Dimitri Mascarenhas can be a big hit in the IPL

Source : Times Online

Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, believes that the domestic Twenty20 game must be “sexed up” to match the rise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Dimitri Mascarenhas became the first England player to sign up for the competition yesterday.

Mascarenhas, 30, the leading performer in the 20-over internationals in New Zealand last month, became available only three hours before the deadline to go into the second IPL auction. He will join Shane Warne, his Hampshire colleague, at the Rajasthan Royals, having attracted a bid of $100,000 (about £50,000) from the Jaipur-based franchise.

Sony has paid $1billion over ten years for television rights to the IPL, but Bransgrove believes that English cricket can match the event by deregulating the Twenty20 Cup. “The IPL is a wake-up call to us,” he said. “They have recognised that crowds want to see big-name players and left us behind the eight-ball.

“This is something we might have considered two years ago given our early success with the format we invented. No one will persuade me that the interest in India will be any greater than it is over here, or would be with the same players. We just need to make our league more attractive, funkier and sexier.

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“I am not saying have unlimited numbers of overseas players, but the product needs to be reviewed. Twenty20 is not a breeding ground for England players in the same way as the championship, so why not bring in the stars, the showmen and the England players?”

Mascarenhas was finally given the permission required by his county to join the IPL as late as 2am yesterday when he agreed a mutually acceptable deal with Bransgrove. In return for his clearance, he has extended his Hampshire contract for two more seasons.

“We agreed a two-week window for 2008, then he will be 100 per cent available for the IPL in 2009 and 2010,” Bransgrove said. “He could not have entered the auction without a 'no objection' certificate from us, but we would then have had a player who was not motivated and would probably leave at the end of the season.

“To deny him the chance to play would have been an ostrich reaction to something that everybody has to acknowledge has changed the landscape of world cricket.”

Mascarenhas was approached via David Ligertwood, his agent, after interest from the Royals sparked by Warne. Lalit Modi, an architect of the competition as vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said that he had spoken to Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, to make sure that a deal was acceptable.

The competition runs from April 18 until June 1 and Mascarenhas will miss a single championship match and three or four in the Friends Provident Trophy. Hampshire will receive compensation. Bransgrove denied that Mascarenhas will be flying between England and India through the first six weeks of the season.

James Hopes, the Australia one-day all-rounder, proved the most lucrative earner with a $300,000 bid from Mohali. That was more than twice as much as Jaipur paid for Shane Watson, his Australia team-mate, but Mascarenhas could be one of the bargain buys if he reproduces the big hitting that has decorated his England career. His status with the national side should not be affected as the ECB and ICC have given full backing to the format and the IPL is likely to benefit again after Australia yesterday pulled out of the tour of Pakistan next month on safety grounds, removing one bar to the appearances of Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Andrew Symonds.

Cricket Australia will decide for how long its contracted players will be allowed to feature before a tour to West Indies in mid-May. Its decision not to travel to Pakistan, on Government advice, may build momentum for the ICC Champions Trophy to be switched to South Africa or Sri Lanka in the autumn.

Misbah exceeded our budget: Sourav

Indo Asian News Service

Kolkata, March 11: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly Tuesday said they couldn't include Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq in their team due to budgetary constraints.
'We wanted Misbah initially, but then our pockets did not permit us,' Ganguly told reporters at the launch of the team here.

'We have six international stars and we will find it difficult to field all of them. We are happy with our team and hope it will come off well,' he added.

The Kolkata team boasts of Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Tatenda Taibu, Umar Gul and David Hussey.

Sourav also reposed his faith in the domestic cricketers like Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Sourashis Lahiri, Wriddhiman Saha and Rohan Banerjee.

'We have a fine breed of domestic players. And we think we will have a fine team if it plays to its potential,' he said.

Asked if the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) stalemate would be addressed, he said, 'Sure it will be and sorted out amicably. We will sit in a day or two and sort out the matter.'

The rival faction in the CAB has cornered the ruling group demanding 70 percent of the share of tickets in Eden and the matter remains unresolved till date.

Asked, who was the strongest opponent among the seven other teams, Ganguly said, 'The game can be scrutinised more when it is longer. All the eight teams in the competition are dangerous and competitive and we must play good strong cricket to win.'

'But I still feel, Twenty20 is about the fitness, skill and form for those 20 overs on that given day. So it will be hard to predict,' he added.

About his combination with Shah Rukh Khan and John Buchanan, he said, 'I have known Shah Rukh for a long time now and he is a good friend and John is one of the best coaches and hope we will do well as a team.'

© Copyright 2008 Indo Asian News Service.

IPL: Under-19 captain Virat Kohli goes to Bangalore

Indo Asian News Service

Mumbai, March 11: The Under-19 World Cup winning captain, Virat Kohli, has been bought by Bangalore, as a number of members of the Indian youth team that won the title in Malaysia went under the hammer in the second round of Indian Premier League auction here Tuesday.
Other Under-19 players who were picked by various franchises included left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan by Delhi, wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami by Bangalore, Taruwar Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja by Jaipur, Sidharth Kaul and Iqbal Abdulla by Kolkata and Tanmay Srivastava and Ajitesh Argal by Mohali.

