The uncertainty over the conduct and schedule of the prestigious and high profile Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 20:20 cricket matches has got over with the BCCI deciding to take IPL outside the country.
Update: It was announced by IPL chief Lalit Modi today that IPL would not move abroad. After a discussion with the home ministry, Lalit Modi said that considering the probelms of adequate security during elections, a new schedule for the 2009 season would be worked out. IPL games would also take place in more cities – and games would not be scheduled to happen in cities which are voting on the same day. There would be no games on the counting day either.
A final schedule would be announced very soon. Read the rest of this entry »
Any cricket fan in India would not be surprised if one told him that the great Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is to feature at the internationally renowned Madame Tussauds London. Read the rest of this entry »
Cricket crazy fans may have another option for watching IPL matches, apart from going to stadiums and watching it live on TV.
Joining the league of Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, yet another Bollywood star has taken the the IPL plunge. Shilpa Shetty, along with London-based businessman Raj Kundra, has bought a 12 per cent stake in the Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals. Shah Rukh owns Kolkata Knight Riders, while Preity Zinta has a stake in Kings XI Punjab.
Cricketers in Pakistan will now be able to be part of the prestigious Indian Premier League (IPL). With the Pakistan Sports Ministry making it clear that it is not averse to Pakistani cricketers taking part in the second edition of the IPL which gets underway in April.
However, the ministry has reiterated that the players’ security would be their own and respective IPL team’s responsibility. According to the ministry it has already sent its recommendations on a note moved by the Pakistan Cricket Board to the President’s Secretariat, said reports.
It may be recalled that the Pakistan Cricket Board had earlier moved a note seeking to know whether the ministry would allow Pak players to take part in the IPL this year. The nod from the ministry has clarified that the players can individually decide what they want to do and that the minitsry had no qualms abot their participation in the IPL. The ministry also said that it has stated its no objection reagrding this. The note has been sent to the President’s Secretariat for further action.
According to norms, the President’s Secretariat is authorised to issue a guideline or policy for the players to participate in the IPL. Earlier reports had said that the PCB had moved the note to the ministry seeking its opinion after the IPL authorities asked it to confirm if Pakistani players were allowed by their government to take part in the IPL.
It may be noted that the IPL top bosses had conveyed to the PCB that if Pakistani players were stopped by their government from playing in the Twenty20 tournament they would not be paid anything but if they couldn’t take part in the league because of Indian government’s decision that they would be fully compensated.
In the meantime, the ministry has also added that it had earlier decided not to send its national hockey and squash teams to India owing to the fact the relations between India and Pakistan were not very bright. Post-Mubai terror attacks the two nations are not seeing eye to eye taking into account the not so good relations between the two.
The IPL trade window for the season 2009 closed yesterday, with seven players being traded.
The year 2008 brought a new revolution in the field of cricket with the commencement of Indian Premiere League (IPL) 2008. It was a huge success commercially and introduced many unknown talented faces, and had a fairytale where the underdog team – Rajasthan Royals – working under a charismatic captain Shane Warne took the trophy.
There is no doubt that IPL 2009 if nothing will be a better version of what we saw in last year.
The ongoing economic crisis may have tempered the enthusiasm a bit. But IPL title sponsor DLF assured that their commitment with the IPL is resolute for the next five years. DLF is a real estate major, an sector that has been hit hard by the economic slowdown. Rajeev Talwar, the group executive director of DLF said, “DLF will continue to play an integral part in helping develop the league into a truly world – class platform for showcasing and developing cricketing talent globally.”
As the league becomes older so do the teams. At least three franchisees have decided to pare their teams down to their essential requirements, and hence reduce the number of players they would have on their roster in 2009. What was it that made the teams take such measure? Recession would be an obvious answer, but no. With the second season of the IPL, teams have just become more mature and wiser. It seems these teams are working to a target, and know exactly what kind of team composition would help them achieve it.
With the player trade window open for one month, IPL teams are planning player transfers and new signings. The Bangalore Royal Challengers are eager to have the Karnataka captain Robin Uthappa in their team. In return, they are willing to give up the services of the left-arm seemer Zaheer Khan to the Mumbai Indians who would appreciate his inclusion in the team.
Sources say there could be a possible captaincy switch between Rahul Dravid to Robin Uthappa, if the later makes it into the Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Meanwhile Mumbai Indians have already made a trade by swapping left-arm seemer Ahish Nehra with the left handed opener Shikhar Dhawan of Delhi Daredevils with no money exchanged.
Deccan Chargers are all set to have a contract with the U P bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar after his amazing performance in the Ranji trophy, who also managed to take the wicket of Sachin Tendukar on a duck, the little master’s first in the Ranji trophy.
The IPL 2009 season might also see players from England taking part with different IPL franchisees. England Captain Andrew Strauss said that he and his players can afford to participate in the upcoming IPL season without having to compromise with their national duties. Negotiations are on between The ECB and PCA and players are eagerly waiting for things to get sorted out before the deadline of February 4 set by the IPL board. Meanwhile talks are going on between IPL and ECB for having a stable cricketing calendar. Chennai Super Kings have already started their talks with the flamboyant English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. Reports say they are eager to buy him.
On the other hand, Cricket Australia has allowed the players to play in the IPL and will not ban any of the top players. However, they also made it clear that the players who are unfit or carry any injuries will be barred. The CA public affairs manager Peter Young thinks that the two month outing in India could be a good platform for the players to prepare for the upcoming Ashes series, despite the list of injured players they have that includes Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Peter Siddle and Shane Watson.
All together, the IPL 2009 tournament seems to be sumptuous and promises more breathtaking encounters. The IPL 2009 is scheduled to commence on April 10, for an absorbing two months of cricketing action till May 24.
For Test playing nation Sri Lanka, it seems to be T20 that takes prime place, as of late. Putting a full stop to speculations and a debate that was set to rage, Sri Lanka’s two Test tour of England next year has been put off.
The reason: Sri Lanka has finalized a deal that will commit the future of their international players to the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the expense of Test cricket.
The latest news follows a series of happenings where Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been pushing to make its star performers to be available for the IPL matches, This meant that the scheduled tour of England is off. The SLC is said to have been categorically decided that the IPL will be the Sri Lankan Board’s top priority for the next decade.
The SLC deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in this regard has come about so soon. The deal is in fact a money spinner, compared to the Test commitments. It has been reported that in return for committing its contracted players to play in both the IPL and the Champions League for the next 10 years, SLC would bag close to $70m from the BCCI. Besides, the SLC has also been offered yet another carrot. According to the BCCI, Sri Lanka will be included in two tri-series tournaments that would get underway in 2009 and 2010. This means that added financial gains are on the anvil for SLC.
The English tour is the one that would suffer with all the goings on in this part of the world. As if in consolation, the SLC is said to have offered the English Cricket Board a three-match one day international series to be played around May 25, in the place of next summer’s Test series against England. It remains to be seen if ECB is okay with the plan.
The Indian Premier League and the Champions Twenty20 tourney had heralded the arrival of super fast cricket. It seems like the game is getting even faster.