Ganguly Named Captain of IPL Kolkata

IPL Kolkata team will have the former captain of the Indian team Saurav Ganguly as the most likely skipper. Ganguly the IPL icon has been invited by Shah Rukh to lead the team. This was decided in a telephonic discussion on Monday.

Saurav has been asked to select a team of his choice for the IPL Kolkata team. Ganguly has set his eyes on international players like Shahid Afridi, Adam Gilchrist, Jaques Kallis, Brett Lee, Mathew Hayden for the Indian Premier League Kolkata Team.

Looking at the who's who of IPL

Who is who at the Indian Premier League. Here's looking at players who were up for auction in Mumbai on Wednesday. Group AMS Dhoni: The India wicketkeeper is a T20 heavyweight, as the only World Cup winning captain in that format. He's a dependable batsman, a fine keeper and is turning out to be a shrewd thinker of the game. Shane Warne: Arguably the finest leg-spinner to have played the game. He retired from Australian duty in 2007 as Test cricket's leading wicket-taker. He's a keen student of the game, and a handy lower order batsman. Adam Gilchrist: To many, he's the greatest wicketkeeper to have played the game. A bowler's nightmare, he's spearheaded Australia to three straight comprehensive wins in World Cup finals. The most successful keeper of his times, by far. Shoaib Akhtar: Controversial, but on his day he's a dangerous bowler. His has been a career full of ups and downs, and would have been doubly successful had it not being for countless injuries. Mahela Jayawardene: An elegant batsman and a fine leader of men. He turned around his team's sagging fortunes and made them a combative unit that reached the World Cup finals last year. Commands immense respect as a batsman. Muttiah Muralitharan: The most successful bowler in international cricket, his records may not be broken for the next couple of decades, if not more. A vicious spinner, a trigger-happy slogger, he's a bowler every captain wants. Group B Anil Kumble: India's Test captain and also the country most successful bowler, having recently hit the 600-wicket mark. Also turning out to be a fine leader but doesn't have T20 experience. Glenn McGrath: The greatest pace bowler of the modern era, his line and length had the best batsmen in trouble. Retired as the leading pace bowler in Tests. He is injury-prone and may be a little too old for T20. Mohammad Yousuf: He has been Pakistan's best player for long. An elegant batsman, he set the record for most calendar runs in a year in 2006. Harbhajan Singh: India's leading off-spinner in the modern era, Harbhajan has had form problems in recent times. He's also courted controversy on the field recently. A useful lower order batsman, he's also a slippery fielder. Sanath Jayasuriya: One of the most dangerous batsmen ever to have played the game. He retains his keen eye and quick reflexes at age 38. More than useful with the ball, he's also a World Cup winner for Sri Lanka. Kumar Sangakarra: Possibly the heir to Adam Gilchrist's throne. A fine keeper, an even better batsman, and an even fiercer attitude to the game, he's an asset to any team. Group C Ricky Ponting: Australia's captain, he has been the best batsman on the scene for long now, scoring runs in all conditions, against all opposition. He has been struggling with form of late, but trust him to bounce back. Brett Lee: Once one of the two fastest bowlers in the world, he's cut down on pace to concentrate on accuracy, which has only made him more lethal. He spearheads the Australian attack now, and is a capable lower order bat. Andrew Symonds: Some say he's the best ODI allrounder now. He can get big scores, he can bowl both seam and spin, and he can field anywhere on the ground. Any captain would love to get him in his side. Michael Hussey: Mr Cricket has been Australia's Mr Consistent ever since he broke into the national team in 2005. A late starter, he has an average in the 70s in ODIs and in 80s in Tests. Need we say more?Daniel Vettori: He's the leading left-arm spinner in world cricket today and had been recently made New Zealand's captain after over a decade of service. More than a handy batsman, he's played many vital knocks for the Kiwis. Matthew Hayden: The best opening batsman in world cricket, he's made runs against all opposition and in the most difficult conditions. His catching is sharp and fielding surprisingly swift for a man his size. Brendan McCullum: An underrated cricketer, but he's played the leading hand in several occasions when humble New Zealand laid the mighty Australia low. A combative batsman with a cover-drive from hell, his keeping has also been high class. Jacob Oram: One of the best all-rounders in the business right now. He's underrated, given his usefulness. He can turn a game on its head with his hard-hitting abilities and he's a more than useful seamer. Group D Stephen Fleming: New Zealand's Captain Cool has also been a prolific left-hand batsman for New Zealand. He will retire from national duty in March and says he's looking to this IPL phase of his life. Graeme Smith: Captain Courageous from South Africa, he's best remembered for how he took on the mighty Australia and beat them despite all odds in a home series in 2006. An attacking left-hand opener, he's capable of some very big scores. Herschelle Gibbs: South Africa's attacking opening batsman, he sprung into limelight last year after hitting six sixes in an over of the World Cup last year. He's also been one of the best fielders, ranking with the likes of Jonty Rhodes and Ricky Ponting. Chris Gayle: A destructive opener and a useful spinner, he's been one of the reasons why West Indian cricket has stayed afloat in their years of crisis. Shoaib Malik: A dependable middle-order batman and a useful spinner, he's taken on the Pakistan top job after Inzamam-ul Haq quit the game. He leads by example, both with his hard-hitting batting and sharp fielding. Shahid Afridi: One of