Shilpa to join R&B artist Akon at IPL finale

Johannesburg: Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty will join American R&B sensation Akon as he sings his Grammy award winning Smack That at the closing ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL)

at the Wanderers on Sunday night.

Organisers also said on Wednesday that Katrina Kaif will join a troupe of Indian and South African dancers led by award-winning choreographer Shiamak Davar to perform the Oscar-winning A R Rahman song Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire.

The two actors will be the only ones performing at the finale, ending widespread speculation here that a bevy of Bollywood beauties would feature at the closing ceremony.

Caribbean music legend Eddy Grant will perform the ever popular "Walking on Sunshine" and his anti-apartheid hit Gimme Hope Jo'anna, which became an anthem in the days when the white minority government of South Africa strictly regulated everything from music and song to social gatherings.

The five-week will end on a high note for Shilpa performance-wise, but this will be clouded by the fact that her Rajasthan Royals team have no hope of retaining their champion status from the inaugural series last year.

Other highlights on the night will include a perfectly synchronised piece featuring renowned percussionist Shivamani and a group of Indian and South African drummers.

Apart from the various musical acts, the crowd will also be introduced to the Miss Bollywood IPL South Africa finalists, culminating with the crowning of the winner of the beauty competition, who will get a guided tour through Bollywood as one of her prizes.

This apart, 1,500 flying lanterns will be lit and released while a thrilling pyrotechnics show using several thousand rounds of fireworks will light up the Johannesburg skyline as final awards signal the end of an unprecedented cricket event which was keenly taken up by locals, who also opened their hearts to the thousands of Indians who came to watch the series.

Nadal poised to claim French Open history

Paris, May 20: Rafael Nadal is poised to become the first man to claim five successive French Open titles and once again crush Roger Federer's fading, lifetime ambition of securing a career Grand Slam.

The 22-year-old world number one may have seen his latest, marathon claycourt winning streak halted at 33 by Federer in Madrid.

But the Swiss star's hopes of that victory - which came a day after Nadal spent over four hours beating Novak Djokovic in his semi-final - heralding a new dawn seem certain only to usher in another dark chapter at Roland Garros where he has lost the last three finals to his great Spanish rival.

Two years ago, Federer ended Nadal's 81-match streak on clay at Hamburg to instill fresh confidence of finally cracking the French code, but he was to be denied once they resumed hostilities in Paris.

On the evidence of the 2008 tournament here, where Federer won just four games in a brutally one-sided final, the 13-time Grand Slam title winner looks doomed.

Adding to the odds stacked against him is Nadal's record of having won all 28 matches he's played in the French capital. Furthermore, in 2008, the Spaniard swept the title without dropping a set.

But Federer refuses to concede defeat, believing that his win in Madrid, which was his 58th career title, but first of 2009, could represent another launchpad.

"He has never lost in Paris so obviously his confidence is very high, but I think we have seen that if you play Rafa the right way there are chances," said the 27-year-old world number two.

"I know his game inside out. It's not like he changes many things, he is just rock solid like when Leyton Hewitt was number one and all those other guys who were dominating from the baseline."

"He is the best mover on this surface. He is just an excellent competitor and that is what makes him so difficult to beat."

Ferrari lose court case against FIA

The French court has rejected Ferrari's legal bid to prevent the FIA from introducing the budget cap into Formula One.

The court claimed that Ferrari simply did not have any valid reason to block plans for the £40 million budget limitation.

The decision may well introduce an interesting week for the existing teams, as the court case already revealed that 8 teams are seriously looking into competing in F1 as soon as of next year.

As next week's entry deadline will go ahead as planned, the existing teams, including Ferrari have one week to sort their position on the budget cap after threatening to leave the sport if the currently proposed ruleset would not be changed.

It is also believed that the FIA was desperate to win the case and leave the entry deadline unchanged to leave the joining possibilities open for the new interested teams.

