SRK dragged to court over IPL tickets
Shah Rukh Khan has been summoned by a court over IPL ticket distribution (TOI Photo)
KOLKATA: Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chilli Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owner of the Kolkata Indian Premier League team, and the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), the local organizer of the Twenty20 tournament, have been dragged to court over ticket distribution barely a month before the tourney kicks off.
Cricket Members Forum of Bengal has filed a suit in the city civil court challenging CAB’s role in ticket distribution. The forum asked the court to declare that CAB had no right to hold a match at the Eden Gardens without issuing free tickets to its members.
The litigants claimed that forum members are entitled to free tickets under Rule 15 (ii) of CAB Rules. They also sought a declaration that CAB had no right to curtail members’ privilege. The matter will be heard on Wednesday.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
IPL Tickets - Indian Premier League Tickets
IPL Tickets - Indian Premier League Tickets
Buy IPL Tickets - Indian Premier League Tickets
IPL Tickets - Buy IPL Tickets
Looking for IPL cricket match tickets?
TicketPro is the place to get tickets for IPL matches.
You could even buy it online. TicketPro Indian website has some details on getting Indian Premier League cricket match tickets.
Tickets will be available for Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mohali at http://www.ticketpro.in.
Please keep visiting this website to stay updated on the tickets sale date and other IPL related information
Buy IPL Tickets - Indian Premier League Tickets
IPL Tickets - Buy IPL Tickets
Looking for IPL cricket match tickets?
TicketPro is the place to get tickets for IPL matches.
You could even buy it online. TicketPro Indian website has some details on getting Indian Premier League cricket match tickets.
Tickets will be available for Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mohali at http://www.ticketpro.in.
Please keep visiting this website to stay updated on the tickets sale date and other IPL related information
Buy IPL Tickets - Indian Premier League Tickets
Buy IPL Tickets - Indian Premier League Tickets
IPL Tickets - Buy IPL Tickets
Looking for IPL cricket match tickets?
TicketPro is the place to get tickets for IPL matches.
You could even buy it online. TicketPro Indian website has some details on getting Indian Premier League cricket match tickets.
Tickets will be available for Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mohali at http://www.ticketpro.in.
Please keep visiting this website to stay updated on the tickets sale date and other IPL related information
IPL Tickets - Buy IPL Tickets
Looking for IPL cricket match tickets?
TicketPro is the place to get tickets for IPL matches.
You could even buy it online. TicketPro Indian website has some details on getting Indian Premier League cricket match tickets.
Tickets will be available for Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mohali at http://www.ticketpro.in.
Please keep visiting this website to stay updated on the tickets sale date and other IPL related information
IPL Tickets - Buy IPL Tickets
IPL Tickets - Buy IPL Tickets
Looking for IPL cricket match tickets?
TicketPro is the place to get tickets for IPL matches.
You could even buy it online. TicketPro Indian website has some details on getting Indian Premier League cricket match tickets.
Tickets will be available for Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mohali at http://www.ticketpro.in.
Please keep visiting this website to stay updated on the tickets sale date and other IPL related information
Looking for IPL cricket match tickets?
TicketPro is the place to get tickets for IPL matches.
You could even buy it online. TicketPro Indian website has some details on getting Indian Premier League cricket match tickets.
Tickets will be available for Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mohali at http://www.ticketpro.in.
Please keep visiting this website to stay updated on the tickets sale date and other IPL related information
Friday, March 14, 2008
Always open to work with BCCI
Always open to work with BCCI
Principal Correspondent
HYDERABAD: Former India wicketkeeper and Director of Indian Cricket League, Kiran More, says that their doors are always open for working together with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and that the ICL is not here to fight with anyone.
Briefing the media ahead of the first-ever ICL match in the city between Hyderabad Heroes and Chennai Superstars at the floodlit Lal Bahadur Stadium on March 15, More said that it was sad that bans were slapped on all those playing in the ICL.
“And, what is worse, they are people who never played any cricket. This is very unfortunate,” he said.
“We are not concerned about what the BCCI is doing with the Indian Premier League.
“We are here to keep organising events and to give a chance to those talented youngsters who never got a chance to play at the highest level for different reasons,” More said.
Also present were Chennai Superstars team members including coach-cum-player Michael Bevan, Adam Parore and Hemang Badani.
“The fact that we hosted three ICL tournaments in the space of five months shows our commitment for the cause of the players,” added More.
Exciting cricket
Former Aussie one-day specialist Bevan said it was a privilege to be associated with ICL. “It is exciting cricket and big fun for the fans out there in the stands. But we players are passionate and very serious about our performances on the field and determined to win.
Serious business
“It is not as if these are exhibition games for us. There is a lot more seriousness than one can perceive, for the reason that the teams comprise players from different regions from across the world,” he explained. “I believe that ICL provides a chance for the talented youngsters to perform at this level,” he said.
source-hindu.com
Principal Correspondent
HYDERABAD: Former India wicketkeeper and Director of Indian Cricket League, Kiran More, says that their doors are always open for working together with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and that the ICL is not here to fight with anyone.
Briefing the media ahead of the first-ever ICL match in the city between Hyderabad Heroes and Chennai Superstars at the floodlit Lal Bahadur Stadium on March 15, More said that it was sad that bans were slapped on all those playing in the ICL.
“And, what is worse, they are people who never played any cricket. This is very unfortunate,” he said.
“We are not concerned about what the BCCI is doing with the Indian Premier League.
“We are here to keep organising events and to give a chance to those talented youngsters who never got a chance to play at the highest level for different reasons,” More said.
Also present were Chennai Superstars team members including coach-cum-player Michael Bevan, Adam Parore and Hemang Badani.
“The fact that we hosted three ICL tournaments in the space of five months shows our commitment for the cause of the players,” added More.
Exciting cricket
Former Aussie one-day specialist Bevan said it was a privilege to be associated with ICL. “It is exciting cricket and big fun for the fans out there in the stands. But we players are passionate and very serious about our performances on the field and determined to win.
Serious business
“It is not as if these are exhibition games for us. There is a lot more seriousness than one can perceive, for the reason that the teams comprise players from different regions from across the world,” he explained. “I believe that ICL provides a chance for the talented youngsters to perform at this level,” he said.
source-hindu.com
Two week stint for Australian players at IPL
Two week stint for Australian players at IPL
Decks might have been cleared for Australian stars’ appearance in the Indian Premier League but the cricketers will be able to feature only in the initial part of the Twenty20 tournament in view of their tour of the West Indies.
The Australians will be required to leave the April 18-June 1 competition during its halfway stage to return home for a national camp ahead of their series against the West Indies, beginning in the second week of May.
Cricket Australia (CA), though, has not made public its intentions and maintained that it was in the process of weighing options, which include the possibility of practice matches before the West Indies tour.
Chief coach Nielsen has not decided when the players will assemble for the camp but said the competitive environment amongst some of the world’s finest players in the IPL could be “the best preparation” instead of being harmful to the players.
“As long as it (IPL) fits in and Cricket Australia is comfortable with it, I don’t have any problem. It is nice that they can play some competitive cricket,” Nielsen said.
“I always encourage guys to be playing county cricket when it fits in because it is nice to be playing competitive, organised cricket. It (IPL) is probably the best preparation they can get to put their bodies through those sorts of workloads,” he said.
The Australian Cricketer Association said CA has also indicated that it will not object to Ponting, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey playing in the first 14-16 days of IPL which starts on April 18, before they embark on the West Indies tour.
“I don’t think there will be a problem,” said ACA chief executive Paul Marsh.
“Based on our discussions with Cricket Australia I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be able to play in the IPL, assuming that there are no other commitments to Cricket Australia,” he said.
Source: Sify
Decks might have been cleared for Australian stars’ appearance in the Indian Premier League but the cricketers will be able to feature only in the initial part of the Twenty20 tournament in view of their tour of the West Indies.
The Australians will be required to leave the April 18-June 1 competition during its halfway stage to return home for a national camp ahead of their series against the West Indies, beginning in the second week of May.
Cricket Australia (CA), though, has not made public its intentions and maintained that it was in the process of weighing options, which include the possibility of practice matches before the West Indies tour.
Chief coach Nielsen has not decided when the players will assemble for the camp but said the competitive environment amongst some of the world’s finest players in the IPL could be “the best preparation” instead of being harmful to the players.
“As long as it (IPL) fits in and Cricket Australia is comfortable with it, I don’t have any problem. It is nice that they can play some competitive cricket,” Nielsen said.