the most dreaded batsmen in cricket, if he bats the distance, Pakistan never lose. He is also a panther on the field and a fine leg-spinner. Younis Khan: A spirited batsman who thrives under pressure, he's batted Pakistan out of many holes. Also a good fielder in the close region. Mohammad Asif: Despite the off-field controversies, he's on his way to become a world-class fast bowler in the league of the McGraths and Walshs. Jacques Kallis: Arguable the finest all-rounder in Test cricket today, he was controversially left out of South Africa's T20 campaign last year. He's among the game's best batsmen, and a very competitive seam bowler. Zaheer Khan: After a brief hiatus from Indian duty, he's returned as one of the most lethal seamers in world cricket. He's also an able batsman capable of big hitting and a safe fielder. Sreesanth: The combustible Indian seam bowler has emerged as one of the promising young fast bowler of his times. Can be wayward, but has a good strike rate. Group E Dinesh Karthik: A positive young cricketer, the kind who would accept any challenge thrown at him. He doubles up as a wicketkeeper and can float up and down the batting order. A B deVilliers: An aggressive young middle-order batsman, he's emerged as one of South Africa's promising young players. Mark Boucher: If Adam Gilchrist hadn't existed, Boucher could have been the best wicketkeeper of all times. He's as good, if not better, with the gloves, and a combative, never-say-die batsman down the order. Parthiv Patel: He hasn't found favour with India's selectors but in the domestic circuit, he remains a heavyweight, both with the bat and the gloves. Observers note his keeping has improves vastly over the years. Kamran Akmal: His wicketkeeping has not been world class in recent times but as a lower-order batsman, he remains as dangerous as ever, having played some vital innings for Pakistan. Tatenda Taibu: In times of strife in his country, he has been one reason for cheer for Zimbabwe. A fine wicketkeeper and Zimbabwe's leading batsman in recent times. Group F Albie Morkel: They say he's the new Lance Klusener, and that's no small compliment. A left-handed bat and a right-arm seamer, he made a name for himself in the T20 World Cup with his big sixes. Ajit Agarkar: He's been missing from India duty but he remains a very quick bowler - wayward, but dangerous - and a handy lower order hitter. Saun Pollock: One of the best all-rounders of all time, Pollock also is South Africa's best pace bowler since Allan Donald. Also a fine batsman and capable of performing any here in the world. Irfan Pathan: An exciting young talent, he's shown why people think he could be a fine all rounder. A versatile batsman and a deceptively good seamer, he also fields aggressively and tries very hard. Scott Styris: One of New Zealand's leading all-rounder in recent times, he has retired from international cricket recently. He's an aggressive batsman and a useful seamer. Farveez Maharoof: A star in the making in Sri Lankan cricket. He's shown how capable he is with the bat. As a seamer, he could be dangerous in the right conditions. Tillakeratne Dilshan: An aggressive young batsman, his fielding standards are world class. He also doubles up as a useful off-spinner. Cameron White: An unknown commodity in international cricket, he has made a name for himself with his exploits in domestic T20 cricket in Australia. Yusuf Pathan: We haven't seen much of him yet, but whatever we've seen of him looked good. A hard-hitting lower order bat, he's also Baroda's off-spinner. Joginder Sharma: Won India the T20 World Cup. He's been a capable all-rounder for Haryana and a useful seamer. Group G Ramnaresh Sarwan: The best right-handed batsman to come out of the Carribbean in a long time. A capable hitter, he's also a keen fielder and a sharp cricket brain. Simon Katich: A heavy scorer in Australia's domestic circuit, he's been left out of Australia's team for long. He's also a leg spinner, a very good skill to have on your CV. Justin Langer: One of Australia's leading Test batsmen since the late 90s, till the time he retired in 2007. He's been consistent as an opener but could never make a mark in the short version of the game. Gautam Gambhir: He has been consistent in his run scoring and aggressive in his approach. That's an unmistakable combination. With a few more big scores, this Delhi batsman should be able to cement his India side. Robin Uthappa: A heavyweight in the domestic circuit, but disappointing on the big stage, Uthappa still has a long way to go before he established himself as a solid middle order player. S Chanderpaul: One of West Indies' pivots, he's been a big scorer for them for many years now, but still going strong. He's also a terrific fielder near the wicket. Ashwell Prince: One of the young cricketers who will lead South Africa into the future. He's been a consistent batsman for them for the last few years. VVS Laxman: One of India's finest at the biggest stage of the game, he's fallen out of favour with the selectors as far as the shorter version of the game is concerned. Still, a majestic stroke maker. Wasim Jaffer: With his lazy elegance, he makes batting look easy. He's been in and out of India's ODI squad and T20 would be a whole new ballgame for him. Rohit Sharma: A promising young talent from the west coast, Rohit has shown glimpses greatness in the making. He was one of India's stars in the T20 World Cup. Loots Bosman: He shot to limelight having hit the fastest hundred in South African domestic cricket. Hasn't fired yet in international cricket, but his time should come. Mohammad Kaif: Out of the Indian team, he's been busy making runs in the domestic circuit. He's proven himself to be a resourceful leader of men and is a terrific fielder. Suresh Raina: Another promising player, he's been consistent in the domestic circuit. His fielding is a plus, and when he gets going, his strokeplay is a treat.

