St Stephens row: Dhoni bats for Unmukt

New Delhi: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni today came out in support of U-19 World Cup winning captain Unmukt Chand, who has been denied to appear for the first year BA examinations by his college, St Stephens.

"Marks for sports takes back seat attendance for now takes centrestage. This shows how much importance sports has in INDIA. Sad to hear," Unmukt, who played a crucial knock of 111 not out in the final against Australia last Sunday to lead India Under-19 team to the World Cup glory, has been barred from taking the second semester exams because of low attendance. The college demands a minimum of 33.33 per cent of annual attendance under sports quota. Meanwhile, Indian Premier League commissioner, Rajeev Shukla put the ball in Unmukt`s court by stating that the BCCI can`t interfere in the varsity`s rules of attendance. "It`s purely their own decision, their own procedures and they go by that. We can`t interfere in that. BCCI can only request the college authorities," Shukla told reporters outside Parliament. PTI