Team India returns home to Thundering Welcome

Airports in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore were buzzing on Wednesday night. And for good reason. India's victorious cricketers returned home to a thundering reception.

The players were tired but also ecstatic. And he celebration of their triumph in New Zealand is showing no signs of slowing down.

At every airport they touched down, MS Dhoni's men were greeted by huge crowds and eager media crews, waiting for a word from the first team to have won in New Zealand in 41 years.

"It's an achievement. Everyone is happy. The entire country has supported us. It was victory after 41 years," said Sachin Tendulkar after arriving in Mumbai.

For the veterans in particular this was an extra special moment. After years on the international circuit, they have finally started to return home with trophies

"It was a very good series. We played good cricket in both the one-dayers and the Test matches. It's nice to win; we hadn't won there (New Zealand) in a long time. So it's good from our point of view not just to win the series but to play the quality of cricket that we did." stated Rahul Dravid.

In fact, while these men were in the plane, news possibly filtered through that five of them (MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan) had been named in the Wisden Test eleven.

The endorsement by cricket's bible another acknowledgment of their growing stature as a cricket team.

"We are delighted by it," said Tendulkar.

So a few days at home and then to South Africa, but this time not as the Indian team!

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New Wii Sports arrives in June

Nintendo said that it will release a new version of its "Wii Sports" software in Japan in June to shore up flagging Wii console sales.

The "Wii Sports" game helped drive the outfit's console sales because it allowed users to play baseball, tennis and other sports using a motion-sensing controller.

Wii Sports Resort, which will hit overseas markets in July, lets users throw a frisbee to a virtual dog or duel one another with swords with the controller, which looks like a TV remote and enables gamers to direct on-screen play by swinging it like a racket or baseball bat.

Nintendo needs to do something to counter the surge in sales for the PS3 which outstripped the Wii for the first time in 16 months thanks to new PS3 titles from Sega Sammy and Capcom. Apparently demand for the Wii has dried up and the outfit does not want to lower its prices.

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Team India can beat anyone anywhere

Fresh from a rare Test series victory in New Zealand, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes India have what it takes to beat the best in the world on their home soil.

India's Test series win in New Zealand this week was their first in four decades. It was also their third successive Test series victory since beating top-ranked Australia in November.

"This team is capable of winning anywhere," Harbhajan said in an interview on Friday. "If we play to our potential, stick to the basics and focus on the job, we have the team that can beat anyone anywhere."

India defeated Australia and England in back-to-back series at home last year and are once again considered a true force in world cricket. India have yet to win a Test series in Australia, although they squared a close series 1-1 in 2004 and lost a controversial Test series 2-1, before winning a tri-series last year.

India won their first Test in South Africa in 2006 and emerged surprise winners of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup there two years ago. The 28-year-old bowler said winning matches overseas has made a big difference.

"The guys are confident, confident of performing in any conditions," said Harbhajan, the side's main spinner since Anil Kumble retired last year.

"I think this team can win anywhere -- South Africa, Australia -- we have got the ability to exploit any conditions." Harbhajan is his country's second most successful spinner and emerged the highest wicket-taker in New Zealand with 16 wickets.

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Coach Kirsten is the recipe for India's Success

Indian batting stalwart Sachin Tendulkar credits coach Gary Kirsten with helping the team become a force in world cricket again.

India won their first Test series on New Zealand soil in four decades this week, their third successive Test series victory since defeating top-ranked Australia in November.

"The secret to this success is the players are playing their natural game," Tendulkar told Mumbai tabloid Mid Day on Friday.

"That can only happen if the atmosphere is good and the mind is free of any kind of pressure.

"... it's the case of natural instincts taking over and that can be credited to Gary (Kirsten). The team environment is allowing players to play their natural game. That's probably the secret," Tendulkar added.

Tendulkar, the world's highest run-getter in Test and one-day cricket, was second behind Gautam Gambhir in the runs tally for the team in the Test series with 344 runs.

