Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

The efforts to organize Champions League, a knock out competition between the top two teams of the domestic T20 tournaments in various countries are well on the way. In all likeliness the tournament will be held in a 10 day window that exists in the ICC calendar between the final of the Champions trophy on September 28th and the start of the Bangalore test between India and Australia on October 9th. Most of the things are in place with Board presidents co-ordinating with each other except for the Venue which can well be UAE or India.

Popular belief says that this tournament isn’t going to be much interesting because the Indian Premier League sides will prove too much for others but this tournament could well end the same way as IPL did for those who had written out Rajasthan Royals. If the tournament as it is likely is staged in England the local players in IPL sides will have their task cut out with the ball seaming and swinging.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cricket South Africa has rallied strongly behind its Indian counterpart BCCI and asked the International Cricket Council for a six-week window in April-May to accommodate the Indian Premier League that opened in Bangalore two days ago.

“I believe, however, that it is vital that the ICC creates a six-week window in the international programme each year for the IPL tournament so that it does not encroach on any international tours,” Gerald Majola, CEO of CSA, said in a media release.

“In this way, there can be no conflict between national playing contracts and those of the tournament. An ideal time would be the last two weeks in April and for the month of May,” he declared after praising the launch of the IPL at Bangalore as a “very exciting new jewel in cricket’s crown”.

Majola’s views are radically different to those expressed recently in Mumbai by outgoing ICC CEO, Malcolm Speed, who feels there’s no hurry to rush things up and carve out a window in the Future Tours Programme of the ICC to slot in the IPL.

“The players know that the only reason they are approached for the Twenty20 is because they are the stars for their country. They have become good players because they have been brought up in the system within their country. IPL hasn’t started yet. Before we go carving windows in the structure that is basis of the finances of all countries including the BCCI, let’s see how good it is. There is no rush to do this,” he emphasized.

Andrew Symonds feels Test and one-day cricket will reap the benefits of the Indian Premier League.

The Indian Premier League gets underway on Friday and anticipation is growing for a tournament which has attracted a raft of world stars to play in the Twenty20 spectacular.

The non-stop action of Twenty20 cricket has raised cricket’s profile and Symonds, who is keen to lead Deccan Chargers to glory, feels the effects will filter down to the benefit of all forms of the game.

“I don’t think Test cricket or the one-day version will take a back-seat because of this,” Symonds said in the Hindu Times. “It will only see a change in the pace of the game in all forms of cricket.”

Symonds will be joined in India by a number of his Australia team-mates and he feels it will be a culture shock to face his trusted colleagues in the heat of battle.

“The most difficult aspect of the IPL will be when you play against your own team-mates — particularly those whom you have played with for perhaps a decade or more,” he added. “When you know them so well, it will be a huge task to face them on the field as rivals.”

Setting out his goals, he added: “I have never chased records in any form of game. But, I must admit that it would be a special feeling to win the first edition of any championship.”

A lot has been said about the impact the IPL will have on the cricket schedule and Symonds feels the ICC must strike a balance.

He added: “This is something that should never happen. I think the cricket boards and the ICC should see to it that there is a window for IPL.”

After the just concluded series against India, SA players focusing on IPL.
South African stars Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince will stay back to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League from the beginning of the tournament itself. The three did not make it to the Cape Cobras team for the domestic Pro 20 semifinals.

However, captain Graeme Smith figured in the Cobras team announced on Monday and he will not play in the BCCI-backed Twenty20 league for Rajasthan Royals till his domestic commitments are over.

Six South Africans in the Test squad for the just concluded series against India - Smith, J P Duminy, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Ashwell Prince and Monde Zondeki – were available for selection but Cobras team management decided to include only Smith and Duminy.

Cape Cobras play Titans in the first semifinal on April 18 at Newlands in Cape Town while Diamond Eagles play Dolphins in the second semifinal on April 20.

Dale Steyn, brothers Albie and Morne Morkel and A B de Villiers play for the Titans and are likely to miss the initial IPL action. The same will be the case for Loots Bosman of the Diamond Eagles.

The final of the domestic Pro20 tournament is slated for April 25.

Earlier, the Titans said they were offered a hefty sum to release their players so that they could play in the IPL from the beginning but turned it down.

An offer of more than USD 100,000 was reportedly made to the Cape Cobras as well.

Kallis and Boucher will play for Rahul Dravid-led Royal Challengers while Prince will don Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians’ colours.

Herschelle Gibbs will also miss the initial IPL action for Deccan Chargers as he was also named in the Cobras squad.

Cricket South Africa has instructed the players to return home after the Test series for the Pro 20 before going back for the IPL. But today’s decision leaves Kallis, Boucher and Prince free to stay on in India if CSA gives them the go ahead.

“The Cobras selectors have now made their call and our three players can now participate in the launch of the IPL with the full blessing of Western cape Cobras. Indeed, the team was selected early so that they knew where they stood and were not unnecessarily inconvenienced,” Cobra CEO Andre Odendaal said.

Five South African players who are currently in India for the Future Cup will stay over for IPL -The Cobras confirmed yesterday.

The Cobras have allowed them to skip domestic Standard Bank Pro20 tournament. Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince will thus remain in India after the third Test in Kanpur, which starts on April 11.

Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, indicated that the Titans might also follow suit and allow three of their IPL players who are in India - AB de Villiers, Albie Morkel and Dale Steyn - to miss the domestic tournament. He also said that talks were on with the franchises of the three other South African players who are involved in the IPL - Eagles (Loots Bosman), Dolphins (Shaun Pollock) and Warriors (Makhaya Ntini) - to grant exemption to these players.

The Pro20 Series, South Africa’s domestic 20-over tournament, involves seven teams, including Zimbabwe, and concludes on April 25. With the IPL starting on April 18, this means the Cobras’ players will not miss the first week of the tournament. The IPL franchise which benefits the most from this decision is the Bangalore Royal Challengers, who have Kallis, Steyn and Boucher in their ranks. Gibbs is with the Deccan Chargers, while Smith has been signed up by the Rajasthan Royals.

IPL is sure going to be a hto-hot affair with so many star players fighting in one single tournament.