Yuvraj Shocked

India's middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh, an 'icon' player in the Indian Premier League, is shocked at the low price Australia's skipper Ricky Ponting has commanded in the landmark auction and said his unavailability in the first season may be one of the reasons."Surprised? Shocked is a better word for it. One of world's best player has gone for only 400,000 dollars. But may be it was thought he was going to Pakistan so he wouldn't be available," said Yuvraj.On what could be the reason behind Ponting's compatriot Andrew Symonds proving to be the second most expensive player at the auction, Yuvraj felt the all-round ability of the lanky all-rounder might have tilted the scale in his favour."Symonds is an all-rounder, he can hit big, clear the stadium and that perhaps could have helped in his bid," he said.Yuvraj also said the Indian cricketers in Australia had moved on from the news on auction front and their focus was back on doing well in the tri-series."The general reaction among cricketers was that it was bound to happen. For us the CB series is very important, then the finals then the Test and then IPL will come into the picture."The young players, although are very happy to have received such a good money so early in their careers," he said.Yuvraj, who scored a cracking 76 to help India secure a nail-biting win over Sri Lanka in the last game, said he was happy to have commanded a million-dollar plus price in the auction for the IPL."I had a decent Twenty20 World Cup so I guess I deserved the price," said Yuvraj, the captain of Mohali team.The Punjab batsman believed his team had a good blend of experienced cricketers from different countries though he termed bowling as his side's great strength."Obviously, the format of the auction was such that you could either have good bowling or batting strength. Hopefully, we will have a good group of domestic cricketers to make it a very good side," he said.Mohali will have the services of Brett Lee and S Sreesanth among others to have a go at the rival teams.Yuvraj looked forward to the help experienced cricketers like Mahela Jaywardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Brett Lee would provide to him in running the team."Playing against Indian cricketers wouldn't be new as we do so in domestic and Challenger trophy. But having the presence of Mahela, Lee and Sangakkara would be good as they can help me when I am captaining the side."Yuvraj congratulated Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia (the Franchise owners of Mohali) for having done a good job."They were a bit nervous but I told them they did a good job. I had asked them just to be patient while bidding of course it would have been better if the coach and captain were also there but I think we have a good team."Yuvraj said besides Mohali, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata would be the teams to watch out for.

