SRK's Knights & Angels to air from 28 February

MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan's television production company Red Chillies Idiot Box's first reality show Knights and Angels will go on air from 28 February on NDTV Imagine at 10 pm.

Knights & Angels is a talent hunt for cheerleaders for Kolkata Knight Riders team for Indian Premier League (IPL).

Speaking on this new show, Khan said, "Cricket is a perfect blend of hard work and entertainment. We are very excited about the whole challenge of finding the best cheerleading squad for our Knights. These girls will become a key part in our quest for victory this season. The competition is tough and the boys will need all the support they can get on-field. All the girls have the right attitude, energy and enthusiasm."

Twenty four contestants have been mentored and trained by Shiamak Davar. The names of the 24 contestants are - Pranalika C Arya, Rupali Kantharia, Natasha Ramaseshan, Sanna Chirawawala, Sneha Parikh, Kaajal R Chandani, Sunanda Hiroo, Prathna Shah, Nisha Rizvi, Nikita Agarwal, Rekha Rana, Shruti Bhadekar, Leena S Puthran, Geena Jha, Suhani Sharma, Srishti Gupta, Ananya Bera, Samyukta S, Ruhi Kumari, Shilpa Vashist, Ritika Chibber, Mohak Nanda, Srishti Bhatia and Prigi.

Red Chillies Idiot Box creative head-non-fiction Pranjal Khandhdiya says,“Knight and Angels the reality show to hunt for cheerleaders is going on air from 28th February. The twenty four girls have been selected after auditions in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore. The parameters for their selection were dancing skills, inclination towards sports and over all personality and attitude. The objective is to encourage sports enthusiasts to take active interest in cheerleading.”

For the first episode, alongside Sourav Ganguly, will be cricketer Murali Karthik and Anushka Sharma of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi fame.

Speaking at the launch Sourav Ganguly said, "I have never been a judge before. It's equally exciting and nerve-wracking for me and I'm really looking forward...

Knight in shining armour

Calcutta: At $700,000, Brendon McCullum didn’t come cheap for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL’s inaugural auction, last February.

He wasn’t all that expensive either.

Owing to New Zealand’s commitments (versus England), though, McCullum wasn’t available for much of the IPL’s first season, but such problems won’t arise this year.

The second edition begins on April 10 and will end on May 24.

Great news for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team which failed to make at least the last-four stage.

Indeed, over the six weeks this time, it should be total paisa vasool for the Knight Riders. McCullum, in fact, will be returning to Calcutta as a bigger brand — thanks to the MoM awards in successive T20 Internationals against India.

With no Shoaib Akhtar (dumped by the Knight Riders) and no Ricky Ponting (who has made himself unavailable) either, McCullum is set to be the biggest draw after captain Sourav Ganguly.

“We’re absolutely delighted that McCullum will be around for all (minimum of 14) matches... His reputation as a match-winner has grown,” somebody closely associated with the Knight Riders told The Telegraph on Friday evening.

The gentleman added: “One recalls the fierce bidding for McCullum... In the overseas wicket-keepers’ category, he was one of the two (other being Adam Gilchrist) most sought after... I think he was the first ’keeper to be bought at that auction in Mumbai…”

There were good reasons for McCullum being in such demand and his blinder in the IPL opener (versus the Bangalore Royal Challengers), when he smashed an unbeaten 158 off as few as 73 balls, gave the tournament a start which even the most gifted of spin doctors would’ve struggled to script.

However, there’s much more to McCullum than big-hitting and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Co. need to learn from the professional way he anchored New Zealand’s chase in both T20 Internationals.

Whatever the form, more often than not, the result will be favourable if somebody at the very top of the order takes responsibility till the mission has been accomplished.

McCullum has quickly recognised 20 overs isn’t that short an innings-span and the game isn’t only about trying to clear the boundary. Basically that smart cricket is called for.

It’s time a Virender Sehwag realised that too.

The first to get past 500 runs in T20 Internationals, 27-year-old McCullum (with fifties in each of his last four matches) now has 582 against his name.

Given that McCullum wears two hats, he’ll remain an asset and, in time, should begin making a bigger impact in Tests and ODIs.

IPL Bonanza : One Thing That'd Complete The Entertainment Package That Is IPL

The IPL has almost everything today. Multimillion dollar players whose astonishing salaries make a mockery of the current "recession", crazy celebrity owners who are more revered than a pharoah's first-born, a dedicated and ever-growing audience, excitement, controversies, cheerleaders, everything! But if you add one more spice, this recipe would be complete.

How about bringing back an obnoxious but ferocious character named -- Navjyot Singh Sidhu back into the commentary box?!

Anyone who has watched cricket on TV in the early years of this decade will be quite familiar with his adventurous color commentary, which changed the rules in the commentary box forever. The once flamboyant Indian batsman used his often absurd remarks, witty comebacks, and strange logic to bamboozle his co-commentator but entertain the audience.

He often took swipes at his "friend" Sir Geoffrey Boycott, dominated poor Harsha Bhogle, left Mr. Ravi Shastri confused, Martin Crowe speechless, and left Danny Morrison in splits!

Want to take a trip down the memory-lane you say? Here are some select "Sidhuisms" in no specific order of merit.

Airtel Digital TV eyes IPL, runs campaign

NEW DELHI: Direct-to-home (DTH) operators hope to cash in on the Indian Premier League frenzy to mop up subscribers. Airtel Digital TV, the DTH service of Bharti Airtel, has come out with an array of promotional campaigns which will run through the course of the second edition of IPL that kicks off on 10 April.

Subscribers who successfully complete the slogan 'I love Digital TV because...' will get to meet Airtel Digital TV's brand ambassador AR Rahman who recently scooped two Oscars - best original score and best soundtrack - for Slumdog Millionaire. The other brand escorts include Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, and cricketers Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir.

That's not all. Airtel will dole out prizes like 60 Samsung 37-inch LCD TVs, 600 Samsung MP3 players, 1200 Nokia phones and 12000 cash back vouchers of Rs 250 each.

The promotional campaign will run till 31 May, 2009. The offer is open to new customers across the country except Tamil Nadu.

Says Bharti Airtel CEO –DTH Deepak Srivastava, “With this unique offer, we are giving our customers a never-before opportunity to bring home their favourite stars and thousands of other exciting prizes and to experience magical entertainment at home. ”

Airtel DTH service is currently available at Rs 1750.

