Warne v Ganguly, Sachin v groin

The IPL was yet to witness two captains going at each other but Shane Warne and Sourav Ganguly felt it was time. Warne launched into a stinging attack on Ganguly, the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, for what he perceived to be a blatant disregard for the spirit of the game. Ganguly, never one to hold back punches, dismissed the criticism and even questioned Warne's moral right to comment about the spirit of the game.

Meanwhile Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler, has urged the Kolkata fans to give their captain a bit more time to settle into the Twenty20 format. "This format is new for Ganguly," Gul said. "He is finding it difficult. He has to learn a few more tricks. We also have to find the right combination and rhythm."

Sachin Tendulkar is one step closer to getting fit. Lalchand Rajput, the Mumbai coach, later said Tendulkar, who is recovering from a groin injury, looked good while batting and was hopeful his captain would be back soon.

The Indian Premier League is yet to finalise its position on barring Shoaib Akhtar, the banned Pakistan fast bowler, from playing in the inaugural season of the tournament. The IPL is waiting for the Pakistan Cricket Board to forward the court papers that upheld Shoaib's five-year ban on Wednesday, and is also considering a personal request from PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf, to let Shoaib play in the Twenty20 event.

Amish Saheba, the umpire who was suspended from two IPL matches after comments about Sreesanth were attributed to him, has replied to the show-cause notice issued to him by the BCCI. "As far as the subject of publication in Mumbai Mirror is concerned, I may state that no person has spoken to me in person and /or telephone, or taken any interview putting up any question to me, whereby I was asked to give any answer as reported in the said daily," Saheba stated.