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.

Shahrukh Khan is said to have cut the cost of tickets to Rs 100, which will be available apart from the Rs 220, Rs 335, and Rs 665 tickets.

Ticket sales for the Knight Riders versus Deccan Chargers match will open on April 15, 2008.

Kolkata Knight Riders Sport expect great demand for the Knight Rider matches. Meanwhile, Indian ex-Captain Saurav Ganguly is back in Kolkata after the 3-match test series versus South Africa. Saurav will take part in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ practice match on April 15, 2008.

IPL launch ceremony to be a visual extravaganza

IPL’s inaugural ceremony will be held in Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy stadium where SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders will play their first match with Dr.Vijay Mallya’s Bangalore Royal Challengers. Representing the star power at the match, will be SRK’s close friends Farah Khan, Karan Johar, Juhi Chawla, and Arjun Rampal.

The inaugural ceremony will include a visually opulent show. The show, modeled on international lines, will have aerial acrobatics, pyrotechnics, and bubble dancers spinning in eight giant transparent bubbles in the colors of the eight teams. Acrobats and dancers have been hired from US, UK, and Europe, for the show.

The Washington Redskins, current world champion cheerleading squad of the American National Football League, will be flown down for the show. The launch show will also have a Spirit of Cricket segment that will have the eight captains come together in solidarity.

This segment will be followed by a laser show. A spectacular fireworks display has also been planned for the end of the show. Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy will perform at the event. Star performers will include Katrina Kaif, Zayed Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Upendra, and Ramya.

Mumbai will see two matches – one, at the famous Wankhede stadium at Churchgate, and the other at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Sachin Tendulkar is the pride of Mumbai – and Mumbaikars turn up to watch Sachin play without fail. So, one can expect a massive turnout for the two matches.

The first match of the Mumbai Indians IPL team will be against the Bangalore Royal Challengers, captained by Rahul Dravid at the Wankhede Stadium on April 20, 2008. The Bangalore Royal Challengers team is owned by liquor baron, airline magnate and F1 team owner Vijay Mallya. The second match will be on April 27, 2008, Mumbai Indians vs Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers, captained by VVS Laxman.

Expect a publicity blitz for Mumbai Indians in the coming days. Hritik Roshan has been appointed rband ambassador for the Mumbai Indians teams, and he will feature in a promotional video campaign. There will be a Hindi song “Duniya Hila Denge Hum (Let’s rock the world)”, but at this moment, we are unclear if this will be the tam anthem of the Mumbai Indians, or just a song.

For Mumbaikars, the ticket prices would range from Rs 250-500 all the way up to Rs 3000-5000 for the first match. For the second match, ticket prices would range from Rs 200-400 to Rs 1000.

Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar sounded confident at the launch of Mumbai Indians in March. However, ever since, he has been low-key. Now that the India – South Africa test series is over, IPL publicity and momentum should pick up, and I guess we would be seeing a lot more of Sachin Tendulkar and the Mumbai Indians brand ambassador, Hritik Roshan.

Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, is much worried because the ticket sales are not going as well as expected.

Now Shah Rukh Khan doubts the decision he has taken to enter business world of Indian Premier League (IPL). Today, he is a bit upset according to media reports. However, the Indian media being what they are, don’t take them at face value. If they say that SRK was angry, for all you know, he might just have been in an introspective mood.

Ticket sales on the opening day – only 237 at the counter – is one issue that worried SRK. PCB banning Shoaib Akhtar, and IPL following suit, is another major issue.

“I never thought so many problems would crop up when I bought Knight Riders. I was not prepared for these circumstances. I do not want to blame any organisation or association. But, a rosy picture, removed from reality, was painted to me,” said Shah Rukh Khan, according to a reported that appeared in the DNA newspaper.

“I’m quite disappointed with ticket sales of the first day. I was really surprised that only 237 tickets had been sold at the counter. I am truly finding it difficult to accept this. I have never, till date, requested my fans to go and see my films. I am a bit surprised as to why, despite keeping the ticket prices low, people are not showing any interest,” a disappointed Shah Rukh Khan said.

The Bollywod superstar is finally aware of the fact that the cricket is a completely different game.

King Khan admits that his IPL entry is giving him sleepless nights.

SRK had planned a small entertainment programme at the stadium before the matches would start. The West Bengal Government has not given him any entertainment tax exemption. Shahrukh Khan is not pleased with this. “Tax has been exempted at all other centres except in Kolkata. I am very worried about that. How can I do it unless the entertainment tax is waived? Others get 120 per cent exemption whereas I come under the tax net.

The entertainment program, which again would have given a lot of media attention, to the matches and Kolkata Knight Rides , is now not possible. Shah Rukh said that if he went ahead with it, he would stand to lose Rs 1 crore – and he would not be able to cope with it.

Note: 237 tickets on the first day of sales at the counter? That is shocking, considering the amount of hype around IPL and the Kolkata Knight Riders. The amount of publicity garnered by the team, just because Shah Rukh Khan is the owner of the team, could perhaps be valued in crores. Add to the the Kolkata Prince Sourav Ganguly. And 237 after all that? Time to worry?

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.