Sachin highest tax paying sportsperson in country

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has become the highest taxpayer among sportspersons in the country for the last quarter of 2009 while film stars Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan edged past others in Bollywood on individual tax payers category.

Sachin paid Rs 1.5 crore for the quarter till December and stood at 115th position ahead of Indian cricket team captain M S Dhoni among the 500 top taxpayers of the country.

Dhoni and Sehwag had paid Rs 1 crore each for the same period and stood at 199 and 201 positions respectively in the latest list of top 500 taxpayers with the Finance Ministry.

Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan have occupied 25th and 26th positions respectively edging past all others in Bollywood, including Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan by dishing out Rs 4.5 crore each for the December period in the current financial year.

However, the Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan is missing from the top 500 list though his son and daughter-in-law have figured in it.

Businessman Mahesh Gordhandas Garodia is the top taxpayer in the country dishing out Rs 20 crore.

Lawyer-politician Abhisek Singhvi figures in the list by paying Rs 1.5 crore for this period.

Other cricketers who have figured in the list are Saurav Ganguly (Rs 90 lakh) and Harbhjan Singh (Rs 70 lakh).

IPL mastermind Lalit Modi has occupied the 47th position with a deposit of Rs 3 crore. Advertisement

Sameera Reddy to dance for Sachin

On December 6, Sameera Reddy’s dream of meeting her favourite cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will come true. She has been asked to perform for the batsman at an event in honour of the cricketer along with other B-Town stars at the Ambani residence, Seawinds. Says a source close to Sameera, “The event is a special night dedicated for the captain of the Mumbai Indians, by the team owners, Mukesh and Neeta Ambani. It’s a small, exclusive do. The show is called Powers.

Sam will dance to a Punjabi song with cricketer Yuvraj Singh. She is sparing no effort to make sure that this performance remains an unforgettable experience for her and all present.”The source adds that the actress is charged about performing in front of her favourite cricketer, “It was an honour to perform for a legend. Sameera is not nervous at all.” Not just Sachin but the entire Indian cricket team will be present.

It is learnt that apart from other Hindi songs there would be a special song dedicated to Sachin which has been choreographed by Ganesh Hegde. “Sameera will perform that number solo.” When quizzed about it Sameera says, “It’s like a dream come true performing in front of Sachin. He is my favourite cricketer. I have grown up watching his matches.”

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Sena slams Sachin

The Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna has launched a no-holds-barred attack on Sachin Tendulkar, a day after he celebrated 20 glorious years in international cricket.

The newspaper has taken on Sachin for his recent comments for saying that he was proud to be a Marathi but was an Indian first.

On its editorial page, Saamna has asked Sachin Tendulkar to concentrate on his game of cricket.

The editorial said, "There was no reason for Sachin to make this comment. Sachin has got 'run out' on the 'pitch of Marathi mindspace'. Sachin is the badshah of cricket and he should stick to cricket. He should mind his game and not comment on these things."

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad also spoke on the issue. “Sachin shaan hai desh ka (Sachin is the pride of the nation). The Shiv Sena chief should not have criticised Sachin as he has brought glory to the country through his performance on the cricket field,” he said. Advertisement

Sachin Wants umpires’ role reduced

Umpires should be left to adjudge only leg-before decisions while technology can take care of the rest, said Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar, 36, who begins his 21st year in international cricket next month, even advocated rotating on-field umpires every session of a Test match to give them adequate rest, but denounced the referral system.

Tendulkar, a veteran of 159 Tests and 431 one-day internationals, said he was in favour of more technology in cricket to make the umpire's task more accurate.

“It is tough for the umpires to watch the no-balls and see what's happening in the front,” he was quoted as saying on a website.

“For basic line decisions, like no-balls and run outs, you must have a laser or something like that. Something like what you have in tennis to decide serves. You can call it (a no-ball) with a machine.”

Tendulkar said bat-pad decisions can be relied on television X-ray technology called “hot spots” which clearly illustrate the first point of contact of the ball — either pad or bat.

“I'm quite happy with the hot spot because that establishes the contact. For caught behind and all, the hot spot is handy. You don't need a machine.” Advertisement