Former South African opener Kirsten took over from Greg Chappell last year and has helped the Indian team improve their performances, earning the respect of the players for his quiet approach following a turbulent period under the Australian.

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IPL 2.0 = Epic Disaster?

The second edition of Indian Premier League will be more competitive than the inaugural season, feels Kings XI coach Tom Moody.

Moody said there was no way anybody can pick one team above the other, and said that all the sides were evenly matched.

"All the teams in the competition are very strong," said Moody.

"I think it would be foolish of anyone to try and predict who the favourites or second favourites will be."

The former Australian international said the South African public would be in for a first-class experience when the Twenty20 tournament exploded into action April 18.

"The thing about the IPL - and we saw this in India last year - is that you see some outstanding cricket because you've got all the world's best players on stage in one tournament. So you're in for a treat," Moody was quoted as saying by The Herald.

Moody identified the Delhi Daredevils as one of the Kings XI's biggest threats. The teams meet in Cape Town April 19.

"Delhi Daredevils is always a tough game for us. We have got them first up and they boast a good international list but also have some very good Indian stars."

Moody said the franchise had been received well since arriving in at the start of the week.

"It's of great excitement for us to have the opportunity to practice at terrific facilities here in Port Elizabeth. The ground at St George's is certainly world class, the pitches have been world class and we are enjoying the experience.

"That's particularly so for our Indian players who need to get used to conditions here in South Africa."

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Crowe apologises for Lambasting Sehwag

Former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe has apologised for being too "harsh" and "impatient" while criticising Virender Sehwag's captaincy during the second Test in Napier which ended in a draw.

"I often have bad days and so I wish to apologise for being too harsh, too quickly," Crowe wrote in his column for a cricket website. "I should have waited and seen more of Sehwag as captain before casting an opinion."

Crowe had termed Sehwag as the "worst" captain and referred to his decisions as "unfocused thinking" during the second Test in Napier.

But his comments drew flak from former cricketers forcing the 46-year-old Kiwi to admit that he should have been more patient.

"Tony Greig has made it clear that he thinks I have been too harsh on Virender Sehwag's captaincy in the second Test in Napier," Crowe wrote.

"He rightly points out that Sehwag had a bad game, but who doesn't? He says, along with Ian Chappell, that Sehwag has done some good work as vice-captain in the past. I am not about to argue with these astute gentlemen.

"May I say though that I can't withdraw that comment that what I saw in Napier was the strangest and poorest display of tactics I've seen," Crowe said.

"But I should have been more patient in assessing his role as a leader overall, after all he was only given the captaincy minutes before the toss," he clarified.

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Its Official: Hamilton Cheated at the Aus GP

Current world champion Lewis Hamilton is walking on thin ice - he could very well be thrown out of the Formula One World Championship on grounds of cheating and fibbing.

FIA Stewards have found him guilty of misleading and lying to them during and after last Sunday's Australian Grands Prix. He has already been stripped off all the points from the race, but now he faces a one year ban if he's found violating the International Sporting Code.

In case you didn't already know, here's what happened in Melbourne on Sunday: the safety car came out after a late collision between Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber.

Trulli slid off the track and was passed by Hamilton but the Toyota driver, who has welcomed the decision, said he had little choice but to overtake the Briton again.

Now the new juice is that the radio transmissions between Hamilton and the pit wall reveal that he misled stewards.

Here is the the radio conversation between Hamilton and the Pit crew:

Hamilton: "The Toyota went off in a line at the second to last corner. I overtook him, is this okay?'

Team:"Understood, Lewis. We'll confirm and get back to you.

Hamilton: "He was off the track. He went wide.

Team: "Lewis, you need to allow the Toyota through. Allow the Toyota through now."

According to the FIA, Hamilton and McLaren have been accused of acting "in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards".

If found guilty, FIA will suspend Hamilton from further races in this year's Championship and also strip McLaren of constructors' points.

It is not the best of starts to McLaren's season, especially after the blues of the 'Spygate scandal' last year.