Among the foreigners the most prominent name was Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan batsman, who was picked up by Bangalore Royal Challengers, who will also have Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak in the team.

The first England player to be auctioned, all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, was bought by Jaipur's Rajasthan Royals, who have also signed up South African fast bowler Morne Morkel, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson and Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir.

Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders bought Pakistanis Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez, while Mohali picked up Australians James Hopes and Luke Pomersbach.

© Copyright 2008 Indo Asian News Service.

IPL: Who went where in second auction

Source : Indo Asian News Service

Mumbai, March 11: Following is the list of players picked up Tuesday in the second auction for Indian Premier League (IPL) teams (City/Team/Player):
Delhi Daredevils: Pradeep Sangwan (India), Brett Geeves (Tasmania, Australia)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan), Siddarth Kaul and Iqbal Abdulla (India)

Mohali: James Hopes and Luke Pomersbach (Australia), Tanmay Srivastava and Ajitesh Argal (India), Kyle Mills (New Zealand)

Rajasthan Royals: Dimitri Mascarenhas (England), Morne Morkel (South Africa), Shane Watson (Australia), Sohail Tanveer (Pakistan), Taruwar Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja (India)

Royal Challengers (Bangalore): Misbah ul Haq (Pakistan), Abbur Razzak (Bangladesh), Virat Kohli and Srivatsa Goswami (India), Ross Taylor (New Zealand)

Mumbai Indians: Ashwell Prince (South Africa), Saurabh Tiwary and Manish Pandey (India)

Chennai: Napoleon Einstein, Abhinav Mukund and Viraj Kadbe (India)

Hyderabad did not pick any player in the second auction.

© Copyright 2008 Indo Asian News Service.

Bangalore: The Bangalore Royal Challengers team was launched amidst flashing lights and a resurgent party spirit at the Taj West End Hotel lawns here

Bangalore: The Bangalore Royal Challengers team was launched amidst flashing lights and a resurgent party spirit at the Taj West End Hotel lawns here on Wednesday night.

Mr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman, UB Group, who owns the Bangalore franchise, said: “We have a solid, dependable and high-performance team which can play well under pressure. I am confident my team will win.”

The team colours, a mix of red with a yellow tinge, was also unveiled.

Prior to the launch, the team’s newly-appointed Chief Cricket Officer Martin Crowe emphatically said: “We want to be the inaugural winners of the Indian Premier League. Our team, hand picked by Rahul (Dravid) and Vijay Mallya, has people with integrity, humility and we have also balanced it with youth. Our bowling is good and we look to play intelligent cricket. Twenty20 is not just thrash and bash,” the former New Zealand skipper said.

Meanwhile, skipper Dravid emphasised that the IPL’s success will depend on the quality of cricket on display. “It is a new concept and whether we succeed will be known in time. It also brings international players in to a domestic tournament and it will be interesting to see how the fans react to the city concept. I hope we get good crowd support as that would be a motivating factor for the players. And if the cricket is good, the crowds will come back,” Dravid said.

About his team, Dravid said: “Excited to share a dressing room with players like Jacques Kallis and Nathan Bracken. We wanted people who believe in the concept of a team and we interacted with some of the players we picked and they are all excited.”

Meanwhile Venkatesh Prasad, the team’s coach, said that though the team has players more famous for their skills in the Test arena, he was confident about their success. “Our key players have plenty of experience and can adapt to different forms of the game,” Prasad said.

For the team’s CEO Charu Sharma, the team’s priorities were based on “solid plans.” “We surely aren’t here on a wing and a prayer. Martin and Prasad have solid plans for our team,” Sharma said.

The team: Batsmen: Rahul Dravid (captain), S. Chanderpaul, Misbah-ul-Haq, Ross Taylor, Wasim Jaffer, V. Kohli, J. Arun Kumar and B. Chipli.

Bowlers: D. Steyn, Zaheer Khan, N. Bracken, B. Akhil, Anil Kumble, S. Joshi, A. Razzak, K.P. Appanna and Praveen Kumar.

All-rounders: J. Kallis, Cameron White and Vinay Kumar.

Wicketkeepers: M. Boucher, S. Goswami and Devraj Patil.

Shah Rukh Khan unveils Kolkata Knight Riders

KHAN’S KNIGHTS: Shah Rukh Khan, team owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, unveils the team T-shirt. Also seen are coach John Buchanan (left) and captain Sourav Ganguly.

KOLKATA: One of the eight Indian Premier League teams, Kolkata Knight Riders, was unveiled by actor Shah Rukh Khan along with the team coach John Buchanan and captain Sourav Ganguly at an impressive function on Tuesday.

Part owners Jay Mehta, his wife and actress Juhi Chawla and the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Prasun Mukherjee were also present.