Shorten IPL for the sake of best players: Warne

London: Australian spin legend Shane Warne has suggested that the Indian Premier League should be shortened and restricted to just the month April so that all the international stars could feature in it.

The IPL season II kicks off on April 10 and will conclude on May 24 with the final slated in Mumbai.

"The best thing would be for the IPL to get shorter and just happen in April, when there is no international cricket. Then all the world's best players would be available," the legendary leg-spinner, who led underdogs Rajasthan Royals to title win in the inaugural edition, said.

The cricket boards have been reluctant to release their players for the cash-rich league fearing injury. England have already raised concern over Andrew Flintoff's participation in the IPL after he injured his hip in the first Test against the West Indies and was forced to miss the rest of the series.

Warne said Flintoff should stay away from the IPL in order to get fit for the Ashes series against Australia.

"It's a really tricky one. I think commonsense will prevail and Freddie will not be available for the IPL. But having said that, you can't begrudge him going over to play for that sort of money," Warne was quoted as saying in the 'Daily Telegraph'.

Recession taking a toll on Twenty20 cricket worldwide

London, Feb. 28 : The global recession, it seems, has taken the sting out of Twenty20 cricket, which not too long ago, was billed as the sport''s unstoppable runaway train.

According to The Sun, Twenty20 cricket is not going to die, but it is going to have its wings clipped. It may have to survive on its product as much as its rowdy bells and whistles.

The rebel Indian Cricket League has not paid its players for several months and has postponed a competition that was due to start next month.

The glamorous Indian Premier League, the officially sanctioned tournament which includes the likes of Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shoaib Akhtar, is in no danger of folding but backers are now much more cautious than they were.

The high-priced, but bottom-of-the-table, Deccan Chargers have lost their major sponsor and attempts by the owners to sell the franchise have been unsuccessful.

Several other teams have also lost sponsors, with Cricinfo revealing an independent industry assessment of basic costs and expenses suggested most franchises have lost over six million dollars in their first year.

Australia had grand plans to join New Zealand and South Africa in a three-way Twenty20 league in 2011 but there is less talk about that project every week.

Competition organisers say there is still a queue of people, including the famous Tata Steel Corporation and Sahara Enterprises, who would snap up a franchise on Sunday - but the price may not be what it was.

Playing for England more important than IPL: Flintoff

Barbados (West Indies): All rounder Andrew Flintoff has reiterated that as far as he is concerned, playing for England is the ultimate, though there is talk about him preferring to play the Indian Premier League

"Everyone is going on about the IPL, it is a hot topic. But I want to play for England in the one-day series.

If I do that, the IPL will take care of itself. Playing for England is the ultimate," The Sun quoted Flintoff, as saying.

"I know what I need to do to get fit. It's harder being around the Test matches and not playing. You are desperate to play and are a bit flat because of it," said Flintoff.You don't know where to put yourself in the dressing room. Everyone you bump into is asking 'When will you be back?' I just want to get on with the work and get back as soon as I can."

Flintoff will be helped back to fitness by sacked England coach Peter Moores. He arrives in the UK this morning for a two-week fitness blitz on his injured hip in a bid to get him fit to try to play in the one-day series against West Indies. ealistically, Freddie can play in the megabucks Indian Premier League only if he gets through the five one-dayers in the Caribbean.

By an ironic twist, Moores will oversee Flintoff's rehab regime in his new role as Lancashire coach - even though he is still upset at being dumped by the ECB.

This is the sixth time Flintoff has been forced to fly home from an England tour because of injury. (ANI)

IPL has increased market

INTERVIEW/R.C. VENKATEISH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ESPN SOFTWARE INDIA PVT LTD

Is the going tough?
No question there is an impact on the media industry because of the tapering off of economic growth in a short span of time of 4-6 months. Companies have the tendency to cut back on the most visible lines?marketing and advertisement. As far as the sports broadcasting industry is concerned, we are much more insulated than rest. The type of content we have cannot be replicated unlike what you see in the general entertainment sector, where there is excess market supply. Properties like T20 World Cup and soccer world cup cannot be duplicated. Having said that, there is a much harder slog. Our events are bought over 5 year, 10 year, 8 year horizon. These are long-term investments. Do not foresee attrition.

The first edition of CLT20 couldn?t get off the blocks. Market observers say ESPN-STAR was happy with its postponement, as they were not getting a good response from advertisers.
Moving Champions League T20 from December to October doesn?t change business dynamics. The November window is much more superior. It?s Diwali time for advertisers to spend. As far as price is concerned, what we paid for it makes business sense for us... what looks like a big figure now may look like a small figure a few years later. The benchmark keeps shifting. Our revenue stream includes both branding and distribution. We have a solid distribution business.

Many think ESPN-STAR SPORTS overpaid ($975 million for 10 years) for the Champions League rights?
No not at all. Strategic property. Not in the business of bidding for more properties. It makes good biz sense and gives positive returns to shareholders. The total money in cricket depends on the volume of cricket. IPL has increased the market and given it a positive spin. Lot of advertisers are able to make media plans a year ahead since the calendar is in place. There is so much programming in general entertainment space, but cricket assures high TRPs, high reach.

What has been the response of advertisers to T20 World Cup?
The response to T20World Cup has been excellent. Locked in 4 to 5 deals and close to 60 per cent ad sales are already done. It?s a marquee property. All forecasts do call for economic recovery in second half of the year. From the timing perspective, next year should be ok.

Do you see any affect of the slowdown on cricket valuation?
On the one end it did really well. People won't stop watching sports or entertain themselves during tough times. The public was happy to embrace all forms of cricket. People are accepting more volume of cricket. Ratings are not going down which is quite amazing. Test matches these days have 80 per cent results. ODIs, if not clashing with T20s, will give TRPs of six instead of 14, but it?s still higher than general entertainment. But we have to see how this dynamic plays out.

Gupshup goes in to bat for IPL

Gupshup, an online SMS platform known for free messaging services has tied up with IPL (Indian premier league) teams, has become official promoter of the league.

Considering the fact that IPL is one of the brands that has shown resistance to the current economic downturn, Gupshup team is all excited to start spreading the pre- IPL fever. The games will start from 10th April.

