All news about IPL

[Rohan495]

Pietersen wants IPL chance Kevin Pietersen has given the strongest indication yet that England's players are feeling they are getting a rough deal by not being able to take part in the Indian Premier League. While Pietersen remains focussed on his England career he hinted his priorities may change. While millions of dollars have been splashed on the world's leading players England's stars have had to watch from afar as their international commitments and central contracts preclude any involvement. On the whole they have taken the party line that England comes first, but frustration is now growing. "It's not something we can control, but it's definitely something that the hierarchy needs to fix into our fixtures," Pietersen told The Times. "You want your best players playing both for their country and for the IPL. You don't want them choosing between the two. It's silly to think that you're losing up to a million [dollars] over six weeks." "As long as it doesn't interfere with me playing for England, then I'm all for the IPL," he said. "I won't jeopardise my England career for the IPL just yet, but the schedules have to be sorted because the England players are the only ones missing out." Dimitri Mascarenhas is England's only representative in the first IPL tournament, having struck a deal with Hampshire to allow him two weeks in India with the Jaipur franchise. Although Mascarenhas has been part of the ODI squad over the last year he doesn't hold a central contract, so it wasn't a decision the ECB were involved with.

[Gambit]

Oh really KP? This is what he said a month ago:

He said: "There's no way in this world I'd turn my back on England. "I know there is interest and, yes, there have been offers, etc etc, but it's not something I'm particularly interested in. "Money's not really too important, it's not as if I need money right now. I'm really enjoying doing what I'm doing."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/02/29/ucpietersen129.xml This guy is a real mercenary.

[Sachinism]

^^ exactly what i was thinking when i saw the thread title what a frickin joke these people are

[Dirty_South]

wat a fag !

[Rohip]

they all want the indian rupee, they know which side their bread is buttered now

[sd1222]

But It would be amazing having cricket's own Posh and Becks with KevJess on the Indian Premier League. Kevin's fiancee is just stunning. It does not hurt that Kevin is such a dasher..

[sd1222]

There's this great article I read on Kevin Pietersen and him wanting to play the IPL. Plus, it ha sthis take on Kevin and Jessica too. Just wish KP was there. Read it here, folks..

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England players' ideas of 2009 IPL turned to Ashes Players centrally contracted by England will not be free to take part in theIndian Premier League next year, according to Giles Clarke, chairman of theEngland and Wales Cricket Board. Test cricket, says Clarke, remains ofparamount importance to the English game and defending that is the ECB'spriority. More... England players' ideas of 2009 IPL turned to Ashes TOM SHAW/GETTY IMAGES The Hampshire captain Dimitri Mascarenhas is the only England-qualified player to have signed up for the Indian Premier League By Robin Scott-Elliott Tuesday, 8 April 2008 Players centrally contracted by England will not be free to take part in the Indian Premier League next year, according to Giles Clarke, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board. Test cricket, says Clarke, remains of paramount importance to the English game and defending that is the ECB's priority. The IPL begins its first season next week – overshadowing the start of the English domestic campaign – with Dimitri Mascarenhas the only English player participating. But the IPL desires the world's best players and the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff remain on their wish list. "I don't see it [England players competing in the 2009 IPL]," said Clarke yesterday. "The reason for central contracts is to allow the coach to determine how much cricket those players can play. I don't see Peter Moores determining that he wishes to release a player. The risks are very significant." Last week Pietersen spoke of the appeal of the IPL and called for the schedules to be adjusted so he and his England team-mates might be able to play and reap the accompanying financial rewards. England tour West Indies next spring before hosting Australia and Clarke believes any participation by England's players in the IPL in the brief window in between would be of no benefit to the national side. "Supporters want to know that our players are as fit, as sharp and ready for the Ashes as they can be and we have to ensure that they are. What the ECB wants is to have the best team in the best possible shape." There remains the possibility that a player could decline a central contract to take part in the IPL. "That is a risk he would have to take," Clarke said. "He runs the risk of losing his place or getting injured. Cricket careers can come to an end. There are risks and rewards here. We are putting in place some very significant incentive programmes for winning series. People who turn up exhausted after playing IPL games, they are not necessarily in a position to help their fellow players earn those rewards. "We have a clear understanding with the BCCI [india's governing body] that the future tours programme takes precedent." In other words – as it stands – England's international needs will not be undermined by the IPL. The ECB is reviewing the structure of its own Twenty20 competition, with more games and more overseas players possibilities. "We are determined to enhance our own domestic Twenty20 so that it is a world-class event with world-class players," Clarke said. "We don't see any rivalry between a domestic competition played in India and one played in England. We invented Twenty20 and it is really important to our game, but Test cricket is equally important and forms a large part of our revenues. We would be jeopardising our future greatly if we do not look after our Test cricket. "The ICC has a major challenge to ensure the ultimate form of the game remains vibrant and we are determined it will in England. The ECB will not duck this challenge."

