Modi quizzed for 8hrs

Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi was questioned for as long as eight hours over the financial dealings and share holding patterns of the cricketing body as Income Tax officials left his Worli-based office early today. 

I-T officials visited IPL Head-Quarters at Wankhede Stadium as also Modi's office at Nirlon House in upmarket Worli, where they quizzed him from 7.15 pm to 3.20 am. 

Lalit Modi, speaking to reporters later, said the I-T officials were visiting several places in the city in a bid to find out details of the bidding process and when he came to know of it, he invited them over to his office. 

"They were given documentation details; they verified the documents and went through the entire process of bidding. We fully cooperated with them and provided them with all they required," the IPL Commissioner said. 

Asked about the longer duration of the questioning, he said, "The questioning was over in a few minutes, but it took them longer as they had to go through the documents." 

Modi said the officials saw the documents related to bidding by new franchisees owned by Sahara and Kochi consortium as well as those related to other IPL franchisees. 

"They were very much satisfied. We are a public body and if they have more queries, we will answer them," he said on whether I-T authorities sought more time to question him. 

The IPL chief rubbished media reports that his laptop was seized and unaccounted cash recovered from his office. "99 per cent of stories being put out by the media are untrue." 

According to I-T sources, the agency apart from probing the sources bankrolling the cash-flush league is looking into whether ill-gotten money staked away in tax havens like Mauritius has made its way into the IPL. 

Modi, the brain behind IPL, has been in the eye of a storm ever since he tweeted about Rs 70 crore Sweat Equity in Kochi franchise being held by Sunanda Pushkar, a friend of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor. 

It triggered speculations about Sunanda being a proxy for Tharoor in the Kochi consortium, a charge which the minister has vehemently denied. 

Raising questions about the propriety over a Union Minister having a proxy stake in an IPL franchise, the BJP and Left have demanded Tharoor's resignation.

IPL 2010 - Hayden Launches Mongoose Bat

Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden Thursday formally launched the evolutionary `Mongoose` bat that has a longer handle and smaller blade but a bigger sweet spot than the conventional cricket bat.

The burly southpaw demonstrated `power hitting` on the sidelines of a media conference here and endorsed the product, saying it had a faster bat speed besides power designed specifically for Twenty20 cricket.

The Mongoose bat, named after the animal known for its ferocity, is said to be a `ball crusher` and Hayden, known for his big-hitting, said: `Cricket has advanced and evolved over the years in terms of the way it is played and also the equipment. Initially, I was skeptical of the Mongoose bat, but after playing three balls and some adjustments, I quite liked it.

In the ensuing third edition of Indian Premier League, Hayden, who represents Chennai Super Kings, along with compatriot Andrew Symonds (Deccan Chargers) and West Indian Dwayne Smith (Deccan Chargers), would be using the Mongoose bat, according to its creator Marcus Codrington Fernandez, Director, Mongoose Cricket Ltd.

Fernandez said the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) had declared the bat legal and permitted its use in India and worldwide.

The handle of the Mongoose bat is 43 per cent longer and the blade 33 per cent shorter than the conventional bat. `Since there is no splice, the sweet spot is increased by 120 per cent,` he said.

For the moment, 100 bats in two categories will be launched in India and all of them would be signed by Hayden, according to Fernandez. They are priced at between Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 23,000.

Hayden said the bat has good balance besides tremendous bat speed. `Twenty20 is about scoring runs quickly. I am sure the Mongoose bat is ideal for this format. 

`I am very excited by the potential of this bat and I feel just like Twenty20, it will also be accepted,` Hayden said while asserting the small size of the bat would not be a handicap in playing short-pitched balls or bouncers.

Fernandez hoped some of the top Indian players would also endorse his product. `But Indian cricketers are far too expensive, but provide a lot of value. I would love to have somebody like Sachin Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag use the Mongoose bat,` he said.