“I always encourage guys to be playing county cricket when it fits in because it is nice to be playing competitive, organised cricket. It (IPL) is probably the best preparation they can get to put their bodies through those sorts of workloads,” he said.
The Australian Cricketer Association said CA has also indicated that it will not object to Ponting, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey playing in the first 14-16 days of IPL which starts on April 18, before they embark on the West Indies tour.
“I don’t think there will be a problem,” said ACA chief executive Paul Marsh.
“Based on our discussions with Cricket Australia I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be able to play in the IPL, assuming that there are no other commitments to Cricket Australia,” he said.
Source: Sify
Kolkata Knight Riders armed in Mumbai
Kolkata Knight Riders armed in Mumbai
Shah Rukh Khan presents Indian pace bowler Ishant Sharma with the replica helmet at the Mumbai launch of Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.
Indian Premier League:
The 6'4" tall Ishant impressed one and all during the Australia tour and fetched a price of US $9,50,000 at the IPL auction. The lanky paceman was auctioned for the second-best price for an Indian, with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni fetcing US $ 1.5 million for his services.
Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL?s Kolkata franchise is owned by his company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and will include players from Australia, Pakistan, West Indies besides Indian internationals from different parts of the country.
Indian Premier League
Captained by Sourav Ganguly, the team will be coached by Australian John Buchanan.
"We have a good bowling attack for Twenty20. Shoaib Akhtar is one of cricket's leading pace bowlers and Ishant has just come back from Australia where he proved his worth. Ajit Agarkar is another with ability to bowl fast," said the ex-India captain.
Shah Rukh Khan presents Indian pace bowler Ishant Sharma with the replica helmet at the Mumbai launch of Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.
Indian Premier League:
The 6'4" tall Ishant impressed one and all during the Australia tour and fetched a price of US $9,50,000 at the IPL auction. The lanky paceman was auctioned for the second-best price for an Indian, with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni fetcing US $ 1.5 million for his services.
Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL?s Kolkata franchise is owned by his company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and will include players from Australia, Pakistan, West Indies besides Indian internationals from different parts of the country.
Indian Premier League
Captained by Sourav Ganguly, the team will be coached by Australian John Buchanan.
"We have a good bowling attack for Twenty20. Shoaib Akhtar is one of cricket's leading pace bowlers and Ishant has just come back from Australia where he proved his worth. Ajit Agarkar is another with ability to bowl fast," said the ex-India captain.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Party spirit marks launch of Bangalore Royal Challengers
Party spirit marks launch of Bangalore Royal Challengers
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.
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.
Bangalore Royal Challengers
Bangalore Royal Challengers
-IPL & the Bangalore Royal Challengers
Big bucks make news always. Be it when MBAs get it as salaries, or a company acquires another or like in the recent case of how much our cricketers stand to earn from the newly launched IPL. So IPL made all the news & became a topic of discussion with friends over tea & with colleagues over lunch. But to me as a Metblogs blogger, IPL just made blogging about cricket on Metblogs a possibility. I am sure you will agree that there is not much written here about Cricket, the sport that most of us feverishly follow in this country. The only reason for it is because there is nothing very Bangalore specific about it. Its just a game. But now that we have a Bangalore team (supposedly to be called Royal Challengers) in the IPL, the urge to write on it is high.
At a time when we have had posts about Bangalore becoming a world city & whether some section of today’s Bangalore population will be asked to leave the way it is happening in our neighboring state, comes the news of IPL & the Bangalore team that has not just Bangalore players but also players from other states of the country & most importantly players from other countries. So there you have it at least through IPL, the Bangalore team has world players & they are being lured with big money.
So does the Bangalore team of IPL generate excitement among us Bangaloreans? Not for me to answer. Will this Bangalore team unite all the Bangaloreans exactly the way we get united when India plays? May be. May be Not. All I can feel at this point in time is it is going to be a little different.
I recollect the experience of wandering around the Chinnaswamy Stadium looking to find someone selling tickets in black for an India-Australia test match. When we eventually found a guy selling tickets in black we paid 5 times the tickets original cost. Will this team bring out such a desperate desire to watch them live?
Who will be our ‘arch rivals’? My guess is Chennai.
I for some reason feel that for all those HR or Chief Fun officers of companies always on the look out for something new & different there is one new type of activity they could use. Sponsor tickets for these matches; play them on big screens at offices etc.
Big names, Big money - Will it all lead to big entertainment & big following as well needs to be seen.
-IPL & the Bangalore Royal Challengers
Big bucks make news always. Be it when MBAs get it as salaries, or a company acquires another or like in the recent case of how much our cricketers stand to earn from the newly launched IPL. So IPL made all the news & became a topic of discussion with friends over tea & with colleagues over lunch. But to me as a Metblogs blogger, IPL just made blogging about cricket on Metblogs a possibility. I am sure you will agree that there is not much written here about Cricket, the sport that most of us feverishly follow in this country. The only reason for it is because there is nothing very Bangalore specific about it. Its just a game. But now that we have a Bangalore team (supposedly to be called Royal Challengers) in the IPL, the urge to write on it is high.
At a time when we have had posts about Bangalore becoming a world city & whether some section of today’s Bangalore population will be asked to leave the way it is happening in our neighboring state, comes the news of IPL & the Bangalore team that has not just Bangalore players but also players from other states of the country & most importantly players from other countries. So there you have it at least through IPL, the Bangalore team has world players & they are being lured with big money.
So does the Bangalore team of IPL generate excitement among us Bangaloreans? Not for me to answer. Will this Bangalore team unite all the Bangaloreans exactly the way we get united when India plays? May be. May be Not. All I can feel at this point in time is it is going to be a little different.
I recollect the experience of wandering around the Chinnaswamy Stadium looking to find someone selling tickets in black for an India-Australia test match. When we eventually found a guy selling tickets in black we paid 5 times the tickets original cost. Will this team bring out such a desperate desire to watch them live?
Who will be our ‘arch rivals’? My guess is Chennai.
I for some reason feel that for all those HR or Chief Fun officers of companies always on the look out for something new & different there is one new type of activity they could use. Sponsor tickets for these matches; play them on big screens at offices etc.
Big names, Big money - Will it all lead to big entertainment & big following as well needs to be seen.
IPL Team Franchisers Announced after over 100 Million Dollar bids
IPL Team Franchisers Announced after over 100 Million Dollar bids
Mumbai, Jan 24 (ANI): With a tag of over 100 million dollars Mumbai, Bangalare and Hyderabad today become the most expensive teams of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sponsored Indian Premier League.
The cricket body has announced the list of franchisee of owners of all eight cities.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited bagged Mumbai with the highest bid at 111.9 million dollars. Vijay Mallya’s UB group got franchise of Bangalore at 111.6 million dollars, and Deccan Chronicle got franchise of Hyderabad team at 107 million dollars.
India Cements bagged Chennai at 91million dollars, GMR group Delhi at 84 million dollars, Emerging Media got franchisee of Jaipur at 67 million dollars, Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment got Kolkata at 75.09 million dollars and Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia bagged Mohali at 76 million dollars.
Sony Entertainment Television has bagged the broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for 10 years at 1.026 billion dollars.
About IPL
The IPL is a Twenty20 competition. It was announced after the BCCI declined permission to allow BCCI-contracted players to play in the Indian Cricket League (ICL).
The league is scheduled to start in April this year and will last for 44 days, involving 59 matches. The prize money for the league will be around three million dollars.
Each team will have a pool of 16 players, of whom four will be international and four from the Under-19 level or from the catchment area where the team is based.
The governing council of IPL consists of cricket veterans Sunil Gavaskar, MAK Pataudi and Ravi Shastri, Rajiv Shukla, Chirayu Amin, Inderjit Singh Bindra and Arun Jaitley.
http://cricket.0ms.eu/?p=8791
Mumbai, Jan 24 (ANI): With a tag of over 100 million dollars Mumbai, Bangalare and Hyderabad today become the most expensive teams of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sponsored Indian Premier League.
The cricket body has announced the list of franchisee of owners of all eight cities.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited bagged Mumbai with the highest bid at 111.9 million dollars. Vijay Mallya’s UB group got franchise of Bangalore at 111.6 million dollars, and Deccan Chronicle got franchise of Hyderabad team at 107 million dollars.
India Cements bagged Chennai at 91million dollars, GMR group Delhi at 84 million dollars, Emerging Media got franchisee of Jaipur at 67 million dollars, Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment got Kolkata at 75.09 million dollars and Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia bagged Mohali at 76 million dollars.
