Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

Harbhajan Singh is suspended by BCCI pending his explanation for slapping his Indian teammate S Sreesanth at the end of an IPL match at Mohali on Friday night and appears headed for a severe punishment which can be a minimum of a ban for five Test matches or 10 one-day internationals.

Harbhajan was earlier slapped with a show-cause notice by the BCCI which gave him time till Monday to explain his conduct but bowing to media and public outrage, he was temporarily suspended till the disciplinary hearing before Farokh Engineer, who was the Match Referee in the tie between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians.

The suspension means Harbhajan Singh, who is the stand-in captain for the Mumbai Indians, will not be able to play for the team against Deccan Chargers tomorrow in Mumbai.

Announcing the suspension, IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said that based on prima facie video evidence as seen and reviewed by the match adjudicator and referee Farokh Engineer from the tapes provided by Sony & TWI, a decision has been reached to suspend with immediate effect Harbhajan Singh of the Mumbai Indians pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, April 28, 2008.

“The inquiry into the incident at Mohali in the game between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians will now take place at the Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi on April 28th 2008. A final verdict would be announced by the adjudicator Farokh Engineer post hearing at New Delhi”, he said in a statement.

As per the ICC Code of Conduct, slapping a fellow player constitutes a level 4 offence and could lead to a life ban or a minimum ban of five Tests to 10 ODIs.

BCCI President Sharad Pawar said that he had told the IPL Chairman if there was prima facie evidence of wrong-doing on the part of any player, the IPL should take immediate action against the player.

Simaltaneously, he said, the IPL should give opportunity to both the players by hearing them and then take a final view. The IPL Committee will take a separate decision on Monday, he added.

The immediate provocation for Harbhajan’s action last night appears to be Sreesanth saying “hard luck” to the off spinner who was in a bad mood following the Mumbai team’s third successive loss.

Though Harbhajan, who had only recently escaped unscathed from a searing racial abuse row with Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, and his victim Sreesanth who cried bitterly on the field last night, tried to downplay the incident, the BCCI sought his explanation by Monday.

The IPL also asked the Match Referee and Adjudicator Engineer to hold an inquiry in Delhi on Monday when Singh would appear before him.

As the cricket world reacted with shock and condemned his behaviour, the Mumbai Indians brazenly announced late evening that Singh would captain tomorrow’s match against Deccan Chargers in Mumbai in the absence of an unfit Sachin Tendulkar.

But shortly later, Modi’s announcement came as a setback to the team which has already lost all the three matches in the tournament so far.

Tags: bad, banned, BCCI, behaviour, bhajji, Harbhajan Singh, Mumbai Indians, Sharad Power, Sreesanth

IPL is planning a grand opening on Friday the 18th when the Knight Riders meet the Royal Challengers at Bangalore. With Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid facing each other as rivals for the first time - it will indeed be a spectacular scene.

The opening ceremony will kick off at starting 18.30, when all the captains will come together at mid-pitch to jointly read out a pledge reaffirming the IPL’s faith in the spirit of cricket. There will be speeches by Ray Mali, the ICC president, Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, and IPL Chairman Lalit Modi.

The opening ceremony will consist of fireworks, stilt walkers, aerial gymnasts, performers in a bubble suspended over the ground and of course with a major Bollywood presence with Shah Rukh Khan the owner of Kolkata team - Knight Riders and some of his friends, Preity Zinta, co-owner of the IPL Mohali franchise - Kings XI Punjab. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy the music directors from Bollywood will perform throughout the ceremony even as the other performers go through their acts. And your guess is right - the key role behind sich an extravagant opening is played by none other than the Liquor Baron Vijaya Mallaya.

The most dramatic moment comes after the end of ceremony when all the floodlights are switched off at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and the two skippers walk out for the toss just under spotlights.This is really something unique and will add sufficient drama and excitement just before the match - a kind of Roman arena where gladiators use to sweat out in a fight till the end atmosphere.

After the toss, a couple of players from the fielding side will talk directly with the TV commentators during the match. However we have seen this before and is good value for the Tv Audience.

Bangalore is also waiting anxiously for the 12 cheerleaders from the Washington Redksins, the ‘First Ladies of American Football’.

So what we will find here is a mix of glamor and cricket and personalities which is planned to be presented with professional touch adding new colors to the serious game of cricket and maybe reflecting the true image of IPL. One thing for sure is that the audience will never feel bored in this kind of an event as also the match itself will have enough firepower within it.

We can only hope that this event will not be marred by faceless politicians crowding the stage to grab some limelight again. All the best to the two teams Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers and also for the millions of cricket fan waiting breathlessly for the IPL League to start.

Tags: , cheerleaders, Fireqorks, ICC, IPL - Bangalore Royal Challengers, IPL Kolkata - Knight Riders, IPL Openming ceremony, Lalit Modi, Preity ZInta, Rahul Dravid, ray Mali, Shankar Ehsan Loy, Sharad Power, Sourav Ganguly, spotlight, SRK, toss, UB Group