The company primarily operates on two modules, free and corporate module. The IPL platform which is intended to create IPL related communities and further generate craze and hype for the associate teams is seen as a good prospect for growth by the Gupshup team.

Tathagata, Principle product manager, Gupshup, told the Examiner, “We have signed deal with Rajasthan Royals and are in talks with other teams as well. We are confident about our brand as we achieved a subscriber base of 15 million users in just 18months. Our association with IPL might help us increase our user base from 15 to 50 million,” he added.

When we asked how will the IPL module work? Tathagata said, “We will be creating various IPL related communities, which users can join as per their liking. Any update in communities will be disseminated to all group members through SMS. However, unlike our free module where in we attach an advert with our SMS, IPL messages will not have any advertisements.”

The messages disseminated by the company will be in form of contests and quiz, which will further entice a subscriber to revert to the message. The company wants to establish a two-way communication process, where they engage end users to take part. The revenue will be generated from the messages sent by a subscriber.

Considering the popularity of IPL cricket in India, the company is optimistic about the response it will get from its subscribers.

PepsiCo ties up with Mumbai Indian, CSK for IPL

New Delhi: lobal beverages major PepsiCo has scored a double whammy for the upcoming IPL season after bagging the sponsorship deal for Mumbai Indians and securing the status of official hydration partner of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for its 7UP brand.

Under the partnership with the Mumbai Indians, the company would have exclusive pouring rights at home matches, besides being the official beverage for the same team, PepsiCo India said in a statement.

It has also secured exclusive branding rights on the uniforms of the player, besides in-stadia visibility and activation rights.

"This partnership (with Mumbai Indians) also brings with it a unique platform for Pepsi to engage with millions of cricket fans in Maharashtra and across the country," PepsiCo India executive vice president (Marketing) Sandeep Singh Arora said.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo's lemon drink brand 7UP has also associated with the IPL for the first time as the official hydration partner for last year's runners-up team Chennai Super Kings.

"Taking forward 7UP's leadership in Tamil Nadu, it was a natural choice for the brand to associate itself with one of the leading teams (CSK) of the IPL," PepsiCo India executive director-marketing Punita Lal said.

The company's association with the Chennai Super Kings would include activation, merchandise, advertising and packaging for PepsiCo brands.

The company's new tie-ups come close on the heels of the setback it suffered when its former brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) signed a sponsorship contract with rival beverages major Coca Cola for the IPL. KKR tied up with Coca Cola after Khan was removed as PepsiCo's brand ambassador.

Representing England more important than IPL, says Flintoff

London, Feb 28 (PTI) After a nagging hip injury forced him to return home mid-way from the Test series against the West Indies, England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff hinted he may skip the lucrative Indian Premier League to stay fit to take on the Australians in the Ashes series.
Flintoff, who was bagged by IPL's Chennai Super Kings side for a record USD 1.55 million, has insisted that representing England is of utmost importance to him and is currently eying the forthcoming ODI series against the West Indies to stage a comeback.

"It seems that, at the minute, everybody is going on about the IPL. It's a hot topic. But I want to play for England in this upcoming one-day series.

"The IPL is still a few weeks away and my goal is to play for England and, after that, the IPL will take care of itself. It's something I want to play in, but my ultimate goal is playing for England," the 31-year-old cricketer was quoted as saying in the 'Daily Telegraph'.

Flintoff will now undergo a rehabilitation programme and is scheduled to reunite with the team on March 10, if fitness permits.

Sony sells 50% of IPL airtime for Rs 200 crore

The second edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), a 20-20 over format tournament organised by Indian cricket board, is still over a month away. But Set Max, the host broadcaster of IPL, has already sold over 50 per cent of the 45-day tournament's advertisement airtime.

"Yes, we have sold about 50 per cent of our airtime for IPL. But I cannot share any details at this juncture," said Rohit Gupta, president, network sales of Multiscreen Media, the company that runs Set Max among other channels.

The 50 per cent sale, according to Multiscreen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television) executives, has already ensured Rs 200 crore of advertising revenue from the tournament, which kickstarts on April 10.

However, Sony had generated over Rs 500 crore as advertising revenue from the much-successful first edition.

Confronted with the slowdown in advertising, media planners say the broadcaster has now dropped airtime rates for the first 17 matches of the total of 59 games, offering a discount of around 18 per cent at Rs 3.25 lakh for a 10-second slot-over what has been paid by the main sponsors for the entire tournament.

Set Max has roped in the country's leading mobile services providers Vodafone and Airtel as the co-presenting sponsors, while Pepsi, Max New York Life, Havells India and Hyundai have been selected as the associate sponsors.

The broadcaster is said to be in talks with handset major Nokia and Korean electronic major LG for the associate sponsorship slots, industry sources said.

Corporates who have already bought airtime say that Set Max has offered them the airtime for Rs 4 lakh for a 10-second slot and a 10-15% discount to those who have bought in volumes.

"The rate is virtually double of what we paid last year, because we had done agreements before the tournament started and no one had a clue how it would do," says the senior executive of a leading multinational consumer services company, which has locked a deal with Sony.

The executive points out that this year, however, armed with good ratings for the matches, Sony has asked for a premium. "But with the slowdown, many corporates who spend last year will keep away. So, Sony faces the challenge; whether they want to sell 80-85 per cent of their airtime without dropping prices, or do they want to drop the price, which will make the earlier sponsors demand the same."

Media buyers, however, say that Set Max in order to avoid such a situation has dropped airtime only for the first 17 matches.

Obviously, viewership of the matches in the second half would be higher and it is possible for the broadcaster to charge advertisers a premium of even Rs 4 lakh.

Last year, for instance, Sony started selling 10-minute slots for Rs 2 lakh in the initial stages but started charging over Rs 4 lakh during the later part of the tournament when it became a runaway success.

However, advertisers such as Nokia and LG are said to be negotiating hard for the associate sponsorship spots. "Obviously, companies are asking for a bigger pound of flesh by spending rationally. The slowdown has impacted the advertising budgets of most big-spenders," says Anita Nayyar, chief executive officer, MPG India, the media-buying arm of Havas Media.

The last edition of IPL had generated nearly Rs 300 crore of advertising revenue from 8-10 sponsors, while the sale of advertising spots generated another Rs 175 to Rs 200 crore for Sony. However, media planners are not sure if the IPL's second season will be able to meet the benchmark of last year.

