BCCI gets four bids for cricket rights in India

The BCCI has received at least four bids for the broadcast, internet and mobile rights to cricket in India for the period July 2012 - March 2018, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The companies believed to have submitted bids are ESPN Star Sports* (ESS), Multi-Screen Media (Sony), Bennett Coleman, which owns the Times of India, and a consortium involving TV-18 and Reliance.

The bids are being closely watched as they will provide an indication of how valuable the market considers the rights given the board's cancellation of its previous contract with Nimbus Communications over payment problems coupled with the recent poor performances of the Indian team. The bidding period closed on March 26 and the bids are due to be opened on April 2.

Multi-Screen Media has plans to launch a sports channel (likely to be called Six according to Business Standard) and the rights to Indian cricket would give the company a second marquee property after the IPL. MSM also has the rights to FA Cup football and the NBA. ESS, the market leader among sports broadcasters in India, owns the rights to ICC events, as well as the domestic rights for Australia and England. Landing the India rights would give them a virtual stranglehold on premium cricket properties.

According to market sources, Bennett Coleman are likely to bid for the internet and mobile rights rather than the television rights. The company currently owns the internet rights for the IPL in conjunction with Nimbus.

The board was forced to issue a new tender after it terminated its contract with Nimbus in December 2011, claiming the latter had defaulted on its payments. The matter has subsequently been referred for arbitration, with the Bombay High Court ruling that Nimbus must deposit Rs 305 crores (approx US$60 million) with the court as security for the amount the BCCI claims it is owed by the company. Nimbus has also made a counter-claim of Rs 600 crores (approx US$118 million) from the board.

The BCCI's marketing committee set the price for category A games at Rs 31.25 crores per match (approx $6.1 million) plus Rs 1 crore (approx $0.2 million) while category B games were set at Rs 34 crores (approx $6.67 million) plus Rs 1 crore. However, committee chairman Farooq Abdullah did not specify which of the game's three formats fall under each category, nor why a separate rate of Rs 1 crore was mentioned, though one possibility is that the latter is the base price for the digital rights. The contract with Nimbus had a base price of Rs 31.25 crores (approx $6.1 million) per game for each of the three formats purely for the broadcast rights.

The board did attempt to sell the internet rights separately last year, but the tender found no takers at the initial base price of Rs 3 crores (approx $0.6 million) or its subsequently reduced price of Rs 2 crores (approx $0.4 million). 

Former BCCI boss NKP Salve dies at 90

Ex-BCCI president and former Union Minister NKP Salve passed away early Sunday morning at a private hospital here due to age-related problems, family sources said. He was 90.

He is survived by son Harish Salve, an eminent advocate, and daughter Arundhati. His wife had predeceased him some time back. He was admitted to the hospital a few days ago, the sources said.

Born in Chhinwada in Madhya Pradesh, Salve was associated with cricket administration for several years. The Challenger Trophy, an annual one-day tournament organised by the BCCI, was named after him. He had also been a minister at the centre.

The body will be taken to Nagpur Sunday night, and his burial will take place Monday morning, sources further said.

India may slip to fourth position in ICC Test rankings

DUBAI: Whitewashed in two consecutive Test series, India are all set to lose a spot and slip to number fourth position in the ICC Test Championship table.

With Australia eyeing a series win against the West Indies during the three Tests, starting in Bridgetown on April 7, India's current position is under threat.

While a series win will put Australia ahead of India in third position, a 3-0 series win will put Australia on equal points with England on 113 ratings points (if England lose 2-0 to Sri Lanka).

And when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, then Australia will be placed above England in second position as it will have a rating of 113.10 against England's rating of 113.045.

England, meanwhile, find themselves in a must-win situation in the Colombo Test if they have to retain the number one position.

England's victory will keep them ahead of South Africa by a fraction of a point but their failure to win the Test will make South Africa as the new ranked side.

If England lose the series 2-0, they will drop from 118 ratings points to 113 ratings points - three points behind South Africa - while a 1-0 defeat will mean they will slip to 114 ratings points.

Meanwhile, South Africa's AB de Villiers has reached the numero uno batting position for the first time in his career where he has been joined by Australia captain Michael Clarke in the rankings.

In ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, South African Vernon Philander is continuing his climb up the chart. The fast bowler had figures of four for 70 and six for 44 in Hamilton and six for 81 and none for 29 in Wellington.

Philander has gained 148 ratings points, which has not only given him a career-best rating of 764 but also led to a jump of 11 places that puts him in a career-best fifth position.

In Test all-rounders' list, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is in the No. 1 spot.

