Hrithik Roshan, the dashing young Bollywood actor, has been roped as the brand ambassador of MUmbai Indians squad. Though the amount for which Hrithik Roshan was tapped by the Mumbai Indians is still unknown, the presence of Hrithik is sure to attract a lot of youngsters to the side.

The prize money for the winners of DLF IPL is an astonishing USD 1.2million, which is something that would make the owners of the IPL teams happy. Although for Mumbai Indians the money is not a huge problem, since its owned by none other than Mukesh Ambani, bagging Hrithink  Roshan and even the team itself for astronomical figures would mean that the owners are looking for good returns.

Mumbai Indians will play its first IPL match against Chennai’s Super Kings on April 20. Sachin Tendulkar is quite unlikely to play the first couple of matches due to his groin injury. That will be a big disappointment indeed for all Mumbai Indians fans.

Hrithik Roshan will also lead the fan club of Mumbai Indians, titled  ‘MI Paltan’, a tie-up with Yash Raj Film’s “Tashan” for cross-promotional purposes and the sale of tickets for its matches. Reliance Group logo is absent from the promotional campaigns of Mumbai Indians, and the group has announced that all the future activities of Mumbai Indians would be held under a new company called ‘IndiaWin Sports’. The formation of this new company could well be an indication that the Reliance Group is looking well beyond cricket, perhaps towards a bit of commitment in sports.

Mr. R. Balachandran, Director, IndiaWin Sports and President & Chief Marketing Officer, Reliance Retail, said, “It was done recently. Presently the focus is on IPL and cricket and the objective is to build a very strong foundation. IPL is for perpetuity. “If there is a long term opportunity to engage in more sports we would look at it at the appropriate time.”

As per IndiaWin Sports executives, Hhrithik Roshan was chosen as the brand ambassador of Mumbai Indians by Nita AMbani, the wife of owner Mukesh Ambani. According to Nita Ambani, Hrithik represents  youth, energy and tenacity, and is driven by aspirations.

The partners of Mumbai Indians IPL team are MasterCard and Adidas. The print media campaign of Mumbai Indians feature Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Sanath Jayasuriya and Robin Uthappa, while the audio-visual campaign stars Hrithik ROshan. Hrithik sings a marathi-Hindi mix theme song, ‘Ala re ala’ (here we come), Duniya Hila Denge (Let’s rock the world).

Mumbai Indians has also ropped in the famous commentator Harsha Bhogle as its advisor. Bhogle said, “”We are going to take great care to see that everyone integrates together because people are coming from different places. We have got a lot of youngsters from Maharashtra as well, from Mumbai itself.”

The prominent figure featuring in the Mumbai Indians team are Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Pollock, Loots Bosman, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa. Ashwell Prince will also feature in the team. Other players who will star in the Mumbai Indians team are Ajinkya Rahane, Abhishek Nayar, Yogesh Takawale and Pinal Shah.

Much to the surprise of many Indian cricket fans, Mumbai Indians have also roped in Dominic Thornely, a little-known Australian cricketer. Thornely is known for his aggressive batting and is also known for his combination of medium pace and spin. Some think Sachin is making up for the loss of Andrew Symonds to Deccan Chargers.

Mumbai Indians have started practising for the IPL matches. Heavy security marked the opening day of Mumbai Indians’ practice. The Mumbai Indians team would be staying in the ITC Grand Central, Parel, which will be their home for the coming two months.

The league matches of Mumbai Indians would be held at Nerul’s DY Patil stadium, which is almost 30km from the Mumbai Indians’ hotel.

Some of the teams participating in the IPL have not even started the sale of tickets. They are still looking for a an appropriate date to start the same. It is very clear that this will create some confusion among the fans. Only a few teams have started their ticket sales in their own cities.

The IPL has already received excessive publicity. Cricket fans are eagerly waiting to see the international stars play alongside national and domestic players – but Indian cricket fans have never been interested in actually paying up and watching domestic tournaments such as the Ranji Trophy. Will they finally bite the bullet and pay up this time?

If teams delay their ticket sales, fans will have to hurry for the tickets at the last minute. Ticket prices are also relatively low. Some teams are selling their tickets for just Rs 50 so that even a common man can afford it. But the franchises have not given enough publicity for the ticket sales.

IPL matches are scheduled in such a way that they would end after midnight. Matches will start at timings varying from 2pm to 8pm. The main factors that will affect the sale of tickets are odd timings and rising heat. It is sure that the fans will take care of the abovesaid factors before they book tickets.

Hyderabad team Deccan Chargers have started their ticket sale on Friday. On saturday King XI Punjab of Mohali started the sale. From Sunday onwards Mumbai Indians began the online selling of tickets.

President and chief marketing officer of Reliance Retail, R. Balachandran, says, “We are glad to announce the sale of tickets online and we look forward for the public to extend their support for the Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai Indians team has a great mix of iconic international players and talented youngsters.”

Almost all franchisees have taken up different approaches to attract cricket fans. All spectators will get free refreshments from Deccan Chargers. Deccan Chargers also introduced a lucky draw scheme with fabulous prizes. The prize list includes a Mercedes Benz, seven Maruti Swift cars, 35 Yamaha motorbikes and 35 colour televisions.

To attract the cricket fans, even team-owners have startded selling tickets personally. Preity Zinta, the co-owner of Kings XI Punjab and Australian paceman Brett Lee sold the tickets along with their autographs.