Sony Entertainment Television has bagged the broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for 10 years at 1.026 billion dollars.
About IPL
The IPL is a Twenty20 competition. It was announced after the BCCI declined permission to allow BCCI-contracted players to play in the Indian Cricket League (ICL).
The league is scheduled to start in April this year and will last for 44 days, involving 59 matches. The prize money for the league will be around three million dollars.
Each team will have a pool of 16 players, of whom four will be international and four from the Under-19 level or from the catchment area where the team is based.
The governing council of IPL consists of cricket veterans Sunil Gavaskar, MAK Pataudi and Ravi Shastri, Rajiv Shukla, Chirayu Amin, Inderjit Singh Bindra and Arun Jaitley.
http://cricket.0ms.eu/?p=8791
IPL: ICC refuses to grant official status
IPL: ICC refuses to grant official status
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The players may have been sold for millions of dollars but their runs and wickets on the field will not gain official recognition, according to the International Cricket Council.
Reports say that the ICC has decided to treat the Indian Premier League as a domestic Indian competition.
"The IPL is not international cricket, it is a domestic tournament. Therefore, the matches do not have Twenty20 international status," an ICC spokesman was quoted as saying.
The IPL is a city-based tournament with eight teams bought by franchises.
The tournament, which runs from April 18 to June 1, will mark the first time international cricketers will put aside their national allegiances to play for privately-owned teams.
http://www.cricketforum.com/indian-premier-league/1607-ipl-icc-refuses-grant-official-status.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The players may have been sold for millions of dollars but their runs and wickets on the field will not gain official recognition, according to the International Cricket Council.
Reports say that the ICC has decided to treat the Indian Premier League as a domestic Indian competition.
"The IPL is not international cricket, it is a domestic tournament. Therefore, the matches do not have Twenty20 international status," an ICC spokesman was quoted as saying.
The IPL is a city-based tournament with eight teams bought by franchises.
The tournament, which runs from April 18 to June 1, will mark the first time international cricketers will put aside their national allegiances to play for privately-owned teams.
http://www.cricketforum.com/indian-premier-league/1607-ipl-icc-refuses-grant-official-status.html
Hard work starts now for India, says Lara
Hard work starts now for India, says Lara
Brian Lara
New Delhi: India’s performance in recent times has been creditable but the real challenge will now be to maintain their consistency, says Brian Lara.
The West Indies star also lauded the leadership skills of Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
He said the defeat of Australia in their own backyard was remarkable but India would have to prepare for a backlash from the world champions.
“It’s really good that India beat Australia in Australia despite having a new captain leading in Tests and one-dayers. But Australia is going to come back stronger and look for revenge. The hard work is going to start now,” Lara said.
“Anil and Dhoni have done well but they will have to be on their guard and not be satisfied with the one-day tri-series win. They have to maintain the consistency,” he said on the sidelines of a promotional.
India defeated Australia 2-0 in the recently concluded best-of-three tri-series finals, ending their ill-tempered tour Down Under on a positive note.
On Sachin Tendulkar’s performance in the two finals, Lara said there was never any doubt about the master batsman’s calibre and that former Australian coach John Buchanan’s remarks before the series began had probably provoked the Indian.
“I have said it many times that he is a great player. I don’t want to repeat it. But Buchanan made a mistake by lighting up fire under Sachin before the start of the series,” he said.
Buchanan had said that Tendulkar would find it difficult to handle the short-pitched deliveries by the Australian fast bowlers.
On Twenty20 cricket, Lara said this version of the game had potential to grow into something bigger because it gave the players more options to play and earn.
“… Twenty20 is interesting… I am happy that I have been considered…,” said Lara, who announced his retirement from international cricket after failing to lead the West Indies to a World Cup win at home last year.
“It (Twenty20) brings a different kind of crowd to the ground. I don’t see any problem with it. It can evolve into something bigger,” he said.
He sees a great future for the Indian Premier League and Indian Cricket League, saying the competitions would increase options for players to play and earn more.
“The situation is unavoidable. People need to wake up to the fact that there are options for players unlike in the past,” he said.
Lara was saddened by the fact that some cricketers playing in the ICL were being shunned by their national boards. “They (the boards) have got to get their act together… You cannot blame a cricketer if he gets the chance to play in either the IPL or ICL.
“Corporates now own teams in the IPL. Certainly that has created more options and an individual can choose where he wants to play and earn good money,” Lara said.
“Look at football, there are several leagues around the world. One player may be playing for one club, next time he may be playing for another club and there is no stigma. Nobody is bothered about who plays where,” he said.
Lara, captain of the Mumbai Champs in the ICL, admitted that he had a miserable stint in the inaugural event. He scored 16 runs in four matches and faced 24 balls. They won the fifth match but Lara did not bat. “I didn’t have good outing, I was injured but since I had made a commitment I had to honour it,” he said
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080313/jsp/sports/story_9013876.jsp
Brian Lara
New Delhi: India’s performance in recent times has been creditable but the real challenge will now be to maintain their consistency, says Brian Lara.
The West Indies star also lauded the leadership skills of Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
He said the defeat of Australia in their own backyard was remarkable but India would have to prepare for a backlash from the world champions.
“It’s really good that India beat Australia in Australia despite having a new captain leading in Tests and one-dayers. But Australia is going to come back stronger and look for revenge. The hard work is going to start now,” Lara said.
“Anil and Dhoni have done well but they will have to be on their guard and not be satisfied with the one-day tri-series win. They have to maintain the consistency,” he said on the sidelines of a promotional.
India defeated Australia 2-0 in the recently concluded best-of-three tri-series finals, ending their ill-tempered tour Down Under on a positive note.
On Sachin Tendulkar’s performance in the two finals, Lara said there was never any doubt about the master batsman’s calibre and that former Australian coach John Buchanan’s remarks before the series began had probably provoked the Indian.
“I have said it many times that he is a great player. I don’t want to repeat it. But Buchanan made a mistake by lighting up fire under Sachin before the start of the series,” he said.
Buchanan had said that Tendulkar would find it difficult to handle the short-pitched deliveries by the Australian fast bowlers.
On Twenty20 cricket, Lara said this version of the game had potential to grow into something bigger because it gave the players more options to play and earn.
“… Twenty20 is interesting… I am happy that I have been considered…,” said Lara, who announced his retirement from international cricket after failing to lead the West Indies to a World Cup win at home last year.
“It (Twenty20) brings a different kind of crowd to the ground. I don’t see any problem with it. It can evolve into something bigger,” he said.
He sees a great future for the Indian Premier League and Indian Cricket League, saying the competitions would increase options for players to play and earn more.
“The situation is unavoidable. People need to wake up to the fact that there are options for players unlike in the past,” he said.
Lara was saddened by the fact that some cricketers playing in the ICL were being shunned by their national boards. “They (the boards) have got to get their act together… You cannot blame a cricketer if he gets the chance to play in either the IPL or ICL.
“Corporates now own teams in the IPL. Certainly that has created more options and an individual can choose where he wants to play and earn good money,” Lara said.
“Look at football, there are several leagues around the world. One player may be playing for one club, next time he may be playing for another club and there is no stigma. Nobody is bothered about who plays where,” he said.
Lara, captain of the Mumbai Champs in the ICL, admitted that he had a miserable stint in the inaugural event. He scored 16 runs in four matches and faced 24 balls. They won the fifth match but Lara did not bat. “I didn’t have good outing, I was injured but since I had made a commitment I had to honour it,” he said
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080313/jsp/sports/story_9013876.jsp
Harbhajan: We achieved what others couldn't
Harbhajan: We achieved what others couldn't
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has said that he felt proud to return as a winner from Australia, "something that teams which went before us could not do".
"I feel proud that we have come back as winners. We have managed to do something that teams which went to Australia before us could not do. Especially if you consider that we had a young team," Harbhajan told NDTV.
Bhajji, who was mired in one controversy or the other during the three-month-long tour, said it was "really tough" but he was happy to answer his critics and detractors with his on-field performance.
"The last three months were really tough for me but I chose to answer with my batting and bowling and not through statements," he said.
"Hats off to BCCI and the Indian public for standing by me during those tough times," he added.
Bhajji was of the view that despite the controversies on and off the field, he believed that the Aussies admired his fighting spirit.
"I firmly believe that deep down inside Australians love me - they always like a fighter," he said.
"I read somewhere that Hayden challenged Ishant to a boxing bout. But, from what I saw on the cricket field Ishant beat Hayden in that boxing match."