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England players and IPL England's Professional Cricketers Association lashes out at ECB for not allowing Vaughan and co to participate in the cash-rich Indian Premier League. More... 'Players may revolt after ECB move' Press Trust Of India London, April 08, 2008 First Published: 11:24 IST(8/4/2008) Last Updated: 11:48 IST(8/4/2008) England's Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) has lashed out at the ECB for not allowing Michael Vaughan and co to participate in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), saying the "ridiculous" move may trigger a players' revolt. England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Giles Clarke has stated that English players will not be allowed to participate in the league as the ECB does not want to risk injury or fatigue to any of its contracted cricketers. "We don't want them turning up exhausted. The spectators of this country want to know that our players are as fit and as sharp and ready for the Australia series as we can ensure that they are," he said yesterday referring to the 2009 Ashes series and ruling out the possibility of England players participating in the next edition of IPL. Clarke's comments have outraged the PCA which said the ECB would be fighting a losing battle if it tries to come in the way of, what is essentially a good earning opportunity for its cricketers. "It's human nature that they want to play in the IPL. You can't fight the market. The cricket market has had a significant amount of money going into it and we should be looking to capitalise and develop it, not be King Canute," PCA chief executive Sean Morris was quoted as saying in 'The Daily Telegraph'. "I can't see how that is sensible tactics at a time when, if the players get frustrated or unhappy then, for the first time, they have an alternative involving a significant amount of money," he added. MORE Only one English player, all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, has signed up for IPL that too because he is not a centrally contracted player with the ECB and therefore does not requires Board's permission to play in the twenty20 league. Dashing batsman Kevin Pietersen has also expressed his desire to play in the league but the ECB snub to IPL may deny him. Morris warned that if the ECB did not back down from its current stand then an ugly conflict with the players was just waiting to happen. "What you don't want at this time is friction between the England players and their employers," Morris said. Former England pacer Andrew Caddick echoed Morris' views and felt no matter what the ECB decides, the players would head to IPL. "Somebody may go to the IPL and back himself to get his England place back. I think that at least one England player will be involved within 12 months," he said.

[Zakhmi]

What spirit of cricket? Does it matter anymore? Does it even exist? The marriage between the Marylebone Cricket Club and the Indian Premier League seems an unlikely liaison: ancient untouchable institution meets brash gold-digger. These sorts of alliances normally end up in messy and acrimonious High Court settlements. But needs must. There is mutual benefit in the announcement of a commitment by the IPL to the MCC's Spirit of Cricket charter, which since 2000 has formed a preamble to the Laws of the game and is also endorsed by the ICC. The IPL can show off to the establishment and the game's more traditional followers that it is a serious and upstanding member of the global cricket community. For the MCC, meanwhile, it is another notch on the bedpost of modernisation, as Keith Bradshaw, its forward-thinking Australian chief executive, seeks to widen the organisation's sphere of influence with consensus rather than pontificating. It is also indicative of the MCC's increasing status, in these overly commercial and politicised times, as the game's conscience. But whenever the spirit of cricket gets mentioned, I find myself wondering what it, this spirit, is, and whether it means anything. Does it matter any more? Does cricket indeed have a spirit? It certainly reeks of old MCC, of jazz-hat matches between wandering clubs like I Zingari and Free Foresters. There is so much mythology about cricket's supposed nobility, its higher calling. Indeed, there is so much of this nonsense in the UK that it puts people off playing the game. The problem with the idea of a spirit of cricket is two-fold: one, it sounds outdated and irrelevant, especially for younger people; and secondly, that cricket means different things to different people. Does a village match in rural England have anything in common with a game of tape-ball on the streets of Lahore? Does the member of the Melbourne Cricket Club have anything in common with the Sachin-worshipper on the concrete terraces of the Wankhede? The answer is cricket. The game itself. Not rules or values but a game, no more no less. It's not about fair play, it's about fun. Matthew Hayden spoke after Bill Brown's death recently about the game being purer in Brown's day. Hayden misses the point. It is about perspective. The old Keith Miller line about pressure being a Messerschmitt up your backside contains an universal truth, that cricket is a game to be enjoyed not endured. By all accounts Hayden is a charming bloke off the cricket field but on it he exudes all the charm of a playground bully. He is a player at odds with the spirit of cricket. There is plenty of room for extreme competitiveness, fruity back-chat, and even the intelligent end of the sledging spectrum without turning the game into an expression of orchestrated malevolence. The remarkable backlash against the Australian team by their own public and media in the immediate aftermath of the Harbhajan-Symonds row was an attack on joylessness. It was not that they wanted their team to be *****cats. They wanted their cricket hard but they wanted a smile or too as well, and it was clear that a line had been crossed. There is a certain paradox that MCC should be promoting the spirit of the game when watching cricket at Lord's can be a joyless experience - though things are improving on that front. People still aren't allowed to dress up as carrots but at least fun is no longer a dirty word. The IPL, with its American influences, sounds like it could be fun, and I'm sure the players will enjoy it too, but whether there will be much evidence of the game's spirit is another matter. Because if it is just a circus then it has no merit or sustainability. The players and spectators must care about the result, just not too much. By John Stern The Wisden Cricketer