IPL won't interfere FTP ( Future Tour Programs )

The BCCI has given an "unconditional commitment" to the International Cricket Council that the Indian Premier League matches would not interfere with the Future Tours Programme.The Indian Cricket Board confirmed at a two-day ICC Chief Executives' Committee in Kuala Lumpur today that international commitments would always take priority over IPL."A long discussion of several issues relating to the IPL took place. The members were pleased to receive very clear and unconditional commitment from the BCCI that international matches would be give absolute priority over IPL commitments," ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said in a statement issued on Wednesday.There was speculation about creating a window within the FTP for the IPL matches. The FTP is in place until 2012 and there was no suggestion by the BCCI that such a window should be considered or created prior to that."There has been plenty of speculation about the impact that IPL will have on the world game. The other ICC members are supportive of the BCCI and will carefully evaluate the first year of the IPL and its wider impact on the game in other parts of the world," Speed added.The ICC will consult with the BCCI to ensure that anti-corruption and anti-doping processes are put in place for the IPL and that a code of ethics be established for the owners of the teams. Concern was also expressed by some boards about unofficial cricket events such as the Indian Cricket League.At the CEC meeting, members confirmed they did not recognise ICL and would not grant permission for their players to take part in it.The CEC comprises the chief executives or their equivalent of the 10 ICC full members and three representatives from ICC associate members. It is chaired by the ICC Chief Executive.Among other important agenda at the CEC were suggestions about a 14-team format for the 2011 World Cup, zero-tolerance approach to inappropriate public comment and abusive behaviour, and trial for greater use of technology by umpires.Recommendations to this effect would be made to the ICC Board at its next meeting in March, the statement said.The proposed new format for the 2011 World Cup to be held in the sub-continent involves two groups of seven teams with the top four from each group progressing to a knock-out phase that includes quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. The new format, if approved by the ICC Board, would last 38 days, significantly shorter than the previous World Cup in 2007.Recent cases of inappropriate public comment by players, team and Board officials were discussed at the meeting."I welcome the members' commitment to the enforcement of the Code," said Speed. "I will be writing to umpires and referees, as well as member country CEOs, next week to inform them officially of this decision."

Tom Moody Coach for IPL Mohali

IPL Mohali will be coached by none other than the former Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody. Moody took the Sri Lankans to last year’s World Cup finals and is currently the coach for the Westerna Australian cricket team.
Preity Zinta made the official announcement of his appointment yesterday. They also named Yuvaraj as the icon of the team Mohali. Asked about the poor form of the star batsman, Preity said we don’t mind it at all. We know he is great player and his being out of form for a few weeks is not going affect our long term decision making.

IPL TV rights in Australia

Channel 10 of Australia has bought rights to all the matches of IPL for the next 5 years for $10-$15 millions and will be telecasting it on the free to air channel. This will be Ten’s first foray into cricket. Till now it was Channel 9 that had monopoly on all national and international cricket in Australia. Ten usually covered motorsports and Australian Rules Football.

“It is the biggest new cricket competition and the most revolutionary thing that’s happened in world cricket since Kerry Packer started the World Series in the mid-70s,” David White, the Ten Network’s general manager of sport, told the Australian. So, Channel 10 is obviously excited at the prospect of showing the matches live between 9.30 pm and 1.30 am Australian time. The participation of current Australian players is doubtful as their Pakistan tour coincides with the IPL tournament.

But the other greats like Glenn Mcgrath, Shane Warner and recently retired Adam Gilchrist are expected to play.

Channel 10 absence on the cricket field for almost 30 years means that it has absolutely no cricket commentators on its panel. It will have to build up a completely new commentator group or poach some from 9. It’s playing its cards close to the chest. So, let’s see how things go.

IPL effect: Small towners earn big bucks

Manoj Tiwary dreamt of making it big in a small room in Howrah's Railway Colony. Now, he has made it bigger than his wildest dreams.But if the Kolkata batsman was thinking of rushing out to buy himself a new car, his father insists to the contrary, claiming there are other priorities that he needs to address first. "He will have to invest in a flat, get married, build a house at our native place. He also has to sponsor his niece," said Shyamshankar Tiwary, Manoj Tiwary's father.India's young guns seem to have benefitted the most from the IPL gold rush. For Girija Singh and all of Rae Bareli, RP Singh's Rs 3.5 crore for just 44 days of work is virtually unheard of. "I am happy RP's got this kind of money. It's all because of the good wishes of the people and the media. I hope the others also get it," said Girija Singh, R P Singh's mother.The other cricketers have certainly shared in the spoils. Robin Uthappa's Rs 3.2 crore pay packet is double that of Australian Captain Ricky Ponting's, but the batsman is not interested in comparing numbers. "I don't ask you about your money, so I don't think you should be asking about mine. On a serious note, we are playing cricket because we love the game. Whatever comes with it are its perks, whatever is destined to come our way, will come our way," said Robin Uthappa, Member, Indian Cricket Team.These perks are what the parents seem most worried about. MS Dhoni was the most expensive, and his parents have been the most cautious in celebrating his financial success. The gentleman's game is changing, but everyone hopes that the overnight crorepatis don't.

source:ndtv

Simon Taufel - for IPL

Simon Taufel, the ICC elite panel umpire who has been consistently voted the best umpire from among the panel may be lured to join the IPL.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s multi-million dollar Twenty20 venture will be pursuing this elite umpire as his contract with the International Cricket Council expires on March 31.

