Bengaluru (Bangalore) Royal Challengers

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Dravid ready for Tweny20 challenge Rahul Dravid is talking only Twenty20 these days. More... Dravid ready for Tweny20 challenge Harish Kotian in Bangalore March 12, 2008 19:39 IST Last Updated: March 12, 2008 19:47 IST Rahul Dravid [images] is talking only Twenty20 these days. The former India captain, who will lead Bangalore's Indian Premier League team, said he is excited at the prospect of playing in the inaugural Twenty20 tournament. Speaking ahead of the launch of the team owned by business tycoon Dr Vijay Mallya [images] in Bangalore on Wednesday, Dravid said: "It is exciting and I am looking forward to it. It is a new concept and I am lucky to be part of something at its inception. In the few years that I play I am sure I will get a chance to experience something new." The Bangalore team, which will be called "Royal Challengers", will be coached by former India pacer and current bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad. Interestingly, former New Zealand [images] captain Martin Crowe has been signed up as the team's Chief Cricket Officer. He will be focusing on team's strategy. Dravid, who was dropped from the Indian ODI team last year and has not had a taste of Twenty20 internationals, said he is well prepared for the upcoming IPL tournament, scheduled to begin on April 18. Eight teams from across the country will play each other on a home and away basis, with the top teams clashing in the best-of-three finals. "It will be interesting to see how it [iPL] goes. It is a totally new concept and whether it will succeed or not we will know in time. It has got some good things going for it, in the sense that firstly it is a new form of the game and obviously it is a short version of the game. It also brings in for the first time international stars in the domestic game. It is still a domestic tournament with seven domestic players in the eleven and four international players only," he said. He said Bangalore boasts of a good all-round team with presence of top players in ace leg-spinner Anil Kumble [images], South Africa's Jacques Kallis [images], Mark Boucher [images] and Dale Steyn, India pacer Zaheer Khan [images] and Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq to name a few. "We picked players whom we thought would gel in; players who believe in the concept of the team and I think more or less we got that. Speaking to some of the international players we picked I think they are very excited to come to Bangalore and be a part of our team. We also want to make them feel a part of our team too," the right-hander added. So what does he think about sharing a dressing room with players from different countries and some junior players? "I am really excited to share the dressing room for a month and half with these talented international players whether it is [Jacques] Kallis or Mark Boucher or [Nathan] Bracken or Cameron White or anyone of the international guys. We were very conscious of the fact that everyone is going to come at the last minute because of the international schedule and there is not going to be much time. So whatever bonding is to be done will have to be done travelling on the tour so it is going to be interesting," he quipped. Talking about the choice of his players who were selected at the first IPL auction, Dravid said it wasn't easy since it was a first such auction and it moved very fast. "It was a different kind of experience and something very unique. It was different, I can't say I felt happy or thrilled, it was something new. Things were happening so fast because the pace of auction was so fast and the dynamics were changing so quickly, you could never really be sure what was happening. I was so caught up in it that I didn't have much time to reflect on it," he said. "There were eight teams and everyone was bidding and it was tough to get everyone you wanted. But the rules of the auction were such that every team will go away thinking that they have a good chance, and that they have a good team. The rules were such that it ensured that people had a fair go at the pie and we are very happy with the players we got," the veteran batsman added. Dravid also revealed why the young Indian players fetched a good price at the auction. "We recognized the fact in the first auction that the Indian players are very important and we were trying to get as many Indian players as possible. At the end of the day, seven Indians have to play in the eleven, so we were very keen to get the best possible Indians we could but we had our restrictions." The Karnataka batsman is however apprehensive about how fans will react to the first-ever IPL tournament, which will be played under floodlights. "We will just need to see how the fans react to it, how the people react to it. It has never been tried before, the concept of people supporting their city, it is interesting. People who are in it are in it for a long time. I think it is gonna take some time like everything else to develop. Most importantly if the quality of cricket is good then we will have people come to the stadiums or watch it on television," Dravid said. By the looks of it the Chinnaswamy stadium will be houseful when the IPL kicks off on April 18 with the hosts taking on Shah Rukh Khan's [images] Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Red and Yellow for Royal Challengers Dr Vijay Mallya's Bangalore Indian Premier League team "Royal Challengers" will be attired in a attractive mix of red and yellow for the Twenty20 tournament which begins next month. More... Red and Yellow for Royal Challengers Harish Kotian in Bangalore March 12, 2008 Dr Vijay Mallya's [images] Bangalore Indian Premier League team "Royal Challengers" will be attired in a attractive mix of red and yellow for the Twenty20 tournament which begins next month. The team composition and the squad will be unveiled in Bangalore on Wednesday evening. The team, which will be led by former India captain Rahul Dravid [images], has Venkatesh Prasad (left) as it's coach and New Zealand's [images] former skipper Martin Crowe (right) as the team's strategist. Also read: Dravid ready for Twenty20 challenge Crowe and Prasad were attired in the colours during an advertisement shoot at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. The team's Chief Executive Officer Charu Sharma said the red and yellow colours make attractive viewing under lights and "is also associated with many good things in our country." "The colour is familiar with this part of the country and is part of the Karnataka flag," he said. Here is a first look of it.