"Big advertising spenders like Reliance ADA group have already pulled out of the IPL. The impact of the slowdown on advertising spends is clearly visible," said a senior media planner, requesting anonymity.

Bloggers battle India's supreme court over prosecution for internet threats

India's supreme court is facing the wrath of the country's bloggers over the prosecution of a student because of anonymous comments published on a social networking group he created.

The computer science student, named as Ajith D, was arrested over allegations that death threats had been posted on his "anti-Shiv Sena" group on Google's networking site, Orkut. The 20-year-old also faces charges of criminal intimidation and hurting religious sentiments.

The Shiv Sena (Army of Shiv) is a political party that made its name in the 1990s for populist policies that were anti-Muslim and favoured locals over outsiders. Its leader, Bal Thackeray, has been quoted as admiring Hitler.

Mumbai police had been monitoring the site since the Sena staged violent protests against Orkut for carrying anti-party statements, vandalising cybercafes across Mumbai. Officers contacted federal authorities in Delhi before bringing charges.

In response, the lawyer representing the student asked the supreme court to quash the case, saying his client had published nothing provocative. However India's chief justice, KG Balakrishnan, refused the application saying: "We will not do that. Anything that is posted on the internet goes to the public. The internet is open to the world."

The case highlights how India, the world's largest democracy, deals with the thorny issue of freedom of speech on the internet. A law about to arrive on the statute books places the onus for publishing material on the web, not on hosts of the material, such as Google's Orkut service, but on individuals who create blogs and websites.

"The difficulty here is that my client did not make the threats. He simply set up a community group and left it unmoderated," Jogy Scaria, Ajith's lawyer, said. "He only created the anti-Shiv Sena site."

Orkut is one of India's most popular social networking sites and many bloggers vented their fury online. "I am not able to gather how it is possible that bloggers can be hit with libel and criminal suits on the basis of anonymous postings on their websites," wrote one on Ekawaaz-One Voice.

Lawrence Liang, India's foremost authority on freedom of speech on the internet, wrote about the case on Kafila.org.

"When organisations like the Shiv Sena start using defamation laws, it smacks of chutzpah to me … What other way can we describe the bizarre situation of the violence-prone macho men, who suddenly run around screaming about the violation of their legal rights and the slurring of their reputation?"

India's constitution guarantees freedom of expression as long as this does not extend to libel, national security, contempt and a broad category of public morality – which includes "hurting religious sentiments".

Pranesh Prakash of Bangalore's centre for internet and society, a thinktank specialising in web civil rights, said the internet had allowed "everyone to become a publisher but not the awareness of what responsibilities of a publisher. The way the law is dealing with it is highly problematic."

Injured Flintoff feeling heat to skip IPL

Injured England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is feeling heat to skip the Indian Premier League after Australia skipper Ricky Ponting opted out of the event to keep himself fresh for Ashes series and the Twenty20 World Cup.

Flintoff, 31, injured his hip during England’s third Test against the West Indies and have been ruled out of the fourth Test following a scan.

The all-rounder, who has been lapped up by IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings in the players’ auction for a record US$ 1.55 million, expects to be back for the final Test but already a growing chorus wants Flintoff to stay away from the Twenty20 event and save his best for the Ashes.

The England players are available for a three-week window.

Meanwhile, one of the English cricketers who signed up for the lucrative tournament made it clear that he is going to take part in the IPL.

“Ponting can do what he likes. I’m playing in IPL, end of story,” he said.

However, with a host of Australian players deciding to stay away from the IPL this season, the England and Wales Cricket Board seems to be in a fix over the workload of their players.

Malhotra appointed IPL tournament director

Ex-army officer Dhiraj Malhotra has been appointed as the tournament director for the second season of the Indian Premier League starting April 10 and concluding on May 24.
Catherine Simpson, of International Management Group, was appointed the joint tournament director of the T20 League and, along with Malhotra, would be in overall charge of cricket operations, programming and logistics during the 45-day event, a media release from IPL said.

Malhotra has been with the International Cricket Council for the last three years and has the experience of handling the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 as well as the World Cup in the West Indies held in March-April that year behind him.

In addition, he has worked on various Champions Trophies and Under-19 World Cups.

Catherine Simpson has been working with IMG to promote cricket in the sub-continent and the Caribbean since 1994. She has also worked with the company on Wimbledon, Rugby World Cups and Miss World beauty pageants.

Source: www.ptinews.com

Flintoff says he'll be fit for IPL

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff on Tuesday scotched speculation about his non-availability for the Indian Premier League, saying he will be fit before the second edition of the cash-rich event.

Flintoff sustained a hip injury recently and was ruled out of the fourth Test against the West Indies.

ECB CEO Collier had said Flintoff may be stopped from appearing in the T20 League considering team's Ashes interest.

"I don't think it will be touch and go. The IPL's still a while away so for all intents and purposes I'll be fit for that. I'm intending to go but it's not really at the forefront of my thinking. I want to play Test cricket and I want to play the One-Day Internationals," Flintoff was quoted as saying by 'Daily Telegraph'.

Flintoff, who along with compatriot Kevin Pietersen grabbed a whopping $1.55 million contract with the IPL, also believes playing in the IPL will help England players prepare better for the T20 World Cup.

"It seems the (domestic) Twenty20 competitions always seem to fall between one-day and Test series. So as much Twenty20 cricket going into that World Cup will obviously benefit the side.

"You see how the Indians have gone it's had a knock-on effect in one-day internationals. Obviously financially it's great. But to further our game and get better in that form of the game it's important we go," he said.

Source: www.cricket.ndtv.com

Giles Clarke worried about Flintoff playing in IPL

England's cricket chief Giles Clarke is worried about injured Andrew Flintoff playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but believes the all-rounder will put his England commitments first.

Flintoff, who has a hip injury, is confident of fulfilling his commitments with the Chennai Super Kings in April after signing a record $1.55 m deal but his IPL contract has become a source of worry for Clarke, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), given its timing at the start of an Ashes summer.

"I am deeply worried about Andrew Flintoff going to India. That point has been made to Hugh (Morris, the ECB's managing director). It is a definite risk. In any event, the injury he's currently suffering from may not be sufficiently mended for him to go anyway."

However, Clarke was confident that Flintoff would pull out of the lucrative Twenty20 competition if he felt his fitness for the series against Australia would be jeopardised.

