Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

Anil Kumble - Indian Test Captain may miss the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League for his team, the Bangalore Royal Challengers,due to his groin injury. Reports - Sify.

“He (injured Kumble) probably might miss the first game definitely,” Royal Challengers’ skipper Rahul Dravid said, adding, another team member, Nathan Bracken would be able to join the squad only in the first week of May.

Given the twenty20 format, Dravid said the tournament was “very, very competitive” and therefore there were no favourites. “I think there is no clear favourite in the tournament”, he said.

On his comment made in Chennai over auctioning in team selection for IPL, Dravid said it was an “off the cuff” remark that was taken out of context, and then went on to support the IPL concept.

“It’s a great opportunity for domestic cricketers”, he said. “It’s a domestic tournament with international flavour”.

The team’s manager, Martin Crowe, said the T20 format would “speed up” the one-day games and test matches. This format is now “sitting along side” the other two versions “comfortably”, he said.

Both Kumble and Little Master will be very much missed by the cricket fans when the two teams meet next Sunday.

Sachin Tendulkar will not be able to play India’s third and final Test against South Africa with a groin injury but Indian Premier League’s Mumbai Indians team is optimistic that their captain would regain fitness to play the Twenty20 tournament beginning April 18, reports Times of India.

“Sachin is a player who does not like to miss any games. I am sure the physio will take care of him and he will be all right in time for the IPL,” Mumbai Indians coach Lalchand Rajput said on Monday.

Tendulkar had missed the second Test between India and South Africa at Ahmedabad due to a groin injury.

Rajput refused to confirm whether Tendulkar with Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya would open the innings for the team.

“There are four to five options that we have. We will look at the opposition team and wicket before deciding the openers for a match,” he said.

The Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians will start a preparatory camp on April 11, a week ahead of the beginning of the cash-rich league which will see eight teams competing.

The team management also announced the appointment of television commentator Harsha Bhogle as an advisor to the team who will aid in the planning of strategy.

TOI also added that while acknowledging that he had never worked in the management of a team before, Bhogle said he was looking forward to aiding in the planning of the team’s strategy.

R Balachandran, the team’s CEO, said the squad will also be starting their promotional campaigns in the coming days to connect with potential fans.

“The fans will have a chance to interact with the team through the website and other means,” he said.

It seems that Mumbai Indians are really geraing up for the ultimate show of Cricket - IPL.