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Mumbai Indians have sought an explanation from the IPL regarding a last-minute change in the auction procedure, which they feel compromised the “level-playing field” for all franchises

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Jan-2011Mumbai Indians have sought an explanation from the IPL regarding a last-minute change in the auction procedure, which they feel compromised the “level-playing field” for all franchises.In a two-page letter (a copy of which is available with ESPNcricinfo), Mumbai referred specifically to the clause in the ‘Player Auction Briefing’ dated December 17, 2010, which stated that the auction of player sets would occur in random order. But on the eve of the auction (held on January 8 and 9), two hours before the final auction briefing, the franchises were sent an email containing an amendment which stated that the random order would be replaced by pre-decided ‘order of the auction list’.

Vijay Mallya seconds Mumbai

“Mumbai has made some valid points,” the owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “I was surprised by the order in which some of the players were auctioned. Players were selected randomly within categories, but the order of those categories was something I think in retrospect could have been managed better.”
When asked whether Bangalore would also file an official letter, he said, “I don’t think there’s a need for everyone to follow what Mumbai’s done. I agree with the points Mumbai have raised so let’s wait to see what the response is.”

The clause was in paragraph 18 of the original Player Auction Briefing, which read: “Players in the auction would be divided into ‘sets’. The initial sets would comprise marquee players. Subsequent sets would each comprise players with the same specialism (batsmen, bowlers, allrounders, wicketkeepers). The order of these subsequent sets would be determined by random draw that will take place in the auction room.”According to Nikhil Meswani of Indiawin Sports Private Ltd (parent company of Mumbai), who signed the letter, there was a sudden and unexplained change made to the above clause the day before the auction. “The final sentence of paragraph 18 is to be deleted. The sets will be presented to the auction in the order of the auction list.” Meswani noted that this was a “fundamental change” to the auction process.”The primary purpose of deciding the order of the auction (whether of subsequent sets or the players within the sets) through random draw in the auction room in presence of the bidders is to ensure transparency and a level playing field to all the franchisees so that all the franchisees are not only privy to the process but are treated in the same manner and no particular team receives preferred treatment,” Meswani said.According to him any such change warranted strong and justifiable reasons, which he felt were not there or explained. To clarify the matter, Mumbai have asked the IPL governing council for ten bits of information including documents.

Tim Bresnan has been ruled out of the remainder of the one-day series against Australia with a torn calf muscle but is expected to be fit for next month’s World Cup

Andrew McGlashan at the SCG23-Jan-2011Tim Bresnan has been ruled out of the remainder of the one-day series against Australia with a torn calf muscle as England went 3-0 down in Sydney but is expected to be fit for next month’s World Cup.Bresnan picked up the injury during the second ODI at Hobart and required a runner when he batted. Subsequent scans have revealed the extent of the problem and he’ll return to the UK for treatment. Steven Finn is being retained in the squad for the rest of the tour before heading to the Lions tour in the West Indies.It is another blow for England, who already have a depleted bowling attack due to the absence of Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann. Kevin Pietersen also missed the Sydney match with a groin strain as the schedule began to take its toll but Andrew Strauss refused to make excuses after the team’s four-wicket defeat.”That is how injuries occur and that is why with the schedules we have the rotation policy is in place,” he said. “You’ve got to manage these situations. You can’t just throw your hands up and say ‘we can’t compete’. You just have to find a way to complete and the guys that have come in have an opportunity to make a name for themselves. They need to grab that with both hands.”England have just three days at home before leaving for the World Cup, yet Strauss said there was no point complaining because tours are planned well in advance. “There’s no point moaning about it we’ve just got to get on with it. We’re here to play cricket and that’s what we’ll do.”Broad has rejoined the squad in Australia to continue his rehabilitation from the stomach injury he picked up in the second Ashes Test, at Adelaide, but isn’t expected to take any part in the one-day games.Swann is out for up to two weeks after sustaining a knee injury in the first Twenty20 at Adelaide, although James Anderson will be available again for the next ODI after his rest period following the Test series.”Graeme Swann I don’t think will be available this week but hopefully for the last couple of games,” Strauss said. “Kevin Pietersen we are hopeful will be fit for Wednesday, but we’ve got to see how he develops in the next couple of days.”Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire seamer, earned his ODI debut in place of Bresnan at the SCG but Bresnan’s is a tough role to fill because he provides valuable lower-order batting and the ability to find reverse swing.

