Melbourne, Nov. 8 : Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has said that he was approached by a senior member of the India touring party during the acrimonious Sydney Test and asked to drop Australia''s ‘racist’ complaint against off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Harbhajan was alleged to have called all-rounder Andrew Symonds a “monkey” during the game and Ponting said that even before Harbhajan''s three-Test ban was handed down, it was clear the matter would not be dealt in a straightforward manner.

Melbourne, Nov. 8 : Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has claimed that when Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh indulged in a racist slur against all-rounder Andrew Symonds for the first time in Mumbai in October last year, the team management decided to let him off and give him another chance.

Revealing this in his “Captain’s Dairy 2008”, Ponting is quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying that when Harbhajan repeated the same slur of calling Symonds a monkey during the nerve-racking Sydney Test in January this year, a chill went up his spine, and “certainly stopped me in my tracks.”

Lahore, Nov 8: The PCB is learnt to have served a show cause notice on its star batsman Mohammad Yousuf who recently joined the “rebel” Indian Cricket League (ICL).

The Board also asked him to return Rs one crore which it had spent on Yousuf in fighting a legal case on his behalf in India after he rescinded his ICL contract last year to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) promoted by the BCCI. The ICL had then blocked his move (to join (IPL) by filing a beach of contract case in an Indian court.

Karachi, Nov 8 : Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has reportedly expressed surprise at batsman Mohammad Yousuf’s statement in which he said that because of captain’s attitude he was forced to join the Indian Cricket League (ICL), considered as “rebel” to BCCI-promoted Indian Premier League (IPL).

Malik said that he had a perfectly normal relationship with Yousuf, and added that he didn’t agree with his (Yousuf’s) criticism.

Lahore, Nov 8 : The International Cricket Council (ICC) has told the four host countries - Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - of the 2011 World Cup to speed up their preparations for the event, saying that they were running around ten months behind schedule.

Melbourne, Nov 8 : Australian all rounder Andrew Symonds possible recall to the team took a mysterious twist last night after selectors delayed naming the team for next week’s All Stars exhibition Twenty20 match at the Gabba.

Teams for the game were due to be announced on Friday but it is understood there was division in Cricket Australia ranks over whether to bring Symonds back, the Daily Telegraph reported.

It is believed the ACA All Star team was reluctant to pick Symonds because it felt it would be unfair to pit him against his former Australian teammates.