BCCI to look into charges against Dhoni

Kolkata (IANS): Board of ConyThe Indian cricket board would look into the alleged conflict of interest issue concerning Indian captain MS Dhoni's stakes in a sports management firm after the ongoing Champions Trophy tournament, an official said here Thursday. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya promised there would be no cover up.

"As far as Dhoni is concerned, you have seen it in the papers, so have I. At this juncture, when we are in the midst of Champions Trophy, nothing we are going to earn by disturbing him. But at the same time, we are not going to cover it up. Please wait and see," Dalmiya told a media meet. Dhoni courted controversy recently following reports that he held 15 percent stake in Rhiti Sports Management, which manages cricketers Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Pragyan Ojha, besides the Indian skipper. The company claimed that Dhoni held the shares for a brief while, and those were transferred back to the company in April after the payments to the India captain were cleared. "As on date, MSD has no shares in Rhiti Sports Management. However, some shares were allotted to MSD on March 22, only to secure certain old outstandings that were due for more than a year," Arun Pandey, chairman and managing director of Rhiti Sports, has said in a statement. Meanwhile, Sanjay Patel has been appointed the new secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), its interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya announced Thursday. The post fell vacant after Sanjay Jagdale quit last Friday to protest cricket board chief N. Srinivasan's refusal to step down after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested for betting in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Srinivasan finally agreed to step aside at the BCCI working committee meeting Sunday during the pendency of the spot fixing probe for which the board has formed a commission.

Emergency BCCI meeting to discuss Raj Kundra issue Kolkata (IANS): An emergency working committee meeting of the Indian cricket board will be held June 10 to discuss the issue of Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra's allegedly involvement in betting in the Indian Premier League (IPL). "An emergency working committee of the board has been called in Delhi June 10 at 11 a.m.," Board of Control for Cricket in India interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said here Thursday. The committee will discuss the Raj Kundra issue. "We will hear all the details. And if it demands any strict action, we will look into it," Dalmiya said. The Delhi Police officials grilled Kundra for ten hours Wednesday, and later claimed he had admitted to betting in the IPL. The police seized his passport Thursday. "Kundra has admitted that he used to bet on his own team Rajasthan Royals and revealed that he lost money in betting at times," a Delhi Police official told IANS. Kundra, however, said he was just helping Delhi Police Crime Branch in the IPL spot fixing investigations. "Just for the media who spent a full day outside crime branch and didn't get a bite - My visit to crime branch was to help them in the case," Kundra had tweeted Wednesday night. According to Delhi Police, Kundra told the investigators that his business partner Umesh Goenka, who is an industrialist based in Ahmedabad, was also involved in betting for the last two years.