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Owais Shah of England wants to Play at IPL

April 2nd, 2008

Owais Shah spoke to Sky Sports today and admited that the prospect of playing in the Indian Premier League is attractive.

However Shah, who lost his place in the England for the Test series in New Zealand to county colleague Andrew Strauss, says he would only sign up if taking part does not affect his international career.

“Of course I’ve heard of it just as everyone else has - there’s a lot of stuff about how the IPL are interested in getting England players,” Shah told Sky Sports News.

“So that’s something that might fall into place in the next six, 10, 12 months and if I do get an opportunity then yes, why not?

“Obviously if it doesn’t hamper my England career.”

The lure of the IPL has already proved too strong for Hampshire’s Dimitri Mascarenhas and Shane Warne.

Their participation in the competition means there could have been an opportunity for new Middlesex captain Shaun Udal to become captain at The Rose Bowl.

However, the spinner insists he does not regret his decision to move to Lord’s.

“It would have been nice but that’s not to be, it was six months ago,” Udal said.

“If those decisions were in place six months ago then maybe things would have been different, but they’re not.

“I’m more than happy here at Lord’s and there are not many better places to play than here at Lord’s.” - added Sky Sports News.

IPL is gradually becoming attractive to all players across the Globe and chnaces are we will end up with a fabulous Super League
involving millions of cricket fans from all over.

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Coke manages to keep Pepsi out of Television during IPL Match Telecast

April 1st, 2008

Coca Cola the soft drink major managed to keep Pepsi out of Television during IPl League Telecast in the much anticipated upcoming T20 Indian Premier Leauge (IPL) by successfully signing as one of the associate sponsors with broadcaster Set Max.

According to industry sources, Coca Cola has paid anywhere between Rs 16-20 crore for one year for the series giving it direct access to prime-time on the channel, enabling the company to advertise exclusively its entire portfolio during the 44 day event beginning April 18.

As a result, Pepsi, which paid a hefty sum of $12.5 million (about Rs 50 crore) to become the official on-ground sponsor, will not be able to air its commercials during the matches. Pepsi had recently launched its ‘Youngistaan’ TV campaign featuring Sha h Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone for the season while Coke also introduced a variety of campaigns for different products featuring Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar.

Pepsi also has leading cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma, in its list of brand ambassadors.

It has been the one of the main sponsors of India’s domestic cricket tournaments for many years and has also been associated with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the global sponsor. - PTI Reports.

Now with the Coke Pepsi war clearly out open for IPl we can expect some more fireworks during the next few weeks.

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Dhoni - Captain of Chennai Super Kings confident of wining

April 1st, 2008

Mahiner Singh Dhoni - Captain of Chennai Super Kings is very much confident of wining captain of the Chennai Super Kings cricket team. India’s ODI captain who is Chennai’s Star catch for the Indian Premier League, was presented by India Cements at a glitzy ceremony featuring splendid entertainment in the city on Saturday evening, reports televisionpoint.com

Responding to the master of ceremony’s comment about there being veterans in the team, Dhoni said emphatically that Twenty-20 cricket is all about youth and to win the IPL for his adopted city would anyway be his main aim after the series against South Africa got over.

The team’s Star ambassador, actor Vijay, talked of how ‘Captain Cool’ had won limited overs matches in crunch situations for India by instilling confidence in his players and said that he would do the same for the IPL franchise.

The other Star ambassador, Nayanthara, also said that to win the first edition of the cup would be the finest gift Dhoni could give the Tamil film industry. Having made time in the midst of a Test match to be at the launch, Dhoni spoke only a few words while the high octane entertainment laid out for the evening captured all the attention with performances from an array of entertainers ranging from singer Vasundhara Das and dancer Reema Sen to a laser artist who stole the show combining optical special effects with athletic juggling.

The show, put together by the franchise owner India Cements, team sponsor Aircel and apparel supplier Reebok at the Chennai Trade Centre held a large audience spellbound. Dhoni, who came up on stage on a chair lift, was the major Star present at the team introduction in which players came up in categories of cricket specialization. None of the foreign players were present, which came as a disappointment. Of those signed on from abroad, Kepler Wessels, the coach, who is at the India-South Africa Test as a television expert, was there to absorb a bit of Tamil cinema culture.

The brand ambassador Krish Srikkanth had those present in stitches with his brand of earthy humour. The Chennai Super Kings begin their IPL programme with a match on April 18 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata against Knight Riders while their first home game will be on April 24 at the Chidambaram Stadium.

The one day India captain is sure to display his skills both in batting and leading his team to success

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What Bollywood thinks about SRK’s affair with IPL

March 31st, 2008

After Shah Rukh & Preity’s IPL deal Bollywood’s alliance with Cricket now seems final. Indiatarget.com from New York conducted a survey and came out with interesting reactions… here they are….

Bipasha Basu:
“It’s fantastic that Preity and Shah Rukh now own a part of the team.
If you have the money and the interest in the game, why not?

I think it’s great for our country because now ample infrastructure can
be invested into strengthening of the teams and the players. And
Bollywood into cricket means more fun for viewers when the league
matches happen.

Shekhar Kapoor: “If I knew about the IPL I’d have bid for it too. It’s perfect!!”

Javed Akhtar:
“When I first heard about it my instant reaction was, ‘Wow!’. I’m very
proud of Preity Zinta and Shah Rukh Khan particularly of SRK. He has
done it on his own.”