South Africa determined to pressurise Bangladesh from the outset says captain

Firdose Moonda in Mirpur18-Mar-2011When a 22-year-old Graeme Smith was given the biggest job in South African cricket, Dhaka was the venue of his first assignment. He had to lead the side to a seven-match tri-series involving the hosts and India, in which South Africa won three of the four round-robin matches they played. The final, between South Africa and India, was washed out.Now, eight years on, Smith is ending his tenure as captain and one of the stops on his last assignment is Dhaka. He seems to have fond memories of the place where it all began. “It was a bit up and down at the start, but in the last four years or so I’ve really felt in control,” he said. “From around 2008, I’ve seen us reap rewards and begun to understand what’s required of me. I’ve had a team that I felt I could really say is mine.”It’s interesting that Smith should pick 2008 as the time when things began changing. That was time enough after South Africa’s Caribbean World Cup semi-final exit to have a fresh look at the one-day set-up and left time enough to build before the tournament’s next edition. In between that they had major Test series to concentrate on as well, and won in England and Australia while drawing in India. They ended up losing the ODI series’ that followed those Test wins but 2008 marked the start of South Africa playing to plans, a phrase that encompasses various things we’ve seen at this World Cup. Like rotating players within the squad to suit conditions and targeting specific players in calculated ways.It’s involved doing a lot of homework, but almost all of it has paid off. When Smith opened the bowling with an offspinner to Chris Gayle, he had him out within three balls. When he opened with a left-arm spinner to Kevin Pietersen, the same happened. They wanted to target the Indians bowlers in the Powerplay and the way they batted in that period won them the match. Similar research has been done for the match against Bangladesh.Smith looked like an eager school kid as he reeled off the things he had learnt about Bangladesh so far. “We’ve seen that they have averaged 40 to 41 overs of spin with the ball, so we expect a lot of that. They have seven left handers and play well on the front foot but if we can put pressure on them from the start, they don’t have a huge confidence base.”Smith emphasised that even though South Africa have qualified for the quarter-finals, they are not going to slack off. It has nothing to do with the win that Bangladesh earned over South Africa in the 2007 World Cup. “There is no added emotion from our perspective and no revenge talk,” Smith said. “Four years it a lot of time to let things go.”What there might be is an eagerness to show how much they have improved from that day in Guyana, when a confident 87 from Mohammed Ashraful and a strangling bowling performance from Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak saw South Africa bowled out for 184, chasing 252.”We used to rely on brute force in the past, but we are more subtle now,” Smith said. The spinners, for a start, have added to the finesse. All three frontline spinners, Imran Tahir, Robin Peterson and Johan Botha, have been among the wickets but, as is the nature of their trade, it’s out-thinking the batsman that has done the trick more than scaring them. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers have scored picture-perfect centuries and JP Duminy a gritty 99.They’ve been “street-smart” as Smith likes to call it but that doesn’t mean their bullying days are done. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel can bruise teams upfront, and given that South Africa are determined to pressurise Bangladesh from the outset, that’s what they will be looking to do.Smith himself may indulge in a bit of the bullying. The captain has been struggling for form, the 45 he scored against West Indies his highest score of the tournament. “It’s been frustrating,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of starts and haven’t been able to capitalise on them.” Getting significant time at the crease and having a good knock is vital to Smith for another reason – it how he shows his ability as a leader. “It’s an important time for me to do well. For a long time I have led from the front and I would like to get back to doing that.”Maybe it wouldn’t be so crucial to have a defining innings if Smith wasn’t wrapping up his stint at the helm. For now, his time is all about the experiences and he hopes Bangladesh will give him one to add to his collection. “It’s going to be wonderful for us to play here in this World Cup. We know the crowd are going to be behind Bangladesh, we’ll be up for it.”

