* Asia Cup in Pakistan from August 23 next year

The Asia Cup featuring India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE and Hong Kong would be held in Pakistan from August 23 to September 7 next year under a new format.

The official news agency, APP said that according to the rules, all the matches would be day and night fixtures and will be played at Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

The teams were divided into two pools with Pakistan, Bangladesh and UAE in pool A, while India pitted with Sri Lanka and Hong Kong is in Pool B. The top two teams from each pool would move into the super league where each team will play the four other sides. The top two teams will play the final to be played on September 7, it said.

* Kumble unlikely to be fit for Lanka tour

It now seems highly unlikely that ace Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble will be available for selection for the tour of Sri Lanka commencing later this month. The 30-year-old Karnataka captain, recuperating from shoulder surgery, told a news agency in Bangalore on Monday that he had been bowling at the nets and regularly following the rehabilitation programme. But he indicated that he was not likely to be fit for the tour of Sri Lanka.

"I am yet to inform the BCCI about my fitness," he said. In April, after consultations with shoulder specialist Mark Fergusson of South Africa, Kumble had said that it would be a bonus if he would be fit for the Sri Lankan tour. The team for Sri Lanka is to be selected on July 9, immediately after the Indians come back from their current tour of Zimbabwe. India will play three Test matches against Sri Lanka besides taking part in a tri series involving New Zealand.

However, Kumble expressed confidence of being match fit for the South African tour which starts from the first week of October. Kumble has been out of action since he was injured in the three nation tournament at Sharjah in October last year.

* Solkar offers to coach Bengal juniors

Former Indian Test cricketer Eknath Solkar has expressed his desire to coach the junior cricketers of Bengal. Solkar had called up the joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, Debdas Bannerjee and had expressed his intentions. The latter however, asked him to contact the CAB President Jagmohan Dalmiya. After failing to contact Dalmiya, Solkar sent in his application to the CAB. Talking over the phone from Mumbai, Solkar said, "I have coached the junior teams of Orissa and Assam. So when I came to know that the CAB was looking for a coach, I applied for it."

Solkar's application however, may not be reviewed at the present as the CAB has appointed MP Parmar as the coach for the junior cricketers. Parmar was the coach of the senior team that had won the Ranji Trophy in 1989-90.

The CAB is also on the look out for a coach for the senior team. The names that have been shortlisted are those of Madanlal, Karsan Ghavri and Roger Binny. Of the three Ghavri stands the best chance of getting the post as the other two are busy with various assignments.

* Chamundeswarnath is Andhra selection committee chairman

Former Andhra Ranji captain V Chamundeswarnath was elected chairman of the senior selection committee at the executive committee meeting of the Andhra Cricket Association in Vijayawada on Sunday. The following are the various selection panels for 2001-02:

Senior selection committee: V Chamundeswarnath (Chairman), Jugal Kishore Ghia, N Bose Babu, VB Satya Prasad, Coach: Syed Abid Ali. Administrative Manager: KS Bhaskara Ramamurthy.

Under-25: D Suresh Kumar (Chairman), BJJ Raju, A Sai Ram, G Gowrishankar, Coach: M Chandrasekhara, Administrative Manager: KVV Satyanarayana.

Under-22: D Vincent Vinay Kumar (Chairman), V Janaki Ram, GS Mallikarjuna Rao, S Krishna Mohan, Coach: GVS Raju. Administrative Managers: K Bapiraju and MV Krishna Murthy.

Under-19: KVSD Kama Raju (Chairman), Sher Singh, UM Gandhi, PR Ananda Murthy, Coach: MN Ravi Kumar, Administrative Managers: MS Reddy and Koka Ramesh.

Under-16: D Nageswara Rao (Chairman), P Bhogendra Babu, V Vijayasaradhi, Ch Subrahmanyam, Coach: PV Krishna Rao, Administrative Managers: T Mahesh and N Nirmal.

Under-14: M Vasudeva Raju (Chairman), R Narayan Rao, D Vinod Kumar, MA Ispaan, Coach: JKM Raju, Administrative Managers: P Seshu Babu and L Naga Bhushanam.

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