[kumble_rocks]

Knowing that Dravid had a hand in Bangalore team selection , I am glad he is no longer the captain. What a moronic team selection ...

[theguyinallblue]

there will be a great amount of rivalry between Knight Riders and Royal Challengers.. i think only chris Gayle and NZ WK are the ones who can be an asset to KRs...rest are just ...

[beetle]

b'lore team will be the big challengers...they have nothing to lose but their"slow" reputation!:D

[observer1]

i think brc are a hot tip to win the tournament.

[Indus_Army]

Damn...that's some colour combination! With the Bangalore PHL jersey of the hi-fliers being in orange and now this combo for the royal challengers, Bangalore might well be successful in staging a coup over Chennai as the Rangeela city.:cantstop: oh BTW, Sunil Joshi has found a place in the Bangalore team.

[Indus_Army]

i think brc are a hot tip to win the tournament.

oh I wish! Though the team looks competitive, I would place Mohali & Hyderabad sides as the front runners for the first tournament. But with only 20 overs to play with, anything can happen. Bangalore looks stronger now with Misbah. The way sleeper coaches likes Jaffer and Chopra are playing the Ranji ODIs, there's still some hope left I guess.

[fineleg]

Red and yellow...superstar Rajnikant and Chiranjeevi will applaud :D :P

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White all set for IPL With a new Cricket Australia contract for the next 12 months safely in his keep, Bushrangers skipper Cameron White leaves for India on Friday for what he describes as an 'interesting adventure' in the inaugural season of Indian Premier League. More... White all set for IPL 9/04/2008 6:04:03 PM Angus Morgan With a new Cricket Australia contract for the next 12 months safely in his keep, Bushrangers skipper Cameron White leaves for India on Friday for what he describes as an 'interesting adventure' in the inaugural season of Indian Premier League. White's looking forward to working closely with Indian Test skipper Anil Kumble at the Bangalore Royal Challengers whose squad also includes the West Indies' leading batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kiwi Ross Taylor and the new joint-No.1 on the Test bowling rankings, South African quick Dale Steyn. "There's players like Kumble, Rahul Dravid, a couple of really good South Africans, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher, some players who have been around international cricket for some time," said White. "I think it's a great avenue and a great opportunity to learn off those guys so I'm really looking forward to it." "Twenty20 is just going to get bigger and bigger so it's exciting to be in a stage in cricket." "Obviously I've been to India before but this is a whole new format, a whole new series, but I've no idea what to expect - it will be interesting." "I'm going in with an open mind." White said the chance to finetune his bowling would be invaluable ahead of next month's One Day-Internationals in the West Indies. "For me my bowling is probably going to be the avenue into more games for Australia, so that's something that I've got to do a little bit better," White said. "Hopefully when I get an opportunity, or if I get an opportunity, I can do that."

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Virat Kohli joins camp BANGALORE: Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian under-19 World Cup winning team and Delhi?s middle order batsman, has joined Bangalore Royal Challengers? preparatory camp for its inaugural IPL clash with Kolkata Knight Riders ... More... Virat Kohli joins camp BANGALORE: Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian under-19 World Cup winning team and Delhi’s middle order batsman, has joined Bangalore Royal Challengers’ preparatory camp for its inaugural IPL clash with Kolkata Knight Riders here on April 18. Most of the other players are expected to join the camp by April 12.

