Shah Rukh Khan unveils Kolkata Knight Riders

As the team's theme song "Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo" (We will do it, fight it and win it) blared and the Bollywood king raised his hands with team captain Sourav Ganguly, coach John Buchanan and actor Juhi Chawla, a glamorous chapter of cricket was written inside ITC Sonar Bangla hotel here.

The black and gold team jersey was also unveiled.

"Black is the colour of goddess Kali (a symbol of Kolkata) and we aim for gold," Shah Rukh Khan said.

The team's owner is Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta. Sourav Ganguly is the icon player and will lead the Kolkata franchise.

Kingfisher Airlines will be Umpire Partner for DLF IPL

As per the agreement, Kingfisher Airlines will receive branding on the Umpires’ Uniform including their shirts and hats during the DLF IPL, along with several other activation opportunities around the property.

The DLF Indian Premier League announced that Kingfisher Airlines has bagged the rights to being the Official Umpire Partner for the league and will also sponsor all Third Umpire decisions during the fifty nine action packed games in the DLF Indian Premier League.

The Umpire Partnership deal is worth Rs. 106 crores for a five year period. As per the agreement, Kingfisher Airlines will receive branding on the Umpires’ Uniform including their shirts and hats during the DLF IPL, along with several other activation opportunities around the property .

Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League said, “I am very pleased to have the country’s premier 5-star airline Kingfisher join us as the Umpire Partner in an exclusive five-year deal. Kingfisher Airlines has a long association with a variety of sports at both the domestic and international level including Tennis, Formula 1, Polo and now Cricket. Their decision bears testimony to the fact that the DLF Indian Premier League is here to stay and is set to carve out a distinct niche for itself in the international cricket calendar.”







Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman & CEO, Kingfisher Airlines said, “We are delighted to extend our partnership with the DLF Indian Premier League with Kingfisher Airlines coming in as the official Umpire Partner. Our five-year association with the DLF Indian Premier League is further testimony of our commitment to building the Kingfisher Airlines brand through sports. The DLF Indian Premier League is a highly innovative concept and the Twenty20 format will undoubtedly take cricket’s popularity to a new high. Kingfisher Airlines will present the DLF IPL umpires in a completely new and modern style while retaining their critical role in the sport.”

Earlier Leading sports broadcaster Sony Max & World Sport Group had bagged DLF Indian Premier League’s global media and production rights for USD $ 1.026 billion. The exclusive Franchise rights for the eight city league were won by ShahRukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders, Preity Zinta’s & Ness Wadia’s (Mohali), the Mumbai Indians, GMR’s Delhi Daredevils, UB Group’s The Royal Challengers of Bangalore, Indian Cements - Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chronicle’s - Hyderabad Chargers and Emerging Media’s Jaipur Royals.

The DLF Indian Premier League is ready to kick off on April 18, with some high voltage action expected between ShahRukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders and Dr. Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers of Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The DLF Indian Premier League will feature eight Franchises and will run for 44 days. Each Franchise will play others on a home and away basis with 7 matches at home. The top 4 Franchises in the league will contest the semi finals and the victorious semi finalists will meet in the Grand Final all over one weekend, which will be played out in Mumbai.

The inaugural season of the DLF Indian Premier League will showcase a grand total of 59 matches providing broadcasters and in-stadia spectators with 177 hours of live “family entertainment”, which will also be viewed by a significant international audience. All matches will be during late afternoon and evening to coincide with prime time for television and providing a convenient time for the stadium audience.

Sri Lanka asks Pakistan to make way for Indian league

Sri Lanka have asked Pakistan to re-schedule a proposed one-day international series in order to allow their players to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL), a top official said here Monday. Chief executive of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Duleep Mendis said the team would tour Pakistan only if the dates did not clash with those of the IPL.

“We have told Pakistan that we are keen to help Pakistan only if it did not clash with the IPL,” Mendis told AFP.

Sri Lanka had offered to play in a short series of five one-day matches in Pakistan after Australia pulled out of a scheduled tour in March-April due to security concerns. However the dates proposed for the series in Pakistan (April 23 to May 5) were clashing with those of the money-spinning league, set to take place at various venues in India from April 18 to June 1.

The date clash resulted in some of the top Sri Lankan players contracted to the IPL threatening to skip the series. Mendis said SLC had already released players for the IPL and it would cause inconvenience if the Pakistan tour was to clash with the IPL. The Pakistan Cricket Board has said that it was willing to offer SLC 800,000 dollars for the five ODIs but only if they sent their full team.

Niranjan Shah, the Indian board secretary, had also telephoned SLC on Friday to note their displeasure over the Pakistan tour, SLC sources said. The IPL is a city-based tournament with eight teams bought by franchises who selected their respective line-ups via auction in Mumbai last month. The tournament will see international cricketers put aside their national allegiances to play for privately-owned teams for the first time ever.

Players have received huge pay packets, starting from 100,000 dollars for the first year, to take part in the 44-day, 59-match extravaganza.

Bangalore Royal Challengers - Banagalore IPL team

Bangalore Royal Challengers is the team that is going to represent the city of Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, the inaugural Twenty20 cricket tournament to be held in India. The team is owned by the liquor magnate Vijay Mallya, the chairman of UB Group. Charu Sharma is the CEO of the team and Rahul Dravid, the captain of the team is the Icon Player. Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain, has also been signed as a member of the management team. Venkatesh Prasad, the former Indian fast bowler and the present bowling coach of India has been declared the coach for the team.

Bangalore team was won by Vijay Mallya, who paid US$111.6 million for it. This was the second highest bid for a team in the IPL, next only to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries’ bid of $111.9 million for the Mumbai team.

Indian actresses Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif were signed as the brand ambassadors of the franchise.

Vijay Mallya wanted to associate one of his top-selling liquor brands, either ‘No. 1 McDowell’s’ or ‘Royal Challenge’ with the team. Ultimately, ‘Royal Challenge’ was chosen, and hence the team was given the name ‘Bangalore Royal Challengers’. The jersey colours of the team are red and golden yellow, and the logo consists of the RC emblem with ‘Bangalore Royal Challengers’ in standard format.

Players

The players in the team (except for Rahul Dravid, who was the Icon Player), were selected in an auction conducted by BCCI on 20 February 2008. South Africa’s Jacques Kallis at $900,000 became the costliest player to be selected to play for the Royal Challengers. This meant that Rahul Dravid, being the Icon Player would be paid $1,035,000 (15% more than the highest bid player in the team). Other players selected included the Indian Test cricket captain Anil Kumble along with his team-mates Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan, West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Aussies Nathan Bracken and Cameron White, South Africa’s Mark Boucher (Wicket Keeper) and Dale Steyn.