India's long journey for one-off T20 clash

India captain MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher during a press conference at ACSA Media Centre in Johannesburg. …






     Johannesburg, March 29: India and South Africa meet in a one-off Twenty20 international at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday with India coach Duncan Fletcher insisting the long round trip will be worthwhile.

India arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday with a near full strength T20 squad, with batsman Virender Sehwag and pace bowler Zaheer Khan the only key players being rested.

Superstar Sachin Tendulkar, reportedly receiving medical treatment in London, is not a regular T20 international player.

South Africa, by contrast, have picked only eight of the squad which won a T20 series in New Zealand last month, resting all their Test players with the exception of Jacques Kallis, who will be the recipient of a special tribute at the match.

The South African Test squad arrived back just over 48 hours ahead of the Wanderers game.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) will contribute to the Jacques Kallis Foundation, which provides scholarships for talented cricketers from under-privileged areas to attend leading cricket schools.

Kallis said he would, in turn, assist the Yuvraj Singh Foundation. India player Singh is being treated for cancer. Kallis' father died of cancer in 2003.

The South African squad includes three uncapped players and will be captained by off-spinner Johan Botha in the absence of the regular captain AB de Villiers and vice-captain Hashim Amla, who both played in the Test series in New Zealand.

India, though, will be led as usual by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Fletcher said the Indian team contained a significant number of young players.

"We've been trying to develop a young one-day squad and Twenty20 squad," he said. "These blokes have played well on the subcontinent and any game they play out of it must be very good from an experience point of view."

The announcement of the match was made as recently as March 5. It was one of the last acts of Gerald Majola before he was suspended as CSA chief executive following a judicial report on undeclared bonuses paid to him.

The game comes at the end of a long international season for both teams and only five days before the start of the Indian Premier League, which will feature most of the players involved this Friday.