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Noffke makes last-minute IPL dash Ashley Noffke will warm up for his Test tour of West Indies with a brief stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Bangalore picked him to replace the injured Nathan Bracken. More... Indian Premier League Noffke makes last-minute IPL dash Cricinfo staff April 14, 2008 Ashley Noffke could come up against Ricky Ponting in the Indian Premier League after agreeing to a deal with Bangalore © Getty Images Ashley Noffke will warm up for his Test tour of West Indies with a brief stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Bangalore picked him to replace the injured Nathan Bracken. Noffke leaves for India on Tuesday but must be back in Brisbane in early May for Australia's training camp ahead of the Caribbean series. Noffke did not originally nominate for either of the IPL auctions and intended to stay focused on his push for international honours. But after he was confirmed for the West Indies trip and named in Cricket Australia's 25-man squad of contracted players for 2008-09, Noffke decided a short Twenty20 spell could be beneficial. "It's a pretty exciting proposition to go up against so many good players," Noffke said. "I'm taking the view that it will be good for my development as a player as well as a chance to get some bowling under my belt ahead of the Windies tour." Noffke's last-minute dash to India means he will be available for Bangalore's opening clash against Kolkata on Friday. If selected, that could pit Noffke against the Australia captain Ricky Ponting as well as the newly-contracted David Hussey. He will also be free to play three more IPL games before heading home for the training camp. Bracken, who is still recovering after having knee surgery in March, will be assessed prior to the ODI tour of West Indies to determine whether he can take part.

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Fit Zaheer strenghtens Challengers' bowling line-up The Royal Challengers received a boost when Zaheer Khan announced that he had regained his fitness and that he would feature in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League, when the Bangalore-based outfit take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 18. More... Indian Premier League Fit Zaheer strenghtens Challengers' bowling line-up Cricinfo staff April 15, 2008 Rahul Dravid, the Royal Challengers' captain, will have the services of Zaheer Khan for their upcoming match against the Kolkata Knight Riders © AFP The Royal Challengers received a boost when Zaheer Khan announced that he had regained his fitness and that he would feature in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League, when the Bangalore-based outfit take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 18. "Twenty20 should not be a problem. I have been bowling every day in the last three days and yes I will be playing the first game," Zaheer said. His return to fitness is set to give a fillip to the Challengers, who will be without services of Dale Steyn for the initial stages of the event. Steyn will take part in the Standard Bank Pro20 tournament in South Africa, before returning to the team. The franchise may also miss Nathan Bracken for the entire tournament, after he was advised four to ten weeks rest for a knee injury. Zaheer, who was recently named as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year, said he expected the stands to be filled during the Challengers' matches. "The cream of the International players will be playing and there should be crowds. This is the first year, lets see how it goes." He has been on the road back to recovery since returning mid-way through the tour of Australia, when injury forced him out of the Sydney Test. He subsequently underwent rehabilitation in the Centre for Sports Medicine in Johannesburg, and missed the mandatory fitness Tests ahead of the South Africa series. Meanwhile, Cameron White, the attacking Australian batsmen, said he was looking at the IPL as an opportunity to work on his game. "I am lucky that I played well for my state [Victoria] in Twenty20 and now I get to play for Bangalore," said White. "I am in the one-day squad for the tour of West Indies after the IPL, so I will try to improve in this tournament."

[Dirty_South]

:two_thumbs_up:

[Chandan]