• Name - Age - Country - Position

Batsmen

• Rahul Dravid (Captain/Icon Player) - 35 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Shivnarine Chanderpaul - 33 - West Indies - Left-handed Batsman
• Wasim Jaffer - 30 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Misbah-ul-Haq - 33 - Pakistan - Right-handed Batsman
• Ross Taylor - 24 - New Zealand - Right-handed Batsman
• Arun Kumar J. - 33 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Appanna K. P. - 19 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Bharat Chipli - 25 - India - Right-handed Batsman

Wicket Keepers

• Mark Boucher - 31 - South Africa - Right-handed Batsman / Wicket keeper
• Shreevats Goswami - 18 - India - Left-hand Batsman / Wicket keeper
• Devraj Patil - 23 - India - Right-handed Batsman / Wicket keeper

Allrounders

• Jacques Kallis - 32 - South Africa - Right-arm fast-medium
• Cameron White - 24 - Australia - Right-handed Leg-break googly
• Sunil Joshi - 37 - India - Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox spin
• Akhil B. - 30 - India - Right-arm medium-fast
• Virat Kohli - 19 - India - Right-arm medium

Bowlers

• Anil Kumble - 37 - India - Right-arm leg-break googly
• Zaheer Khan - 29 - India - Left-arm medium-fast
• Nathan Bracken - 30 - Australia - Left-arm fast-medium
• Dale Steyn - 24 - South Africa - Right-arm fast
• Praveen Kumar - 21 - India - Right-arm medium-fast
• Abdur Razzak - 25 - Bangladesh - Slow left-arm orthodox
• Vinay Kumar R. - 24 - India - Right-arm medium-fast

Administration and coaching staff

Front Office:

• Owner- Vijay Mallya
• CEO - Charu Sharma
• Adviser - Martin Crowe

Coaches:

• Head Coach - Venkatesh Prasad
• Assistant Head Coach - TBA
• Physiotherapist - TBA

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IPL Teams - Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians will be representative of the city of Mumbai in the Indian Premier League. The team will be led by Sachin Tendulkar, also the Icon Player for the team and coached by Lalchand Rajput, the former Manager of the Indian Cricket Team.

Reliance Industries Limited through its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ltd purchased the rights for the Mumbai franchise of Indian Premier league for a total of $111.9 million during the auction on January 24, 2008. The RIL bid has made the Mumbai Indians the most expensive franchise in IPL.

The team logo has the Sudarshan Chakra with the team’s name engraved in it. The team’s colour will be blue. The choice of the name “Indians” for a regional competition is widely regarded as a blunder.

The mascot is still unknown.

Players

Sachin Tendulkar is the designated icon player and also captain for Mumbai Indians. During the player auction Mumbai Indians successfully bid for 7 players, including two of the heroes of Indian Twenty-20 world cup side in Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa. Sanath Jayasuriya was also another prized catch, along with South African legend Shaun Pollock. The team also added the Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga.

Outside of the player auction, the franchise has also signed up Ajinkya Rahane and Abhishek Nayar (from Mumbai), Yogesh Takawale (from Maharashtra) and Pinal Shah (from Baroda)

• Name - Age - Country - Position

Batsmen

• Sachin Tendulkar (Captain) - 35 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Robin Uthappa - 22 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Loots Botsman - 30 - South Africa - Right-handed Batsman
• Ashley Prince - 30 - South Africa - Left-handed Batsman
• Manish Pandey - 18 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Saurabh Tiwari - 18 - India - Left-handed Batsman

Wicket Keepers

• Yogesh Takawale - 23 - India - Right-handed Batsman - Wicket keeper
• Pinal Shah - 20 - India - Right-handed Batsman - Wicket keeper

All Rounders

• Sanath Jayasuriya - 37 - Sri Lanka - Slow left-arm orthodox spin
• Shaun Pollock - 35 - South Africa - Right-arm medium-fast
• Ajinkya Rahane - 19 - India - Right-arm medium

Bowlers

• Harbhajan Singh - 27 - India - Right-arm off-break
• Lasith Malinga - 24 - Sri Lanka - Right-arm fast
• Dilhara Fernando - 29 - Sri Lanka - Right-arm fast-medium
• Abhishek Nayar - 24 - India - Right-arm medium-fast
• Ashish Nehra - 28 - India - Left-arm fast-medium

Administration and Coaching staffFront Office:

• Owner - Reliance Industries Limited
• CEO - R Balachandran
• President - Mukesh Ambani

Coaches:

• Head Coach - Lalchand Rajput
• Assistant Head Coach - TBA
• Physiotherapist - TBA

Chennai Super Kings - Chennai IPL team

Chennai Super Kings is the Chennai franchise for the Indian Premier League. The team will be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the highest-paid IPL Player, and coached by Kepler Wessels. There is no Icon Player for the team.

Chennai Super Kings are a part of the eight club Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by India Cements, who paid $91 million to acquire the rights of the franchise for the next 10 years. Former India test player Kris Srikkanth is the brand ambassador for the franchise, and another former Indian opener V. B. Chandrasekhar will be the chief selector. The brand ambasssadors for the team will be South Indian actor, Vijay and actress, Nayantara.

The M.A.Chidambaram stadium (often referred to as Chepauk, the place where the stadium is located) will be the home ground of the IPL team. The theme song of Chennai Super Kings, penned by Vairamuthu, is presently being composed by G V Prakash Kumar.

The name “Super Kings” is to honor the rulers of the golden era of Tamil culture, the team logo has a Lion to reflect the King of the Jungle. In addition the word “Super” is colloquially used in the state of Tamil Nadu to reflect all things thrilling and exciting and is a word of the lips of almost every one in Tamil Nadu. Incidentally the Chennai team playing in the ICL (the rebel league) is named as “Chennai Superstars”.

Players

Chennai Super Kings are one of the three franchises with no icon player. The lack of an icon player benefited the Super Kings during the bidding as they managed to bid successfully on two (Dhoni & Muralitharan) of the six A listed players.

The team plans to have twenty three players on its roster. Besides the list of players already acquired, the team will pick the remaining members from the three catchment areas - Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Railways - that have been allocated to it.

• Name - Age - Country - Position

Batsmen

• Matthew Hayden - 36 - Australia - Left-handed Batsman
• Stephen Fleming - 35 - New Zealand - Left-handed Batsman
• Suresh Raina - 21 - India - Left-handed Batsman
• Michael Hussey - 32 - Australia - Left-handed Batsman
• Anirudha Srikkanth - 21 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Subramaniam Badrinath - 28 - India - Right-handed Batsman
• Napoleon Einstein - 18 - India - Right-handed Batsman

Wicketkeepers

• Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain) - 26 - India - Right-handed Wicket keeper
• Parthiv Patel - 22 - India - Left-handed Wicket keeper

All Rounders

• Jacob Oram - 28 - New Zealand - Left-handed Batsman/Right-arm medium-fast
• Albie Morkel - 28 - South Africa - Left-handed Batsman/Right-arm fast-medium
• Shadab Jakati - 27 - India - Slow left-arm orthodox spin
• Abhinav Mukund - 18 - India - Left-handed Batsman/Right-arm leg-break
• Viraj Kadbe - 18 - India - Right-arm leg-break

Bowlers

• Muttiah Muralitharan - 35 - Sri Lanka - Right-arm off-break
• Joginder Sharma - 24 - India - Right-arm fast-medium
• Makhaya Ntini - 30 - South Africa - Right-arm fast
• R. Ashwin - 21 - India - Right-arm off-break
• Sudeep Tyagi - 20 - India - Right-arm fast-medium
• Lakshmipathy Balaji - 26 - India - Right-arm fast-medium

Administration and Coaching Staff

• Owner - India Cement Ltd.
• CEO - TBA
• Ambassador - Kris Srikkanth, film stars Joseph Vijay and Nayantara
• Chief Selector - V. B. Chandrasekhar

Coaches:

• Head Coach - Kepler Wessels
• Assistant Coach - TBA
• Physiotherapist - Tommy Simsek
• Physical Trainer - Gregory King

Indian premier league sets their sights on London

MCC and Surrey have been approached by organisers of the new competition, as all 18 counties come to terms with the significant impact that it could have on the game this season.