The 27-year-old from Jallandhar said he would not shy away from confrontation if anybody tried to intimidate him.
"No way, you can't match the Australians as far strength is concerned. But yes, if he (Hayden) managed two punches on me I would also land at least one punch on him."
Asked if he thought players like Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden were past their prime, Harbhajan said: "I don't think we can say that. They are a great team that is why it made our victory special - beating the world champs in their own backyard."
Bhajji said he was excited about playing in the Indian Premier League.
"IPL will be a huge success. I am looking forward to playing against my own team mates from the national team. Thanks to the IPL I will be able to afford my favourite car- Hummer."
He expressed his disappointment at the hockey team's failure to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, while adding that they should not lose heart and try to do well in future tournaments.
"I feel sad to see hockey in this state, but, this is not the end of the world. Even we lost in the first round of the cricket world cup but then came back to win Twenty20 and in Australia," he said.
http://www.cricketforum.com/india/1612-harbhajan-we-achieved-what-others-couldnt.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has said that he felt proud to return as a winner from Australia, "something that teams which went before us could not do".
"I feel proud that we have come back as winners. We have managed to do something that teams which went to Australia before us could not do. Especially if you consider that we had a young team," Harbhajan told NDTV.
Bhajji, who was mired in one controversy or the other during the three-month-long tour, said it was "really tough" but he was happy to answer his critics and detractors with his on-field performance.
"The last three months were really tough for me but I chose to answer with my batting and bowling and not through statements," he said.
"Hats off to BCCI and the Indian public for standing by me during those tough times," he added.
Bhajji was of the view that despite the controversies on and off the field, he believed that the Aussies admired his fighting spirit.
"I firmly believe that deep down inside Australians love me - they always like a fighter," he said.
"I read somewhere that Hayden challenged Ishant to a boxing bout. But, from what I saw on the cricket field Ishant beat Hayden in that boxing match."
The 27-year-old from Jallandhar said he would not shy away from confrontation if anybody tried to intimidate him.
"No way, you can't match the Australians as far strength is concerned. But yes, if he (Hayden) managed two punches on me I would also land at least one punch on him."
Asked if he thought players like Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden were past their prime, Harbhajan said: "I don't think we can say that. They are a great team that is why it made our victory special - beating the world champs in their own backyard."
Bhajji said he was excited about playing in the Indian Premier League.
"IPL will be a huge success. I am looking forward to playing against my own team mates from the national team. Thanks to the IPL I will be able to afford my favourite car- Hummer."
He expressed his disappointment at the hockey team's failure to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, while adding that they should not lose heart and try to do well in future tournaments.
"I feel sad to see hockey in this state, but, this is not the end of the world. Even we lost in the first round of the cricket world cup but then came back to win Twenty20 and in Australia," he said.
http://www.cricketforum.com/india/1612-harbhajan-we-achieved-what-others-couldnt.html
Reebok launches Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20
New Delhi, March 5: Reebok, India’s largest Sportswear brand on Wednesday announced the commencement of Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20, a nationwide talent hunt to discover the most promising young cricketer of India. Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20 talent hunt will be conducted across the eight IPL cities. The cricket legend Greg Chappell will judge the selection trials. The winner of Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20 will be awarded a contract with the Rajasthan Royals, the Indian Premier League Cricket team.
Commenting on Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20, Subhinder Singh Prem, Managing Director, Reebok said “The association is our way of bringing alive the vision of our brand – fulfilling potential. As a performance brand we have a rich legacy in cricket since our inception in 1995 our Sports heritage has grown from strength to strength. We are equipped to take new initiatives in this field, to encourage people to pursue Sports and fitness and we hope that Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20 will send a message to all that Sports is not a faction of the elitist but a measure of talent, hard work and determination and Reebok as a brand is there to support anyone who has these in abundance measures.”
The contestants of the Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20 talent hunt will be tested for their cricketing abilities under the expert eyes of Greg Chappell. The selected contestants from each city will attend a 10 day camp at Jaipur where they will go through rigorous training on Twenty20 format and will compete with each other to be the next Reebok Cricket Star. The Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20 talent hunt is expected to draw thousands of young prospective cricketers. This initiative will provide a platform for aspiring cricketers throughout India to showcase their cricket abilities.
Reebok is a believer in associating with the Sportsman and not just the Sports star. They have always believed in the philosophy of grooming talents in Sports and assisting the players to fulfill their potential in line with their vision right from its inception. Players like Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma who have gained popularity have been with Reebok for the last 3 years. Reebok also has 4 out of playing 11 members of the U-19 World Cup winning team as their Brand ambassadors.
Reebok strongly supports domestic cricket and is the only brand to be associated with the UP and Delhi Ranji teams. At the felicitation ceremony done by Reebok for the T20 world cup champions MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, the key architects of this win shared with media about Reebok’s support of athletes citing their own personal examples.
This association with the Cricket Star Twenty20 is another step in the same direction. It is an attempt to support and groom the young cricketing talent in the nation and help them to outperform for the nation. For Reebok associating with cricket is not just about endorsement. Their brand ambassadors are their brand users in a very real way because Reebok provides cricket gear and equipment to players and also makes super customized bats keeping in mind the individual specs for the majority players of the Indian cricket team.
About Reebok India
Reebok started its operations in India in 1995. Headed by Managing Director Mr. Subhinder Singh Prem, Reebok India has a pan-India presence with branch offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore and is the market leader with 600 exclusive stores and 51% market share. The Company's brand vision is fulfilling potential, its mission – Always challenge and lead through creativity. Reeboks brand values are authentic, individualistic, courageous, empowering, innovative and real. Reebok has introduced its internationally acclaimed fitness programs in India, conducted under the banner of Reebok Instructor Alliance, which is dedicated to fitness instructors, personal trainers and health club owners. Reebok has trained and certified more then 900 trainers till now. Reebok is the official outfitter for the top 3 football clubs of India and both the Davis Cup and Federation Cup....
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Reebok-launches-Reebok-Cricket-Star-Twenty20/280610/2
Commenting on Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20, Subhinder Singh Prem, Managing Director, Reebok said “The association is our way of bringing alive the vision of our brand – fulfilling potential. As a performance brand we have a rich legacy in cricket since our inception in 1995 our Sports heritage has grown from strength to strength. We are equipped to take new initiatives in this field, to encourage people to pursue Sports and fitness and we hope that Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20 will send a message to all that Sports is not a faction of the elitist but a measure of talent, hard work and determination and Reebok as a brand is there to support anyone who has these in abundance measures.”
The contestants of the Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20 talent hunt will be tested for their cricketing abilities under the expert eyes of Greg Chappell. The selected contestants from each city will attend a 10 day camp at Jaipur where they will go through rigorous training on Twenty20 format and will compete with each other to be the next Reebok Cricket Star. The Reebok Cricket Star Twenty20 talent hunt is expected to draw thousands of young prospective cricketers. This initiative will provide a platform for aspiring cricketers throughout India to showcase their cricket abilities.
Reebok is a believer in associating with the Sportsman and not just the Sports star. They have always believed in the philosophy of grooming talents in Sports and assisting the players to fulfill their potential in line with their vision right from its inception. Players like Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma who have gained popularity have been with Reebok for the last 3 years. Reebok also has 4 out of playing 11 members of the U-19 World Cup winning team as their Brand ambassadors.
Reebok strongly supports domestic cricket and is the only brand to be associated with the UP and Delhi Ranji teams. At the felicitation ceremony done by Reebok for the T20 world cup champions MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, the key architects of this win shared with media about Reebok’s support of athletes citing their own personal examples.
This association with the Cricket Star Twenty20 is another step in the same direction. It is an attempt to support and groom the young cricketing talent in the nation and help them to outperform for the nation. For Reebok associating with cricket is not just about endorsement. Their brand ambassadors are their brand users in a very real way because Reebok provides cricket gear and equipment to players and also makes super customized bats keeping in mind the individual specs for the majority players of the Indian cricket team.
About Reebok India
Reebok started its operations in India in 1995. Headed by Managing Director Mr. Subhinder Singh Prem, Reebok India has a pan-India presence with branch offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore and is the market leader with 600 exclusive stores and 51% market share. The Company's brand vision is fulfilling potential, its mission – Always challenge and lead through creativity. Reeboks brand values are authentic, individualistic, courageous, empowering, innovative and real. Reebok has introduced its internationally acclaimed fitness programs in India, conducted under the banner of Reebok Instructor Alliance, which is dedicated to fitness instructors, personal trainers and health club owners. Reebok has trained and certified more then 900 trainers till now. Reebok is the official outfitter for the top 3 football clubs of India and both the Davis Cup and Federation Cup....