top 100 test batsman

ID	Rat.	Name	Nat.	Career Best Rating
1	850	K.C. Sangakkara		938 v England, 01/12/2007
2	821	M.J. Clarke		855 v England, 09/08/2009
2	821	A.B. de Villiers		821 v New Zealand, 23/03/2012
4	819	J.H. Kallis		935 v New Zealand, 18/11/2007
5	797	Younus Khan		880 v Sri Lanka, 21/02/2009
6	784	A.N. Cook		836 v India, 10/08/2011
7	775	T.T. Samaraweera		775 v South Africa, 03/01/2012
8	766	S. Chanderpaul		901 v New Zealand, 19/12/2008
9	763	H.M. Amla		842 v India, 14/02/2010
10	761	R.L. Taylor		775 v Pakistan, 03/12/2009
11	753	G.C. Smith		843 v England, 14/01/2010
12	749	S.R. Tendulkar		898 v Zimbabwe, 21/02/2002
12	749	Azhar Ali		749 v England, 03/02/2012
14	741	Misbah-ul-Haq		771 v England, 25/01/2012
15	740	I.J.L. Trott		856 v Sri Lanka, 26/05/2011
16	735	R.T. Ponting		942 v England, 01/12/2006
17	728	M.E.K. Hussey		921 v West Indies, 23/05/2008
18	723	I.R. Bell		822 v India, 18/08/2011
19	708	R. Dravid		892 v Pakistan, 16/03/2005
20	696	K.P. Pietersen		909 v West Indies, 28/05/2007
21	683	D.M. Bravo		683 v India, 22/11/2011
22	676	M.J. Prior		693 v Pakistan, 17/01/2012
23	662	V.V.S. Laxman		781 v West Indies, 06/07/2011
24	651	B.B. McCullum		673 v Pakistan, 07/01/2011
25	644	V. Sehwag		866 v Sri Lanka, 18/07/2010
26	622	Tamim Iqbal		707 v England, 04/06/2010
27	620	D.P.M.D. Jayawardena		883 v India, 16/11/2009
28	608	A.J. Strauss		769 v South Africa, 13/01/2005
29	598	S.R. Watson		729 v England, 16/12/2010
30	596	Shakib Al Hasan		596 v Pakistan, 17/12/2011
31	582	T.M. Dilshan		700 v India, 16/11/2009
32	575	Mohammad Hafeez		591 v England, 17/01/2012
33	574	G. Gambhir		886 v Sri Lanka, 24/11/2009
34	571	D.L. Vettori		672 v Pakistan, 11/12/2009
34	571	K.S. Williamson		571 v South Africa, 23/03/2012
36	555	A.D. Mathews		582 v Pakistan, 26/10/2011
37	545	A.G. Prince		756 v Pakistan, 11/01/2007
38	544	D.A. Warner		568 v India, 13/01/2012
39	543	Umar Akmal		647 v Australia, 03/01/2010
40	532	Mushfiqur Rahim		584 v England, 12/03/2010
41	530	B.J. Haddin		637 v West Indies, 16/12/2009
42	529	Taufeeq Umar		703 v South Africa, 24/10/2003
43	526	M.S. Dhoni		662 v South Africa, 14/02/2010
44	524	Asad Shafiq		524 v England, 03/02/2012
45	523	K.A. Edwards		523 v India, 22/11/2011
46	521	A.N. Petersen		521 v New Zealand, 23/03/2012
47	510	R.R. Sarwan		767 v England, 26/02/2009
48	509	N.T. Paranavithana		547 v Pakistan, 03/11/2011
49	501	M.J. Guptill		515 v Zimbabwe, 01/11/2011
50	486	S.C.J. Broad		505 v India, 29/07/2011
51	482	J.D. Ryder		607 v India, 26/03/2009
52	480	M.V. Boucher		566 v West Indies, 10/06/2010
53	472	V. Kohli		472 v Australia, 24/01/2012
54	471	H.A.P.W. Jayawardena		504 v England, 16/06/2011
55	464	P.J. Hughes		599 v England, 16/07/2009
56	427	Shahriar Nafees		479 v South Africa, 29/02/2008
57	423	D.G. Brownlie		460 v Australia, 09/12/2011
57	423	B.P. Nash		528 v South Africa, 18/06/2010
59	414	E.J.G. Morgan		477 v Pakistan, 29/07/2010
60	399	M.N. Samuels		488 v South Africa, 10/01/2008
61	394	J.P. Duminy		466 v Australia, 06/03/2009
62	391	L.D. Chandimal		435 v South Africa, 26/12/2011
63	388	J.A. Rudolph		564 v England, 26/12/2004
64	386	B.R.M. Taylor		445 v New Zealand, 01/11/2011
65	383	Yuvraj Singh		506 v Pakistan, 29/01/2006
66	372	Mahmudullah		445 v New Zealand, 15/02/2010
67	371	T.T. Bresnan		382 v India, 10/08/2011
67	371	E.J.M. Cowan		420 v India, 13/01/2012
69	368	A. Barath		434 v Australia, 26/11/2009
70	351	S. Raina		482 v England, 21/07/2011
71	350	G.P. Swann		418 v South Africa, 14/01/2010
72	346	Mohammad Ashraful		491 v Sri Lanka, 03/07/2007
73	342	T.G McIntosh		422 v India, 12/11/2010
74	340	S.P.D. Smith		380 v England, 03/01/2011
75	336	D.R. Flynn		432 v India, 18/03/2009
76	335	V. Sibanda		338 v New Zealand, 01/11/2011
77	334	U.T. Khawaja		360 v New Zealand, 01/12/2011
78	331	C.F.K. van Wyk		331 v South Africa, 23/03/2012
79	330	R. Ashwin		342 v Australia, 03/01/2012
79	330	M.J. Vijay		449 v Australia, 09/10/2010
81	321	Harbhajan Singh		364 v West Indies, 20/06/2011
82	319	T.M.K. Mawoyo		396 v Pakistan, 01/09/2011
83	318	D.S. Smith		407 v Australia, 03/11/2005
83	318	M.G. Johnson		477 v England, 16/07/2009
85	316	Nasir Hossain		316 v Pakistan, 17/12/2011
86	313	B.J. Watling		323 v Zimbabwe, 26/01/2012
87	311	Adnan Akmal		362 v England, 17/01/2012
88	304	T. Taibu		557 v India, 13/09/2005
89	297	R.S. Bopara		444 v West Indies, 14/05/2009
90	289	K.C. Brathwaite		289 v India, 22/11/2011
91	284	P.M. Siddle		294 v India, 13/01/2012
91	284	A. Mishra		305 v England, 18/08/2011
91	284	D.J.G. Sammy		295 v India, 14/11/2011
94	271	T.G. Southee		289 v Zimbabwe, 26/01/2012
95	269	Nazimuddin		408 v Pakistan, 09/12/2011
96	267	R. Chakabva		267 v New Zealand, 26/01/2012
97	266	H.D.R.L. Thirimanne		266 v South Africa, 03/01/2012
98	262	Naeem Islam		267 v West Indies, 29/10/2011
99	258	H.M.R.K.B. Herath		279 v South Africa, 26/12/2011
100	257	Imrul Kayes		273 v England, 04/06/2010