Hema Malini: “It’s
wonderful to see our film industry extending its wings into other
territories. It just shows that entertainment is no longer restricted
to the cinema.”

Irrfan Khan: “To me it just shows that there’s lots and lots of money in cricket.”

Arshad Warsi: “With all this going on I feel I’m in Hollywood. It’s superb”

Mahesh Bhatt:
“Mixing two colours to create the third is always exciting. This is the
age of entertainment. This alliance of cricket and movies ushers in a
new brave world.It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Simi Garewal:
“I’m very pleased that stars are coming out in support of sports. I do
feel cricketers are at the top and financially well-rewarded.

I’d be happier if they’d also support the less popular games like
chess, hockey, football and tennis. It would make India an all-round
sports force to reckon with. In this context, it’s wonderful to know
Akshay kumar is supporting wrestling.

Zayed Khan:
“I think it’s great investment, and an indication of forward thinking.
And Rs 300 crores sounds like a something we’d all like to make.

Sameera Reddy:
“I think it’s a fantastic alliance. It’s important to invest wisely and
this is definitely a sound business move for both Bollywood and cricket.

Madhavan:
“Well, when the two biggest passions of the country come together it
has to be a super-alliance.I want to see where cricket goes from here.

Nandana Sen:
“This is more about the business of business than entertainment. And I
don’t understand business. But I’m always happy to see more cricket on
tv. That’s what this alliance will lead to.

Neil Mathur: “I guess talent has found talent. Only good can come out of this alliance.”

Tanushree Dutta:
“With Shah Rukh and Preity coming into cricket the game just got hotter
and Bollywood just became sassier. It’s a very blow-hot-blow-cold
combination.

Aftab Shivdasani:
“Personally I think it was quite expected. There has always been some
sort of link between Bollywood and cricket. This alliance can only take
the two industries further.

Minissha Lamba: “I think it’s wonderful how today the leading movie actors have diversified into other business enterprises.

It shouldn’t be looked upon as just an alliance between Bollywood and
cricket, but proof that today actors have a sound business sense. I
find the entire concept of IPL cricket to be realy interesting.

It’s a big step towards making sports in this country as professional as it is abroad.

Vashu Bhagnani:
“It’s a great business opportunity. Bollywood and cricket provoke the
most passion in India. Their coming together has to be lethal”

Nikhil Dwivedi:
‘I can speak for Shah Rukh since I know him well. He’s an extremely
intelligent and sensible man and has a genuine passion for every sport.

He won’t treat cricket as a business venture and will invest everything
he has into making the game a force to reckon with. You can rest
assured about one thing. With Shah Rukh around, spectators will get
their money’s worth.

You take it from me. Shah Rukh will rule even in the world of cricket.

Aryan Vaid:
“It sounds like a good idea. The money involved seems huge. But who
knows! Not too long ago Mr Bachchan tried his hand at business and
didn’t make headway. Shah Rukh and Preity have so much going for them
in films. Why focus on a field that isn’t theirs?

Victor Banerjee:
“Gulli-danda was a plebian pastime that the British elevated with the
willow into Lords. Cricket in India is largely played by the sportingly
incompetent. There’s a just a handful of tough exceptions.

Don’t give me a bellyache by stating that we are a ’sporting’ nation of
’sportsmen’.We’re a nation of businessmen who have destroyed the game
with its worldwide corruption centred in India, a nation where
politicians fight like animals to be on cricketing and Olympic boards.

The reason we love cricket is because it’s dependent on the bettable
vagaries of fiddling with the ball, rain that determines decisions,
ground conditions that can be tweaked and the odd upwardly-mobile
player willing to accept a bundle under the table and even on a flight.

We were wonderful in hockey and even winners of the gold medal in
football in the 1st Asian Games when my father who couldn’t play for
the team because of his commitment to the Indian army was a selector.

It’s hilarious that we take the Australian Kerry Packer’s resurrection of an idiotic colonial game so seriously.

Naseeruddin Shah: “I couldn’t care less.”

Its good to know how others feel about IPl and how each one might be thinking to grab a role in this Billion Dollar Game.

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Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik feels IPL is good for Cricket

March 31st, 2008

Shoaib Malik thinks that Indian Premier League (IPL) will be an good for Cricket as cricketers from different countries share the dressing as team-mates, forgetting they had been opponents. “It (the IPL) is a great opportunity for international cricketers. Players from different countries will come together. It is great for the game and credit must go to India,” Malik said here during his IPL side Delhi Daredevils’ launch of its brand-partner Akshay Kumar.

The 26-year-old Pakistani said he and his overseas colleagues would play with the same passion and intensity for the Delhi team as they play for their countries.

“I am from Lahore, a city not very different from Delhi. I feel at home here and it’s great to be a part of this unique marriage between cricket and films. Bollywood stars are very popular in Pakistan and I am a great fan of Akshay.

Asked about the association of film stars with IPL. Malik said: “I am sure that Bollywoods involvement with the IPL will lead to greater fan following for the league,” said Malik.

The cash-rich IPL has attracted many celebrities from the tinsel town and Akshay is the latest to join the list after Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, owners of Kolkata Knight Riders and Priety Zinta, who bought a stake in the Mohali team along with Ness Wadia.

Chief executive of Daredevils’ franchise owners GMR Sports Yogesh Shetty said many entertainment packages had been conceptualised in consultation with Akshay for the 44-day tournament.

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