Mumbai Police has filed the chargesheet in connection with the IPL betting scandal.

 Mumbai Police has filed the chargesheet in connection with the Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scandal case naming, among others, Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, Bollywood actor Vindoo Singh and Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf in the case.

Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, and Vindoo are among the 22 arrested accused who were charged under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, Sections 4 and 5 of the Gambling Act and Sections 465, 466, 468, 471, 490, 420, 212, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. All the accused are out on bail and at least seven more persons are wanted in the case.

Umpire Asad Rauf is named in the IPL chargesheet as wanted accused. The 11,500-page charge sheet also names 15 bookies from Pakistan as wanted accused.

The next hearing in the case is set to be on 21 November.

Charges of cheating, gambling, forgery and conspiracy have been levelled against Gurunath Meiyappan. It is also being reported that Meiyappan was involved in betting but had no direct connection in spot fixing. Further charges under Section 130 of Mumbai Police Act have also been levelled against him.

As per reports no BCCI officials have been mentioned in the list of witnesses in the chargesheet.


According to police, a cricket betting gang was busted with the arrest of bookies Ramesh Vyas, Ashok Vyas and Pandurang Kadam from the city in May.

Vindoo was also found to be in touch with Meiyappan, who, armed with privileged information as the CSK team principal, allegedly placed "huge bets" on IPL matches, including those involving the Chennai franchise. He is said to have lost Rs 1 crore through betting. On May 24, Meiyappan, too, was arrested after he confessed to having placed bets, police said.

Usain Bolt 'would run 200m only' at Glasgow Commonwealth Games and other news.

Usain Bolt says he would probably only run the 200m if he decides to compete at next year's Commonwealth Games.

The six-time Olympic champion hopes to participate in Glasgow, but will discuss it with his coach Glen Mills.

Bolt's stance on drugs

"Supplements? No. I take vitamins only. We have remedies in Jamaica - lime and honey. That's all we take. Never [have I been offered drugs].
"As soon as there's a drugs scandal, the next day or two the testers are always there to check me. I have no problem, I tell [my whereabouts] them all the time. People say: 'Probably you don't get tested enough'. If they need to test me every day I have no problem with that.
"I'm still amazed [people try and cheat] because over the years they've caught pretty much everybody. I don't know if anybody has slipped under the radar but they're doing a good job."

"It's on my to-do list," Bolt, 27, told BBC Radio 5 live. "I really want to do it but I never go against my coach."

He said the 100m and 200m double would "probably would be unlikely", adding: "I probably would run the 200m if I go because it's my favourite event."

The Jamaican has never won a Commonwealth medal but added: "We are going to discuss it, we are not fully sure if I will go but throughout the season we will decide if that will be a good thing to do."

Bolt came to prominence with victory in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and did the same in London four years later.

He now aims to complete the 'treble treble' by winning all three disciplines at the 2016 Games in Rio to cement his legend status.

"That would be outstanding for me," said Bolt. "I've done so much so far and to go and to defend my titles once more would just set me apart from a lot of athletes.

"I want my name in stone with many other athletes - [boxer] Mohammed Ali, [runner] Michael Johnson, [basketball player] Michael Jordan - all these greats in their different sports.

Bolt says he would need to train if he were to face Britain's Mo Farah in a 600m challenge race

"I want to be among these guys when I retire, so that when people talk about sport I'm always in the mix."

Bolt is considering putting plans to end his career after the next Olympics on hold to run at the 2017 World Championships in London.

"I wanted to retire after Rio," he said. "But my fans are really saying: 'No, go one more year, do it one more time'. Then my sponsors came on board, so I might go one more year.

"I said it to my coach and he said it's possible, it can be done. We'll see."

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Mark Pougatch, Bolt also:

• suggested breaking his 100m and 200m world records next season is a "possibility".
• ruled out competing in the 400m or long jump - "I really wanted to try, but my coach said no, I'm too tall, it will lead to knee problems."
• supported Pakistan at cricket rather than the West Indies as a boy - "Waqar Younis was always my favourite bowler ever."
• revealed his favourite Manchester United players are Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra - "Evra always gives his all."
• explained why he is wary of dating English women - "All of a sudden I'm in the paper. Now I stay away from English ladies."

Looking to life after athletics, Bolt insists he has no interest in coaching or going into politics but would welcome the chance to become a father.

Bolt on his love life

"I'm dating right now. I like a certain lady, it's just taking my time, no rush. I just want to make sure it's right. You don't want to say yes and then it goes wrong then you have to start from scratch, so I'm waiting to see."

"Hopefully I'll have a family, so I'll be running behind my kids and just enjoying life - taking care of them, teaching them the lessons I've learned throughout life," he said.

"I'll definitely do a lot of charity. Not coaching, not politics. I've stressed my coach out, I've seen other athletes stress my coach out. Definitely not politics - I stay as far as possible away from politics.

"It's not going to bother me when I retire, I'll be fine with that. I just want to be remembered as one of the greats and I'll be fine."

