IPL third season due to begin amid heavy security

The tournament has become very popular with cricket fans The third season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the 20-20 cricket tournament, is due to begin amid heavy security in the city of Mumbai. Eight teams are participating in the tournament which has been overshadowed by security concerns - IPL authorities have defended the arrangements. Hyderabad, which won the second season, will take on Calcutta in the first of 60 matches in the 43-day tournament. The world's top cricketers are taking part in the lucrative tournament. BBC Sports Alex Capstick in Mumbai (Bombay) says the brash and glitzy IPL has become a multi billion dollar industry and an established event in the cricket calendar in just two years. Bollywood owners The games are marked by entertainment on the field, including Bollywood music and cheerleaders for the teams. Some tickets cost up to 50,000 rupees ($1,100), and film screens show the games. The Calcutta team, owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, has won only nine of the out the 28 previous IPL matches, and begin as underdogs in Friday night's game. The Hyderabad team, which finished last in the opening season, emerged as the surprise winners in the second season, which was played in South Africa because of security concerns at home. There are eight English players in this season's IPL - Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan, who miss the first three weeks because of the Bangladesh tour, and Graham Napier, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Owais Shah, Michael Lumb and Ravi Bopara, who will be there for the duration. Security threats The third season of the tournament has been overshadowed by concerns over security and a controversy over the non-inclusion of Pakistani players in any of the eight teams. A news website had published a message reported to be from the 313 Brigade, an operational arm of al-Qaeda, that threatened the IPL, Commonwealth Games and Hockey World Cup, all of which are being held in India. This followed a threat against Australian players competing in the IPL from the right-wing Hindu group Shiv Sena. IPL authorities have said that everything was being done to make the tournament secure, although they conceded that "nobody in the world can safeguard the safety of the players in any tournament." IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has told BBC Sport the threat from Shiv Sena had been withdrawn and he defended security arrangements for the IPL.