"Andrew Flintoff is a serious patriot and a guy who absolutely, I am totally convinced, wishes to replay his role of 2005 Ashes hero," Clarke said. "He wants to be fit to stand in the middle of the pitch with his hands held high as yet another Australian is dismissed by him.

"I am quite sure Andrew Flintoff will be looking after himself with the greatest care. Andrew is no fool and I am sure he will do the right thing for him and for English cricket," Clarke added.

Source: www.hindustantimes.com

Don't stand in Flintoff's way, IPL tells England cricket chiefs

Lalit Modi, commissioner of the billion-pound Indian Premier League, has said that if Andrew Flintoff were to decide he was fit to play in the league, then the England and Wales Cricket Board should not interfere. "It's between the player and his

added that if the domestic governing body were to invoke clauses in the all-rounder's contract relating to injury, the IPL executive would stand aside.

But if Flintoff and Chennai were to declare the player fit and the ECB disagreed, what would be the stance of the IPL? "Our contract is to the player, not the ECB. So that's between the player and the ECB."

Modi was also bullish when asked directly if he was concerned about the effect on the IPL should Flintoff – who, alongside Kevin Pietersen, became the competition's richest player at the auction earlier this month, signing £1.1m contract with the Chennai Super Kings – be forced to pull out because of injury. "No. Players get injured all the time. That's why there are seven foreign players in all of the teams," he said.

Flintoff is unable to play in England's fourth Test against the West Indies, which begins tomorrow in Bridgetown, having been ruled out because of a hip injury he suffered in the drawn third rubber of the series.

Flintoff is now waiting to see if he will be fit enough to feature in the fifth and final Test, which starts next Friday in Trinidad. But he is confident that there is time to recover for England's one-day international series with the West Indies which starts on 20 March. And he stated earlier this week that he plans to play in the IPL, which starts on 10 April, a sentiment that was immediately challenged by the ECB chairman.

Giles Clarke stated on Wednesday that he was "deeply worried about Andrew Flintoff going to India. It is a definite risk. In any event, the injury he's currently suffering from may not be sufficiently mended for him to go anyway".

The ECB chairman also added he would have no qualms about telling the player – if there was a need to – that he must not feature in the competition, which begins on 10 April. "I think everybody knows I'm capable of doing that if that is what the cricket management require," he said.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Modi urges ECB to stay away from Flintoff's IPL participation

London, Feb 26: Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board to stay away from Andrew Flintoff and his participation in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament should the player considers himself fit to play in the second edition of the event.

There`s growing concern about the state of Flintoff`s fitness after he missed the fourth Test against the West Indies following a hip injury and many feel playing in the IPL could further aggravate the injury and jeopardise England`s
chances in this year`s Ashes.

Though Flintoff -- who was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for a record USD 1.55 million -- himself had expressed his desire to play in the IPL, ECB chairman Giles Clarke had admitted he was not in favour of the all-rounder travelling to India.

Reacting to Clarke`s comment, Modi said if the player deemed himself fit, the ECB should not stand in his way.

"It`s between the player and his team. It is nothing to do with the ECB as far as we are concerned," Modi was quoted as saying.

He, however, added that if the ECB invokes a clause in Flintoff`s contract relating to injury and thereby stops him from playing in the IPL, then the league could do nothing.

In the event both Flintoff and Chennai Super Kings were to declare the player fit and the ECB disagreed, Modi said, "Our contract is to the player, not the ECB. So that`s between the player and the ECB."

Modi also made it clear that in case the ECB stopped Flintoff from taking part in the IPL, it would have very little effect on the league.

"No. Players get injured all the time. That`s why there are seven foreign players in all of the teams," he said.

Source: cricket.zeenews.com

Aamir bats... and Akshay bowls!

Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty can lose sleep over the forthcoming IPL, but Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar stayed awake and played Aamir Khan More Pics a spirited tournament of knock-out cricket at the P A Mhatre Ground in Juhu on Wednesday night.

Actually, the tournament was limited to the stars and cast of producer and co-writer Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film 3 Idiots, that included Aamir, director Raju Hirani, music director Shantanu Moitra, lyricist Swanand Kirkire, actors Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Parikshit Sahani and Mona Singh. The gorgeous Kareena Kapoor, who any night will put the IPL cheerleaders in shade, and funny man Boman Irani could not make it as they were engaged in late night shoots elsewhere. But Akshay Kumar turned up unexpectedly and made Aamir’s night and match!

It turned out that both the superstars are fans of each others’ works and, strangely, have only met up twice in careers spanning 20 years. Akshay, who is known for his spontaneity and generosity, came over and won everybody’s heart by making himself available for one of the teams opposing Aamir. And, under lights... the tournament got off.

Vidhu and Raju, who are known to throw themselves into projects they are working on, took the tournament to another level by getting professional umpires and designing T-shirts in different colours for the teams, and also special trophies and medals with spunky titles like Idiots Forever, Pukka Idiot, Most Idiotic Batsman for the winning team; Almost an Idiot, Almost the Most Idiotic Batsman for the runners-up. The teams were broken up into:

Fools (Producer’s Team)
Captain — Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Colour — Red

Duffers (Actors Team)
Captain — Aamir Khan
Colour — Light Blue

Stupids (Director’s Team)
Captain — Rajkumar Hirani
Colour — Green

Dumbos
Art direction, Costumes and make up
Colour — Yellow

The Stupids team led by Raju played and beat the Dumbos. While Aamir’s Duffers teams beat Vidhu’s Fools team despite the presence of superstar Akshay in its ranks. Vidhu smiled in his defeat and said, “3 Idiots is very happy and positive film and we are having a lot of fun making it. It’s moments like these and wonderful relationships one makes in this journey of filmmaking that makes the process worthwhile.” Then Stupids and Duffers played the final and, naturally, Duffers won. Why naturally? Because it had allrounder Bhuvan of Lagaan in it who won the pulsating final in that film against a British Army XI, don’t you remember!

