Owned by actress Preity Zinta and businessmen Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Mohit Burman, the Kings XI Punjab is captained by cricket sensation Yuvraj Singh and coached by former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody.

The squad line-up includes a number of legendary players such as Brett Lee, one of the world’s fastest bowlers, Sri Lankan pair Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, wicket keeper James Hopes and Durban-based Yusuf Abdulla.

Kings XI Punjab’s first match is against the Delhi Daredevils in Cape Town on  April 19.

Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airline and Group, said: “Emirates is a great supporter of global sporting events, and we are very excited to announce our partnership with the Kings XI Punjab team. With cricket being the number one sport in India, it was only natural for us to form a partnership with one of the leading teams in the Indian Premier League; a tournament that invokes such passion amongst the cricket fans all around the world”.

Flanagan added that “this three-year sponsorship commitment will allow Emirates to become closer to our customer base in one of the most important regions on our network.”

The IPL is the first of three significant sporting events taking place in South Africa over the next 18 months that Emirates is involved in – the other two being the FIFA Confederations Cup in June and next year’s FIFA World Cup

In addition to the title sponsorship of the Kings XI Punjab, Emirates is also an Official Partner of the ICC and sponsor of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Referees.

Chennai Super Kings will be the biggest losers as their top stars Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey will depart on April 29.

The already battered Kings XI Punjab will not have the services of fast bowler Brett Lee and Simon Katich, while another struggling team, Deccan Chargers, would have to bid adieu to Andrew Symonds.
Kolkata Knight Riders would loose Ricky Ponting.

The players are leaving to take part in a team training programme ahead of the Carribean tour.
New Zealand stars Jacob Oram would also leave the Chennai Super Kings camp early next month, to be followed by his team mates Daniel Vettori (Delhi Daredevils), and big hitter Brendan McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders)

With these departures there would be a perceived changes in the fortunes of the teams. South African big hitter Herschelle Gibbs would join the Deccan Chargers, while his skipper Graeme Smith will strengthen the ranks of the resurgent Rajasthan Royals.

Shane Warne will also have the services of Pakistan’s Younis Khan and Sohail Tanvir.

Chennai Superkings can take consolation from the fact that their bowling department will be strengthened with the arrival of Makaya Ntini this week.

Albie Morkel is also slated to join the Chennai Superkings. Will these changes affect the fortunes of the team? Only time will tell.

Shah Rukh Khans Kolkata Knight Riders are on top of the table winning both their matches, netting 4 points and a net run rate of 3.764. of the other three teams which played two games, Rajasthan Royals jumped into the fourth spot ahead of Bangalore Royal Challangers, though both have 2 points, on the basis of a better run-rate, mainly assisted by Shane Watson’s heroics. Yuvraj Singh’s Kings XI finds themselves at the bottom of the points table with two successive losses and a negative net run rate of –1.365.

Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings are comfortable positioned with a win from a match and a positive net run rate, while Mumbai Indians are below Bangalore Royal Challengers, mainly due to their defeat against the former.

Net run rate is the total number of runs divided by the number of overs played and it comes into play if the points table is tied.

Shane Watson smashed a blistering unbeaten 76 to steer an inexperienced Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket victory over a star-studded Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League match at Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Monday night. More…

Watson stars in Jaipur’s Royal victory

A magnificent unconquered 76 by Shane Watson steered the Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over the King’s XI, Punjab in the sixth match of the inaugural IPL tournament at the Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Monday. More…

Watson stars in Rajasthan Royals’ win

A belligerent 76 not out by Shane Watson helped Rajasthan Royals score their first win in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Monday night. More…

Scorecard

Yuvraj’s close pal and Indian skipper M S Dhoni is also the captain and icon player of Chennai Super Kings.

Yuvraj , who is the icon player of Preity Zinta promoted Kings XI, said friendship cannot be taken to the field. Mohali is Yuvraj’s home ground.

Yuvraj Singh also said there was no issue in portraying the contest as a Yuvraj vs Dhoni tussle. The Punjab Kings XI skipper said such comparisons would only increase the popularity of the Twenty20 competition.

The dashing Indian batsman also said IPL does not make the players’ calender too crowded as there will be only 59 matches in 44 days.

Kings XI Punjab has a bunch of international players including Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka and Simon Katich of Australia.

Yuvraj’s prize catch among young Indian players include Karan Goel and Uday Kaul. Yuvraj Singh has also lined up a formidable bowling attack with Aussie pacer Brett Lee set to open with either S Sreesanth or Irfan Pathan.

This makes Yuvraj’s Mohali eleven as one of the most competitive sides among the eight teams in IPL. Yuvraj acknowledged that he was happy with the composition of the team, pointing to the fact that his bowling attack was capable of putting any opposition on the defensive.

And on the batting side Yuvraj himself is the spearhead – remember he has hit six sixes in an over in the inaugural Twenty20 ICC World Cup in South Africa last year and hopes to do it again this time in IPL.

