Contradiction!
New president N Srinivasan contradicted Indian manager Shivlal Yadav's explanation on why the Indian team skipped last week's ICC Awards function in London yesterday. "ICC sent an invitation to Shashank Manohar and me. Neither of us could go (to the event), as we were busy. But no specific invitation had gone to the team. Later on, an ICC official went to the team's dressing room at Lord's (on the eve of the ceremony) to invite the players on September 11, but by then the players had made their plans (to go elsewhere)," he said.

However, Yadav stated that the team was invited at 12 noon on the day of the function by an ICC communications officer by which time "players were already away, some shopping, some sight-seeing as this was their final day in London."

Any publicity will do!
THERE was a touch of irony when N Srinivasan said that the 'Board was not here to get popular, but run the game.' Notice how he didn't say 'run Indian cricket, but run the game'. The question was posed with regards to reports that BCCI had prevented Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri from criticising the Board on air or in their columns. "There is no clause (that forbids them) from talking against the Board. You people (journalists) are anyway not always complimentary to the Board. We are very used to negative views. We are here to administer the game and not to get popular," he said.