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Reebok-launches-Reebok-Cricket-Star-Twenty20/280610/2
Lara welcomes Twenty20
Lara welcomes Twenty20
Brian Lara.
NEW DELHI: India’s historic triangular cricket series win in Australia was a wake up call, feels Brian Lara but the West Indian legend advises the ‘Men in Blue’ “to be ready for a backlash”.
“After the debacle at home, Australia is going to come back strong and look for revenge,” warned Lara, who was in the capital on a business visit.
“It is really good what India has achieved despite playing under new captains, in Tests and One-dayers, but the hard work is going to start now,” Lara said.
“Anil (Kumble) and (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni will have to be on their toes to keep up the momentum and play well,” he said.
On Sachin Tendulkar, Lara said there was nothing more that he could add to what he has said over the years about the Master Blaster, but “John Buchanan made a mistake by lighting fire under Sachin.”
Realise potential
With the Twenty20 format of cricket gaining popularity, the West Indian, who is currently contracted to the Indian Cricket League (ICL), said it was high time that the administrators elsewhere realise the potential of this version of cricket.
Referring to the cricket boards which are opposing the two leagues in India, the ICL and the Indian Premier League, Lara said “People need to wake up to the fact that there are options now, while in the past there were very little or none.”
“They got to get their act together. You can’t blame the cricketers who have opted to play in either of the leagues as the money made available was too good to refuse,” Lara said.
To be match-fit soon
On the injury that forced him to opt out of the ongoing ICL tournament, Lara said he would like to get match-fit as soon as possible and get some runs.
“I did not have a good outing in the inaugural ICL. I was injured then also, but decided to play to honour the commitment,” he said.
Lara said the Twenty20 format pulls in a different type of crowd and there was nothing wrong with it. “It can evolve into something bigger in the future,” he said.
With the corporates coming in and taking control of the teams, Lara felt that individual cricketer had benefited as more choices were available to earn big money.
“Look at football, there are so many leagues all over the world and a football player is free to move wherever he wishes, without a stigma,” said Lara.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/13/stories/2008031357022000.htm
Brian Lara.
NEW DELHI: India’s historic triangular cricket series win in Australia was a wake up call, feels Brian Lara but the West Indian legend advises the ‘Men in Blue’ “to be ready for a backlash”.
“After the debacle at home, Australia is going to come back strong and look for revenge,” warned Lara, who was in the capital on a business visit.
“It is really good what India has achieved despite playing under new captains, in Tests and One-dayers, but the hard work is going to start now,” Lara said.
“Anil (Kumble) and (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni will have to be on their toes to keep up the momentum and play well,” he said.
On Sachin Tendulkar, Lara said there was nothing more that he could add to what he has said over the years about the Master Blaster, but “John Buchanan made a mistake by lighting fire under Sachin.”
Realise potential
With the Twenty20 format of cricket gaining popularity, the West Indian, who is currently contracted to the Indian Cricket League (ICL), said it was high time that the administrators elsewhere realise the potential of this version of cricket.
Referring to the cricket boards which are opposing the two leagues in India, the ICL and the Indian Premier League, Lara said “People need to wake up to the fact that there are options now, while in the past there were very little or none.”
“They got to get their act together. You can’t blame the cricketers who have opted to play in either of the leagues as the money made available was too good to refuse,” Lara said.
To be match-fit soon
On the injury that forced him to opt out of the ongoing ICL tournament, Lara said he would like to get match-fit as soon as possible and get some runs.
“I did not have a good outing in the inaugural ICL. I was injured then also, but decided to play to honour the commitment,” he said.
Lara said the Twenty20 format pulls in a different type of crowd and there was nothing wrong with it. “It can evolve into something bigger in the future,” he said.
With the corporates coming in and taking control of the teams, Lara felt that individual cricketer had benefited as more choices were available to earn big money.
“Look at football, there are so many leagues all over the world and a football player is free to move wherever he wishes, without a stigma,” said Lara.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/13/stories/2008031357022000.htm
West Indies vow to defend Test status
West Indies vow to defend Test status
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Indies cricket chiefs have vowed they will fight any attempts to reduce their team to that of a 'second-tier' Test match nation when the executive board of the International Cricket Council (ICC) meets at the governing body's Dubai headquarters next week.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) are also worried about the impact of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the game in their region, with matches in the new Twenty20 tournament, which starts next month, set to take place while Sri Lanka and Australia are touring the Caribbean.
Meanwhile the WICB said the ICC had been "insulting" in the way it had responded to its concerns regarding the treatment of leading West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor, who was removed from his scheduled appointment in the third Test of the recent series between Australia and India following Indian complaints about his performance in the second match of the series.
One plan being mooted to increase the competitiveness of Test cricket would see the top seven nations cut off from the bottom three with promotion and relegation between the two groups.
Under the current rankings, that would see West Indies, who've declined dramatically since the likes of Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose helped make them Test cricket's leading team from the mid-1970s to the start of the 1990s and a popular draw with fans around the world, with just Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to play in the five-day format.
"The WICB will never allow this to happen," WICB president Julian Hunte insisted in a statement from their Antigua offices on Tuesday.
"In most of the cricket playing countries of the world, we are the team they like most after their national team.
"However, we have to use this as motivation to get back to the top of world cricket. Our players must be mindful of this when they go out to play since if our standing in world cricket does not improve we might find our options and opportunities severely limited."
Hunte also voiced fears about the consequences of the IPL.
"We are deeply concerned about the future impact of leagues like the IPL on our cricket particularly when their seasons are in direct competition with our tours or our domestic season.
"We and New Zealand will be the big losers. Already it is clear that three of our players (Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan) will have to choose between representing teams in the IPL or representing their region.
"Given the amount of money at stake, it already seems to be a foregone conclusion. We also have the ICL (the 'rebel Indian Cricket League) and again the dilemma faced by our players."
When Bucknor, Test cricket's most experienced umpire, was replaced in Australia in January, Hunte warned a dangerous predecent had been set.
Many observers accused the ICC of 'giving in' to India, because it is cricket's economic powerhouse - a charge the world governing body denied.
Hunte, who contrasted the ICC's reaction with the way it had batted away West Indian complaints about umpiring on their 2005 tour of Australia, was unhappy with the response he'd had from Dubai regarding the 'Bucknor' affair.
"I said at the time that the ICC was setting a dangerous precedent but that before we took a decision on the matter we needed to know more. So far, I have not received the information I sought and I consider this an insult to the WICB which is a full-member of the ICC."
The ICC executive board meeting is due to take place from March 16-18.
http://www.thefamestation.com/fame-chit-chat-station/14343-west-indies-vow-defend-test-status.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Indies cricket chiefs have vowed they will fight any attempts to reduce their team to that of a 'second-tier' Test match nation when the executive board of the International Cricket Council (ICC) meets at the governing body's Dubai headquarters next week.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) are also worried about the impact of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the game in their region, with matches in the new Twenty20 tournament, which starts next month, set to take place while Sri Lanka and Australia are touring the Caribbean.
Meanwhile the WICB said the ICC had been "insulting" in the way it had responded to its concerns regarding the treatment of leading West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor, who was removed from his scheduled appointment in the third Test of the recent series between Australia and India following Indian complaints about his performance in the second match of the series.
One plan being mooted to increase the competitiveness of Test cricket would see the top seven nations cut off from the bottom three with promotion and relegation between the two groups.
Under the current rankings, that would see West Indies, who've declined dramatically since the likes of Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose helped make them Test cricket's leading team from the mid-1970s to the start of the 1990s and a popular draw with fans around the world, with just Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to play in the five-day format.
"The WICB will never allow this to happen," WICB president Julian Hunte insisted in a statement from their Antigua offices on Tuesday.
"In most of the cricket playing countries of the world, we are the team they like most after their national team.
"However, we have to use this as motivation to get back to the top of world cricket. Our players must be mindful of this when they go out to play since if our standing in world cricket does not improve we might find our options and opportunities severely limited."
Hunte also voiced fears about the consequences of the IPL.
"We are deeply concerned about the future impact of leagues like the IPL on our cricket particularly when their seasons are in direct competition with our tours or our domestic season.
"We and New Zealand will be the big losers. Already it is clear that three of our players (Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan) will have to choose between representing teams in the IPL or representing their region.
"Given the amount of money at stake, it already seems to be a foregone conclusion. We also have the ICL (the 'rebel Indian Cricket League) and again the dilemma faced by our players."
