Indiafile

Simmo peeved
NEW DELHI: Bob Simpson, the former consultant of the Indian cricket team has criticised Indian oficials and ex-players for not supporting the squad during the World Cup.

The criticism of Mohammed Azharuddin8217;s captaincy during the World Cup was unfair, he told Doordarshan.

8220;I think it was disappointing that people in the press were after him, some of them being ex-Indian players. I think Azhar did a good job considering he had a difficult assignment,8221; he said.

He also felt that the decision to replace Andrew Kokinos as the physicaltrainer of the Indian team was disappointing as he was doing a good job.

Lele denies apology
MUMBAI: BCCI secretary Jayawant Lele denied having apologised to the Indian team in Australia for the critical remarks attributed to him in an interview published on a website even as Board chief A C Muthiah glossed over the issue.

Reacting to a report in a local eveninger, Lele denied he had talked to either skipper Sachin Tendulkar or coach Kapil Dev.

8220;It8217;s all a fabrication,8221; he said, reacting to the report which quoted Board sources as saying that Lele8217;s reported remarks during an interview to Rediff. According to the eveninger, the players wanted Lele to apologise for his reported remarks in the interview to the website, which he has denied having given.

Kanitkar departure
MUMBAI: Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who was inducted into the Indian squad for the tour of Australia, will leave from Mumbai Saturday morning. Kanitkar, who was in West Indies captaining the Indian A team, will return toMumbai Friday night.

Sitanshu Kotak, who was a standby replacement for Kanitkar, left for West Indies two days back from New Delhi.

India in Group B
MUMBAI: India have been clubbed in Group B with New Zealand, Holland and Bangladesh in the 16-team under-19 World Cup cricket tournament to be held in Sri Lanka from January 11-28.

The 16 teams have been divided into four groups and the top two from each cluster would advance to the Super League phase.

Group A: England, Zimbabwe, West Indies, Americas. Group B: New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Holland. Group C: South Africa, Pakistan, Kenya, Nepal. Group D: Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Namibia.

Azhar surprise
CHATHAMANGALAM KERALA: Mohammed Azharuddin had a tough time satisfying his fans at Malappuram District where the Ranji Trophy match between Kerala and Hyderabad is going on.

Police resorted to lathi charge to control the over-enthusiastic crowd after Azharuddin scored his half-century.

Crown for Raj
CHENNAI:India8217;s Bharat Raj dethroned Essam Abdul Alal of Bahrain 6-2, 5-7 6-4 to win the singles title in the Coca Cola Indian Club Open tennis championship at Bahrain.

ITF women8217;s circuit
MUMBAI: Delhi would play host to the 25,000 ITF Tennis Circuit for women from December 13 while Lucknow and Chandigarh would conduct the next two legs of the Circuit, each offering 10,000.