.


Given the passion for cricket in the country, the SLC believes it can contribute significantly to this objective by extensively promoting the sport on an international scale,” said SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga.


“Since 80 per cent of our cricketers are from outside Colombo, this tournament will help us identify the next crop of talented cricketers.”


(This story first appeared in Mail Today, New Delhi, on May 5, 2011)