Slater, the man who introduced Clarke to Lara Bingle, does not believe that “Pup” is fit to captain Australia if he continues to be bogged down in off-field drama.

He did not delve into the Bingle fiasco, but was adamant that Clarke needed to sort out his off-field dramas immediately.

“Michael Clarke cannot be captain of the Australia cricket side while his off-field life is generating the kind of headlines we have seen this week,” Slater wrote in his Wide World of Sports column.

“Never before has someone as important to the side as the vice-captain asked for – and been granted permission – to leave a tour to sort out relationship issues,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Slater, as saying.

“Clarke needs to get things right off the field, because he really doesn’t need the distraction when he is trying to do his best for Australia out in the middle,” he wrote.

Slater said nobody would have dared ask Allan Border, the captain on his first Ashes tour, to go home, and added that Ian Healy had to watch the birth of his first child via video.

However, pacer Nathan Bracken, who once left a ODI match against Sri Lanka in Perth to return to Sydney for family reasons, said Clarke’s shock return “was a tough decision, but a smart one”.

“And while we all know how much he loves his cricket, this decision to come home only shows how much Pup also understands family life,” said Bracken. (ANI)

In a country of 1.2 billion people, most of whom are bonkers about cricket, the IPL is a symbol of everything they want India to become — a true global power.

There is something about IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi that suggests a reservoir of pressurised energy waiting to bypass Indian cricket’s myopic administrators, the nepotism, corruption, vested interests, personal fiefdoms and incompetence.

America and China also beckon. All that is needed is the right salesman (him), the right product (the IPL) and a belief in the power of the market.

Modi’s mission is to make cricket enticing and accessible, and hence more lucrative.

In 2008 he introduced cheerleaders to the game, causing a storm among conservatives. This year, he forged a deal with Google and YouTube to show live IPL matches online.

“I see the IPL becoming bigger than the NFL, the NBA, the English Premier League,” he tells The Times with typical grandiloquence.

The idea for the IPL had been gestating ever since Modi was a student in the US, but the real impetus came when he had a cup of tea with a leading sports agent at Wimbledon in July 2007, by which time he was the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the national governing body.

What followed testifies to his powers of organisation. By the time the first ball was bowled nine months later, the tournament had generated two billion dollars from the sale of television rights, team franchises and other licences.

In 2004, before Mr Modi battled his way on to the Indian cricket board, which owns the IPL, its annual income was probably less than 15 million dollars.

In the Modi era cricketers can earn — pro rata, at least — sums to rival those of their footballing peers.

Modi says that the IPL is about accruing audiences, not money. Test cricket is not in danger, because the Indian cricket authorities still make more out of Tests and international one-day games than they do out of the new league.

He does, however, believe that Test cricket must evolve. His vision is for a switch to games starting in the afternoon and continuing into the evening under floodlights.

Indeed, reviewing Modi’s successes so far, it is tempting to assume that the future of the IPL is assured. Certainly India’s standing as cricket’s financial superpower has been confirmed. (ANI)

Sources said he has decided not to be a part of the event as the invitation sent to him had reached late.

This has come as a big blow to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The third edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament will kick off on Friday evening with the defending champions-Deccan Chargers taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match at the D Y Patil Stadium here.

The match will be preceded by an opening ceremony, which will witness performances by Lionel Ritchie, UB40 and Bjorn Agan. Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone is also expected to perform.

The second match will be played between the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals.

IPL-3 will be the first ever sporting event to be broadcast live on the popular video sharing website ‘Youtube’.

The Indian Premier League is a Twenty20 cricket competition initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and supervised by BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner for IPL.

It includes eight teams or ‘franchisees’ consisting of players from different countries. (ANI)

According to well-placed sources in the PCB, Haroon Lorgat, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ICC has replied to PCB’s letter clarifying that the governing body cannot interfere in the issue.

“The ICC told the PCB that since the IPL was primarily a domestic tournament of the Indian cricket board, it couldn’t do anything,” The News quoted sources, as saying.

“The ICC also took the same stance as the IPL that the franchises which bid for the players were also private enterprises and the ICC had no control over them,” they added.

Eleven Pakistani players, including the cream of the Shahid Afridi-led reigning Twenty20 World Cup squad were in the IPL auction 3 fray, but none of the eight IPL franchisees took interest in them, fearing the chill in Indo-Pak relation might worsen, resulting in non-participation of these players. The uncertainty over their availability cost Pakistani players lucrative IPL contracts. (ANI)

He will be discussing “The Future of Cinema” with Bollyood’s megastar Aamir Khan (Lagaan) in a conclave in a five star hotel in capital New Delhi, watched by few hundred over a dinner. Lasting about 90 minutes and ending around 09-30 pm, it will include questions from the attendees also. Aroon Purie, Editor-in-Chief of India’s leading newsmagazine “India Today”, will chair the session.

Describing Oscar winner Cameron’s movies, Conclave says: “…movies speak the language of immense courage and deep spirituality. His female heroes are fearless and all powerful, his men learn the power of conviction.” It talks about Cameron’s “dropping out of college to drive a truck for the local school district…selling the script of The Terminator to Hemdale Films for one dollar on the condition that he could direct it”.

“India Today Conclave 2010” whose theme is “New Decade: Great Expectations”, is being organized by “The India Today Group” at Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi on March 12 and 13.

“This decade holds great expectations for India and the world”, Aroon Purie, Group Chairman, says.

Speakers on other topics at the Conclave include ruler of Dubai, India’s key Government ministers, Cisco CEO, Google President of Global Sales, author Salman Rushdie, yoga expert Swami Ramdev, Harvard economics professor, Ford Motor CEO, Facebook co-founder, Godrej President, goal keeper of Indian hockey team, actors Ranbir Kapoor and Asin Thottumkal. (ANI)

The match will be preceded by an opening ceremony, which will witness performances by Lionel Ritchie, UB40 and Bjorn Agan. Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone is also expected to perform.

The second match will be played between the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals.

IPL-3 will be the first ever sporting event to be broadcast live on the popular video sharing website ‘Youtube’.

The Indian Premier League is a Twenty20 cricket competition initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and supervised by BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner for IPL.
It includes eight teams or ‘franchisees’ consisting of players from different countries. (ANI)

Currently, Apple does not allow users to perform multiple tasking on the iPhones like reading news on Reuters App and listen music on the Pandora.

AppleInsider said about the source providing information “”proven track record in predicting Apple’s technological advances,” but was not able to provide information related to multitasking issues: battery life and performance.

The move is seen for Verizon to outplace its AT&T that has attracted many subscriber thanks to Apple’s iPhone. Verizon has plastered TV network with advertisements of having better 3G network than of AT&T.

With AT&T is scheduling to bring its 4G phones not earlier than 2012 or 2013, Verizon will try to gain ground before AT&T enters in the market.