International cricket already judged poorly due to retirement of some good umpires and bad umpiring from the remaining may lose its best jewel to the all-consuming monster that the IPL is turning out to be

Jaipur FIned for Under Bidding

The Jaipur franchise has been penalised for falling short of spending the mandatory minimum amount in the IPL players' auction.The Jaipur Franchise of the DLF Indian Premier League bought just eight players spending Rs 11.7 crores that is short of the Rs 13.2 crore that was the minimum that any team had to spend. Jaipur's new headache comes as a huge surprise considering there are 5 teams Mohali, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata that have exceeded the Rs 20 crores that was the cap.Jaipur will now be penalised and will now have to deposit the difference between the amount and the minimum they had to pay at that auction.

Rahul Dravid Captain of IPL Bangalore

Rahul Dravid the former Indian captain has been invited to head the IPL Bangalore team by the Vijay Mallaya’s United Breweries.Dravid has formally accepted to be the captain of the team that will the opening Twenty-20 match with Shah Rukh’s IPL Kolkata team.

The match will be played in the Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 18.

Dravid is an ICON and none but an ICON will head the IPL Bangalore team said a spokesperson for the group. Anil Kumble the current Indian Test Captain and Robin Uttappa are the other players expected to play for this team

Ponting Upset

Ricky Ponting, one-day cricket's top-rated batsman and the highest-paid Australian contracted cricketer, is bewildered at his worth in the Indian Premier League compared with other Australian players, reports said on Friday.The Aussie skipper fetched $400,000 to play for Kolkata at Wednesday's IPL player auction in Mumbai, a figure dwarfed by the astonishing $1.35 million paid for teammate Andrew Symonds to join Hyderabad.Ponting was assessed less than what non-ODI regulars Cameron White ($500,000) and David Hussey ($625,000) received in franchise bidding, but admitted he was disappointed with his contract."I thought I might have been able to attract a little bit more than that," he said."I have had my fair share of endorsements over the years and always felt the Indian people have warmed to me quite often when I have been there.Lots of things have gone through my mind in the last couple of days."Even my involvement in the Harbhajan (Singh) thing, but I thought hang on, Symo (Symonds) was involved in it as well."Ponting was referring to a conduct charge levelled at Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for racially abusing Symonds during last month's fourth Sydney Test.Harbhajan's three-Test suspension was subsequently downgraded by New Zealand judge John Hansen at an International Cricket Council appeal hearing to one of using general obscene, offensive or insulting language.Ponting said he was adamant the IPL cash issue would not split the Australian team."It's probably only me and Matty (Hayden) that will have any reason to be jealous of anybody else," he said. "Matty and I aren't that sort of people."Senior opening batsmen Hayden, ranked the world's sixth top ODI batsman, went for $375,000 in the IPL auction to Chennai.Commentators said on Friday the uncertainty over Australia's tour of Pakistan amid security concerns plays into White and Hussey's hands with IPL benefactors.White and Hussey seem almost certain to be available for the entire 44-day IPL tournament whereas Ponting and others may not if they are contracturally required to tour Pakistan at the same time in April.Ponting has also urged the International Cricket Council and national cricket organisations to work at fitting the IPL into the international calendar."I think everyone now understands with the amount of money that is being bandied about, spent in the last couple of days, there is going to be some tough decisions made by international cricketers," he said."So, for the betterment of the game worldwide, the ICC and the home bodies really do have to look at how they can make this thing fit in."Because if it doesn't fit in to the international programme, you could see the loss of lots of very good Test and one-day players to go and play in the Twenty20."

Delhi Dare Devils

GMR Holdings the owner of the IPL Delhi franchise has chosen the name Delhi Daredevils. A contest on SMS that was run by GMR in the city produced thousands of names. They chose Daredevils from the names submitted.

GMR has requested that Virendra Sehwag be name an ICON player so he can be part of the Delhi team and be made the captain of the team. This proposal is pending with the IPL. Once that is decided Sehwag will be automatically be made captain.

Greg Shipperd who is currently the coach of the Victoria team in Australia will take up an assignment with the Delhi Daredevils.