[Guest Hiten.]

IPL second season set for April 2009 Even before the start of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, the organisers have announced that the second edition is tentatively scheduled between April 10 and May 29 next year. According to the Future Tours Programme, Australia are slated to be touring South Africa in April, 2009, India are set to be in New Zealand, and West Indies in Bangladesh. India haven't toured New Zealand since early 2003 with their scheduled trip in 2007 put of because plans to prepare for the World Cup. The announcement comes in the wake of comments from David Collier, the ECB chief executive, who said the board was planning to adapt their domestic Twenty20 Cup to attract more leading players and offer an alternative to the IPL. "It is a question of finding periods of the year for this [the IPL] to take place," Collier had said. "We are one of the few countries who play in June, that is why our competitions are so successful because we can attract the best players in the world. That is why we believe that an English Premier League will be very successful including a broad range of cricketers." Lalit Modi, the IPL Chairman, said the format of the tournament would remain unchanged in its second season. The eight franchisees will first play against one another in a league on home-and-away basis. The top four teams will then figure in the two semi-finals and a final. The first edition of the IPL kicks off on April 18 in Bangalore and the final is scheduled for June 1. "The dates of the second season of the DLF Indian Premier League were decided at a meeting of the Governing Council of the DLF Indian Premier League held in Mumbai," said Modi. "I am confident of the inaugural season becoming a huge success and the second season will be even a bigger success." © Cricinfo Wow, if India's tour to NZ is canceled then I'd be first to protest against the IPL.

[Laaloo]

damn i badly want india to play in nz sachin needs to get his avg up :P

[umpire]

well why would Nzl tour be cancelled, IPL is in April. Nzl season is from Nov to March. I do not see any reason for the cancellation due to IPL

[Desi Cartman]

well why would Nzl tour be cancelled' date=' IPL is in April. Nzl season is from Nov to March. I do not see any reason for the cancellation due to IPL[/quote'] You are right umpire Press needs some masala all the time :mama:

[umpire]

Umpire is always right

[Zakhmi]

Take the money and run AUSTRALIAN cricketers still play for the love of country, not money, players, selectors and administrators say. A survey of Australia's cricketers has revealed almost half would consider an early retirement from international cricket to play in cashed-up Twenty20 leagues in India. The survey, commissioned by the Australian Cricketers' Association, revealed 47 per cent of players contracted to Cricket Australia (CA) said they would consider early retirement, along with 49 per cent of state players. But chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch today was sceptical of the survey findings. "I'd be very surprised if someone who is knocking on the door of Australian selection would take that stance,'' he said. "There is a lot of money in the game both for Australian contracted players, and obviously there is a lot of money around the world at the moment, but the reality is I don't think many of them play for the money - they still play to play for the country.'' CA chief executive James Sutherland said Australian cricketers still aspired to represent their country. "You can see, whether it's IPL or ICL, that there are opportunities to take an early exit, but you would hope that we won't see players retiring prematurely from the game,'' Sutherland said today. "I don't think we've seen any of that yet.'' more...

