Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

Editorial 

Shah Rukh has sent a SMS to his team saying that he would boycott the remaining matches of the IPL till the League clarified the code of conduct and cricketing authorities.

King Khan cannot digest the fact that ICC anti-corruption department has objected his proximity to his own players. He said that he finds it really ridiculous that he would pay his players to loose when he have already paid so heavily for building a team for winning ! His main objection is to the fact that this action somewhat labels him as a bookie.

He also pointed out to the fact that while other owners are being allowed to mix freely with their team members - he has been singled out just due to his celebrity status. Earlier he had also expressed his unhappiness about the entertainment tax levied on his team by the West Bengal Government which is not applicable in any other states.

Meanwhile IPL governing body went out of its way to bend rules and issue special red passes to team owners allowing then fifteen minutes access to dressing rooms and dugout.

Perhaps what everyone is missing out the fact which probably raised concern among the icc anti-corruption is King Khans visit to the opponents teams (Chennai Superkings) dug out during the Kolkata match. This may not have been taken well by the ICC authorities and rightly so - Cricket does not follow the rules of Bollywood where everything can be scripted conveniently.

Also, the dismal performance of Kolkata Knight Riders must be adding fuel to King Khans frustration - but rules are rules - Cricket is a game of discipline and performance - emotions do not have much place here.

True we will loose out on the cheering performance  of King Khan in the semis and the finals - but Virender Shewag, Gambhir, Sachin, Shaun Marsh, Yuvraj, MS Dhoni, Jayasiriya are no less real-life entertainers.

© IPL Cricket Forum

The eight Indian Premier League franchise
owners will have to pay any entertainment tax the government may levy
on the cash-rich Twenty20 cricket tournament starting next month. The
working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India took a
decision to this effect at a meeting in Chennai on Tuesday, according
to an official who attended it.
The official said that it had been decided to inform the franchise
owners that they would have to apply for an entertainment tax
exemption. But if the government declines their request, they - and not
the BCCI, which owns the IPL - will have to bear the burden. The
franchise owners, comprising mostly business tycoons and Mumbai
filmstars, spent millions of dollars to buy the teams and players for
the world’s richest cricket tournament starting April 18. In all, 59
Twenty20 matches will be played this year. Three of the eight franchise
owners spent over $100 million to buy the teams.
They were business tycoon Mr Mukesh Ambani (Mumbai, for $111.9
million), owners of the Deccan Chronicle newspaper (Hyderabad, for
$107.01 million) and Mr Vijay Mallya’s UB Group (Bangalore, for $106
million).
The other owners are India Cements (Chennai, for $91 million), GMR
Holdings (Delhi, for $84 million), a Preity Zinta-led consortium
(Mohali, for $76 million), Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies (Kolkata, for
$75.09 million) and Emerging Media (Jaipur, for $67 million). Usually,
the government levies an entertainment tax on Test matches and One-Day
Internationals played in India. But the tax is often waived following
requests from the BCCI or state associations. It remains to be seen how
the franchise owners will react to the BCCI decision and whether the
government will insist on the entertainment tax.