Having secured the most lucrative television deal in cricket history, worth $1billion (about £501million) over ten years, the IPL is understandably keen to expand beyond the inaugural tournament, which runs from April 18 to June 1. Those games have been allocated venues in India, but they are hopeful of staging what would be closer to exhibition matches in London.

Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, declined to confirm that Surrey have been targeted by the IPL, while a spokesman for MCC said: “We are not making any comment on this story at the moment.”

A suggestion that Hampshire have been contacted was denied by the club last night, although they would be interested in playing hosts.

A spokesman for the ECB said that the board was “working tirelessly” to review the options available for the Twenty20 Cup in 2008 and a proposal emanating from Giles Clarke, the chairman, to allow counties to field three overseas players solely for the event may be passed as early as the second week of April, in time for the summer.

With a BBC survey this week revealing that only two counties envisage no potential threat from the IPL or the “rebel” India Cricket League (ICL), the belief is growing that, having been slow to build on the momentum of the first seasons from 2003, the English game must now act quickly to reinvigorate the format.

Sheldon, speaking in general terms, said. “We are at a pivotal moment in the history of cricket. It is inevitable that the franchise system will explode internationally sooner rather than later and we want to be in pole position to exploit the potential of that with our wonderful ground and geographical location.

“We do not want a breakaway situation. We will see what the ECB come up with in rescheduling our own Twenty20 and we hope it will involve franchises. That would be the biggest commercial opportunity that we might be able to exploit. We are open-minded about discussions with people who are potentially going to push this forward.”

Dimitri Mascarenhas revealed that the IPL was a hot topic in the England dressing-room during at least the

one-day leg of the recent New Zealand tour while Lalit Modi, one of the leading architects of the competition, has said that some of the senior players in the squad would be keen to follow Mascarenhas if the timings suit.

Sean Morris, the new chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, has been in regular contact with the ECB over what he described as the “totally unique” opportunities presented to top players. He warned that, without understanding, the England team could be “decimated of its star players.”

The ECB was given another headache yesterday when Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said that a complaint will be lodged after Mushtaq Ahmed, of Sussex, and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, of Yorkshire, were given permission to play for their counties this year, despite their appearances in the ICL.

Both players received clearance from Pakistan via No Objection Certificates, leaving the ECB on dangerous legal territory if it sought to extend bans already imposed on five ICL players.

Shah said: “We will take up the issue since the two counties are under the jurisdiction of the England board.”

Lahore Badshahs remain unconquered

Twenty-two runs was the margin of defeat for the Kolkata Tigers; 22 was also the runs conceded by Tigers medium-pacer Abu Nechim in one over.

The Badshahs had been unconquered in five matches so far in the tournament. The Tigers seemed to have them on the mat, but they ended up being tamed. The Badshahs, without captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, were put in to bat by the Tigers and a tight performance from the bowlers left them at only 53 for 2 at the half-way stage.

Taufeeq Umar held together the innings with a 35-ball 41, and his dismissal paved the way for Hasan Raza and Naved Latif to take charge. They didn't disappoint, as 64 runs were scored off the final five overs.

Latif got the momentum going with a six off Upul Chandana in the 16th, before both he and Raza belted a four and a six in the next from Nechim, which went for 22. The same Nechim had been the star for the Tigers on Wednesday, wrecking the Chandigarh Lions' semi-final hopes with his 4 for 27.

Further punishment was inflicted in the 20th over bowled by Nantie Hayward, with Azhar Mahmood - facing his first ball - hitting a six off the final delivery. Raza was run out for 48, while Latif was unbeaten on 30 from 17.

Mahmood struck soon after as the Tigers began their hunt, and when his new-ball partner Mohammad Sami scalped the dangerous Lance Klusener, which was soon followed by Deep Dasgupta's run-out, the Tigers were tottering at 12 for 4.

Despite a run-a-ball 46 from Rohan Gavaskar, and captain Craig McMillan's 30, the Tigers couldn't upstage the Badshahs. They finished at 131 for 7. For the Badshahs, it was an impressive collective bowling effort; of the five bowlers used, offspinner Arshad Khan, playing his first match of the tournament, was the most expensive with 26 coming off his four.

The Badshahs next take on the bottom-placed Ahmedabad Rockets in their final encounter on Sunday, while the Kolkata Tigers take on the Delhi Giants in an important clash to determine a semi-final spot.

Joshi on newly formed ICC medical panel

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) chief sports medical consultant, doctor Anant Joshi, has been appointed as a member of the newly constituted International Cricket Council (ICC) medical committee.

Dr Joshi, who has been heading BCCI's medical committee for almost two decades, is the first Indian to be appointed on the ICC medical committee, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in a release on Saturday.

The BCCI’s medical chief has a Master of Surgery (Orthopedic) from University of Bombay and Master in Sports Sciences in Sports Mechanic & Fitness from United States Sports Academy, Alabama, U.S.A, the release added.

Kapil calls out at 'traitor' BCCI

Lashing out at the BCCI, India's World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev on Thursday described Indian cricket's governing body as "traitor" who said that cricketers playing in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) were not eligible to turn out for their country.

"If anybody, be it any person or any organisation, says these boys cannot play for India and constantly opposes ICL, I'll consider him as traitor," Kapil Dev, Chairman of the ICL, said lashing out at the board.

"I would like to send a message to the BCCI. Please answer one question. Am I doing something wrong? Are these cricketers who play in ICL not Indians? They all want to play for the country. Why shouldn't you allow them?," Kapil asked.

The legendary cricketer was addressing an ICL media conference in the presence of Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty, West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty and a large number of film personalities and cultural bigwigs of Bengal.

Kapil said he and others involved with the ICL were 'not at all afraid' of the BCCI. "Had we been afraid, then we would not have come this far. It is not that we abhor fights. If a fight is based on ethics it is welcome but let it not be a boxing match," he said.

Turning emotional, the great all-rounder said he wanted the BCCI to be the father figure and the IPL the 'elder brother' to ICL.

"Ideally IPL should be the elder brother to ICL and BCCI should be a father figure. You know if a younger son does anything wrong, the father does not throw him out," he said.

ICL fan following justifies the rebel choice

They also serve who play in the Indian Cricket League. If the core competence of cricketers is playing the game with guts and gusto, those figuring in the Zee backed tournament, dubbed the 'rebel league', are doing no mean job of it.

Be it because of the growing craze for Twenty20 cricket or the eagerness to follow the fortunes of those on the other side of the fence, the fact is that the ongoing tournament is being watched keenly and the Television Rating Points (TRPs) are said to be equivalent to that of a Test match day in India.

The organisers are happy with the revenues and expect to break even in a couple of years, the players don't seem to be resenting their decision to sign up for what many see as the poor man's IPL, while cricket fans are following matches of the ICL too.

The players do wonder why they can't be part of the ICC, but are happy with quite a few aspects. And contrary to what many might believe, it is not just the top stars who have been kept in good humour because of the large pay packets, but those weened away from the domestic system too.

They are not only happy to be rubbing shoulders with international stars like Inzamam-ul Haq, Craig McMillan and Shane Bond but have the benefit of a support system including top-class trainers and physiotherapists. But most importantly, they are getting to play matches on a regular basis, which they are quick to point out, may not happen in the IPL.