When Bucknor, Test cricket's most experienced umpire, was replaced in Australia in January, Hunte warned a dangerous predecent had been set.
Many observers accused the ICC of 'giving in' to India, because it is cricket's economic powerhouse - a charge the world governing body denied.
Hunte, who contrasted the ICC's reaction with the way it had batted away West Indian complaints about umpiring on their 2005 tour of Australia, was unhappy with the response he'd had from Dubai regarding the 'Bucknor' affair.
"I said at the time that the ICC was setting a dangerous precedent but that before we took a decision on the matter we needed to know more. So far, I have not received the information I sought and I consider this an insult to the WICB which is a full-member of the ICC."
The ICC executive board meeting is due to take place from March 16-18.
http://www.thefamestation.com/fame-chit-chat-station/14343-west-indies-vow-defend-test-status.html
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Team India: The new leader of world cricket
Team India: The new leader of world cricket
NEW DELHI: As Dhoni’s irrepressible India beat Australia on Tuesday to clinch the Commonwealth Bank triangular one-day series Down Under, the buzz grew louder: the country which pours the maximum money into the sport is the new leader of world cricket, at least for the time being.
The four-and-a-half-month tour is being seen as a landmark in world cricket. The controversial tour, which generated record heat on and off the field, saw India overcoming a racism row, defeat Australia in a Test, and win the tri-series beating the World Champions comprehensively in their own backyard — something more illustrious teams failed to achieve.
Said Mindshare GM MK Machiah: “The rivalry between the Indian and Australian teams has surpassed that of India and Pakistan. It’s like India just doesn’t want to lose to Australia.”
Also Read
à This is the best tour I have been to: Dhoni
à Gilchrist walks into sunset with disappointing loss
à BCCI warns Australia of repercussions in India
à In pics: India’s historic win in Brisbane
Broadcaster ESPN-Start Sports is learnt to have pocketed Rs 100-110 crore by way of ad sales from the ODIs and Rs 40-50 crore from the Test series. Series sponsors Bharti, Coca-Cola, Motorola, Havells, Frito-Lay and Perfetti have reaped the benefits of investing in the series, even as ESPN managed to sell 10-second spots at Rs 2.5-3 lakh for the two finals.
Though this is nowhere close to what ESPN-Star Sports raked in from last year’s Twenty20 tournament which India won, media experts said that it’s better than average for the just-concluded Test and one-day series in Australia.
Motorola’s director, marketing, Lloyd Mathias said: “The series has delivered the results and it’s been excellent value for money for us.”
“This win will set the pace for upcoming cricket tournaments. Few advertisers can afford to ignore the sport now,” said Starcom MediaVest executive director Tarun Nigam.
Forthcoming cricket events include an India-South Africa series later this month to be broadcast on Neo Sports and the inaugural Indian Premier League in April (to be broadcast on Sony), followed by the Asia Cup in June-July.
No wonder many expect a rise in ad rates. Said Mindshare’s Machiah: “There will be some inflation in rates but it will be driven by the teams India will play and the time band during which the matches are held. During the prime time, for example, viewership jumps 30%.”
Already, cricket matches outperform almost every popular entertainment show both in terms of television ratings and ad rates. A ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi...’ on Star Plus, for example, delivers a rating of 3.5-4, while a cricket match involving India delivers ratings anywhere between 5 and 8. This shoots up to 12-14 in the case of T20 matches.
Valuation of Indian cricket stars is expected to go up further. Said Madison Media Plus CEO Basabdatta Chowdhuri: “The overall buoyancy will reflect in (star) valuation. Since cricket is the only sport that’s popular, the valuation is naturally steep.”
Valuation of Indian cricketers are in any case the highest in the world — something proved by the recent IPL auction which saw Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni being bought for a whopping Rs 6 crore.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Team_India_The_new_leader_of_world_cricket/articleshow/2838394.cms
NEW DELHI: As Dhoni’s irrepressible India beat Australia on Tuesday to clinch the Commonwealth Bank triangular one-day series Down Under, the buzz grew louder: the country which pours the maximum money into the sport is the new leader of world cricket, at least for the time being.
The four-and-a-half-month tour is being seen as a landmark in world cricket. The controversial tour, which generated record heat on and off the field, saw India overcoming a racism row, defeat Australia in a Test, and win the tri-series beating the World Champions comprehensively in their own backyard — something more illustrious teams failed to achieve.
Said Mindshare GM MK Machiah: “The rivalry between the Indian and Australian teams has surpassed that of India and Pakistan. It’s like India just doesn’t want to lose to Australia.”
Also Read
à This is the best tour I have been to: Dhoni
à Gilchrist walks into sunset with disappointing loss
à BCCI warns Australia of repercussions in India
à In pics: India’s historic win in Brisbane
Broadcaster ESPN-Start Sports is learnt to have pocketed Rs 100-110 crore by way of ad sales from the ODIs and Rs 40-50 crore from the Test series. Series sponsors Bharti, Coca-Cola, Motorola, Havells, Frito-Lay and Perfetti have reaped the benefits of investing in the series, even as ESPN managed to sell 10-second spots at Rs 2.5-3 lakh for the two finals.
Though this is nowhere close to what ESPN-Star Sports raked in from last year’s Twenty20 tournament which India won, media experts said that it’s better than average for the just-concluded Test and one-day series in Australia.
Motorola’s director, marketing, Lloyd Mathias said: “The series has delivered the results and it’s been excellent value for money for us.”
“This win will set the pace for upcoming cricket tournaments. Few advertisers can afford to ignore the sport now,” said Starcom MediaVest executive director Tarun Nigam.
Forthcoming cricket events include an India-South Africa series later this month to be broadcast on Neo Sports and the inaugural Indian Premier League in April (to be broadcast on Sony), followed by the Asia Cup in June-July.
No wonder many expect a rise in ad rates. Said Mindshare’s Machiah: “There will be some inflation in rates but it will be driven by the teams India will play and the time band during which the matches are held. During the prime time, for example, viewership jumps 30%.”
Already, cricket matches outperform almost every popular entertainment show both in terms of television ratings and ad rates. A ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi...’ on Star Plus, for example, delivers a rating of 3.5-4, while a cricket match involving India delivers ratings anywhere between 5 and 8. This shoots up to 12-14 in the case of T20 matches.
Valuation of Indian cricket stars is expected to go up further. Said Madison Media Plus CEO Basabdatta Chowdhuri: “The overall buoyancy will reflect in (star) valuation. Since cricket is the only sport that’s popular, the valuation is naturally steep.”
Valuation of Indian cricketers are in any case the highest in the world — something proved by the recent IPL auction which saw Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni being bought for a whopping Rs 6 crore.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Team_India_The_new_leader_of_world_cricket/articleshow/2838394.cms
How to save cricket from ruin
How to save cricket from ruin
If cricket is a metaphor for life, how ghastly life must be. Look at the scorecard. Match-fixing, betting scams, ball-tampering, racism, sledging, time-wasting, contempt for authority: it hardly smells of roses.
Read more by Simon Heffer
Nick Hoult on cricket: Sobers would've been Twenty20 vision
One of the first books I ever read about cricket, as a small boy, was called The Noblest Game. Back in the mid-1960s, when players wore flannels and caps rather than shell-suits and crash helmets, cricket presented a convincing image if not of nobility, then of a vestigial gentility.
That was before money came into it, and before what we used to call the Third World took over the reins of the game.
Cricket is facing a crisis that, because of what it tells us about global economic trends, is one of which even those without an interest in the game should take note. In India, long a land of fanaticism about cricket and now a formidable economic power, these two forces are combining to challenge the leaden-footed international establishment.
The Twenty20 form of the game is not an exercise some of us have ever considered cricket. It comes under the umbrella of the term, just as television theme tunes come under the heading of "music".
The short, frenetic nature of this contest has won it a new audience around the world among those who would never previously have gone to watch a cricket match. It is especially popular in India.
Two new leagues have started up there. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is "official", the Indian Cricket League (ICL) "unofficial". Both are signing up famous players from around the world and pitting them in teams against each other. The money is big.
Andrew Symonds, the Australian all-rounder, was offered £660,000 for seven weeks' work. Similar sums are on offer to other great players. The IPL has a deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board that it will not poach ECB players this season. Next season, though, is up for grabs.
Lalit Modi, who runs the IPL, claims already to have had talks with most of the main England players, some of whom would take years to earn the money he can offer them for 40 days. The ICL, by contrast, has no such deal with the establishment, and is becoming predatory.