Hamish Bennett, the New Zealand fast bowler, has been ruled out of the World Cup due to an injury to his ankle and Achilles tendon

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2011Hamish Bennett, the New Zealand fast bowler, has been ruled out of the World Cup due to an injury to his ankle and Achilles tendon. Seamer Daryl Tuffey, who had been called up as a standby for an injured Kyle Mills, will take Bennett’s place in the XV.Bennett injured himself during New Zealand’s previous game against Sri Lanka in Mumbai after bowling just 4.1 overs, and limped off the field. He played four games this tournament, picking up six wickets including a four-for in his team’s opening game against Kenya.New Zealand have been plagued by injuries in this World Cup with Mills suffering from a quad strain after bowling a couple of overs against Canada, and captain Daniel Vettori hurting his knee while attempting a catch in the game against Pakistan. Both missed the clash against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, where New Zealand were comprehensively beaten.Tuffey, who had arrived in India on Friday, had been playing for Auckland in the Plunket Shield, New Zealand’s domestic first-class competition. He’s played 94 ODIs, claiming 110 wickets at 32.12.

James Middlebrook hit 109 – his highest score for Northamptonshire – as the visitors established an iron grip against Gloucestershire

12-May-2011
Scorecard
James Middlebrook hit 109 – his highest score for Northamptonshire – as the visitors established an iron grip on the County Championship Division Two clash with Gloucestershire at Bristol. Middlebrook and Niall O’Brien, who extended his overnight score of 123 to 166, took their seventh-wicket stand to 187 before being parted, and helped their team to a massive first-innings score of 557 for 9 declared.By the close of the second day, Gloucestershire had replied with 172 for 7, having been 31 for 5 at one stage after Jack Brooks (4 for 30) took three wickets in the space of seven balls. Chris Taylor (54) and Will Gidman (72 not out) led a spirited recovery with a stand of 115 but the hosts trailed by 385 runs with just three wickets remaining.Northamptonshire began the day on 381 for 6, having been in trouble themselves at 125 for 5, and were soon piling on the agony for a largely-inexperienced home attack. From his overnight score of 24, Middlebrook moved confidently to a half-century off 88 balls, with eight fours.O’Brien was dropped on 147 by David Payne at long-off as he skied a delivery
from Kane Williamson, but otherwise the pair made untroubled progress. O’Brien finally perished shortly before lunch, 10 short of his career-best score, top-edging a pull shot off 16-year-old seamer Craig Miles and being caught at fine leg by Jon Lewis. He had batted for more than five hours, facing 206 balls and hitting 20 fours and a six.Middlebrook went on to reach three figures off 184 balls, with 12 fours, finding more solid support from David Lucas, who finished on 34 not out. The centurion fell to a catch at mid-off, driving at the off-spin of Taylor and Lee Daggett’s second-ball duck brought the declaration.Gloucestershire’s batting problems began when Ian Cockbain was bowled
shouldering arms to Lucas with the score on 15. Without addition and in the same
over, Williamson fell for a duck, caught in the slips by David Sales.Brooks then accounted for Richard Coughtrie, Alex Gidman and Jon Batty in rapid
succession as the home side’s top order was blown away. But Taylor and Will Gidman were in no mood to surrender meekly. They took the score to 61 for 5 at tea and then counter-attacked with relish as the ball went soft.Taylor was first to his fifty off 78 balls, with eight fours, and Gidman’s statistics were similar when he got to his half-century off 80 deliveries, also with eight boundaries.It was 146 for 6 when Taylor was caught behind cutting with no foot movement
and Brooks struck again to remove Ian Saxelby, leaving Gidman defiant, but with
only the tail to bat in the morning.