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Taking guard in a downturn

Can the shortest version of the game of cricket and arguably the most popular prove an antidote to the downturn blues that have spooked urban India? Or has the game itself become a victim of a sputtering economic engine? Last fortnight, when auctions began for players for the second series of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that's set to begin from April 10, the signals were mixed. True, Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Royal Challengers, and the India Cementsowned Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were liberal with the purse strings, coughing up record-breaking sums for two English cricketers. But the action down the line wasn't that electrifying. If you compare the top 10 bids of last year and those of this year, the difference between the two is a cool $2.42 million. Last year, Chris Gayle was the 10th most expensive player, with a bid of $800,000. For the second season, Jesse Ryder, who is at #10, could attract just $160,000. From a pool of 50 cricketers, only 17 were picked, with 33 remaining unsold. In the inaugural season, only two players out of 80 remained unsold (this, however, may not be strictly comparable as the first season was when teams formed for the first time, and teams had little choice but to bid). Clearly, cash conservation was the mantra, with the eight teams in the fray spending just $7.5 million of their total auction kitty of $13.95 million.

But there was money streaming into the IPL from other directions. Raj Kundra, a London-based entrepreneur and business partner of starlet Shilpa Shetty, put up Rs 77 crore for 11.7 per cent stake in last year's champions, Rajasthan Royals (RR). Says Manoj Badale, Chairman and Joint Owner, RR: The selling of a stake is a part of our long-term strategic approach to build the Rajasthan Royals into a Global sports brand. This investment enhances the off-field commercial potential of a brand that is already recognised. The franchisees, for their part, are moving full steam ahead with their marketing and promotional plans. Mohit Burman, Co-owner of Kings XI Punjab, says: We have set aside approximately Rs 3 crore as our marketing budget for the second season (last year's budget was Rs 4 crore). This season we are more focussed on promoting the team in all our catchment areas such as Himachal Pradesh and J & amp;K.

Revenue streams are also being maximised. RR and CSK are banking big time on their fan clubs. The latter pockets a membership fee of Rs 1,000 per member to King's Club, and claims to have 3,000 registered members so far. Similarly, RR, which has set aside $3 million (roughly Rs 15 crore) for marketing, recently launched a five-tier Royals Army fan club membership programme; the programme has five fan categories: Maharaja Club, Captain's Club, Royal Lions Club, Royal Bugles Club and Young Royals Club, with membership fees ranging between Rs 2,500 and Rs 1.5 lakh.

The Rajasthan Royals have also chalked out extensive licensing and merchandising plans that will cover not just India but also the US, UK and Australia. The team has started selling its merchandise online through its official website. The prices for the various products range between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1 lakh. The company is looking at partnerships in different categories like consumer goods, linen and kids products.

So, will the IPL prove an effective foil to the economic downturn? Lalit Modi, Chairman, IPL, is optimistic. The inaugural season helped prove that India can sustain a franchise-based model in sports, and quite profitably, he says. Adds Rakesh Singh, Marketing Head, India Cements: The first year was too short a period for IPL and for the franchisees. This year, will definitely be better for us. Many advertisers who were not even looking at sports as an avenue are now looking at this league for advertising and sponsorships.

Indeed, brands like PepsiCo are getting associated with the league for the first time this season. Sandeep Singh Arora, Executive Vice President (Marketing), PepsiCo India, says: PepsiCo remains extremely interested in activating and being present in IPL and we are currently in discussions with some IPL franchisees regarding possible associations. Pepsi, say IPL sources, has finalised a tie-up with CSK.

As part of its merchandising initiative, CSK has once again teamed up with its licencees, Reebok and Peter England, for sportswear and formal apparel under the CSK umbrella. Furthermore, the franchisee has roped in new merchandising partners, including Future Group, which would be creating a range of products from toys to casual wear. Aircel continues with the team as a sponsor. Other franchisees are working overtime to tie-in their sponsors. April 10 is some time away, but the big hitting has already begun.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan and former Indian cricketer Saurav Ganguly have announced a talent hunt to choose new cheerleaders for KKR; the whole process will become a television show called Knights & amp; Angels to be aired on NDTV Imagine. CSK has already stitched deals with STAR Vijay for two reality shows/ talent hunts Chennai Super Kings Juniors (CSK Juniors) and Chennai Super Kings Cheerleaders (CSK Cheerleaders). CSK captain M.S. Dhoni will be supporting these shows and no doubt bowling maidens over.

Source: sify.com

IPL organisers initiate reconciliation move with BIG TV

NEW DELHI: Anil Ambani group firm Big TV may be back in contention for sponsoring the T20 cricket league IPL, which it had dumped last month owing to differences with event broadcaster Sony, with organisers initiating fresh moves for a reconciliation.

Big TV, the erstwhile on-ground DTH partner, felt aggrieved by the broadcaster Multi Screen Media (Sony) tying up with Airtel Digital TV, a Sunil Mittal led group company, saying it had the first right to on-air sponsorship.

“We are still awaiting a clarification from Sony. There are certain rights which (have) to be given to our on-ground partners (BIG TV) and if that is not given we will have to see why it has not been given,'' IPL CEO Mr Sundar Raman told PTI.

“(The talk of) the revised on-air or on-ground sponsorship offers is mere speculation at this juncture and we do not want to comment on (it),'' a Big TV spokesperson said.

“As per the arrangement with IPL, we were assured of sponsorship protection rights for an on-air deal with Sony. But Sony has proceeded to sign an on-air presenting sponsor deal with our competitor and hence we had little choice but to withdraw from this tournament,'' the spokesperson said.

The IPL organisers had sought a clarification from MSM, the broadcast rights holder of the IPL after Big TV withdrew from the Rs 137 crore on-ground sponsorship deal as a DTH partner. – PTI

Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

Warner to get bird's-eye view

DAVID Warner will be ideally placed to give the Australian Test team inside knowledge before the Ashes series when he plays alongside England swingman Steve Harmison at Durham in May.

Warner has signed a Twenty20 deal with the county side and will represent it during England's domestic tournament in May-June. Australia's campaign to retain the Ashes starts two months later.

Harmison was instrumental in England's famous 2005 series win over Australia.

Warner will join Durham after his IPL commitments end.

Source: www.theage.com.au

Anushka to judge Shahrukh’s Angels

Shahrukh Khan’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi co-partner Anushka Sharma will be donning the judge hat for the upcoming reality show, Knights and Angels to be hosted by VJ turned actor Purab Kohli. As the new innings of IPL is round the corner, SRK is gearing up for the new series and all set to choose a team of six to cheer up his team up to the victory. Anushka with other judges like ace choreographer Shiamak Davar and cricketer Sourav Ganguly will judge the 6 finalists on the basis of their energy, style, chutzpah, poise, personality, attitude, grace, rhythm, and fire.