Said Dheeraj Jadhav, the highest scorer of a 50-over ICL tournament played at Chennai: "It is for the first time that we are getting such good facilities and support staff. The ICL has given opportunities to players and it is up to them to perform and make the ICL a success as it is a matter of their careers too."

BCCI to seek clarification over ICL rebels

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said here on Saturday that they would seek clarifications from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for issuing no objection certificates (NOC) to former players Mushtaq Ahmed and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to represent English county. The BCCI will seek clarification from England Cricket Board (ECB) for entertaining the two former players despite their playing in the rebel Indian Cricket League.

"We want clarifications from PCB and ECB for issuing NOCs and accepting the two players as we have a clear understanding with all the Test playing nations that they should not allow their players, who are part of the ICL, to represent any form of cricket at any level whether the players concerned has a contract with their respective boards or not," Shah told Cricketnext over phone on Saturday.

"If media reports are true and if PCB has issued NOCs to the two players to represent Sussex (Mushtaq) and Yorkshire (Naved), then we will seek clarifications from PCB and then will approach ECB as the two county sides come under the England board's jurisdiction," he added.

Yorkshire had welcomed Naved with open arms after he got a NOC from the PCB on Thursday.

It is also learnt that the England board is legally powerless to take any action in the light of the NOCs being granted by another board and BCCI will have to settle the matter directly with PCB.

Hope the Auction does not happen again : Dravid

Former captain Rahul Dravid on Saturday expressed reservations over the auctioning of cricketers for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and hoped it does not happen again.

"I hope it does not happen again," Dravid said in response to a question from a student while interacting with children of five schools, run by the Vellammal Education Trust in Chennai.

Dravid's comments followed similar remarks by Tamil Nadu Chief minister M Karunanidhi, who said he does not approve of the auctioning. "It is not acceptable to me," Karunannidhi, an avid cricket follower, told the media in Chennai.

In his interaction with the students on a host of issues, Dravid said that team performance is always rated higher than individual glory. "It will be the wish of every Indian cricketer to contribute his mite for the team cause," he said.

Spending about four hours in five different schools of the trust, Dravid said teamwork by students would result in better performance in studies and sporting activities. "It is important that students should be focused in their studies. But sports will help in leadership qualities," he said.

IPL to go beyond Rs.500 crore sponsorship mark

The numbers sounded so unbelievable that for a while it seemed like Lalit Modi was pulling a fast one on the Indian cricket market.

But the sponsors are queuing up at the gates of the Indian Premier League, and projections are turning into fat cheques. The IPL central revenues were hovering on the 500-crore mark and still the dust hasn’t settled.

The latest to come on board are Kingfisher Airlines, who have paid 106 crore to become official umpire partners for the tournament.

This deal gives Kingfisher Airlines branding on the clothing that match officials wear, and crucially on giant screens when the third umpire’s decision is pending.

DLF was the first to come on board, as title sponsor, and they pay out 200 crore over five years. Hero Honda then came on as one of potentially six associate sponsors at 90 crore. The cola wars fuelled the next bonanza as PepsiCo forked out 50 crore to become official beverage partners of the tournament.

What’s interesting is that Kingfisher, part of the UB Group, own the Bangalore Royal Challengers franchise, but this did not stop them from becoming associate sponsors of the Delhi Daredevils.

“Kingfisher’s decision bears testimony to the fact that the DLF Indian Premier League is here to stay and is set to carve out a distinct niche for itself in the international cricket calendar,” said Modi soon after the signing.

What’s more, at least two others, a major oil company and a designer jewellery line are on the verge to signing on the dotted line as associate sponsors.

What these deals do is lessen the financial burden on individual franchisees each of whom receive 80% of central revenues for the first five years. A number-cruncher closely monitoring IPL finances believed that each franchise would end up getting close to Rs 28 crore annually for the first five years, from these central revenues.

In addition to this franchisees have 100% rights over local revenues, which include gate receipts, team shirt sponsorships, merchandising, local sponsorship and licensing, hospitality and match day promotions.

Australian Board worried over IPL's influence on calender

Cricket Australia has expressed concerns that the success of Indian Premier League may have a negative influence on the international calender in future.

James Sutherland, CEO of the CA, said the cash-rich league may ask for more weeks for conducting the Twenty20 event as it gains popularity.

"It's a six-week window one day, does it creep into eight, 10, 12 weeks when the IPL becomes a great success?"," Sutherland was quoted as saying in 'The Age' today.

"The moment it starts to compromise international cricket, we have concerns and doubts about the whole thing," he added.

Sutherland's fears stem from the fact that the West Indies Cricket Board has allowed three of its players to play in the inaugural IPL, instead of in the Test matches against Australia in May and June in Caribbean.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, will be unavailable for the opening two Tests of the series if their IPL sides make the finals.

Donald Peters, WICB Chief Executive Officer, had said that there were little chance of stopping them with so much money on offer.

"Given the amount of money involved, it certainly destabilises the infrastructure of cricket. It's not fair to the players, and it's not fair to the national teams," he had said.

Peters, however, was confident that the series against Australia would be a success even without big names.

"I believe people in the West Indies want to see our team play, and I personally feel if we can put a few young, exciting players out there, people will still come to watch the matches," he said.

Virender Sehwag praises Upton's input

So instinctive is Virender Sehwag's style of play that you sometimes wonder what effect a psychologist or a mental conditioning coach can have on his batting. But rewind two years to India's tour of West Indies and you had Sehwag saluting the efforts of Rudi Webster, the West Indian psychologist, for changing his game.

So it came as no surprise that he spent close to 45 minutes with Paddy Upton, India's latest mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach, at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

"I was discussing mental toughness issues with Paddy Upton," he said after another humid day in Chennai, one which saw more rain fall around noon. "It was quite a good discussion and hopefully a few positives will come out of it. Rudi Webster in West Indies was also a big help. Few people can answer the questions thrown up by the batsmen about mental toughness, so we can get 4-5 ideas from someone like him."

Until 2006, though, Sehwag was seen as someone who didn't approve of such coaches. He wasn't too eager about Sandy Gordon, who the team employed during the World Cup in 2003, and gave the impression of someone who just wanted to do his thing.

As with Webster, he seemed upbeat on this occasion too. "Over a period of time if you have been playing cricket for 8-9 years, sometimes you tend to forget small things and the moment someone reminds you of the things that you were doing in the past and what you are doing now," he said. "Everyone knows that if you are going to play a Test match, how you're going to get your runs. Pressure, dedication and motivation are the kind of things that are discussed."

He acknowledged the advantages of a regular coach - something India haven't had since Greg Chappell resigned after the World Cup last year - and said it played a part in logistical aspects. "[There are] not too many changes after Gary has taken over. Only man-management and facilities are better after Kirsten took over the reins. There is no time wasted in practice - everyone does what they are supposed to do. We have been having briefings for two days. [There is] point-to-point talk in the meetings. We had not expected him to be so well prepared."

Sehwag returned to the Test squad during the Australia tour, getting a chance in the Perth Test before making an emphatic century in Adelaide. "The mental and technical aspect were both tough," he said of the one-year period when he was out of the Test squad. "I was not in a good mindset. So I kept telling myself that I have done it in the past and I can do it in the present too. For me, I was trying to dominate from the first ball, which is why I was struggling. In Australia, I was biding my time and looking to take on the bowling after 15-16 overs."