Chris Gayle’s shadow hung over the press conference

Sriram Veera in Port of Spain03-Jun-2011Chris Gayle’s shadow hung over the press conference. It was Suresh Raina who nailed Gayle’s impact in a delightful moment of humour-infused candour. The question was a direct one: Are you relieved or are you disappointed that Gayle isn’t playing? “To be honest I am a bit relieved at the moment,” Raina said, as the press room filled with laughter.The mood, though, turned sombre when the Gayle issue was put forward to the West Indies captain and the coach. Uncomfortable silence was punctuated by a note of defiance. It’s an issue that has dogged West Indies for a while now and seems to be heading into a cul-de-sac. And so necks craned forward when the coach Ottis Gibson, who is alleged to have had problems with Gayle, was asked for his opinion. Gibson paused before he tried to be diplomatic. “There is a lot being said. I have left the board to deal with it and have tried to focus on cricket. I have been doing that since the Gayle issue started.” The questioner persisted. Do you think both sides have been stubborn? “I don’t know.” Silence.It was Darren Sammy’s turn next and he chose to take a detour around the question. “It’s an opportunity for all the other guys to perform.” Diplomacy then gave way to pride. “We won a Twenty20 and a Test match against Pakistan. We have not done it since 2009 and didn’t win for 17 Tests. We have managed to draw the series at home against a higher-ranked team. The guys represented West Indies proudly and played their best. We are looking again to play as a team and do well.” No mention of Gayle in there. Conspiracy theorists will spin it the way they want and Sammy fans will say there’s little else he, as a captain, could have said.Later, as the conference ended and Gibson was on his way out, he was again asked by couple of journalists about the Gayle issue. Do you think the board will arrive at a compromise and Gayle be picked for the third ODI? “They probably will.” How are you going to react to that situation when Gayle comes back into the team? Pat came the reply: “I don’t have a choice.”The rest of the conference was mundane. Raina and Duncan Fletcher talked about how this was a good opportunity for the youngsters in the team, Gibson and Sammy said they were looking forward to testing their skills against India. Raina said all the right things. “As long as you are playing for your country you get goosebumps. We have a responsibility to do well as the world champions. We will play our natural game and prepare for every match in a good way.” Sammy, too, was upbeat. “Playing the No.1 team in the world should be motivating to any player. To do best against the best”.Even as the press meet was on, it rained outside. The covers were on and the Indian team practiced largely indoors. More rain is forecast for tomorrow.There was one further tricky question that awaited Sammy. It was a direct question about his place in the Test side and how he was handling the growing feeling that he wasn’t fit to be in the playing XI. Sammy leaned forward and looked at the questioner. “I go out and do what I have to do. Check the stats and stuff; I have done quite well as a Test cricketer. Whenever I step on to the field, I have West Indian cricket at heart. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but I have the support of my team. I believe in my own ability and I just try to do my best. I try my best. When I step on the field I try to play cricket for all the fans who want to us to get back on top.”

Kevin O’Brien is focused on helping Ireland rise up the ODI rankings starting with the Pakistan series

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2011Almost three months since he blasted his way to the fastest-ever World Cup hundred, Kevin O’Brien returns to international action as Ireland take on Pakistan in a two-match ODI series. Though looking back at Ireland’s impressive World Cup campaign, during which they upset England, still puts a smile on his face, his focus now is helping Ireland rise up the ODI rankings starting with the Pakistan series.”These games are massive; with the one-day international status comes the ranking points,” O’Brien said on Irish radio show . “If we get a couple of wins here, we hopefully can climb up that table, and get as close as we can to ninth place.”Ireland are still some way off ninth-placed Bangladesh in the rankings, and even two wins would still leave them several points behind. But it would put some distance between them and Zimbabwe.O’Brien said the World Cup had been wonderful for the Ireland team, but they now had to start again against a strong Pakistan outfit. “The World Cup was a fantastic experience for all the players and the management. But we’ve got to put that to the back of our mind and start again on Saturday with a big game against Pakistan.”They’ve got some experienced players and they’ve got some young guys who are coming in looking to show what they can do at international level. So it’s going to be two very tight games, and hopefully we can perform well, to our abilities, and get a win or two.”Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach, said a big change in the mentality of the Ireland side was that they now thought about winning rather than just survival or putting up a fight. O’Brien said he doesn’t think about the result of a game and concentrates on the basics. “We’ve got to go in with a positive mentality and hopefully we can hit our areas with the ball and bat well. We can’t really look too much at the result before the game; we’ve just got to go in and do our basics well.”Ireland will be missing two key players for the series: O’Brien’s brother Niall O’Brien and left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who are both injured. Kevin O’Brien said his brother would be a big miss because of his form in the English domestic season for Northamptonshire, but it would give someone else a chance to perform on a big stage.”Niall has started the season over in England fantastically well. He has scored a couple of hundreds and five fifties, so he is in great nick. I suppose it gives another guy a chance to come in and show what they can do, and hopefully we can all pull together, the 14 guys out here, and hopefully play well.”Kevin O’Brien has also been playing in England, in limited overs-matches for Gloucestershire.