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'Sehwag is the Worst Captain Ever!'

Criticising stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag for his poor leadership, former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe said India`s performance in the on-going second Test in Napier is a far cry from their attempt at becoming the world`s number one team.

Crowe claimed regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni – he is out with a back injury -- was being sorely missed and pin pointed Sehwag`s leadership as one of the prime reasons for India`s desperate situation against the Kiwis in the second Test, which the visitors are trailing by 267 runs after following on.

"The Indian team effort was pretty sloppy. There was a resigned feel about what the Indian side were obviously thinking in terms of looking to draw this match and to retain that 1-0 advantage," said Crowe.

"But these are troubled signs for India. They have almost taken their eye off the ball. The Virender Sehwag shot was very irresponsible. Gautam Gambhir was lucky to survive a run-out, and the stroke that he played to get out. All this does not become of an experienced side that wants to be No. 1 in the world. Their fielding again was just slack. Nothing much changed and MS Dhoni was badly missed," Crowe wrote in his column.

He blasted Sehwag for his tactics and termed the Delhi dasher`s decisions as "unfocused thinking".

"Sending out a nightwatchman was always unnecessary and shows further muddled and unfocused thinking," Crowe said.

"I have never seen captaincy so bad as I saw with Virender Sehwag," he added.

The 46-year-old right-hander said Dhoni altogether has a different approach towards the game and pointed out that even senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid stood as silent spectators yesterday when the New Zealand batsmen were on a run rout.

"Clearly the loss of Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been a massive turnaround for them because their attitude has disappeared completely. For a side that wants to be the No. 1 team in the world, I was quite surprised at their whole approach, particularly after lunch on the opening day," he said.

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India Vs NZ LIVE! - Gambhir cracks Fifty

Gautam Gambhir hit his 11th half-century to take India to 102/1 following-on in their second innings on the fourth day of the second Test against New Zealand at McLean Park in Napier.

Gambhir reached the landmark through his eighth hit to the fence and has added 72 runs with Rahul Dravid for the second wicket. The third day's play started with Gambhir and Dravid resuming the Indian second innings at 47/1.

India have their backs to the wall with stand-in captain Virender Sehwag getting out to an irresponsible shot after New Zealand enforced the follow-on with a lead of 314 runs on Day 3.

Sehwag threw away his wicket in a highly irresponsible act to leave India at 30/1. New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori brought off-spinner Jeetan Patel in the act and Sehwag walked into the trap.

Sehwag had a wild heave at the first delivery, but edged it to fine leg for a boundary. Next delivery, Sehwag tried to slog sweep, missed the ball and was trapped plumb in front of the wicket. Sehwag hit 4 fours in his 22-run knock.

Earlier, India were made to follow-on after they were bundled out for 305 runs in their first innings. India lost wickets in quick succession after tea with Dinesh Karthik (6) becoming the first victim, caught at third slip by Jesse Ryder off Chris Martin.

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Sachin upset over IPL Fiasco

News emanating from the Indian camp, currently in the middle of a Test series in New Zealand, suggest that they are unhappy with the BCCI's decision to move the IPL out of India.

Sachin Tendulkar, who is the Mumbai Indians captain in the IPL, said: "it would be difficult to replicate the same feeling abroad. It is disappointing that the IPL has been moved out of India. We will certainly miss playing in front of our

supporters. It won't be the same."

"It's obviously going to be different because in India we used to have home and away matches," he said. "Right now looking at the itinerary whether it's going to be in South Africa or England, everything will be an away game for us."

Tendulkar, however, said there won't be shortage of Indian fans in either country because of the huge expat population.

"You don't know which is a home or an away game," he said. "It's always fantastic to have Indian fans away from country, we always appreciate it. Nowadays, virtually wherever we go we have a lot of Indian supporters cheering us, it is a big strength and support for us."

India colleague Yuvraj Singh, who is also the skipper of Kings XI Punjab, said although he was disheartened he would abide by the decision of the BCCI.

