Four camera units and a star-studded panel of 14 cricketer-turned-commentators, split into three teams, will cover the Indian Premier league (IPL) starting Friday in Bangalore. The commentators include Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Greg Chappell. According to an IPL source, Gavaskar and Shastri, who are employed by ESPN-STAR Sports, have been given special permission by the broadcasters to commentate during the lucrative Twenty20 tournament. Incidentally, both are also on the IPL governing council.
Greg Chappell, who was India coach for two years starting 2005 and has also worked as a commentator for Channel Nine in Australia, has also been allowed by the Rajasthan Cricket Academy to commentate. Chappell, a former Australia captain, is currently the head coach of the academy housed in Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Stadium.
TransWorld International is producing the live telecast of the tournament and it has formed four camera units to cover the 59 matches in 45 days. The two semi-finals as well as the final will be played in Mumbai.
IPL commentators’ list:
Group 1: Rameez Raja (Pakistan), Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (India), Robin Jackman (South Africa) and Ravi Shastri (India)
Group 2: Greg Chappell (Australia), Ranjit Fernando (Sri Lanka), Aamer Sohail (Pakistan), Ian Bishop (West Indies, until May 17) and Damien Fleming (Australia, from May 17)
Group 3: Sunil Gavaskar (India), Arun Lal (India), Pommie Mbangwa (Zimbabwe), Tony Cozier (West Indies, until May 17) and Danny Morrison (New Zealand, from May 17)
Now, this is good news as the experience of the commentators would surely blend well with the IPL matches and T20 pace!
Remember Parthiv Patel? Yes, the young wicket-keeper of Indian team who just vanished after the WC03 from the Indian International team, is planning to find a sort of comeback into the Indian Cricket team through the IPL.
Parthiv Patel, aiming to stage a comeback into the Indian cricket team, underlined his determination by getting straight to work for Chennai Super Kings on arrival here to prepare for the Indian Premier League starting April 18.
‘Of course, it is great to get such an opportunity as I am sure there will be a lot of people watching your performance. I hope to do well in this tournament (Indian Premier League),’ said Parthiv as he wiped the perspiration off his forehead.
Parthiv, who turned 23 last month, is also aware of the fact that he needs to work that much harder now than at any time in the past to regain his spot in the Indian team.
The Ahmedabad-based player made his debut for India in 2002 at Trent Bridge against England as a late replacement for an injured Ajay Ratra to become the youngest wicketkeeper ever in Test history.
He went on to play 19 Tests and 14 ODIs, but failed to retain his spot and it was not long before he was omitted from the Indian team. The arrival of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik further affected Parthiv’s chances of staging a comeback.
Looking back, Parthiv said: ‘It is always tough when you get dropped from the Indian team. However, I took this in my stride and worked harder on my technique, both batting and wicket-keeping besides my overall fitness. Hopefully, I will get an opportunity to get back into the Indian team.’
On the hard work he did in the past four years, Parthiv said: ‘Basically, it was my concentration that I need to work on and also my overall fitness.’ He admitted that the two years with the national team was but a ‘learning curve’ for him.
In his debut Test, Parthiv kept wickets for 145 overs as England made 617 in their first innings replying to India’s 357. Parthiv failed with the bat, lasting all of 10 deliveries before getting out for a duck. However, in the second essay, the teenager came up with a rearguard action in making an unbeaten 19 that helped India to force a draw.
‘When I look back, I feel it was a matter of keeping your concentration over a long period of time that matters most in wicket-keeping. And to do that, fitness is the key. Like I said, I have since put in a lot of effort to improve in these areas,’ he stated.
Parthiv did well in 2007, when he scored five consecutive centuries, including against South Africa ‘A’ team and in the Irani Trophy, playing for Rest of India.
‘Yes, the five centuries have boosted my confidence and I look to the IPL to further prove my fitness and form,’ he said.
Shane Warne Captain and coach of IPl Rajasthan Royals team owned by Lalchan Murdoch’s Emerging Media spoke his mind clearly on IPL, ECB and related issues to Times Online.
Shane said - ”
I leave home today for six of the most exciting weeks of my life. The Indian
Premier League is about to begin and this is boom time for our sport. There
is always a buzz about cricket in India, but when I flew over for the launch
of Rajasthan Royals a fortnight ago, that sense of expectation was stronger
than usual.”
It took me 48 hours to get to Jaipur and back and the eight hours I spent
there passed in a noisy blur. Even the chief minister of Rajasthan was
present as we unveiled our kit, team anthem and mascot – a lion called
Moochu Singh. I defy sceptics to be here as Friday draws closer and still
say that the IPL is overhyped.
This is an exciting prospect for all international cricketers, not only those
of us who will be involved in the first tournament. And, yes, I include
England players in that. I believe that the ECB will have its head in the
sand if it keeps saying that Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and so on will
not be allowed to take part.
The ICC and the international boards need to show common sense because this is
not going to be a six-week wonder. Dates for 2009 have been announced and
the television deal runs to ten years. Sponsors and franchise owners are in
it for the long term. I am convinced that it is here to stay and will only
grow bigger and better.
To me, the IPL is a world brand. Players from every country want to be
involved, so the ICC has to make space in the Future Tours Programme to make
sure that there is no clash of dates with Tests and one-day internationals.
I know that boards have commitments, but I am sure that a block can be
reserved for the IPL on an annual basis. It sounds from what I have been
reading that the ECB wants players to rest before the 2009 Ashes series. Of
course you need to rest from time to time, but there is also a danger of
going too far the other way. As I remember, weren’t England criticised for
being “undercooked” before the 2006-07 series that they lost 5-0?