There were cricket matches abandoned across the country on Sunday, and Sri Lanka’s Tour Match against Essex at Chelmsford was one of those to fall foul of inclement weather

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-2011
Scorecard
There were cricket matches abandoned across the country on Sunday, and Sri Lanka’s Tour Match against Essex at Chelmsford was one of those to fall foul of inclement weather. Less than 13 overs were bowled before persistent rain led to an early end after lunch on day three, although that was still enough time for 17-year-old seamer Reece Topley to rattle the tourists’ top order with two quick wickets as they reached 38 for 3 in their second innings.Topley had first-innings centurion and likely Test debutant Lahiru Thirimanne caught behind in his second over before Maurice Chambers removed opening partner Tharanga Paranavitana for a single. In the very next over Topley got rid of Dinesh Chandimal and Sri Lanka were staring at a repeat of their final day capitulation at Cardiff, having been reduced to a perilous 10 for 3.But Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera stood firm until the lunch break and, ultimately, the end of the match, putting on an unbeaten 28 in 10 overs. With Tillakaratne Dilshan unlikely to feature in the third Test at the Rose Bowl, Sri Lanka will be looking to their other senior batsmen to step up their games, and as such Sangakkara’s performance in this match will have been heartening to them.”There is no change at this stage,” Sri Lanka coach Stuart Law said of Dilshan’s recovery from a fractured thumb. “His thumb is still in a splint, he is also in some discomfort at this stage and the medical team have said that he is highly likely to miss the Test. So the game against Essex has proved very useful because it’s allowed a couple of our batsmen to get amongst the runs.”Young Lahiru Thirimanne, who is only 21, batted well in our first innings and hit 104 before we retired him out, which was a good indication that he was hitting the ball as good as he could. It was also great for Sangakkara to get out there and score 153 runs in the first innings and that will do his confidence no end of good.”A lively Chelmsford pitch showed that the frailties in Sri Lanka’s batting remain, however, and they are still susceptible to pace and bounce – as the 6′ 7” Topley showed while collecting match figures of 6 for 34. “He has bags of talent and we are delighted with his progress,” said Chris Silverwoord, the former England seamer and current bowling coach at Essex. “He has a big heart, is quick to take on advice and works hard at his game.”It’s very encouraging to see the level of progress he has made so far and he’s made a very encouraging start to his career, but he knows there is a lot of hard work ahead of him yet.”

Lancashire secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 as another superb bowling display handed them a thrilling 12-run win against Warwickshire

13-Jul-2011
ScorecardLancashire secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 as another superb bowling display handed them a thrilling 12-run win against Warwickshire at Old Trafford.Stephen Moore’s 76 from 58 balls helped the home side to 139 for 8 on the same slow pitch used for Saturday’s one-day international by England and Sri Lanka. It did not look like being enough when visiting opener Will Porterfield embarked on an innings of 63 off 64 balls.Warwickshire needed 37 runs from the last five overs and had nine wickets in hand. But, just as they were on Tuesday when Lancashire defended 111 at Northamptonshire, pace duo Junaid Khan and Sajid Mahmood were excellent, backed up well by Farveez Maharoof.The target was manoeuvred to 23 from 12 balls and then 18 runs from the last over with some expert death bowling. The Bears, who finished on 127 for 4, ended 13 runs short of their target as the hosts won their fifth match in a row to clinch third place in the North Division.Despite Moore’s effort at the top of the Lancashire innings, only opening partner Tom Smith gave him any real assistance with an innings of 26 after Steven Croft elected to bat. They put on 61 for the first wicket inside eight overs, posting a stand of more than 50 for the seventh time in 15 Twenty20 innings this summer.With those two together, Lancashire should have been looking at a total around the 160 mark. But the Lightning failed to find the fence in six overs after the Powerplay as spin duo Jeetan Patel, who took the new ball, and Ant Botha put the brakes on with two wickets each.Lancashire stumbled with the bat for the second night in a row as Croft, Karl Brown, Gareth Cross and Moore all mistimed shots, and their final five wickets to fall went in just 14 balls. Both Darren Maddy, who later could not bat after taking a blow on the finger, and Keith Barker struck with their first balls, Maddy getting Croft caught at third man and Barker having Cross caught at cover by Rikki Clarke.Clarke took three catches, including a stunning diving effort to have opener Smith caught at mid-wicket off Botha in the eighth over. Three wickets later fell in the final over of Lancashire’s innings, bowled by Chris Woakes.He had Moore caught and bowled and trapped Luke Procter lbw with the first two balls, before Mahmood was run out by Richard Johnson from behind the stumps with the last ball.Despite impressing, Junaid – with none for 23 – was the only member of Lancashire’s five-man bowling attack not to pick up a wicket as they scrapped successfully to defend their total. Mahmood, Maharoof and spinners Gary Keedy and Stephen Parry all struck.