The Delhi-based IPL franchise has chosen TA Sekar, the chief coach at the MRF Pace Academy, to be in charge of it’s cricket operations.

Ranji Trophy members of the Delhi team Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia and Shikhar Dhawan will be included in the team along with the under-22 category players Viraat Kohli, Pradeep Sangwan and Tanmay Srivastava of Uttar Pradesh.

Match Schedule - IPL

April 18: Bangalore v Kolkata at Bangalore.
April 19: Mohali v Chennai at Mohali and Delhi v Jaipur at Delhi.
April 20: Mumbai v Bangalore at Mumbai and Kolkata v Hyderabad at Kolkata.
April 21: Jaipur v Mohali at Jaipur.
April 22: Hyderabad v Delhi at Hyderabad.
April 23: Chennai v Mumbai at Chennai.
April 24: Hyderabad v Jaipur at Hyderabad.
April 25: Mohali v Mumbai at Mohali.
April 26: Bangalore v Jaipur at Bangalore; Chennai v Kolkata at Chennai.
April 27: Mumbai v Hyderabad at Mumbai; Mohali v Delhi at Mohali.
April 28: Bangalore v Chennai at Bangalore.
April 29: Kolkata v Mumbai at Kolkata.April 30: Delhi v Bangalore at Delhi.
April 30: Delhi v Bangalore at Delhi.
May 1: Hyderabad v Mohali at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Kolkata at Jaipur.
May 2: Chennai v Delhi at Chennai.
May 3: Hyderabad at Bangalore at Hyderabad; Mohali v Kolkata at Mohali.
May 4: Mumbai v Delhi at Mumbai; Jaipur v Chennai at Jaipur.
May 5: Bangalore v Mohali at Bangalore.
May 6: Chennai v Hyderabad at Chennai.
May 7: Mumbai v Jaipur at Mumbai.
May 8: Delhi v Chennai at Delhi; Kolkata v Bangalore at Kolkata.
May 9: Jaipur v Hyderabad at Jaipur.
May 10: Bangalore v Mumbai at Bangalore; Chennai v Mohali at Chennai.
May 11: Hyderabad v Kolkata at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Delhi at Jaipur.
May 12: Mohali v Bangalore at Mohali.
May 13: Kolkata v Delhi at Kolkata.
May 14: Mumbai v Chennai at Mumbai; Mohali v Jaipur at Mohali.
May 15: Delhi v Hyderabad at Delhi.
May 16: Mumbai v Kolkata at Mumbai.
May 17: Delhi v Mohali at Delhi; Jaipur v Bangalore at Jaipur.
May 18: Hyderabad v Mumbai at Hyderabad; Kolkata v Chenna at Kolkata.
May 19: Bangalore v Delhi at Bangalore.
May 20: Kolkata v Jaipur at Kolkata.
May 21: Mumbai v Mohali at Mumbai; Chennai v Bangalore at Chennai.
May 22: Delhi v Kolkata at Delhi.
May 23: Mohali v Hyderabad at Mohali.
May 24: Delhi v Mumbai at Delhi; Chennai v Jaipur at Chennai.
May 25: Bangalore v Hyderabad at Bangalore; Kolkata v Mohali at Kolkata.
May 26: Jaipur v Mumbai at Jaipur.
May 27: Hyderabad v Chennai at Hyderabad.
May 28 and 29: Rest days.
May 30: First semi-final at Mumbai.
May 31: Second semi-final at Mumbai.
June 1: Final at Mumbai.

IPL And Cricket Australia Resolve Sponsorship Row

Finally, finally the row that was threatening the participation of the elite Australian cricketers seems to have been resolved. Extensive talks between IPL and CA seems to have at last borne fruit. Two of the cricketers have alreay signed the contract and the rest of the players are being contacted to get them to sign the contracts before the Sunday deadline.

Now, the next issue is the Australian tour of Pakistan. If it goes ahead then current players like Ricky and Bret Lee won’t be able to play in the IPL but if the tour is cancelled or postponed due to security considerations then we can see them in action.