This means that, if money talks, English cricket could lose its main players. The Twenty20 season in India overlaps with the start of the home season.
The ECB has a choice. It shifts its own programme - which because of the English climate is next to impossible, as even with global warming and floodlights you can't play cricket into early November - or it tells players who want to go to one of the Indian leagues that that is the end of their association with English cricket.
In the latter instance, there would, as happened when the Packer circus started up 30 years ago, be much litigation, or attempted litigation, about restraint of trade. The old colonial masters might be pushed into a corner. India always used to be the jewel in the crown, but now, as the ECB and other national cricket bodies may be about to find, it is India itself who is wearing it.
This application of the free market to cricket is welcome: just as the application of the free market is to anything. Cricket in England has been shielded for too long from economic realities. If you seek an exposition of the full evils of the subsidy culture, look at our domestic first-class game.
Now played slowly and attritionally over four days, it is largely unwatchable, and largely unwatched. The old three-day game, junked in the interests of making a better Test side, was faster and relied more on tactical skills, such as the art of declaration.
Yet vast handouts from the ECB to the counties keep this boredom going, and our Test side is still dismal. First-class cricket is hardly marketed or promoted. It is immune to the commercial culture familiar in almost every other business. It is living on borrowed time.
If the cricket authorities have the vision to see it, and the guts to act on that vision, what they should do about the insurgency by Indian riches into cricket is quite obvious. From the county, state or provincial level up to the international, cricket needs to be split into two games or, to use a rugby analogy, two codes.
There would be two discrete groups of players. One would play first-class cricket. The other would play Twenty20. There could be a negotiation about which, or whether indeed both, would play the 50-over game. There would be little money in the first-class game, except from certain Test series.
The clubs that still engaged in it would have separate commercial entities that played Twenty20, would be the sole shareholders in those enterprises and would use the dividends to support the traditional game. Grounds could be shared between the two competitions: cricket grounds are among the world's most under-used resources.
This plan would enable some players to be Twenty20 cricketers and others to be first-class and perhaps Test players, with no possibility of a clash of loyalties. Within a fixed time period - maybe two or three years - no player who had appeared in one code would be allowed to appear in another. That would bring stability. There would be one more benefit, too.
The Middlesex and England cricketer Ed Smith - whose double first from Peterhouse sets him apart from most sportsmen - has just published a thoughtful and clever book called What Sport Teaches Us About Life. In it, he laments, quite correctly, the decline of the amateur: not out of nostalgia, but because of the hinterland and roundedness that amateurs bring to the sports they love.
Cricket was not worse when the Rev David Sheppard was coming from his parsonage to play for Sussex and England, or when men would come from the City to Lord's in time to turn out for Middlesex in the afternoon.
A first-class code without the money to pay many salaries would necessitate the restoration of a partly amateur game. It would allow scores of gifted cricketers who now never consider the life of a professional sportsman to compete at the highest level. The game would become less predictable, more enjoyable, more intelligent: just as it used to be.
The careering down-market of cricket over the past 30 years would not be ended: it would be put in a compartment where those who want vulgarity could have their needs catered for. Best of all, put in that compartment with it would be cricket's repellent obsession with money, and its perversion as a tool for bookies and addictive gamblers.
It would not be entirely true that a Twenty20 code would act as the sewers of the noblest game, but it wouldn't be far wrong.
The alternative is cricket's having a civil war, with the smog of unpleasantness and the many casualties that accompany such entertainments.
It is a game that has been handicapped for decades by having, with one or two notable exceptions, profoundly stupid and blinkered people running it. Indian money provides a challenge that cannot be blustered away. It deserves better, but this could be its last chance to have it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/03/05/do0501.xml
If cricket is a metaphor for life, how ghastly life must be. Look at the scorecard. Match-fixing, betting scams, ball-tampering, racism, sledging, time-wasting, contempt for authority: it hardly smells of roses.
Read more by Simon Heffer
Nick Hoult on cricket: Sobers would've been Twenty20 vision
One of the first books I ever read about cricket, as a small boy, was called The Noblest Game. Back in the mid-1960s, when players wore flannels and caps rather than shell-suits and crash helmets, cricket presented a convincing image if not of nobility, then of a vestigial gentility.
That was before money came into it, and before what we used to call the Third World took over the reins of the game.
Cricket is facing a crisis that, because of what it tells us about global economic trends, is one of which even those without an interest in the game should take note. In India, long a land of fanaticism about cricket and now a formidable economic power, these two forces are combining to challenge the leaden-footed international establishment.
The Twenty20 form of the game is not an exercise some of us have ever considered cricket. It comes under the umbrella of the term, just as television theme tunes come under the heading of "music".
The short, frenetic nature of this contest has won it a new audience around the world among those who would never previously have gone to watch a cricket match. It is especially popular in India.
Two new leagues have started up there. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is "official", the Indian Cricket League (ICL) "unofficial". Both are signing up famous players from around the world and pitting them in teams against each other. The money is big.
Andrew Symonds, the Australian all-rounder, was offered £660,000 for seven weeks' work. Similar sums are on offer to other great players. The IPL has a deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board that it will not poach ECB players this season. Next season, though, is up for grabs.
Lalit Modi, who runs the IPL, claims already to have had talks with most of the main England players, some of whom would take years to earn the money he can offer them for 40 days. The ICL, by contrast, has no such deal with the establishment, and is becoming predatory.
This means that, if money talks, English cricket could lose its main players. The Twenty20 season in India overlaps with the start of the home season.
The ECB has a choice. It shifts its own programme - which because of the English climate is next to impossible, as even with global warming and floodlights you can't play cricket into early November - or it tells players who want to go to one of the Indian leagues that that is the end of their association with English cricket.
In the latter instance, there would, as happened when the Packer circus started up 30 years ago, be much litigation, or attempted litigation, about restraint of trade. The old colonial masters might be pushed into a corner. India always used to be the jewel in the crown, but now, as the ECB and other national cricket bodies may be about to find, it is India itself who is wearing it.
This application of the free market to cricket is welcome: just as the application of the free market is to anything. Cricket in England has been shielded for too long from economic realities. If you seek an exposition of the full evils of the subsidy culture, look at our domestic first-class game.
Now played slowly and attritionally over four days, it is largely unwatchable, and largely unwatched. The old three-day game, junked in the interests of making a better Test side, was faster and relied more on tactical skills, such as the art of declaration.
Yet vast handouts from the ECB to the counties keep this boredom going, and our Test side is still dismal. First-class cricket is hardly marketed or promoted. It is immune to the commercial culture familiar in almost every other business. It is living on borrowed time.
If the cricket authorities have the vision to see it, and the guts to act on that vision, what they should do about the insurgency by Indian riches into cricket is quite obvious. From the county, state or provincial level up to the international, cricket needs to be split into two games or, to use a rugby analogy, two codes.
There would be two discrete groups of players. One would play first-class cricket. The other would play Twenty20. There could be a negotiation about which, or whether indeed both, would play the 50-over game. There would be little money in the first-class game, except from certain Test series.
The clubs that still engaged in it would have separate commercial entities that played Twenty20, would be the sole shareholders in those enterprises and would use the dividends to support the traditional game. Grounds could be shared between the two competitions: cricket grounds are among the world's most under-used resources.
This plan would enable some players to be Twenty20 cricketers and others to be first-class and perhaps Test players, with no possibility of a clash of loyalties. Within a fixed time period - maybe two or three years - no player who had appeared in one code would be allowed to appear in another. That would bring stability. There would be one more benefit, too.
The Middlesex and England cricketer Ed Smith - whose double first from Peterhouse sets him apart from most sportsmen - has just published a thoughtful and clever book called What Sport Teaches Us About Life. In it, he laments, quite correctly, the decline of the amateur: not out of nostalgia, but because of the hinterland and roundedness that amateurs bring to the sports they love.
Cricket was not worse when the Rev David Sheppard was coming from his parsonage to play for Sussex and England, or when men would come from the City to Lord's in time to turn out for Middlesex in the afternoon.
A first-class code without the money to pay many salaries would necessitate the restoration of a partly amateur game. It would allow scores of gifted cricketers who now never consider the life of a professional sportsman to compete at the highest level. The game would become less predictable, more enjoyable, more intelligent: just as it used to be.
The careering down-market of cricket over the past 30 years would not be ended: it would be put in a compartment where those who want vulgarity could have their needs catered for. Best of all, put in that compartment with it would be cricket's repellent obsession with money, and its perversion as a tool for bookies and addictive gamblers.