Injury-hit Bangalore put up brave front G Krishnan Bangalore IT IS a start the Bangalore team could have done without. Two days before the IPL opener here between the Rahul Dravid-led team and the Kolkata outfit led by Sourav Ganguly, the hosts will be without two of their strike bowlers. Test captain Anil Kumble has still not recovered from the groin strain that ruled him out of the third Test against South Africa in Kanpur and will miss the lung opener on Friday. The ace leg-spinner is also likely to sit out of the second game in Mumbai on April 20. But he is expected to turn out for the third match against Rajasthan here on April 26. Dravid said on Wednesday that National Cricket Academy physio Paul Chapman was monitoring Kumble's progress. "Anil will miss the first game definitely," he said. "We will take a decision that is best for him and he should be in a position to play in the next four to five days." Bangalore will also miss Australian leftarm swing bowler Nathan Bracken due to a knee injury for the first few matches while Dale Steyn, South Africa's pace spearhead, has returned home to fulfil his commitments in Cricket South Africa's Twenty20 competition. Zaheer Khan, who ruled himself out of the Test series against South Africa following a heel injury, is returning to shape and Wednesday's practice match under lights will give an indication on his state. The unavailability of leading players has left Dravid, coach Venkatesh Prasad and chief cricket officer Martin Crowe in a spot. Crowe said, "A week ago, we had only three international players, today we also have Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis, so that is a change for the better. We are going to be very upfront and transparent about this. The IPL over 44 days, is not a sprint, it is a marathon. It is quite a long time and opportunity will come to all the players at some stage or the other." Dravid said the uncertainty had thrown a challenge but "we have luckily covered most of our bases". The former India captain also clarified his remarks about the player auction. "I hope it (auction) does not happen again," is what he is reported to have said during an interaction in Chennai. "I don't think I said it like that. It was an off-the-cuff answer to a young girl's question. "The answer was taken out of context. The auction was a unique thing, it happens in football, American sport and in a franchise concept it was necessary to do something like this and ensure everyone had a level playing field." Injury-hit Bangalore put up brave front G Krishnan Bangalore IT IS a start the Bangalore team could have done without. Two days before the IPL opener here between the Rahul Dravid-led team and the Kolkata outfit led by Sourav Ganguly, the hosts will be without two of their strike bowlers. Test captain Anil Kumble has still not recovered from the groin strain that ruled him out of the third Test against South Africa in Kanpur and will miss the lung opener on Friday. The ace leg-spinner is also likely to sit out of the second game in Mumbai on April 20. But he is expected to turn out for the third match against Rajasthan here on April 26. Dravid said on Wednesday that National Cricket Academy physio Paul Chapman was monitoring Kumble's progress. "Anil will miss the first game definitely," he said. "We will take a decision that is best for him and he should be in a position to play in the next four to five days." Bangalore will also miss Australian leftarm swing bowler Nathan Bracken due to a knee injury for the first few matches while Dale Steyn, South Africa's pace spearhead, has returned home to fulfil his commitments in Cricket South Africa's Twenty20 competition. Zaheer Khan, who ruled himself out of the Test series against South Africa following a heel injury, is returning to shape and Wednesday's practice match under lights will give an indication on his state. The unavailability of leading players has left Dravid, coach Venkatesh Prasad and chief cricket officer Martin Crowe in a spot. Crowe said, "A week ago, we had only three international players, today we also have Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis, so that is a change for the better. We are going to be very upfront and transparent about this. The IPL over 44 days, is not a sprint, it is a marathon. It is quite a long time and opportunity will come to all the players at some stage or the other." Dravid said the uncertainty had thrown a challenge but "we have luckily covered most of our bases". The former India captain also clarified his remarks about the player auction. "I hope it (auction) does not happen again," is what he is reported to have said during an interaction in Chennai. "I don't think I said it like that. It was an off-the-cuff answer to a young girl's question. "The answer was taken out of context. The auction was a unique thing, it happens in football, American sport and in a franchise concept it was necessary to do something like this and ensure everyone had a level playing field."

[King]

It's probably a blessing in disguise missing Kumble. He's a spinner that bowls fairly quick through the air and the ball will come on to the bat quite nicely. It's makes for a good slog and Bangalore RC will be better off without him in the first game. I still am not convinced with the kind of intensity they will play IPL though. I doubt if Bangalore RCs will even pose a challenge at all. The team looks very thin on aggressive batting although bowling line up is in good hands.

[Dirty_South]

Ravi ! Nice avatar :)

[King]

Ravi ! Nice avatar :)

You too Blue :two_thumbs_up:

[Cricketics]

Bangalore Batting order Dravid and Jaffer opening?? 2 openers known for their test match skills?? i mean having Boucher and Cam White in the team.. they should have let either one of them open the innings along with Dravid. Boucher might have been a good deal on top.. wat say?

[Predator_05]

Koi faark nahi padta, yaar. Bangalore's Royal Challengers are the worst team in the IPL by a country mile. They will do well to even win a game or two.