Pakistan ban Mohammad Yousuf & Younus Khan indefinitely

Drastic action has been meted on four top Pakistan players Pakistan duo Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan have been banned indefinitely from representing their country. The Pakistan Cricket Board's inquiry into the tour of Australia found the pair had been involved in "infighting which... brought down the whole team". Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik each face one-year bans and big fines. Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal also face heavy fines while their conduct will be strictly monitored during a six-month probationary period. Recent captains Yousuf and Younus, the two most experienced batsmen in the sides, face the most serious sanctions. When one was captain he threw the other man out, when the other was captain he threw the other out when he would have been selected PCB chairman Ijaz Butt At 35 and 32 respectively they may now have played their last international cricket - though the PCB later stated their bans were not intended for life. "As and when the PCB deems appropriate, these players will be considered for selection for the national team," it said. PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told BBC World Service: "When one was captain he threw the other man out, when the other was captain he threw the other out when he would have been selected. There are many other instances that have happened." The PCB has implemented the recommendations of an inquiry committee formed to evaluate Pakistan's dismal performance against Australia during the winter, when they lost all nine internationals. Pakistan must now try to defend their ICC World Twenty20 crown in the Caribbean next month with severely depleted resources, particularly among the batsmen, before facing what could be a chastening tour of England. But the PCB was unrepentant, saying in a statement: "This will go a long way to arrest the continuing decline of Pakistan cricket and improve the state of cricket in Pakistan." The inquiry, which also covered the Afridi "ball-biting" incident in Perth, detailed its sanctions against the seven players in an e-mail issued from its Lahore offices. 606: DEBATE It's a great shame that we will never see Younus and Yousuf playing Test cricket again if the PCB are to be believed Liam It said it had passed judgement "after careful and detailed analysis of the events, the personal accounts of the team management and players and examination of record, videos and statistics". The unanimous recommendations of the committee were as follows: • Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan - keeping in view their infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team, their attitude has a trickledown effect which is a bad influence for the whole team should not be part of national team in any format. • For the shameful act of Shahid Afridi, which has brought the game and country into disrepute, he be fined Rs3m (£23,800). A warning be issued to him by the chairman of the PCB and he be put on probation for six months, during which his conduct be strictly monitored. • Kamran Akmal be fined Rs3m (£23,800). A warning be issued to him by the chairman of the PCB and he be put on probation for six months, during which his conduct be strictly monitored. • Umar Akmal be fined Rs2m (£15,900). A warning be issued to him by the chairman of the PCB and he be put on probation for six months, during which his conduct be strictly monitored. • Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik be fined Rs2m (£15,900). They should not be part of a national team in any format for a period of one year. A DAMAGING BLOW The four banned players are extremely important members of Pakistan's side Yousuf has 24 Test centuries to his name and, at 35, is one of the most feared batsmen in international cricket Younus, a 32-year-old right-hander, has a Test batting average in excess of 50 Rana Naved is a fast bowler of 32 with a fine record in ODIs and Twenty20 internationals Malik is the team's principal all-rounder, combining stylish batting with economical off-spin. He is 28 One PCB official later clarified the terms of the bans. Taffazul Rizvi, the board's legal advisor, told Cricinfo: "They will not be part of any Pakistan team in any format from here on... They can play domestic cricket or county cricket here and abroad." Younus stepped down from the captaincy twice last year, with reports of player unrest about his style of leadership liberally strewn across the media. Yousuf, the third-highest run scorer in Pakistan Test history, led a winless tour to Australia before falling out publicly with Twenty20 skipper Malik. The PCB has not expanded upon the cases of indiscipline that have led to the bans on Malik, 28, and Rana Naved, 32. However, the cases of the Akmal brothers and Shahid Afridi are more clear-cut. The Akmals were fined for their behaviour after the Sydney Test. Wicketkeeper Kamran, 28, insisted publicly he would be selected in the run-up to the third Test after being dropped from the side. Younger brother Umar, 19, was alleged to have feigned an injury to skip the Test in protest, though he did eventually play. Afridi, 30, was punished for the bizarre incident in the Perth one-day international, when as a stand-in captain of the side, he bit the ball in a novel approach to the banned art of ball-tampering. He has served a two-match ICC ban for the indiscretion. I want to know what I did wrong. I will be consulting with my people before deciding a future line of action Rana Naved Attention will inevitably switch to how the players will respond, with legal action likely to be around the corner. The early indications were that one of them, fast bowler Rana Naved, would appeal. "I want to know what I did wrong," he said. "I will be consulting with my people before deciding a future line of action." Rashid Latif, another former captain, expected those most harshly treated to win their cases. "You can't hand out such severe punishments to players of the calibre of Yousuf and Younus Khan," Latif said. Inzamam-ul-Haq, yet another former captain and no stranger to controversy himself, was also scathing of the decision. "Why was action not taken earlier against these players?" he asked. "Why did the board keep quiet for so long when the team was on tour?" The decisions mean Pakistan will be bringing a hugely inexperienced side to England for their three-month summer tour, which features two Tests against Australia, four against Andrew Strauss's men and a string of one-day and Twenty20 internationals. But the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) say they do not believe the absence of star names will have a negative effect on attendances. ECB spokesman Andrew Walpole told BBC Sport: "We will continue to monitor the situation but we remain confident that the Pakistan team will continue to generate huge support this summer."

Bangladesh omit Mohammad Ashraful for England Tests

A Test centurion at 16, Ashraful cannot get into the current Bangladesh squad Former captain Mohammad Ashraful has been omitted from Bangladesh's squad for the Test series against England. The 25-year-old missed last week's one-day series to try and recapture his form after a poor tour to New Zealand. But he struggled in domestic cricket and only managed scores of one and 30 for Bangladesh A against England. His place in the Test squad has gone to Raqibul Hasan, who hit a century in the same game, and the selectors have also included three left-arm spinners. Abdur Razzak and Enamul Haque Jr join captain Shakib Al Hasan in the 14-man squad as Bangladesh look to prey on the current problems of England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who has proven vulnerable to left-arm spin in recent months. Razzak, with five Test caps, and Haque, who has 14, are not Test regulars - Razzak has not played a Test since October 2008, while Haque last featured in five-day cricket against West Indies in July last year. OLIVER BRETT'S BLOG The money from the ICC and broadcasting companies is still not filtering through to where it should The Test series starts in Chittagong on Friday and the need to post competitive totals will be the biggest concern for the home side. and coach Jamie Siddons. But Raqibul's 107 not out and 51 in the Bangladesh A trial has provided some encouragement and he is likely to take over the middle-order role vacated by Ashraful, who has played in 53 of Bangladesh's 64 Tests to date, making him their most capped player. He made his mark with a debut century against Sri Lanka in November 2001 at the age of only 17 but was also dropped for the 2003 home series against England and his consistency is highlighted by a Test average of only 22. The selectors have also included Naeem Islam, an all-rounder who bowls off-spin and a regular in the one-day side, who will be hoping to win his third Test cap and first since 2008, but there is no place for injury-prone paceman Mashrafe Mortaza. Bangladesh squad : Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah, Raqibul Hasan, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Enamul Haque Jr, Shahadat Hossain.