Akbar is new Md. Sp. president

Former Member of Parliament and eminent scribe and writer M. J. Akbar was appointed president of the Mohammedan Sporting on Wednesday.

Akbar replaced Jamil Manjar, who?ll now be the working president. The club also brought in former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah as a member of the executive committee. Sultan Ahmed stays as general secretary. Though the club announced Subhas Bhowmick?s name as coach, it is still unclear whether Bhowmick will stay on. It has been learnt that Bhowmick submitted a list of 45 names from which he wants to select the squad. There is every possibility that the veteran coach may quit if the club fails to recruit those players.

Akbar announced that the players, who don the club colours for three consecutive years, would come under a medical insurance net worth Rs 1 lakh. ?Those who turned out for the club for five years in the past will also be brought under the insurance scheme,? he said.

The club would take up a massive membership drive soon. ?Our members can also get medical treatment at discounted rates,? he said. Akbar said the club?s dressing room would be renovated soon.

Increasing the budget while making squad this season will also be kept in mind.

Junior cricket

Ashok Malhotra Cricket Academy (AMCA) A beat Videocon School of Cricket by nine wickets in the Swaran Malhotra Memorial Cricket Tournament on Tuesday.

SUMMARISED SCORES

Videocon SC 150/8 in 25 ovs (Adrish Chowdhury 35; Raja Jhunjhunwala 2/9). AMCA A 156/1 in 22.4 ovs (Imran Ali Khan 68 n.o., Sachin Singh 45). AMCA A won by 9 wkts.

P. Sen Memorial CCC 126 in 25 ovs (Bishnu Gopal Mondal 52; Pankaj Kumar Purohit 3/19, Anirban Das 2/6). Milan Samity 68 in 25 ovs (Satyen Singh 2/5). P. Sen Memorial CCC won by 67 runs.

CCD 157/5 in 25 ovs (Rajat Das 39, Avilin Mondal 34; Ranjan Saha 3/33). Garifa Juba Sangha 58 in 16.1 ovs (Sabkha Pratim Das 2/15, Avilin Mondal 2/11, Sayan Majumdar 2/13, Sayan Mondal 2/4). CCD won by 98 runs.

AMCA B 113 in 23.4 ovs. Bournvita CA 114/3 in 16 ovs (Soumya Mukherjee 65). Bournvita CA won by 7 wkts.

TODAY IN SPORT

FOOTBALL: The Telegraph Merchants' Cup ? Magma Leasing vs NYK Line, ITC A vs HDFC Chubb, TCS vs Geo Logistics, Wipro Technology vs Trammell Crow Megh (6 pm); McNally Bharat vs Inspectorate Griffith, Trammell Crow Megh vs Airtel, ITC B vs HSBC EDP, Anshin Software vs Redifussion (6.30 pm); ABN Amro vs ITC Marketing, Panchwati Holiday Resort vs The Times of India B, CESC vs Pricewater House Coopers, Selvel A vs UTI Bank (7 pm); Reliance Infocom vs Hutchison, Stan Chart Bank vs BNKE Solutions, Apollo Gleneagles vs Pailan Group, NYK Line ITC A (7.30 pm); HDFC Chubb vs Geo Logistics, TCS vs Wipro Tech, Eveready Industries vs DPSC, Amadeus India vs IBM India A (8 pm); Merlin Recreation vs Group M Media, The Telegraph vs DHL, McLeod Russel vs Tata Steel, O&M vs IMRB International.