Bolt may continue competing until the 2017 world championships.

Usain Bolt, the world`s fastest man, may continue competing until the 2017 world championships in London, the Jamaican told the BBC on Thursday.

The six-times Olympic champion had previously always said he planned to quit after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

"I wanted to retire after Rio but my fans are saying do it one more time and then my sponsors came on board. I might go one more year. My coach says it can be done," the eight-times world championship gold medallist said.

Bolt, 27, said it was still possible he could lower his world records from 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres and 19.19 in the 200, both times set four years ago.

"There`s a possibility," he said. "For me last season I said I wanted to but I started slowly and I got injured, the older you get the harder it is to come back from injury."

Bolt also said he would like to run in next year`s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

"It`s on my to-do list but I never try to go against my coach," he said.

"We`re going to discuss it, we`re not fully sure. It`s unlikely I`ll run both, I`ll probably be running the 200 metres if I go." 

200th Test could be Sachin Tendulkar’s last match.

 

If reports are to be believed then Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test against West Indies at home could well prove to be his last.

Various media reports have suggested that Tendulkar’s 200th Test against West Indies at home could his final game for Team India after his meeting with BCCI’s chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil.

Patil met Tendulkar few days back to discuss his future giving him indications that his selection for the future series and tours will be dependent upon his form and not past reputation.

The duo also discussed plans regarding Team India’s future and how the board wants to give more chances to promising youngsters in the team.

Meanwhile, Patil has dismissed reports of him giving indication to Sachin Tendulkar regarding his future with the Indian cricket team.

Of late, Tendulkar hasn’t been in the best of touch. His last Test century came way back in January 2011 against South Africa in Cape Town. Between then and now, his highest score has been 94 that he scored against West Indies at Mumbai in November 2011.

Ravindra Jadeja continues top the bowlers` list, Virat Kohli the highest-ranked at fourth in ICC ODI rankings.

Ravindra Jadeja continued to jointly top the bowlers` list, while Virat Kohli was the highest-ranked Indian batsman at fourth in the latest ICC ODI rankings issued on Tuesday.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was unchanged at seventh in the batsmen`s list followed by Suresh Raina at a distant joint 16th.

In the bowling chart, R Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar held on to their 18th and joint 20th position respectively. Jointly heading the list with West Indian Sunil Narine, Jadeja, however, slipped a rung to fourth in the all-rounder`s list.

Elsewhere, Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson is back in the top-10 of the Rankings for ODI Bowlers after he jumped six places to eighth in the latest update.

The latest rankings were released after Australia beat England by 49 runs in the fifth and final ODI at the Rose Bowl, Southampton, on Monday night to claim the series 2-1.

Johnson picked up five wickets in the series against England and returned to the top 10 for the first time since October 2011, when he was ranked fourth.

Outside the top 20, Boyd Rankin in 25th (up by 21), George Dockrell in 34th (up by five), Majid Haq in 56th (up by six), Kevin O`Brien in 63rd (up by three) and Ravi Bopara in 66th (up by nine) are the other bowlers to move in the right direction.

Shane Watson, player of the match for his knock of 143 in the fifth and final ODI, ended the series with a run tally of 187 and is now back in the top 10 of the batting table after moving up one place to 10th. Watson was last ranked in the top ten in June this year, in ninth position.

Watson`s effort with the bat and his three wickets in the series also helped him move up two places to third in the Rankings for ODI All-rounders, still headed by Mohammad Hafeez, with Shakib Al Hasan in second place. 

His confession to Police in the spot-fixing saga was under duress says Sreesanth.

Banned fast bowler S Sreesanth claimed innocence in a letter to the BCCI`s disciplinary Committee and said his confession to Police in the spot-fixing saga was under duress.

"Under the threat of arrest of my close relatives a statement was forcibly taken in the manner directed by the police," said Sreesanth, who was banned for life after being found guilty of spot-fixing in the IPL in an internal inquiry conducted by the Board`s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Ravi Sawani.

"There is no confusion recorded by me willingly to the police. The police have mentally and physically harassed me and obtained signed statements. The conclusion arrived at by the Commissioner of Enquiry that I have committed offences ... is based on conjectures, guesses, inferences, and inadmissible police reports" Sreesanth said in the letter which was submitted to the Disciplinary Committee just before the hearing.

"The police have not intercepted any conversation between me and any others in support of the wild and fantastic charges levelled against me which has put me into manifest injustice and prejudice as I had no opportunity to refute them," said the 30-year-old pacer.

Sreesanth said it is too "distressing" for him because there is no concrete evidence against him.

"As regards seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe there is no trace of evidence pointing out to any such incident at all," the Kerela pacer said.

"As regards the charges I respectfully beg to submit that all of them as has been conceded in the report itself are based on media reports and not any concrete and reliable evidence", he said.

"To cut short a cricket life like that solely on the basis of unreliable media reports, suspicions, generalizations, statement by accused etc will be too distressing to bear for me," Sreesanth said.