IPL boss Lalit Modi has said till the PCB ban is lifted Shoaib cannot play in IPL. Shah Rukh Khan has said he will ask the BCCI to permit Shoaib Akhtar to play in IPL. Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders had bagged Shoaib Akhtar for Rs 1.8 crore.Shah Rukh Khan’s contention is that IPL matches does not have international status.But IPL is not likely to budge as it doesnt want to antagonise cricket boards. IPL may give Kolkata Knight Riders
an option to replace Shoaib Akhtar with another player.

Shoaib Akhtarwas banned by PCB’s disciplinary panel for repeated violation of discipline.But the issue is spiralling out of control, with Shoaib Akhtar accusing the PCB chief, Nasim Ashraf tried to “extract money” from him.

Shoaib Akhtar also said he was offered money to throw away matches. An angry PCB has now demanded Rs 20 crore as damages.The ICC anti-corruption wing will now summon Shoaib Akhtar to investigate his charges.

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.

The logo and anthem of Deccan Chargers wwre also revealed. The logo would be a charging bull. “The Bull signifies strength, power and aggression,” said J. Krishnan, president and CEO of Deccan Chargers.

During the unveiling function, VVS laxman, captain of Deccan Chargers, expressed confidence that his team is a balanced side.

The team also includes foreign players Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa) Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) Scott Styris, Chaminda Vaas ad Nuwan Zoysa (Sri Lanka).
Indian team’s fielding coach Robin Singh will be the coach of Deccan Chargers.

Robin Singh would be assisted by Kawaljit Singh, Shishir Hattangadi and Vijay Mohan Raj.

The Deccan Chargers Hyderabad IPL team is owned by Deccan Chronicle newspaper.

The official Deccan Chargers website can be viewed here.

Assistant coach Lalchand Rajput will not continue — he will now coach Mumbai Indians IPL Twenty20 team.

The BCCI, however, said a final decision on Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh will be taken only after the series ends. No new contracts have been given to them. BCCI was reportedly upset that Robin Singh chose to go along with Hyderabad IPL team rather than his home side – Chennai Super Kings. This had triggered speculation on his continuation.

Venkatesh Prasad would coach IPL Bangalore Royal Challangers team. BCCI has made it clear that they wont be able to take up both responsibilities simultaneously, which means they would have to opt for either of the responsibilities.

Gary Kirsten’s close pal Paddy Upton would be the new physical and mental conditioning coach of the Indian Team. Paul Close would be the physio as of now, but a replacement would be brought in soon.

Ishant Sharma had undergone a fitness test as he had sustained a finger injury during the Commonwealth Bank tri-series which India won 2-0. While Gautam Gambhir had never really found a permanent place in the Indian Test squad, his stellar performance Down Under was expected to earn him a spot in the Indian test team against South Africa.
Gautam Gambhir’s Delhi mate and IPL Delhi’s icon player Virender Sehwag will be the second opener after Wasim Jaffer. Mumbai IPL’s Harbhajan Singh, who along with Mohali IPL’s Yuvraj Singh failed to attend a fitness test, would undergo a fitness Test in Bangalore on March 21.

An injury scare to Kartik during a Deodhar Trophy game prompted the selectors to name Piyush Chawla as a ‘reserve’ player. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh will undergo a fitness test in Bangalore on March 21. If found unfit, they will be replaced by Dinesh Karhtik and Chawla. The first Test against South Africa will be played in Chennai from March 26 to 30 and the second Test in Ahmedabad from April 3 to 7.

The squad 14 member Indian test team: Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid Sachin Tendulkar , Saurav Ganguly, V V S Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble (captain), Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh.

Panchavi Pass is SRK’s new quiz show after the successful Kaun Banega Crorepati and has already gained a good amount of curiousity among the TV audience. Now that he owns Kolkata Knight Raiders IPL team, Shah Rukh Khan does not think it would be a good idea to have an IPL match being telecast when Panchavi Pass is on.

Shah Rukh’s involvement in both IPL and Panchavi Pass could be a headache for the sponsors, Vodafone and Airtel. If internet reports are to be believed, we will hear the news about Panchavi Pass postponed till the end of the IPL tournament.

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, Bolywood stars Shah Rukh Khan And Juhi Chawla unveiled the team name and jerseys for Kolkata IPL – Kolkata Knight Riders is the name of the squad , which would have black and gold as its jersey and Bengal tiger Hoog Lee as its Mascot on Maarch 11.

Former Australian coach John Buchanan also joined the Kolkata Knight Riders as its
Coach.

Shah Rukh Khan said since his cricket knowledge wasn’t much, he has left that to Sourav Ganguly, the team’s icon player and John Buchanan to decide on the composition of the team.

Shah Rukh Khan said funds would come for Kolkata Knight Riders through ticket sales and merchandise.

Shah Rukh Khan has also roped in Reebok as the apparels and footwear sponsor for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Shah Rukh Khan said if the Kolkata Knight Riders made enough money, it would be used to build a platform for other sports including hockey, in a reference to the Indian hockey team’s fiasco, when it failed to qualify for Olympics.

Houding Development and Infrastructure, Tag Heuer, Belmonte and The Telegraph would be other sponsors of Kolkata Knight Riders.

The 15 member team would be picked from the following members contracted so far.
Only four foreigners can be part of the playing eleven.

Kolkata Knight Riders team members:

Shoaib Akhtar, Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Brendon Mccullum, Umar Gul, Tatenda Taibu, Ajit Agarkar, Ishant Sharma, Lakshmi Ratan Shukla, R Saha, Sourashish Lahiri Rohan Bannerjee, Murali Kartik, Akash Chopra.