Shah Rukh said, “we are here to play to win.” Explaining the name of the team he said it was chosen keeping the youth in mind. “It should be appealing to kids,” and added “you have to play cricket like football in Kolkata.”

Rationale


Shah Rukh explained the rationale behind the team’s attire in black and gold. He said black symbolised Goddess Kali while gold symbolised the team’s belief, “we are hear to win the battle of life.” Shah Rukh added, “we will try to bring a lot of happiness and entertainment to all in Kolkata.” Buchanan said, “we are all trying to do our best to put up a good show.” Ganguly said it was a pleasure and honour to be part of the team and to guide its fortunes.

Four home grown players, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddiman Saha, Sourasish Lahiri and under-22 player Rohan Banerjee, were also present. Everyone who is part of the side was presented with a golden helmet each.

Contentious issues


On the contentious issues of complimentary tickets, Shah Rukh said, “I have come to Kolkata to set things right. Like the players, the CAB is also part of us. We are going to sit down and sort out all the outstanding issues amicably.”

The matinee idol said the team anthem was composed and sung by Vishal Shekar; Reebok designed the team’s kit and Manish Malhotra designed the formal clothes.

“Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo” (will do, will fight, will win) is the team’s slogan while ‘Hoog Lee’ a Royal Bengal tiger is the mascot.

While taking questions from the media, Shah Rukh said any extra money earned from this venture would be diverted to develop soccer in the state.

India Premier League Schedules

2008 April 18: Bangalore v Kolkata at Bangalore
2008 April 19: Mohali v Chennai at Mohali
2008 April 19: Delhi v Jaipur at Delhi
2008 April 20: Mumbai v Bangalore at Mumbai
2008 April 20: Kolkata v Hyderabad at Kolkata
2008 April 21: Jaipur v Mohali at Jaipur
2008 April 22: Hyderabad v Delhi at Hyderabad
2008 April 23: Chennai v Mumbai at Chennai
2008 April 24: Hyderabad v Jaipur at Hyderabad
2008 April 25: Mohali v Mumbai at Mohali
2008 April 26: Bangalore v Jaipur at Bangalore
2008 April 26: Chennai v Kolkata at Chennai
2008 April 27: Mumbai v Hyderabad at Mumbai
2008 April 27: Mohali v Delhi at Mohali
2008 April 28: Bangalore v Chennai at Bangalore
2008 April 29: Kolkata v Mumbai at Kolkata
2008 April 30: Delhi v Bangalore at Delhi.
2008 May 1: Hyderabad v Mohali at Hyderabad
2008 May 1: Jaipur v Kolkata at Jaipur
2008 May 2: Chennai v Delhi at Chennai.
2008 May 3: Hyderabad v Bangalore at Hyderabad
2008 May 3: Mohali v Kolkata at Mohali
2008 May 4: Mumbai v Delhi at Mumbai
2008 May 4: Jaipur v Chennai at Jaipur
2008 May 5: Bangalore v Mohali at Bangalore
2008 May 6: Chennai v Hyderabad at Chennai
2008 May 7: Mumbai v Jaipur at Mumbai
2008 May 8: Delhi v Chennai at Delhi
2008 May 8: Kolkata v Bangalore at Kolkata
2008 May 9: Jaipur v Hyderabad at Jaipur
2008 May 10: Bangalore v Mumbai at Bangalore
2008 May 10: Chennai v Mohali at Chennai
2008 May 11: Hyderabad v Kolkata at Hyderabad
2008 May 11: Jaipur v Delhi at Jaipur
2008 May 12: Mohali v Bangalore at Mohali
2008 May 13: Kolkata v Delhi at Kolkata
2008 May 14: Mumbai v Chennai at Mumbai
2008 May 14: Mohali v Jaipur at Mohali
2008 May 15: Delhi v Hyderabad at Delhi
2008 May 16: Mumbai v Kolkata at Mumbai
2008 May 17: Delhi v Mohali at Delhi
2008 May 17: Jaipur v Bangalore at Jaipur
2008 May 18: Hyderabad v Mumbai at Hyderabad
2008 May 18: Kolkata v Chennai at Kolkata
2008 May 19: Bangalore v Delhi at Bangalore
2008 May 20: Kolkata v Jaipur at Kolkata
2008 May 21: Mumbai v Mohali at Mumbai
2008 May 21: Chennai v Bangalore at Chennai
2008 May 22: Delhi v Kolkata at Delhi
2008 May 23: Mohali v Hyderabad at Mohali.
2008 May 24: Delhi v Mumbai at Delhi
2008 May 24: Chennai v Jaipur at Chennai
2008 May 25: Bangalore v Hyderabad at Bangalore
2008 May 25: Kolkata v Mohali at Kolkata
2008 May 26: Jaipur v Mumbai at Jaipur
2008 May 27: Hyderabad v Chennai at Hyderabad
2008 May 30: First semi-final at Mumbai
2008 May 31: Second semi-final at Mumbai
2008 June 1: Final at Mumbai

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