Yuvraj Singh also agreed with Mumbai Indians’ skipper Sachin Tendulkar’s view that IPL offered an excellent opportunity for young Indian players to rub shoulders with the World’s best.

Former Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody, the coach of Yuvraj’s Mohali team, wants the team to open the IPL on a winning note. Mohali will host seven matches and Yuvraj Singh was confident that people from all over Punjab will turn up to see the matches.

The key worry for the Kings XI Punjab team is that Brett Lee will have to leave the competition after two weeks as he would have to take part in the training camp ahead of Australia’s West Indian tour.

Indian pacer and Yuvraj’s team mate in Kings XI Punjab Ifran Pathan said the seamer-friendly track would help him exploit the extra bounce.

Chennai Super Kings led by Indian ODI and Twenty 20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will miss the two star foreign players Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel in their inaugural match against Kings X Punjab in Chandigarh on Saturday.

Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel of South Africa are expected to join the team only for the match against Bangalore Royal Challengers on April 26, it is reliably learnt.

This means M S Dhoni’s side would also miss the services of Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel for their match against Mumbai Indians on April 23.

But Chennai Super Kings have a battery of foreign players to make up for this : Stephen Fleming and Jacob Oram of New Zealand, Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden of Australia and spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka can make up for this.

This is exactly why they took on so many foreign players on board, despite criticism. Only four foreign players can be part of the playing eleven as per IPL rules. A key recruit, Laxmipathi Balaji, may also be ruled out following injuries.

This, however, makes Chennai Super Kings’ bowling look a tad weaker than it should have been, with options getting limited.

The tickets are available from Rs 50 to Rs 3,000. Online provisions are also made for buying the tickets.

According to organisers, people can buy the tickets from Mohali PCA stadium today from 3pm. Major cities like Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar will be provided with new counters from Monday onwards.

“Brett and me are going to be at the PCA Stadium tomorrow to personally sell and autographed tickets to all the cricket lovers. I would personally want to request all the ardent followers of the sport to come tomorrow at the PCA Stadium and buy tickets to be a part of the cricketing action that we are going to witness in the upcoming days in Mohali,” Preity Zinta said.

In order to have a good viewing experience, exclusive corporate boxes are arranged for viewers. One of the best hospitality service catering will also be provided for the IPL matches.

The Indian film fraternity is being actively woed by the franchises as the Indian Premier League (IPL) dates approach. The latest to join the crowd is Akshay Kumar, who has just been appointed brand ambassador for Delhi Daredevils captained by Virender Sehwag.

In a bid to give new vigour for the parting teams, the owners of IPL franchises have already appointed high- paid film stars to endorse their brands. The owner of the Chennai Super Kings, India Cements started the trend by roping in south Indian matinee idols Vijay and the sexy Nayanthara as their brand ambassadors. These stars are now in the frame to popularise the Indian one day team captain Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings. The stars were heavily paid by the India Cements for endorsing the team.

The other IPL teams are also thinking about roping in big personal brands in film field to popularise the game and promote themselves. There is news that actors Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone might endorse the Bangalore IPL team, Royal Challengers.  Rahul Dravid, former Indian captain, is the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The Delhi Daredevils team is owned by infrastructure developer GMR Group. Akshay Kumar belongs to Delhi and has big star value in the Hindi heart land. The Virender Sehwag-led Delhi team will now get a new face to promote their brand in the coming Twenty20 matches. Gautum Gambhir, Mohammed Asif and Shoaib Malik are also members of the Delhi IPL team.

Shah Rukh Khan’s ownership of Kolkata Knight Riders automatically lends it publicity. Preity Zinta on the other hand has given a new face to her Mohali IPL team by appointing Daler Mehndi, and music duo Sajid-Wajid to endorse the team. They will come out with a new album promoting the Mohali team. SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders has signed up Vishal-Shekar and dance master Ganesh Hegde for its promotional activities.

It is expected that IPL will become a big business and additional revenue source for film stars as the cricket war enters the next phase. Different companies and individuals owning IPL franchises are ready to spend as much as money possible to popularise the IPL tournament and reap the financial rewards.

S Sreesanth, who has been recalled to the Test squad against South Africa, said after he toned down his aggressive behaviour in the recent Australia series, Australian Vice Captain Adam Gilchrist himself patted him. Adam Gilchrist will be the vice captain of Deccan Rangers
whom Sreesanth’s Mohali team would be taking on in the IPL Twenty20. Sreesanth was bagged by the Mohali team for $625,000.

India lost to South Africa 2-1 in South Africa in the last series.

Luke Pomersbach has been quoted as saying by an Australian newspaper that he would try and talk to the game’s best players as much as he can and learn the tricks of the trade. Luke Pomersbach was ultimately taken on contract by Mohali IPL for $54,000, reportedly after coach Tom Moody put in a word.

Mohali IPL team also bagged New Zealand pacer Kyle Mills and Australian James Hopes. Mohali signed Kyle Mills for $150,000, while James Hopes got $300,000. Another Australian in the team is fast  bowler Bret Lee, who was auctioned for $900,000.