First time Anushka is judging any show and it is expected that she will grace the show with her vibrant smile and positive attitude. Speaking at the launch Sourav Ganguly said, "I have never been a judge before. It's equally exciting and nerve-wracking for me and I'm really looking forward to a whole new experience. Shahrukh and Juhi have promised to guide me and I assure my Knights that we will find those 'Angels' that will cheer us to victory."

The competition will be among 24 girls that have been short-listed after an extensive audition conducted across different cities in India.

Source: www.bollywoodmantra.com

IPL final facing problems from CCI

The Indian Premier League (IPL) announced on Tuesday that the final of the 2009 tournament will be held in Mumbai. However, there seems to be a few issues yet to be resolved before the big day arrives.

Team Mumbai — the local IPL team — is yet to negotiate the terms and conditions to host the final at the Brabourne stadium.

The Cricket Club of India (CCI), which takes care of the Brabourne stadium, is unwilling to part with the club house which could prove to be a thorny issue in the run-up to the final. Team Mumbai have unofficially communicated with the CCI committee in this regard but the talks have failed.

Team Mumbai officials, it is now learnt, will head to the DY Patil stadium in New Mumbai in search for a venue that fits their requirement. Sources said that the senior management team of Team Mumbai will be visiting DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday to finalize the venue for all the seven matches which Team Mumbai will host at home.

"We have tried to communicate to them (CCI) several times, however there are issues regarding seat allocation. We have no choice but to try and initiate talks with DY Patil," sources said.

For the record, DY Patil had hosted the final and a couple of home matches of the tournament last year with great success. However, Team Mumbai sources say that the players prefer the Brabourne as it is located in South Mumbai, which would save them the hassle of long-distance travelling.

The Brabourne stadium has a total capacity of 18,000 and last hosted an international when Australia toured India for an ODI series and a T20 match. Now, with Wankhede stadium undergoing renovation, Brabourne stadium happens to be the only choice for IPL in South Mumbai. The IPL is yet to interfere in the communication taking place between the Team Mumbai and CCI.

CCI officials were unavailable for comments.

Soufce: ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Royals to play Daredevils in IPL kick-off match

The second edition of the DLF Indian Premier League will kick off April 10 with a glittering opening ceremony in Jaipur where defending champions Rajasthan Royals will host Delhi Daredevils.

The two semifinals will be played in Chennai and have been scheduled for May 21-22 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk. The final will be hosted by Mumbai on May 24. However, the schedule could be changed depending on the dates of elections to Parliament.

IPL chairman Lalit Modi promised an opening ceremony the like, of which has not been witnessed in India before, with some truly world class entertainment.

The Hyderabad Deccan Chargers have confirmed that they will host their home games at two separate venues - Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi Stadium and the ACA and VDCA Stadium at Visakhapatnam. All day matches are from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the night matches are from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Source: www.hindu.com

Cashing in on IPL fever Google works on monetising Orkut

Part of a wider trend of social networking sites leveraging their user base.

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season round the corner, Google’s social networking platform, Orkut, is hoping to turn itself into a hot-bed for advertisers.

In discussion with IPL to create brand positioning campaigns and even an IPL profile page for Orkut users, Google is serious about monetising its social media portal. “Last year, we built a stronger base of marketers and invested in internet advertising. In 2009, we should make revenues from our social media platform,” says Google India Managing Director Shailesh Rao.

Google is banking on converting its vast network of Adwords advertisers to Orkut, where they can place targeted and contextual advisements on various social communities and user profiles, reaching individual customers directly. “This would be through minimum intrusion, as we will (only) allow advertising at the lower half of the user’s profile page, that too at an infrequent rate,” adds Mahesh Narayanan, senior industry manager, Google. Online display adverts are a $70-million market today and Google is gunning for a bulk share.

Around 10 entities, including FMCG, telecom and movie producers, says Narayanan, will be the big-ticket advertisers for Orkut in 2009. “You will see Google helping airlines sell tickets and packages on Orkut, financial services and products to users, and insurance and brokerage firms to offer services to targeted users,” says Rao. According to comScore data, in 2008, Google sites ranked as the top property in India, with nearly 20 million visitors. Orkut registered nearly 10 million visitors, marking a growth of 39 per cent. Orkut Apps, the blog that has become popular for software developers to market their social applications, has also opened new revenue streams for Google.

An estimated 45 million internet subscribers drove the online advertising market to Rs 240 crore in 2008, and according to Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) estimates, it could touch Rs 2,500 crore by 2011. But a harsher financial outlook in 2009, combined with an expected fall in online advertising, is forcing the networks to focus more on making money from existing subscribers than on adding new users.

But market research firm, IDC, in its report claims that the use of social networking sites will continue to grow, but advertising will not necessarily expand along with it. Their analysts say: “The fact that people use social networking services for communication puts them in a mindset that is less receptive to advertising than when they are using web sites like Yahoo or Google.”

This explains the effort undertaken by social networks to monetise their user base. In an earlier interview, BigAdda had also confessed to the need to engage its users to churn value for advertisers on its networking portal.

Shivanandan Pare, its chief operations officer, told Business Standard: “Pricing for generic banner advertising on social networking sites is relatively low as compared to other sites, because marketers believe users are logging in for communication rather than commerce.”

BigAdda is campaigning with brands like Intel, Nokia and Lenovo, where these interact with users via special promotions, free multimedia download and through brand polls.

Source: www.business-standards.com

IPL opening to be more vibrant

JAIPUR: Come April 10 and Pink City may witness one of the most dazzling events in the history of sports, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) inaugural extravaganza all set to unfold at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium.

This year's gala is not only going to last longer, it will be more vibrant witnessing a higher international participation by the performers. If the 2008 visual opulence showcased a performance modeled on international lines, wherein aerial acrobatics, pyrotechnics, and bubble dancers from Europe, UK and US spinning eight giant transparent bubbles in the colors of the eight teams.

This time around IPL has quite a few aces up its sleeve. Sources on condition of anonymity share, "This time around the event will be an hour-long experience of colour and dazzling performances. A lot of international stars have been approached and what sets them apart is the fact that they will be performing in the country for the first time."