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Gayle to skip IPL for Aussie Tests West Indies captain Chris Gayle*is likely to play in the opening test with Australia*even though it clashes with the*IPL. More... Gayle likely to snub IPL Apr 10, 2008 West Indies captain Chris Gayle said on Thursday he was more than likely to play in the opening test with Australia next month even though it clashes with the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gayle and fellow West Indies batsmen Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have signed up with teams in the IPL which begins on April 18. With the Twenty20 competition running during the first two tests against Australia there were doubts over whether the trio would return from the multi-million dollar IPL. Gayle will earn an $800,000 annual fee with his team Kolkata. "We haven't discussed anything but we know the rules already, you have to get permission from your board, so obviously it is more than likely you have to come back and play," Gayle told reporters. "I don't know about the other two," he added when asked about the intentions of Chanderpaul and Sarwan. Gayle had declined to confirm his availability for the Australia games but the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said the players would only be given permission to play in the tournament up to the start of the Australia tour. The final of the IPL will be on June 1 - the second day of the second test between West Indies and Australia in Antigua. Gayle's side play Sri Lanka at the Queen's Park Oval in the first of three one-dayers on Thursday. They meet at the Oval again on Saturday before the final match in St. Lucia on April 15. West Indies beat Sri Lanka in last week's second test to level the two-test series 1-1.

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IPL nearly ready for lift-off THE day before India began a Test match against South Africa in Ahmedabad this month, coach Gary Kirsten scheduled a training session, but only five players made it. More... IPL nearly ready for lift-off By Adam Cooper April 10, 2008 THE day before India began a Test match against South Africa in Ahmedabad this month, coach Gary Kirsten scheduled a training session, but only five players made it. There is no dissent towards the coach, it's just the Indian players had greater priorities than preparing to play for their country - their Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises. After India were rolled for 76 on day one and lost the match by an innings, former player Sunil Gavaskar questioned whether attending franchise launches was the best preparation for a Test. A justifiable question, but in cricket-mad India, it is difficult to envisage players bunkering down away from their IPL owners given the unprecedented interest and money involved. The IPL, the Twenty20 extravaganza featuring many of the world's best players spread across eight privately-owned teams, begins next Friday amid a remarkable sea of publicity. Team launches have been televised live, promotional advertisements resemble Bollywood productions and every skerrick of IPL-related news has been sucked up. Matches will be played every day for the next six weeks, all of them promoted as gladiatorial contests pitting stars against their compatriots and former rivals as allies. A marketer's dream has Brett Lee bowling to Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh renewing their rivalry, but also Ricky Ponting and nemesis Ishant Sharma as Kolkata teammates, Shane Warne and former adversary Graeme Smith playing together, and Sourav Ganguly and John Buchanan putting aside the niggle of 2001 to plot their opponents' downfalls. The hyperbole should ensure all 59 IPL games are well-attended and draw the sort of viewership that satisfies Sony Entertainment, which paid over $900 million for the television rights. But the real influence of the IPL will depend on what its legacy, akin to the revolution World Series Cricket brought a generation ago. Ask cricket's lateral thinkers about the IPL and they will argue a new dawn has arrived, and that one day club competitions could prop up the international game. Neil Maxwell, a leading player agent with Insite and now the chief executive of the Mohali franchise, believes if successful, the IPL could usher in a system where club matches drive the game and its finances. "The club system provides a regular revenue stream and this structure has the potential to follow a similar suit to football (soccer) and others where internationals fit into the club program as opposed to the other way around," Maxwell says. "That's why there's a complete new feel to the competition because it's so unique in many ways. "It's the first introduction of corporate world into the ownership of cricket teams and with that comes a a lot of business acumen and flair ... It presents a range of new priorities moving forward which need to be addressed." Buchanan was always one for left-field strategies during his Australian tenure and believes the IPL will force administrators to consider a more streamlined world competition. "We could have a bit like soccer, eight to 10 zones around the world, each with 10 franchises and then a window, say four weeks, to have their play-offs, and then the top eight teams come together and play for the world series," he says. "That will take some time, but that's potentially where it could go." Buchanan says franchising could be the vehicle to give the International Cricket Council (ICC) a foot-hold in new markets, such as the United States and China, and improve infrastructure in, for example, the Caribbean. He also believes cricket is ready to evolve into 50-over cricket being made redundant by Twenty20, and being replaced by 40-over games (two innings of 20 overs per side) as a segue between the short version and Tests. Concerns remain over whether Test standards are diluted if the best players commit long-term to either the IPL or its rival the Indian Cricket League, the competition which does not have ICC endorsement and which concludes its second season next week. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland is confident that will not happen, as, unlike soccer, cricket was founded on internationals, not club games. Sutherland has been given an assurance by the Indian board, which devised the IPL, that stars will always be released to fulfil their international commitments. But he concedes even if stars retire prematurely to commit to Indian leagues, then that will benefit the next generation. Western Australian wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi never considered applying for the franchise auction in February, because doing so in such company would have made him look a "tool". But a phone call from a contact in India landed Ronchi a place on Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai team, and the 26-year-old is just thrilled to be involved. "Just to be in the change rooms with these massive names in world cricket, it's going to be amazing," he says. "Even if I only play one game I'll be happy as Larry." Organisers will wait to determine whether to expand to two seasons per year. There are problems to be solved, such as an ongoing dispute with media companies disgruntled with IPL guidelines, but bank on the inaugural tournament being a success. If only India's players could be left to focus on their franchises, without other distractions.

