ABU DHABI // The Supreme Court of India proposed a set of sweeping changes to Indian cricket on Thursday that include calls to replace the head of the game and to suspend two franchises from this season's Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been told to reply to the proposals on Friday, after which the court will pass an interim order.
The developments came two days after the court had observed that N Srinivasan should step down as the president of the BCCI. Though he was not ordered to step down, as the court had threatened, one of the proposals suggested that Sunil Gavaskar – or another respected former player – take over.
The two-judge bench also proposed that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) be suspended from this season’s IPL.
The franchises are at the centre of a corruption investigation from last season’s edition; four RR players have been banned for fixing, while a senior official from CSK is also under the scanner for illegal betting on matches.
Srinivasan is also the managing director of India Cements, which is the company that owns CSK. It is his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan who is the franchise official under the scanner; Srinivasan has argued that Meiyappan was never an official but merely a ‘cricket enthusiast’.
The third proposed change Justices AK Patnaik and Ibrahim Kalifulla put forward was to bar employees of India Cements from working in the BCCI.
The case began in June 2013, when the secretary of the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) Aditya Verma filed a petition regarding a conflict of interest in the formation of BCCI’s two-member inquiry panel into the IPL corruption issue; that has spiralled eventually upwards to the highest court in the land.
The arguments of the legal counsel for CAB, Harish Salve, took up most of the session and, among other issues, also put the spotlight also on the India and CSK captain, MS Dhoni (who is also an India Cements employee).
In the report into the corruption scandal compiled by another judge, Justice Mukul Mudgal, Dhoni had told the committee that Meiyappan had nothing to do with the CSK franchise. Salve argued that by doing so “the Indian cricket captain has been indulging in corrupt conduct”.
Gavaskar, a former captain and now a commentator, said to a TV channel that he would be ready to take over, should he be required. “When the highest court of the land tells you to do something, you have to do it.
“As an opening batsman you have to be mentally and physically ready for any challenge.”
The proceedings in court forced the postponement of a press conference which was due to be held in Abu Dhabi yesterday afternoon for the launch of the IPL, the first leg of which will be played in the UAE.
A final verdict in the case is expected on April 16.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
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What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
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A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