Was he prepared to face the varied South African attack? "I think they have done well in the past because they got conditions that really suited them. There was swing and pace in South Africa and they exploited that. But they won't get similar conditions here. We are not worried about the bowlers, we are worried about how we will manage the heat."

Gary Kirsten and Upton begin coaching sessions

India's new coach Gary Kirsten and his associate Paddy Upton, who is in charge of the team's mental conditioning and fitness, have begun their official stints with workshops of an "exploratory nature" spread across two days at the team hotel in Chennai. The sessions, around 90 minutes each, focused mainly on paths to success and ways to overcome failure.

The players were divided into groups, each asked to devise methods to deal with the two issues. They were also asked to come up with inspiring moments that were crucial in their careers.

"It was a low-key affair where both sides (the new coaches and the players) tried to get a basic understanding of where each was headed," one of those present told Cricinfo. "Both sides were slowly getting to know each other better. One player spoke about coming through a period in which he couldn't score, and another spoke about a key childhood experience."

Some of the major points identified as means to attain success and overcome failure were good planning, better understanding, responsibility, determination and enjoying success.

"It was a stress-free affair, with both sides showing signs of settling down," the participant said. "Many of the players are already beginning to feel comfortable in the new set-up. Most importantly, there were no lectures, or any attempt to say, 'Look, we are going to show you something'. Rather, the idea was to make players look inside and come up with the answers themselves. By the second session, there was a fair amount of involvement from the players, though obviously this is just the beginning."

Though the structure and content of the meetings were hardly new, they were an early indicator of the low-key manner in which Kirsten and Upton have begun to integrate themselves into the Indian set-up. This is in stark contrast to the forceful entry of previous coach Greg Chappell, who had the team in awe initially with his reputation and playing record.

Kirsten's style is much more subtle, starting with the way he reached Australia as a consultant and remained in the background during that controversial series, letting the captain, Anil Kumble, and his think-tank take the big calls.

"For now, and considering past experience, this seems the right way to start. But it's still early days," said another participant.

Second 2nd IPL Auction

Andre Adams shines in Tigers' thrilling win

At 127 for 3 off 16.3 overs, needing 20 more off 21 deliveries to triumph in a Twenty20, most would have gone with the Mumbai Champs to cruise to a convincing win. But two quick wickets from Andre Adams sparked the Tigers back into the hunt; another five fell in the space of three overs, and even if No. 11 Avinash Yadav's attempt for the third run off the final ball had been successful, the Champs would have fallen short by the one run instead of the two.

If it was his bowling at the death that snatched the win, Adams had earlier provided the much-needed thrust at the end during his team's innings to set up a competitive target. Kolkata Tigers choose to bat, and got the momentum going with openers Subhomoy Das and Lance Klusener hitting four fours in the first two overs.

But after West Indian Tino Best removed Klusener in the fourth over, things went quiet for the Tigers. Subhomoy fell to Ranjit Khirid, and when Michael Kasprowicz dismissed Craig McMillan for 8, the side were 62 for 3 at almost the halfway stage of their innings.

Abhishek Jhunjhunwala made a 29-ball 33 but at 93 for 4 after 14 overs, the Tigers needed at least ten an over from then on to post a challenging total. Rohan Gavaskar kept the score ticking during his unbeaten 41 off 36, and it was Adam's cameo 12-ball 21 that ensured the Tigers reached 146. Sixteen of those runs came off the final over by Best, in which Adams struck two sixes.

Soon after Adams struck again, with the ball, removing former Sri Lanka international Saman Jayantha for a duck. But the next partnership, and a blazing fifty from Raviraj Patil, set up the platform for the chase. Patil smacked 52 off 31 deliveries, with eight fours and two sixes, and by the time his fusillade was over, the Champs looked on course, needing 71 more with a little over half the overs remaining.

Nathan Astle, the Champs captain, almost put the Tigers out of the game when he began the final flourish with two sixes off Adams in the 17th over, but another run down the track only saw him being bowled by his fellow New Zealander, and opened the door for the Tigers to fight back.

Johan van der Wath fell in the same over, and the remainder of the Champs batting line-up couldn't keep their head to get a run a ball in the final three overs, bowled by Nantie Hayward and Adams. They panicked, three perished to run-outs - although the last being an optimistic try - as they fell prey to the pressure applied by the Tigers.

Robin Singh wants the IPL crowd to embrace Symonds, Gilchrist

Hangover of India's acrimonious Australia tour may linger but Hyderabad coach Robin Singh would like to see the Indian crowd embrace Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist once the Indian Premier League (IPL) takes off.

Robin, also Team India's fielding coach, has seen from close quarter the racism row in Australia featuring Symonds and Harbhajan Singh that threatened to polarise the cricket world.

Though sanity eventually prevailed, it left enough bad blood and it remains to be seen how the Indian crowd greet the Australian duo who would pull on the Hyderabad jersey in the IPL.

Robin, however, hopes that the crowd would embrace the duo and greet them with the same warmth bestowed on their Indian counterparts.

"I would definitely ask the people to treat them well. After all, we are popularising the game, particularly this form of cricket. I think they should be given the same treatment," the former player told PTI.

He also dismissed the view that both Symonds and Gilchrist would be under pressure once they arrive here.

"Absolutely not. These guys are thorough professionals. They have won a huge sum of money from the bid and there is no doubt about their motivation levels. I also had a long discussion with them," he said.

Talking about the Hyderabad side, Robin said it was a balanced team, even though they might need an additional pacer.

"Ours is a very good fielding side and a top batting side. May be we require an extra fast bowler. We have quality spinners in Shahid Afridi, Symonds and Pragyan Ohja. In the bowling departments, RP Singh and Chaminda Vaas are there. We have roped in Sanjay Bangar too and we will use him as well", he said.

"We will be changing our combination according to the strength of the team that we will be playing," he said.

Asked which team looked most formidable in the tournament, he said, "In this format of the game each team is a good side. Some teams look formidable on paper. But the matches are not based on their strength on paper."

He was also of the view that IPL would put adequate emphasis on fitness.

"There are a lot of professional fitness experts coming, which probably the state associations could not afford so far. Now you have franchisees and they can afford these. There will be lot of emphasis on fitness," he said.

"Even international players have to ensure that they take of care their fitness because the season is long. Fitness is one thing which is important in this short game. Fitness is the key as Twenty20 is very demanding and the time to recover is very short," he added.

The former all-rounder hoped IPL would throw up new stars and on personal front, he said he was looking forward to coaching the Hyderabad side.

"It is a great opportunity for me. I have been involved with Indian cricket for long. From the international point of view, this is the second time that I will be coaching. Earlier, I have done it in the Asian Cricket Council, even though the standards was different, Robin said.

"It helps your thinking and wide range of other aspects. It definitely helps to improve your knowledge much better. Your thinking patterns changes a bit and your experience will allow you to do that also," he said.

Asked about condition of pitches for both home and away matches, Robin said he had not seen the track in Hyderabad.

"One has to be careful about preparation of pitches but at the same time, pitches will not make much of a difference in the Twenty20 format," he said.

Misbah goes to Bangalore, Mumbai gets Prince in second IPL auction

Pakistans attacking middle-order batsman Misbah Ul Haq, who almost took the Twenty20 World Cup away from India, was one of the top stars to go under the hammer in the second auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday. He went for $125,000 to Bangalore's Royal Challengers.

Another prized catch was South Africa's Ashwell Prince, who was picked up for $175,000 by Mumbai Indians.