"It is sad that the IPL won't be held in India. But we have to go ahead with it as it is the decision of the Board," Yuvraj said

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IPL 2 shifted out of India

Millions of Indian fans heartbroken

Holding the state governments responsible for the decision to shift IPL overseas, BCCI president Shashank Manohar announced that IPL 2 will be held outside India.

The BCCI took the decision in an emergency meeting as the dates of the tournament were clashing with general elections and the government had expressed reservations on providing security for the tournament.

"Due to the attitude of the government that it cannot provide security for the tournament, we are forced to take a decision to move the IPL out of India. I apologise to the people of India for moving the tournament out," BCCI chief Shashank Manohar said.

"But we're are going ahead with the event so that they can at least watch the event on television," Mahohar added.

As per PTI reports, IPL Commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi said the number of matches, format and timing of the event will remain unchanged and the organisers would not tinker with the "integrity of the tournament".

"Dates and timings of the matches will remain the same. The Indian audiences can watch the matches at 4 pm and 8 pm IST as they did in the inaugural season," Modi said.

“A final decision on the IPL dates and venues will be announced on Monday”, he said.

"Revenue cannot be an issue, the 59-match tournament will remain as 59-match tournament. The issue is the integrity of the tournament. We want to ensure the quality which we deliver and it cannot be compromised. We have to deliver the world standard event," he said.

Manohar also expressed his displeasure at the state governments' attitude, saying Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra Government changed there stance at the last moment.

"The AP government revoked its earlier permission and Maharashtra Chief Minister wrote a letter that we can't host matches in that state until May 13. We had scheduled 18 matches for Maharashtra," he said.

Asked if franchise were also taken into the confidence before taking the decision, Manohar said "the franchise would want the tournament to go ahead".

Meanwhile, a BCCI press release, said it was not possible to hold the event on any other dated that the original schedule due to busy international calender.

"The BCCI is conscious of the general elections, which will be held between April 16 and May 13, 2009. The BCCI has had several discussions with the Ministry of Home Affairs on the scheduling of IPL matches.

"...It is pertinent to understand that within the present International calendar of events, there is no other window for IPL to be played during this year. Immediately after conclusion of the IPL, the teams will play in England on May 25 for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup commencing from June 2.

"After the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, the Indian team will play four ODIs in the West Indies after which, the team will tour Zimbabwe for a tri-series involving Zimbabwe and South Africa.

"In September, India would play Champions Trophy in South Africa, following which would be the Champions League. Between October 2009 and March 2010, there are three home series against Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa," it said.

The release also said the tournament provided a large revenue last year so, it would not hold a truncated event.

"The experience of the first IPL has shown that apart from providing employment at the various venues, IPL has also contributed close to Rs. 100.0 crores to the exchequer.

"The BCCI, therefore, is not in a position to either play a truncated IPL or to cancel the 2nd edition of the IPL... The BCCI is left with no other option but to conduct the Indian Premier League in another country,"

South Africa and England are the two countries being considered as the likely venues, according to TV reports.

Earlier, South Africa was considered as one of the alternate venue and according to various reports emerging out of South Africa, Wanderers, Centurion and Potchefstroom are likely venues for the mega event if South Africa takes over the tournament this year, Times Now reported.

Lords and Oval are likely to be venues of the matches if England hosts the tournament.

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Ganguly to be axed as Knight Riders Skipper

Chris Gayle a likey replacement

In a surprise announcement, Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday said they were "still discussing the issue of captaincy", hinting at uncertainty over star cricketer Sourav Ganguly continuing as the leader of the team in the second season.

KKR coach John Buchanan told reporters they were still discussing about the team skipper for the high-profile event, which has less than a month left for its start.

"We are deciding about it. We are still having discussion on the issue," Buchanan said in reply to a query as Kolkata franchise announced a 28-member squad for the second edition of the Twenty20 extravaganza.