A government proposal that seeks to regulate the operations of the BCCI and other national sports bodies, and bring them under federal transparency and accountability laws, has created some controversy and prompted a sharp reaction from cricket’s administ

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2011A government proposal that seeks to regulate the operations of the BCCI and other national sports bodies, and bring them under federal transparency and accountability laws, has created some controversy and prompted a sharp reaction from cricket’s administrators. The National Sports (Development) Bill 2011 has been placed before the cabinet and is due to be discussed on Tuesday; if approved, it will be placed before Parliament and could be enacted within a few weeks.The bill seeks to reserve at least 25% of federation posts for former players, which means that ex-cricketers will get more play in the affairs of the BCCI; it puts a 70-year age bar for all administrators and limits appointments to only two consecutive terms; it will also mandate the positing of audited accounts of public-access websites. It also puts all federations within the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) – the BCCI has long opposed measures, including those brought in by the ICC, to put its players under an anti-doping regime.Perhaps its most significant provision vis-a-vis the BCCI is the invoking of the Right to Information Act (RTI), a landmark law that allows members of the public to seek details of the working of federations under the legislation.The BCCI is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, meant ideally for charitable, non-profit institutions. The advantages available to societies of this kind involve direct benefits involving purchase of government-owned land for cricket-related use at very reduced rates, while indirect benefits relate to excise duty and income tax exemptions. An appellate tribunal is now hearing the BCCI’s case against the Income Tax department’s demand that tax rules be strictly applied to them, as they are not a charitable, non-profit organisation.The cricket board has traditionally been outside the government’s purview and, unlike other national sports federations, has not received state funding. However, it has received tax breaks while staging events, including the recent ICC World Cup. While the BCCI already complies with some parts of the bill’s provisions, including holding regular elections and limiting terms for its office-bearers, it keeps much of its operations out of the public eye. Its accounts are not disclosed, nor are details of its financial dealings – issues that became controversial following the IPL fiasco in 2010.”Only organizations taking a grant from the government can come under the RTI, and the BCCI doesn`t [receive government grants],” board spokesperson Rajeev Shukla was quoted as saying on .The move has put cricket’s administrators, many of whom are senior politicians, in an awkward position. Shukla is a junior government minister while Sharad Pawar, the ICC president and still a powerful figure in Indian cricket, is a member of the cabinet that will discuss the bill. Opposition leader Arun Jaitley is president of the Delhi and Districts Cricket association and seen as a future BCCI president and his party colleague and fellow MP Anurag Thakur heads the Himachal Pradesh Cricket association, whose ground in Dharamshala has hosted IPL games.Some former players have, however, backed the bill. “If the government formulates a rule, the BCCI should follow the framework of the guidelines … I believe the BCCI can work independently but must always toe the government line,” Kapil Dev said.”It is good for sports bodies and their professional running,” another former India captain, Mohammad Azharuddin, said. “It (law) should be for all sports federations and there should be no exception.” Azharuddin is an MP with the ruling Congress party.Sports administration in India has been at the centre of several controversies over the past couple of years. The shambles surrounding the 2010 Commonwealth Games made headlines the world over and eventually resulted in its main organiser being arrested and imprisoned pending trial. The IPL, following last year’s dramatic exit of its chairman Lalit Modi, has been the focus of several investigations by federal agencies on charges of financial irregularities. On Tuesday the country’s finance minister told Parliament the government was probing complaints of irregularities in the IPL and and “criminal activities” by some of the franchises.