There are allegations that Sreesanth had given away 14 runs during an IPL 6 match and he had signaled to the bookies by putting a towel in his trousers and stretching before the over.

However, Sreesanth refuted all these allegations, saying it was a normal practice to use a towel or warming up before an over.

"It is not uncommon to use a towel in afternoon matches particularly in a place like Mohali in the month of April-May. Enough photographs are there to show that in many of the earlier matches I played, white colour towel had been used by me," he wrote in his letter.

"What is alleged as warming up against me is not really warming up but a manner of play which I did in other plays also. Conceding of 14 runs, I may respectfully point out that there was no guarantee that the Captain will ask me to bowl in a particular over," he said. 

Arsene Wenger Right to Stake Arsenal Future on Kindred Spirit Mesut Ozil.

When a Premier League manager stakes his own future on the success (or otherwise) of a blockbuster new signing, it is invariably taken as something of an act of desperation.

Yet when Arsene Wenger suggested on Thursday that his continued Arsenalemployment might ultimately depend on how record signing Mesut Ozil improves performances and results on the pitch over the coming weeks and months, the reaction was more understated than might have been expected.

  

Wenger’s current deal, worth around £7.5 million per annum, no insignificant sum of money to be seemingly so nonchalant about, expires at the end of the current campaign.

But, having already spent nearly 17 years at the helm, Wenger evidently (and justifiably) feels so sufficiently part of the furniture that, unlike with certain players who slipped out of the club’s grasp in similar situations, such contract discussions can be left to nearer the time.

“We are in September, and my contract finishes in June,” Wenger told the press on Thursday, according to John Cross of the Daily Mirror. “There is a long way to go. There is no need to plan [talks at this stage].”

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Olivier Giroud may benefit from Mesut Ozil's vision.

The Frenchman knows better than most how quickly the tide can change in football but has similarly proven better than most at riding things out. It was only early 2013, after all, when he was facing perhaps the gravest pressure of his tenure—at that point, he was wanted out by a vocal subsection of Gunners fans after a shocking Capital One Cup loss to Bradford City.

A subsequent run of great form in the league—a surge that ultimately secured Champions League qualification on the last day—assuaged the doubters, but an undercurrent of dissent remains close to the surface, as evidenced by the rush to condemn after a surprise opening-day loss to Aston Villa.

Probed further on Thursday about extending his stay at the Emirates, Wenger seemed to acknowledge that improved performances would likely be required:

I have said many times that I want to do well with this club, and in the end I will sit down and think how well I have done with the team I have had.

That has to be sufficient for me to decide yes or no.

One of the main judgments you can have about a manager is how well he does with his team.

That is where Ozil comes into the equation. At £42.5 million, the Germany international’s arrival has been lauded as a turning point for the club in more than one regard—not only will he improve the team on the pitch, but his transfer fee also hails a new era of more eye-catching spending from the North London club.

“Of course it is [a statement of intent],” Wenger added. “We went through a period of restricted finances [after building the Emirates] when the aim was to stay in the Champions League.

“We are in a strong financial position now.”

More optimistic about the options available to him, Wenger seems happy to let the board—who, admittedly, have long seemed to be closely allied to their manager—judge him on his results over the remainder of the season.

Perhaps that is because, in addition to Ozil’s obvious qualities as a footballer, Wengersenses a kindred spirit.

Like Wenger, Ozil has had to face a wave of criticism in the media in recent times, becoming the victim of Real Madrid’s propaganda machine as the club’s president,Florentino Perez, has attempted to explain the popular playmaker’s sale back in Spain.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

In planted stories—done with a heavy-handedness we have never seen from the player in question on the pitch—Ozil’s private life was made the subject of rumour and innuendo.

The stories provoked a strong response from Ozil’s father, but during his official Arsenal unveiling, the player himself would only admit to a lack of “respect” from his former club.

Make no mistake, however: This is a player with a huge incentive to prove his former employees wrong.

“I did not get the respect and trust,” Ozil noted to the press (via Jeremy Wilson of The Telegraph), speaking through a translator. “It was a bit difficult. You can see by the reaction of the fans and the players [at Madrid] that they didn’t understand the move."

Wenger also may feel that "respect" and "trust" are two things he has not been afforded enough of in recent times, considering his overall track record with Arsenal.

He will not want to stay at Arsenal when a noticeable number of fans don’t want him but is banking on the next few months—with Ozil pulling the strings—to remind fans of just what his sides have been capable of.

Like other, lesser managers, then, Wenger is staking his job on the success of his big-money signing. Unlike those managers, however, the player in question has every incentive to deliver—and every quality required.

“When I spoke to Arsene on the phone, he was full of respect, and as a player I need that,” Ozil noted, according to Wilson.

“I cannot promise to win trophies, but I can promise that we will give our all to try to win trophies.

“Of course [the team are title contenders]. I know the team. I know what talent we have here, and I think every player wants to be successful.

"Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and we definitely want to achieve something with this team. Of course, it will be very difficult, because this is the strongest league in the world.

"It is very balanced, but we will give everything to have success.”