The World Cup winning Australian coach, now in charge of KKR, said they have almost retained the same squad having few recruitments from the camp, after announcing the team.

"Over the next couple of weeks, I will again try to prune the squad... hopefully to bring it around the number of 22 depending on how the boys progress in the next few days," Buchanan said, adding their objective in the IPL second edition is to make the summit showdown.

"From our perspective, our target goal will certainly be to make it to the the final of the series...I think that's an expectation well within our reach. That's quite realistic... For that, we have to look into the differences last year and this year."

"In terms of international players, some of the major difference will be Chris Gayle who will be available throughout the season. Brendon McCullum, who played about four games, will also be available for the whole tournament," he said.

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Modi lambasts Central Govt for kicking out IPL

'This move will ruin India's reputation'

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Central government of failing to retain Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL) in the country and damaging India’s reputation.

“This decision of the government sitting in Delhi is a huge loss to the country. This will ruin India’s image before the world,” Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said.

He was speaking after the Indian cricket board announced on Sunday that the IPL would be moved abroad because state governments have expressed their inability to provide security to the tournament, which coincides with General Elections.

“The government’s decision means India is not a safe place for cricket and it cannot guarantee security. I want to ask the Central government if it can’t ensure the security of 11 cricketers then how can it protect 111 crore Indians,” he said.

Modi, a senior BJP leader, claimed his government had told IPL organisers that the state was capable of providing them security during elections.

The Chief Minister alleged the Central government’s inability to provide security to IPL proved its failure against terrorism. “We should not bow before terrorism. Today the world considers Pakistan to be an unsafe country. The Indian government has declared us as unsafe and a country like Pakistan,” he claimed.

BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, a cricket administrator, told reporters in Delhi that the decision to shift the second edition of the Twenty20 tournament would put India on par with countries like Pakistan that are deemed unsafe for international sporting events.

"The government must seriously reconsider ... and adopt a more responsible stand in national interests," said Jaitley, who is also president of the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA). "India is safe, that must be the stand of the government."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met in Mumbai on Sunday and decided to shift the second edition of IPL out of the country after authorities said they would not be able to provide security as the tournament clashes with the April-May general elections.

The BCCI took the decision after days of speculation about the tournament that was originally set to take place April 10 to May 23 before the Lok Sabha elections were announced in April-May.

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SRK backs IPL being thrown out of India

'Elections are bigger than Cricket'

Kolkata Knight Riders owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan said he could understand the security constraints in holding the event during elections.

"We have to respect the elections in the country. That is a bigger issue than our issue. By shifting the IPL abroad, we have tried to find a solution to the problem," Shah Rukh said after meeting IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi.

"Off course the local buzz wouldn't be as strong as it is here but I guess elections will take care of the buzz," he quipped.

Asked whether he would be there to watch all the matches featuring his team as was the case in the first edition, Shah Rukh said it would depend on how the schedule pans out.

"I will try to be there for as many matches as possible. Hopefully the schedule will help me," he said.

King XI Punjab's co-owner Preity Zinta echoed Khan's views and said general elections have to be given precedence.

"As Shah Rukh said, we have to take elections into consideration. We have no problem with that," she said.

Preity said the IPL teams will have no trouble finding a fan base even in a foreign country.

"That won't be a problem. We have lot many fans everywhere," she said.

"We are going to make arrangements centrally. The IPL Governing Council will manage every venue and do the logistics of the venue," added Modi.

IPL was moved out of country after state governments' refusal to provide security for the matches in the wake of general elections.

England or South Africa are the front runners to host the event and a decision on it would be taken on Monday.

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2009 F1 regulations - A Scientific Approach

Apart from the technical changes, the least visible for the fans will be the measures taken to reduce operating costs of a Formula One team.

Most involved parties have come to realise that spending more than a million Euro per day, year after year to run 2 cars was a little out of proportion.