The next big catch was England all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, who was grabbed by Jaipur for $100,000. He became the first England player to be auctioned at the IPL.

So far English players had not figured in the auction as their county season overlaps with the IPL. It now transpires that Mascarenhas' team Hampshire will issue him a no-objection certificate to play in the IPL.

Although there were 18 foreign players up for grabs, the focus was on the India Under-19 players whose fee was fixed at $30,000.

Bangalore got India Under-19 captain Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami while Delhi snapped up local lad and left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan. Taruwar Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja went to Jaipur, while Kolkata took Siddarth Kaul and Iqbal Abdulla. Mohali will have Tanmay Srivastava and Ajitesh Argal.

Mumbai Indians went for Saurabh Tiwary and Manish Pandey while Chennai Super Kings took Napoleon Einstein and Abhinav Mukund, the two Tamil Nadu players from the U-19 World Cup squad.

Among the foreign players coming under the hammer, Jaipur signed up South African fast bowler Morne Morkel ($60,000), Australian all-rounder Shane Watson ($125,000) and Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir ($100,000).

Kolkata bought Pakistanis Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez for $100,000 each.

Mohali paid $300,000 for Australian James Hopes and $50,000 for his mate Luke Pomersbach as well as $150,000 for New Zealand bowler Kyle Mills.

Bangalore also signed up Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak ($50,000) and New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor ($100,000).

Zaheer Khan doubtful starter for SA series

Left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan appears doubtful for the initial part of India's Test series against South Africa as he needs four weeks to be match-fit for international cricket.

"I am not yet ready for international cricket", said Zaheer, who pulled out of the Test series against Australia because of an ankle injury.

The speedster, who is part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team launched here on Wednesday, said he hoped to be in position to bowl in four weeks.

Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad also said Zaheer needs time to regain full fitness.

The first Test between India and South Africa starts on March 26 in Chennai.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid, who is leading the Vijay Mallya-owned Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team, said he is excited about the prospect of sharing a dressing room with international stars such as Jacques Kallis and Nathan Bracken.

"It (IPL) is a new concept and whether we succeed will be known in time," Dravid said at the launch of the team here last night.

"If the cricket is good, the crowds will come back."

This is what Zaheer khan had to say

Andre Nel ditched for India tour, may quit South Africa

SA fast bowler Andre Nel has most likely played his last game for his country as politics, through the system of targets, forced his exclusion from the tour of India later this month.

It could lead him quitting South Africa before the tour of England later this year and instead, find him playing under a Kolpak contract that will end his international career.

Andre Nel, who devastated the Bangladesh batting in the second ODI of the series on Wednesday, was a reluctant member of the side for the game, taking 4-29 as the tourists won the game by seven wickets and a 2-0 lead in the three match series.

Upset and angry at being dropped from the three-match Test tour of India later this month, Nel's place in the side for the India tour has been filled by Charl Langeveldt, who is three years older and largely an untried competitor in Indian conditions.

In a career of six Tests Langeveldt has earned 16 wickets at 37.08, hardly the credentials to worry the Indian batting opposition. While he picked up three wickets in the second game against Bangladesh on Wednesday, he was bowling in a slipstream created by Nel's pace.

Langeveldt is seen more as a ODI competitor than a Test bowler, but the team, announced late Tuesday, also excludes an out-of-form Herschelle Gibbs.

Nel's ditching highlights the sort of politics that Cricket South Africa are now prepared to dabble in with their players in what is a crucial tour. But officials such as Cricket South Africa's President, Norman Arendse is not bothered by the future of such players as Nel.

As the rangy 30-year-old East Rand fast bowler is not of the books of teams in either the Indian Premier League or the unofficial Indian Cricket League, he could look for an ICL contract as well as a Kolpak deal.

His axing makes him the first victim of a deliberate revenge tactic employed by certain political circles within South Africa that have been interfering with team selection policy. They want to change the colour of the South African side before the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent.

Nel was seen in animated conversation with team coach Mickey Arthur at the team's hotel in Chittagong before the second game of the series on Tuesday and is believed to have told the coach he didn't want to play, but reluctantly agreed.

May we see him more often

18 International players finalised for second IPL Bidding

Pakistan's Mohammed Yousuf and South Africa's Ashwell Prince, who were dumped by franchise owners at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction last month, along with Misbah-ul-Haq will be among the 18 players to be auctioned on Tuesday.

IANS accessed the highly confidential players' list that will be distributed to the eight franchise owners not before Tuesday morning.

The list includes seven New Zealanders, four Australians, three Pakistanis, two from Bangladesh, and one each from Sri Lanka and South Africa.

The list includes the cricketers who are already contracted by IPL, an extension of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and would be playing in the maiden edition of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament starting April 18.

"There are 13 other foreign players who have shown keen interest to play in the first season," a top BCCI official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

As per the IPL rules, the high profile team owners are free to buy more foreign players from outside the list of 18. But the teams will have to inform the IPL about the players they are targeting and the organisers will then negotiate their base price and try to secure the no-objection certificates (NOCs) from their home boards.

Pakistani batting's mainstay Yousuf and Prince were up for sale in the first auction, but there were no takers for the two players. They were once again ignored even when they were presented at the end of the eight-round auction, where 75 players went down the hammer. The duo would now be hoping to be picked Tuesday.

Misbah, on the other hand, was not in the fray in the first auction.

The team owners, who were asked to spend between $3.3 million and $5 million at the first auction in Mumbai Feb 20, have varying amounts left in their kitty, which necessitated a second auction.

The amounts left are: $374,000 with Bangalore, $23,750 with Chennai, $71,250 with Delhi, $262,500 with Hyderabad, $1,700,000 with Jaipur, $107,500 with Kolkata, $292,250 with Mohali and $53,750 with Mumbai.

"However, if a team overspends $5 million on players who were initially not available but become available later, the excess expenditure will be ignored. Also, player fees for Indian players who were not in the auction do not count against the $5m purse," said the official.

"There will be no more auctions this season," the official added.

Each team can have a minimum of 16 players, including a maximum of eight currently available foreigners but not more than four in the playing XI. Those foreign players who are not available will not count towards the total.

The minimum of four under-22 players to be selected for the squad will be taken from catchments areas and include U-19, Ranji Trophy and national players. They should be under 22 years of age as on April 1 of the applicable season.

The minimum fee for Ranji Trophy and non-auction players has been fixed at $50,000 per season while under-22 players will receive $20,000 for the same period.

All players must submit the NOCs at least 30 days before the start of every season, with the exception for the Australian players.

Cricket Australia (CA) has said that it would give NOCs to its players, if the franchise keen to contract a player has already met two conditions: (a) it has already signed two CA's centrally contracted players, or (b) it has already signed two players registered to the same Australian state association. This clause was added at the last minute before the first auction and will again apply.

But players who have retired from international and Australian domestic cricket and are not contracted with either CA or their state association - like Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath - do not have to meet this condition.

All team owners have to finalise their squads by 30 days before the start of the 2008 season, which is March 19.