Minimum Bid Amount for Players

[All amounts in US$]

Shane Warne will be the Indian Premeir League’s most expensive signing, at a cost of US$400,000 for the first season, set to kick off in April 2008

Australia

Justin Langer 175,000

Sri Lanka

Farveez Maharoof: 150,000,

Sangakkara: 250,000,

Jaywardene: 250,000,

Muttiah Muralitharan: 250,000,

Sanath Jayasuriya: 250,000,

Nuwan Zoysa: 100,000,

Dilhara Fernando: 150,000,

Chaminda Vaas: 175,000,

Lasith Malinga: 200,000

Pakistan

Mohammad Asif 225,000,

Shahid Afridi: 225,000,

Shoaib Akhtar: 225,000,

Younus Khan: 225,000

West Indies

Shivnarine Chanderpaul 175,000

New Zealand

Daniel Vettori 225,000,

Jacob Oram 200,000,

Scott Styris 150,000,

Brendon McCullum 175,000

South Africa

Loots Bosman 150,000,

AB de Villiers 175,000,

Albie Morkel 200,000,

Graeme Smith 225,000,

Herschelle Gibbs 225,000,

Shaun Pollock 200,000,

Ashwell Prince 150,000,

Makhaya Ntini 175,000,

Mark Boucher 175,000,

Jacques Kallis 200,000.

Indian players deserve high prices

Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi on Wednesday said the young Indian players deserve the exhorbitant prices that they received in the players' auction in Mumbai.

"The Indian team are the Twenty20 World champions so I had no doubt they would touch the high price," Modi said on Wednesday.

"And you are playing in India for an Indian franchise so there is no reason why the Indian players should not be getting the highest, they deserve it and I am very happy to say they have got it."

India's ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni received the highest bid with the Chennai team paying him US $ 1.5 million for his services, which is around Rs. 6 crore.

India's newest pace sensation Ishant Sharma, who was purchased by Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata outfit for US $ 9,50,000 was the second highest for India. Sharma was closely followed by all-rounder Irfan Pathan with a package of US $ 9,25,000 from Preity Zinta's Mohali team

The other Indian players from the Twenty20-winning World Cup squad to hit the jackpot were: RP Singh to Hyderabad for US $ 8,75,000, Harbhajan Singh to Mumbai for US $ 8,50,000, Robin Uthappa to Mumbai for US $ 8,00,00, Rohit Sharma to Hyderabad for US $7,50,000, Gautam Gambhir to Delhi for US $ 7,25,000, S Sreesanth to Mohali for US $ 6,25,000.

Bangalore franchise owner and billionaire tycoon Vijay Mallya said the structure of the IPL was such that all the teams were desperate to have as many Indian players as possible in their squad.

"One of the reasons that the Indian players went for such a huge price is because of the structure of the IPL," the liquor baron said.

"You could have only four foreign player playing on the field at one time, so obviously every franchise has to have a large number of Indian players, who were in short supply because even if you take the entire Indian squad and add others among the eight franchises obviously each one of them was very, very valuable.

"It gives the Indian players the opportunity to earn some money and get rewarded for performance which is a great thing," Mallya explained.

Kolkata franchise owner and Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan stressed that money is not the sole reason behind his investment in the Indian Premier League.

"We are not here just to throw money and make money, there is a huge amount of passion involved.

"Every sport is important and culture of sport has to be brought into this country as a professional option," Shah Rukh said, adding that he hoped with the advent of IPL more and more youngsters would chose sports as their career.

Mallya hoped that the IPL was modelled on the lines of the English Premier League and America's National Football League and would only help in improving the domestic structure of the sport.

"As far as expectation from the IPL is concerned we all know about the English Premier League and the National Football League in the USA.

"Such domestic high-profile tournaments are not uncommon in the world today and I guess it was only a matter of time that India in consistent with our own prosperity and forward movement would one step ahead of the traditional Duleep Trophy and the Ranji Trophy and have a strong vibrant professional league allowing players to truly participate in the growing prosperity of the sport," he said.

Preity Zinta, part-owner of the Mohali team, also echoed their words and said she was delighted with her choice of players.

"It will enhance the standard of competition at the domestic level. We are happy that we are taking part in the event. I am satisfied with the team," she said.

source:rediff.com

Chennai Super Kings

The IPL Chennai Team Will Be from now on known as the Chennai Super Kings. This was announced at a function organised by the owner of the IPL Chenna team India Cements at a city hotel.

According to the organisers of the function Chennai Super Kings was chosen from over 25 thousand names that were submitted to it in a contest that was run by India Cements.

The logo of the team was also unvieled during the function attended by present and former players, TNCA members and K. Srikkant. A lion in the background and of the name of the team in solid lettering in the foreground will be the logo.

Srikkant will be the brand ambassdor for the Chennai Super Kings.

DRESS CODE:

Chennai Super Kings who are first IPL Team to get a name officially will be attired in blue and yellow. The colors represent fire and infinity and will be apt for the fearless kings of Chennai which has long history of being ruled by the fearless kings of Chera, Chola, Pandya and Pallava dynasties.