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IPL tickets to range from Rs 100 to Rs 12000 With nine days left for the launch of the Indian Premier League, several franchises have started selling tickets for the matches. The prices range from Rs 100 [approx US$2.5] to 250 [approx $6.25] at the lower end and Rs 5000 [$125] to 12,000 [$300] for the corporate boxes. More... Indian Premier League IPL tickets to range from Rs 100 to Rs 12000 Cricinfo staff April 10, 2008 Will the IPL be able to attract as many spectators as an ODI featuring India? © AFP With eight days left for the launch of the Indian Premier League, several franchises have started selling tickets for the matches. The prices range from Rs 100 [approx US$2.5] to 250 [approx $6.25] at the lower end and Rs 5000 [$125] to 12,000 [$300] for the corporate boxes. Tickets are already available online for the games to be held in Kolkata and Mohali, while the rest will be available from April 11. While the likes of Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai have their premium tickets priced pegged at approximately Rs 5000, Mohali is charging Rs 12,000 for tickets for seats in the premium South End pavilion. "As a thumb-rule, ticket prices are half that of an ODI," Charu Sharma, the chief executive of the Bangalore franchise, said. In the high-end hospitality areas, ticket-holders will be served alcohol, which will also be sold in a few high-priced ticket enclosures. Teams play seven home games. In a scenario where tickets are sold out in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, which has thrown open 34,450 seats to the public, the gate money [not including the season tickets in consideration] that will be accrued for one game is approximately Rs 3.6 crores ($900,000) and Rs 25.2 crores ($6 million) for the seven games. Assuming a 50% turnout they will net around Rs 12 crores ($3m) from the tournament. According to the rules, 20% of the gate money will go to the local host association while the franchise will net the remainder. However, the tickets for Kolkata games, currently available online, will be offered in outlets only on April 14 after they settle the issue of giving CAB members their share of the tickets. "Not many people buy online here," the spokesman for the franchise said. "We will first give the members tickets on discounted rates before offering to the public in outlets." The other associations are not facing too many hurdles with the members. "We will be allotting them tickets in the normal members' area and there has been no issue so far," IS Bindra, the president of the Punjab Cricket Association said.

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Elections force change in IPL schedule The assembly elections in Karnataka have forced itinerary changes in the Indian Premier League matches. More... Indian Premier League Elections force change in IPL schedule Cricinfo staff April 10, 2008 Assembly elections in Karnataka have forced itinerary changes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. The match scheduled for May 10 between Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians has been pushed to May 28 and a direct switch has been made between Bangalore and Hyderabad for their matches against each other. Bangalore will now host Hyderabad on May 3 and visit them on May 25. The elections are on May 10, 16 and 22 and the counting of votes is on May 25. "Because of the elections and the counting, we will have massive repercussions on hospitality and security," Charu Sharma, the CEO of the Bangalore franchise told Cricinfo. "The law stipulates that you can't serve liquor in public functions one day before the elections and that would have affected the hospitality plans in the ground. Also, the availability of adequate security would have been affected as the focus might be more on the elections." The Bangalore franchise consulted the IPL governing council, and the Hyderabad and Mumbai franchises, before making the changes in the schedule.