Players for second auction: (includes Availability for the tournament)

1 Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan/batsman/season availability 80 percent)
2 Ashwell Prince (South Africa/batsman, 100 percent)
3 Kyle Mills (New Zealand/bowler/ 40 percent)
4 Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan/all-rounder, 80 percent)
5 Ross Taylor (New Zealand/batsman/40 percent)
6 Peter Fulton (New Zealand/batsman/40 percent)
7 Jamie How (New Zealand/batsman/40 percent)
8 Jeetan Patel (New Zealand/bowler/40 percent)
9 Chris Martin (New Zealand/bowler/40 percent)
10 James Franklin (New Zealand/bowler/40 percent)
11 Brad Hodge (Australia/batsman/100 percent)
12 Shane Watson (Australia/all-rounder/100 percent)
13 James Hopes (Australia/all-rounder/80 percent)
14 Luke Pomersbach (Australia/batsman/100 percent)
15 Prasanna Jayawardene (Sri Lanka/wicket-keeper-batsman/100 percent)
16 Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh/all-rounder/100 percent)
17 Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh/batsman/100 percent)
18 Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan/batsman/80 percent)

Players who have expressed their interest:

1 Goolam Bodi (South Africa)
2 Shaun Marsh (Australia)
3 Brad Hogg (Australia)
4 Shaun Tait (Australia)
5 Adam Voges (Australia)
6 Mick Lewis (Australia)
7 Darren Lehman (Australia)
8 Allen Wise (Australia)
9 Aiden Blizzard (Australia)
10 Adam Crosthwaite (Australia)
11 Yasir Hameed (Pakistan)
12 Kieran Powell (West Indies)
13 Dwayne Smith (West Indies)

Australian board Cries again, demands action against Harbhajan singh

Harbhajan Singh may have returned from Down Under, but he is still on the radar of the Aussies. Cricket Australia (CA) has asked for an action against the turbunator for allegedly calling Matthew Hayden 'a liar'. And the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) in turn, has told Bhajji to keep quiet.

The spinner apparently in an interview has also said that Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist was "no saint."

Reacting to media reports, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has shot off a letter to BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah, in which he was quoted as saying: "Enough is enough. Despite assurances that you have instructed him not to fuel this issue any more, Harbhajan continues to say whatever he wants. When will it ever end? Could you please deal with your player in regard to these comments.

"We've certainly, through our actions with Matthew Hayden, been firm with our own players in terms of where the tipping point is."

"We believe it is possible to make intelligent, thoughtful and even provocative public comment without descending to personal abuse."

Disputes over IPL ticket sale continues

Even as Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment gears up to host matches of BCCI's multi-million dollar Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens here, the contentious issue of ticket distribution among Cricket Association of Bengal's affiliates and members is yet to be resolved.

On February 26, majority of CAB affiliates had demanded at a Special General Meeting that RCE provide a larger share of tickets, than the 20 per cent decreed by the IPL, to the CAB for distribution among the clubs, universities, the Office Sports Federation and the districts as well as life, annual and associate members for the matches slated to begin from April 18.

However, two days before SRK's arrival here for making major announcements regarding the jersey, nomenclature, and theme song of the Kolkata side, the dissidents on Sunday claimed they had no clue to "what happened to the demand voiced by the majority of members at the SGM."

"Nothing seems to have happened after February 26. I doubt whether even the office-bearers have any idea," ex-BCCI joint secretary and dissident leader Goutam Dasgupta said.

"Majority of the units had expressed their view. It's now the duty of the powers-that-be to follow it up. But they seem to be keeping us in the dark on whether they have been able to persuade RCE or not or whether they have at all discussed the issue with RCE," he said.

India's U-19 world cup win

India's Win over Australia in CB Series

Harbhajan Singh Controversy - Enough is enough

Enough is enough, Yes. If - and that’s a big If - there is proof that Harbhajan Singh made monkey gestures during the Sydney final, he should be banned. If he didn’t, the Australian media that insist he did should be made to apologise - and perhaps to pay a hefty compensation.

The latest case against him seems to be based on a photograph in the Sydney Morning Herald. Under the headline: Harbhajan in hot water again, up to his armpits it shows the bowler scratching his right armpit with his left hand.

The expression is of a man gaining relief from the most common of gestures. A sportsman spit, scratch intimate parts of his body, blow his nose or dig his ear wax. Not exactly great sights on television, but he is a human like the rest of us. Hence, to mistake an honest armpit scratch for a gesture pregnant with insult is both silly and outrageous.

Those who study these things know - and have been telling us - that the true monkey gesture is about scratching your right and left armpits with your right or left arm respectively. Right with right and left with left. Cross-scratching does not qualify as a racial insult.

Luckily, the story seems to have died a natural death, although the treatment meted out to Harbhajan in Sydney by the crowds has come in for dissection in the Indian media.

They insulted his religion, said one news channel, another said they called out all kinds of obscenities. The player himself behaved with remarkable restraint, even laughing at times and pointing out the special treatment to an umpire.

The newspaper with the photograph gave the lie to its own story by inserting this advertisement asking for public help: Do you know more? Did you see the alleged monkey gesture? Message 0424 SMS SMH (+61 424 767 764) or email us with information or images.

I rest my case.

Harbhajan has got support from unexpected quarters. Former skipper Allan Border is quoted as saying in the same newspaper: "I was over that side of the ground and Harbhajan was copping a fair bit of stick from the crowd. I didn't notice any gestures at all and I thought he handled himself pretty well.”

If there is one thing Australians cannot stomach, it is defeat; and if there is one group of people who seem more upset about it than the players, it is the media.

Harbhajan is no saint, he is perfectly capable of looking after himself as he has shown while earning the title of public enemy number one in Australia. And if the crowds decide to barrack him no matter what, it is a part of touring. Muttiah Muralitharan knows all about it, as do most cricketers who tour Australia.

The Indians have been reacting with remarkable maturity. The beamer fired at Sachin Tendulkar by the world’s fastest bowler is a case in point. Now there is a serious offence - but the media ignored it.

The players are behaving themselves. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the media.

Shane Warne to Captain Jaipur IPL Team

Rajasthan Royals(IPL Jaipur Team) announced Warne, the great Australian Leg Spinner as their team captain and Coach. “Shane has been a winner throughout his career. His experience of over 15 years in international cricket will be invaluable to a team of players from different countries, cultures, and ages,” Emerging Media’s CEO Fraser Castellino said in a statement.

Shane Warne has huge experience leading his English county team Hampshire. Warne would be leading Jaipur which include player of the likes of Mohammad Kaif, Graeme Smith, Yunis Khan. Emerging Media further said that Warnes extraordinary career and leadership qualities will develop the success and spirit of Rajasthan Royal.

Waiting to see googlies from the master.

Tendulkar Needed match-winners in IPL

The Reliance Industries-owned Mumbai franchisee had gone to last month's IPL players' auction armed with a strategy and wish-list outlined by master batsman Sachin Tendulkar and executed them to a large extent, according to the chief representative of the franchisee.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, the President and Chief Marketing Officer of Reliance Retail Limited, R Balachandran said he would give a figure of 8 on a 1-10 scale about the outcome of the February 20 auction in which they trained their focus on roping in match-winning players.

"We went into the auction with a fairly clear idea of what we wanted. He (Tendulkar) thinks cricket from many angles and thinks continuously. We had a lot of dialogue. He had a wish-list and there was a strategy behind the players that we went out to pick and the players we got. We executed that strategy.

"He sought specific players. If you look at the players you will see we have selected people who by themselves are match-winners. That's a very important aspect.

"Yes, we came out a happy lot. If you put it in a scale of 1-10, I would say it probably would be around 8," said Balachandran, who headed the Mumbai franchisee team at the auction.