As such, the World motor sport council met with FOTA on 12 December at Monaco and agreed upon the following measures:

* Testing has been severely reduced from 30,000 to 15,000 km/year. All this testing will have to happen between 1 January and 7 days before the first Grand Prix of the season, as in-season and post-season testing are now banned completely. It is already widely known that this measure will reduce the workforce for most teams. Williams for instance is said to be investigating who it deems most necessary in its team as it aims to cut away the testing crew as a whole, since the race team can now do the early season testing.

* Wind tunnel testing was limited to 40 hours/week. This used to be an unlimited parameter and resulting in several teams running its wind tunnel 24 hours, 7 days a week in 3 shifts of 8 working hours. Some teams did however protest against this idea as they had just invested in a secondary wind tunnel. Max Mosley meanwhile stated that these costs are in the past, cannot be undone and cannot be a reason to keep spending at the same rate.

* No wind tunnel exceeding 60% scale and 50 m/s or 180 km/h to be used after 1 January 2009.

* Factory closures for six weeks per year, to accord with local laws.

* Manpower to be reduced by means of a number of measures, including sharing information on tyres and fuel to eliminate the need for “spotters”.

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Kareena not interested in IPL

The foray of Bollywood actresses into IPL hasn’t prompted Kareena Kapoor to follow suit.

Preity Zinta , Shilpa Shetty and Juhi Chawla have a stake in their respective IPL teams, but Kareena isn’t itching to join the IPL bandwagon. Kareena makes no bones in admitting that she doesn’t have much business sense.

“I have no idea about business. I only know how to act. As for business, I will think about it five years later,” Bebo is quoted as saying.

Kareena is the new youth icon of India and has gone ahead to receive four awards in the last one month and the lady’s loving all the adulation.

“Who doesn’t like attention, recognition and awards?” she quips.

Kareena got environment award from Erin Brockovich, then two youth icon awards from Rotary International and Stardust, and was recently honoured by FICCI for her contribution to Indian cinema.

While Bebo’s career is going great guns, where does marriage plan to beau Saif Ali Khan stand on her priority list?

“Marriage can wait,” signs off the czarina of style.

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Pak's HuJI terrorists planned to kidnap Sachin, Sourav

Delhi Police on Tuesday told a court that three Pakistan-based militants have confessed that they conspired to kidnap cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly for securing the release of two jailed HuJI terrorists.

Referring to confessional statements of Tariq Mohammed and Ashfaq Ahmed, Public prosecutor Anita Hooda said the accused had come here to ensure release of Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HuJI) members Nasarullah Langrial and Abdul Rahim who were then lodged in Indian jails.

"Ashfaq, a native of Punjab province in Pakistan, had received arms training in Afghanistan along with Taliban militants for over ten days before sneaking into India through Dhaka in Bangladesh," the prosecutor, advancing the final arguments in the case, said.

Simultanesously, Tariq, hailing from Multan in Pakistan, had also got training in Afghanistan and came to India through Bangladesh, she said.

Their confessional statements were recorded on February 13, 2002 by a senior police officer after they were arrested at Nizamuddin railway station on January 31 same year, minutes before boarding an Agra-bound train.

Police had recovered one pistol and seven cartidges from their possession. Earlier, the prosecutor had referred to the confessional statement of Arshad Khan, also a Pakistan national.

The plot to abduct the cricketers did not succeed as the terrorists could not get the logistic support to execute their design in 2002, she said.

The advancing of the arguments remained inconclusive and would continue on March 25.

Besides three Pakistan-based terrorists, three Indians -- Mufti Israr, Ghulam Qadir Bhatt and Ghulam Mohd Darwere -- were also allegedly part of the conspiracy. All the militants, including key accused Jalaluddin, who was declared a proclaimed offender during the trial, had also planned to attack the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai and assassinate former President A P J Abdul Kalam during his Patna visit in 2002, she said.

They have been booked under various provisions of POTA, IPC and the Explosives Act which provide for maximum sentence of death penalty.

They are charged with hatching conspiracy to wage war against the state and keeping explosives.

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