It would not be entirely true that a Twenty20 code would act as the sewers of the noblest game, but it wouldn't be far wrong.
The alternative is cricket's having a civil war, with the smog of unpleasantness and the many casualties that accompany such entertainments.
It is a game that has been handicapped for decades by having, with one or two notable exceptions, profoundly stupid and blinkered people running it. Indian money provides a challenge that cannot be blustered away. It deserves better, but this could be its last chance to have it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/03/05/do0501.xml
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Sport's fear of the free market
Sport's fear of the free market
The billion-dollar cricket league may end up benefiting cricket rather than harming
IPL, the new Indian Twenty20 league that taps into the vast wealth and cricketing passion of the subcontinent, has issued a challenge to international cricket: we can hire your players and make them millionaires for a month's cricket - what can you do about it? According to many thoughtful onlookers, this is the unacceptable face of the free market. As one distinguished cricket writer put it, IPL marks “the beginning of the end of the epoch when international matches were the main events. Like it or not, England v Australia may now move to the edge of the stage. Its centre is likely to be occupied by Mohali against Mumbai.”
As Middlesex captain, my concerns were less theoretical: what will IPL do to the two teams I care about, Middlesex and England? Middlesex will be without our excellent Indian spinner Murali Kartik for the first six weeks of the county season; but England emerge unscathed, with their star players remaining loyal to the national side.
Nor is the big picture all gloom and doom. History tells us that start-up leagues, no matter how irreverent, often leave a positive imprint on the establishment that they challenge. The free market, in sport as in life, may have sharp teeth and base motives, but it can still leave a benevolent legacy.
A famous precedent for IPL is Kerry Packer's World Series cricket of the late 1970s. Using his business dictum “Come on, we're all whores - name your price”, Packer lured many of the best players away from their national teams to play in his jazzed-up league. The schism he inflicted on world cricket didn't last long. But the innovations, like night cricket and coloured clothing, were absorbed into the mainstream.
Background
Cricket’s Indian stunner
Indian Cricket League: Cricket’s sale of the century
Sale of the Century
£20m splashed out in cricket auction
International cricket imitated its competitor and weathered the storm. Packer's league was even more criticised than IPL for vulgarity and iconoclasm, but it left the game enhanced. The athleticism and brilliant fielding of modern cricket owe much to the rise of one-day cricket following the Packer revolution. After a fractious period, the game emerged with a more marketable product - so Packer was half-justified in saying his motives had been “half-altruistic”.
Both Premier League football and the Champions League were essentially breakaway leagues. The Premier League founders may have bullied the old Football League, but the product has provided superb entertainment.
In America, competition between leagues is as old as competition between teams. In baseball, the founding organisation was the National League, which remained the sport's only elite body until the newspaperman Ban Johnson announced in 1901 that his rival American League was also a “major league”. He was written off as a hooligan entrepreneur. But the leagues have coexisted to this day; and since 1903 the two champion teams have played each other in the annual World Series, the sport's greatest spectacle. The free market made winners of both sides.
But where American sports were often founded on the basis that leagues could battle it out in a free market, our sports were run by private institutions - the FA, MCC, the Royal and Ancient. The free market came to British sport much later, when television converted sport into mass entertainment.
This commercial naivety makes us suspicious of innovations such as IPL. Its tone worries people as much as its substance - we aren't used to elite sportsmen being auctioned off like vases. But the best way forward for cricket may be to embrace IPL in the short term, while dedicating its full attention to outwitting it in the future. The free market, by definition, is anti-establishment, unpredictable and unsentimental - it is based on constantly changing choices and preferences. To keep afloat, you have to innovate.
What matters here is how international cricket fights back. If it is forced to play by free market rules, it may as well win by them. Two ideas might help. First, a genuine Test match world championship would give our premier product the showcase event that it richly deserves, and remind people that no matter how much they enjoy Twenty20, being officially crowned world Test champions is the sport's pinnacle.
Secondly, international cricket could revisit its scheduling. If one month of IPL can make $1 billion for the Indian board, that surely exposes the myth that more cricket makes more profit. Spectators want the best playing the best - but not so often that the spectacle is devalued. One counterintuitive answer to the IPL challenge is to enhance the international brand by reducing its number of matches.
Perhaps the IPL shake-up will galvanise the game. Rivalry, as Bjorn Borg said about John McEnroe, can inspire you to new heights. After all, sport is based on competition. With lateral thinking and the odd risk, international cricket, far from being ruined by IPL, might emerge more popular than ever before. And better.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3463383.ece
The billion-dollar cricket league may end up benefiting cricket rather than harming
IPL, the new Indian Twenty20 league that taps into the vast wealth and cricketing passion of the subcontinent, has issued a challenge to international cricket: we can hire your players and make them millionaires for a month's cricket - what can you do about it? According to many thoughtful onlookers, this is the unacceptable face of the free market. As one distinguished cricket writer put it, IPL marks “the beginning of the end of the epoch when international matches were the main events. Like it or not, England v Australia may now move to the edge of the stage. Its centre is likely to be occupied by Mohali against Mumbai.”
As Middlesex captain, my concerns were less theoretical: what will IPL do to the two teams I care about, Middlesex and England? Middlesex will be without our excellent Indian spinner Murali Kartik for the first six weeks of the county season; but England emerge unscathed, with their star players remaining loyal to the national side.
Nor is the big picture all gloom and doom. History tells us that start-up leagues, no matter how irreverent, often leave a positive imprint on the establishment that they challenge. The free market, in sport as in life, may have sharp teeth and base motives, but it can still leave a benevolent legacy.
A famous precedent for IPL is Kerry Packer's World Series cricket of the late 1970s. Using his business dictum “Come on, we're all whores - name your price”, Packer lured many of the best players away from their national teams to play in his jazzed-up league. The schism he inflicted on world cricket didn't last long. But the innovations, like night cricket and coloured clothing, were absorbed into the mainstream.
Background
Cricket’s Indian stunner
Indian Cricket League: Cricket’s sale of the century
Sale of the Century
£20m splashed out in cricket auction
International cricket imitated its competitor and weathered the storm. Packer's league was even more criticised than IPL for vulgarity and iconoclasm, but it left the game enhanced. The athleticism and brilliant fielding of modern cricket owe much to the rise of one-day cricket following the Packer revolution. After a fractious period, the game emerged with a more marketable product - so Packer was half-justified in saying his motives had been “half-altruistic”.
Both Premier League football and the Champions League were essentially breakaway leagues. The Premier League founders may have bullied the old Football League, but the product has provided superb entertainment.
In America, competition between leagues is as old as competition between teams. In baseball, the founding organisation was the National League, which remained the sport's only elite body until the newspaperman Ban Johnson announced in 1901 that his rival American League was also a “major league”. He was written off as a hooligan entrepreneur. But the leagues have coexisted to this day; and since 1903 the two champion teams have played each other in the annual World Series, the sport's greatest spectacle. The free market made winners of both sides.
But where American sports were often founded on the basis that leagues could battle it out in a free market, our sports were run by private institutions - the FA, MCC, the Royal and Ancient. The free market came to British sport much later, when television converted sport into mass entertainment.
This commercial naivety makes us suspicious of innovations such as IPL. Its tone worries people as much as its substance - we aren't used to elite sportsmen being auctioned off like vases. But the best way forward for cricket may be to embrace IPL in the short term, while dedicating its full attention to outwitting it in the future. The free market, by definition, is anti-establishment, unpredictable and unsentimental - it is based on constantly changing choices and preferences. To keep afloat, you have to innovate.
What matters here is how international cricket fights back. If it is forced to play by free market rules, it may as well win by them. Two ideas might help. First, a genuine Test match world championship would give our premier product the showcase event that it richly deserves, and remind people that no matter how much they enjoy Twenty20, being officially crowned world Test champions is the sport's pinnacle.
Secondly, international cricket could revisit its scheduling. If one month of IPL can make $1 billion for the Indian board, that surely exposes the myth that more cricket makes more profit. Spectators want the best playing the best - but not so often that the spectacle is devalued. One counterintuitive answer to the IPL challenge is to enhance the international brand by reducing its number of matches.
Perhaps the IPL shake-up will galvanise the game. Rivalry, as Bjorn Borg said about John McEnroe, can inspire you to new heights. After all, sport is based on competition. With lateral thinking and the odd risk, international cricket, far from being ruined by IPL, might emerge more popular than ever before. And better.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3463383.ece
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