"I believe it's not just possession but a question of choosing match winners. This is what is behind a good amount of our strategy. I know Sachin's mind has worked on all this a lot," he elaborated.

Another major factor influencing their choice of players was their availability in the first year of the April 18-June 1 League, Balachandran said.

"All the players we have picked up at the auction are 100 per cent available this year. That's very important. We did not necessarily go into the auction to choose the entire team which could not have been done as per the rules of the auction.
"What we did was to pick the core of the team in which Sachin is the nucleus, as the icon player not only as a batsman and a vastly experienced captain but also as a thinking cricketer," he said.

The Reliance official also said that the three Ss in the squad - Sachin, Sanath (Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka) and Shaun (Pollock of South Africa) - would play key roles in the moulding of the team with their vast experience as players and captains in the international arena.

"If you take Sanath, Sachin of course or Shaun Pollock, quite apart from anything else they are cricketers with so much experience. Experience finally makes a difference in that split second of a decision and a split second often comes when you have got the compressed format of play.

"All three of them have been captains of their countries as well as among the most respected cricketers in the world," he pointed out.

"That's a huge resource we have, whether its Sanath, Shaun or Sachin - the three Ss in our team - with the fourth S being strategy," the Mumbai franchise representative said.

Balachandran, however, effectively ruled out any chance of Tendulkar emulating Australian leg spin legend Shane Warne who has become the captain-cum-coach of the Jaipur franchise owned by Emerging Media.

"We will have a separate coach. We are not yet ready to make an announcement yet about him and support staff, but are not looking at a combination (coach cum captain)," he said.

"We will clearly have designated support staff. We all recognise the role and the importance of Sachin in the team," he said.

Balachandran pointed out that the opening combination of Tendulkar and Jayasuriya was one of the most explosive that can be found in the history of the game and would regale the crowds.

"It will be absolutely fantastic to watch potentially the most explosive opening pair in the history. We have Shaun Pollock who's known as a thinking cricketer, whether with the ball or bat or the mind.

"We have a couple of other fast bowlers in Lasith Malinga and Dilhara (Fernando). We also have Loots Bosman with a good track record.

"All these men can change the course of the game. I don't have to say much about Robin Uthappa and Harbhajan," he added. The focus now was in completing the team and as a first step the team has chosen Mumbai Ranji Trophy players, all rounder Abhishek Nair and talented youngster Ajinkya Rahane, along with hard-hitting wicket keeper batsmen Yogesh Takawale of Maharashtra and Pinal Shah of Baroda.

"Having built the core with Sachin as the nucleus we have started to look outwards after the auction and picked Abshishek Nair, an explosive batsman, Ajinkya Rahane, Yogesh Takawale and Pinal Shah, the latter two being hard-hitting wicket keeper batsmen. Over the course of the next week we will announce a few more names," he said.

The franchise representative did not worry too much about the absence of many Mumbaikars in the team, saying that the team was not yet complete and that they possessed the biggest of them all -- Tendulkar.

"Here's a man (Tendulkar) who has embodied the spirit of cricket in Mumbai. He's the essence of cricket of this generation. Mumbai has watched him grow and set records which people are still proud of breaking if they are broken.

"Normally cricketers get respected, admired and even envied. I think Sachin is beyond that. Having said that the team is
still like a work in progress, not completed yet.

"But look at the starting point. The starting point itself has fetched us the best loved Mumbai cricketer of this generation. It's a great starting point," he emphasised.

This was a article about Sachin Tendulkar and the mumbai IPL Team

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Hyderabad IPL Team

V V S Laxman to lead Hyderabad IPL Team

The wristy Hyderabad player V.V.S Laxman will captain the untitled IPL Hyderabad team. “Ours is going to be one of the favourite teams in IPL, going forward,” J Krishnan, president and chief executive officer, Cricket Initiative of Deccan Chronicle, said on Monday in an announcement. Deccan Chronicle Group who won the IPL Hyderbad franchise bid will play a minimum of 14 matches in twenty20 format in the inagural DFL-IPL cricket series starting in April.

Laxman being the local Hyderabadi hero was the obvious choice to lead the team. Laxman is considered as one of the greats to play test cricket for India, his stunning innings of 281 at Eden Gardens not only bailed India out of trouble but also nailed Australia, this could easily be ranked as the best test innings ever played by an Indian batsman.

The Hyderabad team appear to be very solid and favorites to win the DFL-IPL cricket Series. Deccan Chronicle Group has announced 18 member team which includes exciting international players like Andrew Symonds (Aus), Adam Gilchrist (AUS), Herschelle Gibbs (RSA), Shahid Afridi (PAK), Rohit Sharma (IND), Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Silva and Nuwan Zoysa (SRL).

Yogesh Vijay Takawale signs for mumbai IPL Team

Yogesh Vijay Takawale has been signed up by Mumbai team for an amount of US $50,000. Yogesh, a wicketkeeper batsman hails from Pune and has played 14 first class matches for Maharashtra scoring 812 runs at an average of 42.73.

Yogesh is son of an autorickshaw driver and this IPL contract would give him financial boost and hopefully this would encourage him to become a better sportsman. An elated Takawale said “I never thought I would get to play in the IPL under the captaincy of Tendulkar”.

Some More youngsters sign up for IPL Mumbai

The IPL Mumbai franchisee, Reliance Group, has signed up Baroda wicket-keeper Pinal Shah along with Mumbai players Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane. Yogest Takewala has already signed up with mumbai earlier this week.

Good money for the youngsters, but they will have to also focus on their cricket

“We signed Pinal Shah two days ago. All four will play in the inaugural season. We will make other announcements soon,” R. Balachandran, President and Chief Marketing Officer, Reliance Retail, said.

Sachin Tendulkar is the nucleus of the team

WHILE MANY of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees have announced their respective team's name, captains, coaches and even some of their domestic signings, the Mumbai team — owned by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) — has remained tight-lipped about most of the issues.

However, with less than two months to go for the IPL gala, R Balachandran, President and Chief Marketing Officer of the Reliance Retail Limited, who is a key figure in RIL's IPL team, agreed to talk about their plans in an exclusive interview with the Hindustan Times.

Excerpts:

On RIL's decision to venture into the IPL

We look at it as means to contribute to Indian sports. It was not a difficult decision to take a plunge into the IPL since cricket has a very strong emotional connect with the people of India.

On the business aspect of owning an IPL team

The amount involved, that is 111.9 million USD, is a very big in terms of cricket, but for us as a business entity it's not such a huge investment. And more importantly, when you look at the time span of 10 years for which the amount has to be invested for owning a team, the perspective changes completely. When you think you have to pay close to Rs 45 crore per year only for the team rights, you start looking at it very differently. Also, it is in a sense a very unique business opportunity since there are immediate returns guaranteed through the form of television rights.

On Wednesday's player auction

If you ask me whether we got those we wished for, on a scale of 10, I would say we got eight. And in an auction it is a reasonable figure. It was our iconic player's (Sachin Tendulkar's) wishlist. And if you look at the eight players we have on board so far, the crux of the squad is formed. We have the world's most lethal opening combination (in Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya). Then we have Shaun Pollock who is one of the best all-rounders. And then we have a couple of surprise packages, which will be known to you very soon.

On whether Tendulkar would be leading the Mumbai team

I cannot comment on it now. All I would say is that the Mumbai team will revolve around him. He is the nucleus of the team. And everything else is a mere formality.