Super is the more colloquial and much preferred by the youth of Chennai. Tamil super star Rajni Kant was Super King Rajni Kant before he became Super Star Rajni Kant. People love to use the word Super for good/great things in Chennai hence the name for their team will be apt.

IPL Team's Local Players Catchment Areas

The IPL governing council has released the list of catchment areas for the local players for the IPL franchisees to buy players from.

Mumbai: Mumbai, Maharashtra and Vidarbha Cricket Association
Bangalore: Karnataka, Goa and Services
Chennai: Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Railways
Kolkata: Bengal, Jharkhand, Tripura, Assam and Sikkim
Hyderabad: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa
Delhi: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
Mohali: Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K
Jaipur: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Baroda and Saurashtra

FIrst Match at Bangaluru

The first match of the much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held in Banglaore in April, while the semi-finals and the final will be in Mumbai, a top IPL official announced in Mumbai on Friday.

"The final will be played June 1 and the semi finals May 30 and 31. These matches will be in Mumbai," IPL commissioner and chairman Lalit Modi told reporters after a meeting with the eight franchise owners and representatives of the match staging associations.

Modi said the IPL board has the option of staging these important matches either at the Brabourne Stadium of the Cricket Club of India (CCI) or the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. "I guess they will choose CCI," he said.

The opening match of the Indian cricket board-promoted tournament, based on Twenty20 matches, will be played between business tycoon Vijay Mallya's Bangalore and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata side at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium April 18.

This was decided by the IPL governing council at a meeting in which the marketing strategy and guidelines were also thrashed out.

Modi said the International Cricket Council (ICC) umpires would officiate the matches.

"Seven or eight ICC Elite Panel umpires and 16 Indian umpires would officiate. The match referees are being appointed and we already have the anti-corruption and anti-doping measures in place," he said.

On Cricket Australia's (CA) demand that its sponsors should not clash with those of the IPL, Modi said that no national team sponsors would get protection in the IPL.

"No team sponsors will get protection from IPL," he said.

IPL will offer $3 million prize money while the Champion's Twenty20, to be contested by two teams from India Australia, England, South Africa and Pakistan, will offer $5 million.

IPL will feature eight franchises in the first season, with each team playing seven home and away games against each another. IPL hopes to grow the eight franchises to 16 by 2010.

The IPL governing council comprises seven members. Besides Modi, the other members are: former Indian cricket board president IS Bindra, board vice-president Chirayu Amin and Delhi District and District Cricket Association president Arun Jaitley besides former Indian captains Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shashtri.

Bret Lee Hails IPL

Australian paceman Brett Lee claims the Twenty20 Indian Premier League phenomenon will revolutionise cricket the same way World Series Cricket did in the 1970s, reports said on Thursday.The world's leading cricketers scooped huge paydays at the IPL auction in Mumbai on Wednesday with 77 players featuring in an unprecedented sell-off for the 44-day Twenty20 tournament, starting on April 18.As the billionaire owners of the new Twenty20 franchises made some players into instant millionaires, Lee said it would be another defining moment for the international game."If we look back in 10 years time this is going to be a massive landmark in cricket I think," Lee told Sydney's The Daily Telegraph Thursday."It's a bit like when the World Series started."World Series Cricket was set up in opposition to the cricket establishment between 1977 and 1979 and organised by media mogul Kerry Packer for his Australian television network.Lee, who was signed to play for Mohali for $900,000, said the IPL should be embraced and was confident it would not undermine or threaten tradition formats."It's completely different from Test cricket, it's completely different from one-day cricket," Lee said.Senior opening batsmen Matthew Hayden said he joined the IPL's ranks to be part of history and saw Twenty20 cricket as the way of the future. "I get the feeling that the IPL and other Twenty20 competitions will lead to significant changes in cricket, not dissimilar to the way Super 14s has moved rugby forward," Hayden told The Australian."If I was a consumer of the game I'd want to go and see it because it's bloody exciting.Hayden, 36, also said Twenty20 had given him a new lease of life."The shorter versions of the game have sparked my interest in the way I train and the passion for my game as well," he said.But the money-spinning IPL has not been wholly embraced with Melbourne's The Age newspaper, describing it as "grubby business.""Sport is at its best when spectators feel that players share their cause. Indian Premier League cricketers will have time only to learn to love their pay clerks and their first-class seats on the first flight out," the newspaper said.