England allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas joined the Rajasthan Royals on Monday, and he will be available for five IPL matches before returning home on May 12.
Mascarenhas’ arrival will be a definite boost for IPL tean Rajasthan Royals, who are now second in the IPL standings after three-successive victories, and he hoped that his team would be able to sustain their momentum. “The biggest challenge for the Royals from hereon is to achieve consistent winning results. The team has had an amazing run after the first game and the main objective now is to force our way into the semi-finals and then the final,” Mascarenhas told the Hindu.
He said that he could return to play for the team, who are set for two back-to-back home matches, after completing his county commitments. “I can also come back for the semi-finals and final should the team get there. But the next two home games will be big for us. It’s going to be tough for me to get into the team; it depends on the balance.”
Mascarenhas was all praise for Shane Warne, his former captain at Hampshire, and the coach-cum-captain of Rajasthan. “I have not seen all the players up close, but Warne definitely has an influence on the team. Speaking to him last night and this morning it’s obvious he has worked on the team with full intensity, got the young lads together and working as a unit. He’s an inspiring guy and people listen to him.”
Meanwhile, Mascarenhas, who is the only Englishman to figure in the inaugural IPL after his county gave him permission for a brief stint, said that his compatriots were keen to take part in the tournament. “The England players are desperate to play in the IPL. Next year they will all put their hands up to come and play. Everyone has watched the IPL in England and what an amazing tournament it is. I have watched all the games. The IPL is big time news in the England newspapers.”
Shoaib Akhtar’s international career virtually came to an end with an appellate tribunal on Wednesday upholding the five-year ban imposed on him but allowed him to play in the cash-rich Indian Premier League.
The appellate tribunal, in its interim ruling, said Akhtar could not play any match in or for Pakistan but gave him the liberty to play anywhere else in the world.
Justice (retd) Aftab Farrukh, heading the appellate tribunal, said the ban stayed because Shoaib did not try to reform himself.
“Basically he has not tried to reform himself and has continued to violate discipline. That is the view of the tribunal so the ban stays,” told reporters in Lahore.
“This is also the order of the disciplinary committee of the Board that he can’t play for or anywhere in Pakistan domestically or internationally. But there is no bar on him playing anywhere else in the world,” Farrukh added.
Farrukh said the tribunal had taken this decision in view of the unconditional apology submitted by Shoaib on Monday to the nation, his team and the Board for his actions and deeds.
Farrukh said the tribunal would resume proceedings against the overall ban in June. Akhtar had appealed against the five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board for breaching players code of conduct by criticising the Board in media when he was already in the probation period.
The interim order basically appears to be a move to allow Shoaib to play in the Indian Premier League.
But the million dollar question is that whether the IPL will allow Shoaib to play in their League because earlier also their stance was clear that they wouldn’t allow a banned player to play in their league. And the tribunal has not lifted the ban.
Farrukh also criticised Shoaib for the irreparable harm he had done to Pakistan cricket, his teammates and the trust of the nation.
West Indies Captain Chris Gayle’s will be flying
back to Jamaica to recuperate from a groin injury ending his stint in the Indian Premier League prematurely - reports Trinidad & Tobago Express.
Gayle had joined the Kolkata Knight Riders following the One-Day
International series at home against Sri Lanka, but the injury
prevented him from taking part in any of his team’s matches.
Gayle, though, will not need to undergo surgery, with the latest MRI
scan indicating he doesn’t have an hairline fracture, Tony Deyal, the
West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) secretary, confirmed.
The news would come as a boost to the West Indies, who host Australia for a three-Test series beginning May 22.
Earlier reports suggested Gayle had suffered a hairline fracture in his groin, and that he would have needed surgery.
Gayle had picked up the injury
during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in St Lucia earlier this month,
when he limped off after finishing his bowling stint.
With most International Players leaving for their home commitment, the time has come to see how the IPL teams fair in their absence.
Mumbai Indians have finally arrived with a comprehensive win over the Knight Riders who were outplayed in all the departments in the Indian premier League Match today. The Mumbai Indians were on a mission today and right from the moment they took the field, they meant business. They started off with a bang pegging back the Knight Riders with a heap of early wickets.
The target was never daunting but the Knight Riders got themselves a small opening with three quick wickets at the top. That dropped chance of Uthappa proved costly as he went on to hold a century run stand with Bravo.
The biggest mistake so far has been by Captains of IPL teams who choose to bat the moment they win a toss with a plan to make the opponents chase a big score. And today was no different. Also we do not understand why Md. Haffiz the Pak opener is not being given a chance to open the innings - he is comfortable and confident and have done it in the past also with sufficient expertise.
SRK and his boys really need to think hard and act fast as the initial momentum is gobe and with players like Brandon and Ponting returning home. Also the fact they lost miserably in the hands of the weakest team today requires rational analysis.
However, finally today it was a sigh of relief for all those who had been rooting for Mumbai. Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets with Sanath Jayasuriya bagging the Man of the Match award for his brilliant performance with both the ball and the bat.
Indian premier League - IPL News is now available live on mobile phones. iplnews.mobi was launched today by one of the largest fansite of IPL - IPLCricketforum.com as an extended service for all fans of IPL.
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