Indian news round-up

Cuttack pitch is satisfactory: BCCI inspectors - Barabati stadium, the venue of the one-dayer between India and Zimbabwe on December 2 is in a satisfactory condition. according to the two member committee of the BCCI G Kasturi Rangan and Dhiraj Parsanna. The stadium had been repaired after suffering damages in last year's cyclone.

The committe inspected the pitch and the outfield at the stadium and were impressed with the ground conditions and other facilities said Ashirbad Behera, Orissa Cricket Association secretary.

"The duo also expressed their satisfaction over the lush green ground and were unanimous on their praise for the fine job done by the groundsmen in shaping the playing arena," Behera told PTI.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is making an earnest attempt to make the inaugural Test against India, to be played at the Bangabandhu stadium in Dhaka from November 10 to 14, a grand success.

Press Trust of India (PTI) in a report on Sunday said that the BCB, which is planning to host a grand celebration on the eve of the Test, has allocated 2.12 crore takas. The general secretary of BCB, Ashraful Huq, said ``We have earmarked the budget for the inaugural Test,'' and added ``We are expecting to earn more than four crore taka from different sponsors.''

Huq said that inspite of the huge costs that are involved in holding such a grand occasion, the board is expected to earn a profit of more than 1.5 crore taka.

The Telegraph reported on Monday that the umpires attached to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) launched their academy at a simple function held at the YMCA in Chowringhee on November 5. Justice Mukul Gopal Mukherjee was the chief guest since the State Minister of Sports Subhas Chakraborty, failed to turn up.

Speaking to the newspaper, the president of the Umpires of the Cricket Association of Bengal (UCAB) Arya Kishore Chatterjee said ``We'll begin with the basic course, which will take eight weeks to complete,'' and added that only 40 seats were up for grabs which would be allotted on a first come first served basis.

Speaking on the occasion, Shekar Chowdhury said that the academy would go a long way in improving the standards of umpiring in the state. He added that an advanced course will also be made available in a effort to help the umpires to brush up their skills.

Delhi Under-19 team opener Gautam Gambhir has been named captain of the North Zone Under-19 team for the forthcoming inter-zonal CK Nayadu Trophy tournament. Apart from Gambir, three Haryana Ranji Trophy players Ajay Ratra, Ishan Ganda and Amit Mishra have been included in the 15-member squad.

The team: Gautam Gambhir (captain, Delhi), Ajay Ratra (vice captain, Haryana), Gagan Deep Tur, SP Singh, Gagan Inder Singh (all Punjab), TT Dilip, Yogesh Sachdeva, Rajiv Uniyal (all Delhi), Nitin Aggarwal, Amit Mishra, Joginder Sharma, Ishan Ganda, Manvinder Bisla (all Haryana), Paras Dogra (Himachal Pradesh) and Satyajit Singh (Jammu & Kashmir).

The schedule: December 31 to January 2: East Zone v Central Zone at Cuttack; January 4 to 6: Winner of above match v North Zone at Cuttack; January 4 to 6: West Zone v South Zone at Cuttack; January 8 to 10: Final: Winner of Match 2 v Winner of Match 3 at Cuttack.