You cannot flirt with form. If you are in it, you want to keep going. Out of
it, you have to play to get it back. And one of the great things about
Twenty20 is the way that it unclutters your mind. You play your shots
without pressure, the fear of failure disappears and you can feel a million
dollars again.
Of course, the money is a big attraction. But I think that cricket as a whole
will see the benefits. The profile of the sport will be so much bigger and I
think that players will improve from being together in new teams outside
their existing networks. For me, that is what makes the next few days so
exciting.
Here is an example: I have been asked how I feel about playing alongside
Graeme Smith. We have not really got on too well as opponents - and that is
an understatement. But here is a guy who averages nearly 50 in Test cricket
and has captained South Africa for five years. There are things he must do
right.
I have an opportunity to watch him prepare, to see what makes him tick. I am
sure I will learn from him; perhaps at this moment he is saying the same
about me. My first words? Probably just: “G’day, mate.” That is usually a
good start and I reckon we will be laughing about things that went on in the
past by the end of the event.
Some of my best mates began as opponents, people like Brian Lara, Jonty
Rhodes, Stephen Fleming and Sachin Tendulkar. In their own ways they were
tough guys on the field, but I got to know them as people only once the
games were over. I will now discover the real Graeme Smith in the same way.
I am looking forward to it.
As captain and coach, my first task is to look at all the players and work out
roles – who will take on the powerplays, who will be our finisher, who will
bowl at the death and so on. The Royals seem to have sneaked under the
radar, but I am very excited about the young Indian talent, including Yusuf
Pathan, the brother of Irfan, the India all-rounder.
Dimitri Mascarenhas will be a huge asset and Shane Watson is another with
explosive skills. On a personal level, I feel apprehensive as well as
excited because this will be my first international cricket since the Sydney
Test in January 2007. That felt like the end. This feels like a new
beginning. - added Times.
We are with you Shane and thankful for taking part in this tournament which will sure be a new era for Cricket.
The ECB is all set to give IPL a run for it’s money from next year onwards. Unconfirmed reports suggests that ECB may be setting up it’s own league in same lines as that of IPL. Wow! just imagine, IPL vs EPL. We can expect a formal announcement within the next 2-3 days.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is about to unveil plans for a 20:20 cricket tournament to rival the much-publicised Indian Premier League (IPL), whose inaugural event gets underway next week. An informed source within the ECB disclosed that an announcement on the matter could come “within the next 72 hours”.
The “English Premier League” will in all probability involve all 18 first-class counties in England plus three to six overseas teams, including one from India, which could be the winners of the IPL or another 20:20 tournament held under the auspices of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The blueprint for the “EPL” is to launch this definitely by 2010, but given the provocation provided by the IPL, efforts are bound to be made to bring this forward to 2009 or even strengthen the existing T20 competition in England, whose next edition is scheduled for July this year.
The proposed “EPL” will permit counties to include up to three overseas players in their sides in addition to “Kolpak” players or those who by virtue of their countries’ agreements with the European Union have a right to work as cricketers in the United Kingdom.
Provisionally, an “EPL” is expected to be slotted into a three week period in June and/or July, when there is normally little or no top level cricket in any other part of the world.
The live television rights for cricket in England, currently held by SKY SPORTS, extend up to and include the summer of 2009, when Australia are the tourists for the Ashes Test series. The ECB had already invited bids for the next four year period for such a licence commencing 2010.
However, following the surfacing of the IPL, the ECB are likely to revise their proposal and even, perhaps, permit interested parties to bid for specific tournaments (such as an “EPL”) in the calendar rather than the entire package of test, first-class and limited overs events.
It is understood that if an “EPL” extravaganza occupies the attractive June-July window, then the existing 20:20 tournament between counties may be advanced to May. In other words, the ECB could stage two 20:20 tournaments in a season instead of one.
The source revealed that the ECB’s commercial director recently made a presentation to board members about the potential of financial partners and sponsorship for an “EPL”. Interestingly, the concerned matches will occur at prime television time in India. This, given the fact that an Indian franchise, or state or zonal team, not to mention the likely presence of leading Indian players in English county squads, will take part in such a championship, could fetch significant revenues from Indian TV companies as well as advertisers and sponsors.
After the Indian cricketers, it’s the turn of their Aussie counterparts for shooting! Australian cricket players are busy with the shooting for a promotional movie ‘Victory’ based on the 20-20 cricket matches. Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium is abuzz with activity as the Australian and Indian players are fiercely competing with each other for the cameras to capturing the real life excitement for the reels.
The players are expected to hold a news conference today.
“Players like Samuel, Bred Hog, Brett Lee, Clarck, Mathew Hayden and Indian players like R.P. Singh, Dinesh Kartik, Yusuf Pathan and Praveen Kumar are all shooting here. As far as we have been informed, it is a promotional film. They have the permission of the BCCI,” said Taposh Chatterjee, ground-in-charge and pitch curator, Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Audience present in the stands of the stadium acting as exited cricket fans watching the match for the movie that is based on the success story of the Indian Team in 20-20 Championship when India defeated Australia.
“India had defeated the Australians in the 20-20 series. We want that should be incorporated in the movie. The way England was defeated by India in the movie Lagaan, we want Australians to be defeated in this movie,” said Gaurav Arora, a fan.
The flick is being directed by Ajit Pal and the lead role of cricketer is being played by Harman Baweja. Amrita Rao, a Bollywood actor, will be the main female protagonist of the movie.
Leading Australian cricketers including Brett Lee, who are in India ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches scheduled to begin from April 17 onwards, are busy shooting for this movie.
The movie has generated curiosity after the much-hyped and known Indo-Australia cricketing rivalry.
This joint production is likely to strengthen the friendship between the players of the two teams.