It's also learnt that the same event management company will be putting up the show together. When contacted a company official said, "We did put up the show last time around and are all set to host it this time around, however, we are awaiting the official contract and are raring to go."

The source further added, "Having worked with the Rajasthan Royals last season, we are well acquainted with the venue of the event. Keeping that in mind we have been planning at our end and are looking for the green signal. We can assure it will be a one of its kind spectacle, fans wouldn't have witnessed anything like this before."

Malhotra appointed tournament director

Ex-army officer Dhiraj Malhotra has been appointed as the tournament director for the second season of the Indian Premier League starting April 10 and concluding on May 24.

Catherine Simpson, of International Management Group, was appointed the joint tournament director of the T20 League and, along with Malhotra, would be in overall charge of cricket operations, programming and logistics during the 45-day event, a media release from IPL said.

The IPL and IMG have also appointed tournament venue operations managers. They are:
Jaipur - Rob Hillman and Rakesh Aggarwal;
Mumbai - Bikram Singh and Jeremy Parker Tomkinson;
Kolkata - Romi Bhandari;
Bangalore - Max Heddy;
Mohali - Tony Gavin and Kamal Mehra;
Hyderabad - Paul Skinner and Rohit Sequeira;
Delhi - To be announced.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

IPL 2009 Schedule....

Date	Match	Venue	Time (IST)
April 10	Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils	Jaipur	8pm
April 11	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers	Kolkata	4pm
April 11	Chennai Super Kings vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Chennai	8pm
April 12	Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab	Delhi	4pm
April 12	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals	Mumbai	8pm
April 13	Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings	Hyderabad	8pm
April 14	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Bangalore	8pm
April 15	Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians	Mohali	8pm
April 16	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils	Hyderabad	4pm
April 16	Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals	Chennai	8pm
April 17	Mumbai Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Mumbai	8pm
April 18	Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers	Mohali	4pm
April 18	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils	Kolkata	8pm
April 19	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals	Bangalore	4pm
April 19	Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings	Mumbai	8pm
April 20	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab	Kolkata	8pm
April 21	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians	Delhi	8pm
April 22	Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers	Jaipur	8pm
April 23	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs	Bangalore	8pm
April 24	Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Mumbai	8pm
April 25	Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab	Chennai	4pm
April 25	Delhi Daredevils vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Delhi	8pm
April 26	Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians	Vizag	4pm
April 26	Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Jaipur	8pm
April 27	Kings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Jaipur	8pm
April 28	Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils	Mumbai	8pm
April 29	Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Chennai	4pm
April 29	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals	Mohali	8pm
April 30	Deccan Chargers vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Vizag	8pm
May 1	Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils	Chennai	8pm
May 2	Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers	Mumbai	4pm
May 2	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals	Kolkata	8pm
May 3	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Delhi Daredevils	Bangalore	4pm
May 3	Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings	Mohali	8pm
May 4	Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals	Hyderabad	8pm
May 5	Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings	Delhi	8pm
May 6	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians	Kolkata	4pm
May 6	Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab	Jaipur	8pm
May 7	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers	Bangalore	8pm
May 8	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings	Kolkata	8pm
May 9	Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils	Mohali	4pm
May 9	Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians	Jaipur	8pm
May 10	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Hyderabad	8pm
May 11	Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals	Delhi	8pm
May 12	Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab	Mumbai	4pm
May 12	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers	Chennai	8pm
May 13	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Kolkata	8pm
May 14	Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings	Jaipur	4pm
May 14	Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers	Delhi	8pm
May 15	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians	Bangalore	8pm
May 16	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Delhi	4pm
May 16	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab	Hyderabad	8pm
May 17	Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers	Jaipur	4pm
May 17	Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians	Chennai	8pm
May 18	Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Mohali	8pm
May 19	Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Chennai Super Kings	Bangalore	8pm
May 21	Semi-Final 1	Chennai	8pm
May 22	Semi-Final 2	Chennai	8pm
May 24	FINAL	Mumbai	8pm
Note: Please note that this is a tentative schedule and subject to change

No sponsor pull out from IPL - Modi

Debunking reports that some sponsors and partners were thinking of pulling out of the high-profile Indian Premier League, its chairman Lalit Modi on Friday said not only all of them were firmly on board but a lot of others were waiting to jump on to the Twenty20 bandwagon.

"I want to make it amply clear that all our sponsors and partners are still on board. They have all paid as per the schedule. In fact, a lot of other sponsors have approached us and are willing to pay more than our existing ones," Modi said at a hastily arranged media conference.

Modi also hailed the decision of the Supreme Court on Friday to reschedule the elections for the faction-ridden Rajasthan Cricket Association, headed by him, from February 22 to March one under the unamended constitution as a vindication of his stand.

The Apex Court said that the elections will be held under the unamended constitution of RCA as per its directions given on February 11, 2005.

Reacting to this development, Modi said, "My stand gets vindicated. All the illegalities done by the other group by changing the constitution have been set aside by the Supreme Court. I'm extremely happy."

Modi said that the resignation of Kunal Dasgupta as the CEO of Sony Corporation, IPL's broadcast partner, will not in any manner affect the conduct of the Twenty20 event scheduled in April-May.

"It's an internal matter of Sony Corporation. He (Kunal Dasgupta) is a personal friend of mine. He was deeply involved in developing the IPL concept. But the organisation, whether it's Sony or IPL, is bigger than any individual. There's no question of Sony pulling out," said Modi, who is also BCCI vice-president.

He also rubbished reports that title sponsors DLF have paid and will pay only 50 per cent of what they had agreed upon in a five-year deal worth Rs 200 crore.

"All these are mere speculations and none of our sponsors want to leave us. All of them have also paid us what they have to pay so far. We have had offers from many more at multiple prices for some of the properties," Modi added.

20 new things about IPL 2009

Shilpa Shetty will launch a talent hunt for cheerleaders for her Rajasthan IPL team. Katrina Kaif resumes the role of mascot for the Bangalore team.

Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty have invested Rs 75 crore for a 12 per cent stake in the Rajasthan team. Akshay Kumar will not be the mascot for Delhi's team this year. Riya Sen is the brand ambassador for the IPL website. Rajasthan's team will launch a clothing line and a documentary film on the team. Knights and Angels is a talent show on NDTV Imagine where Sourav Ganguly hunts for cheerleaders. Chennai Super Kings Cheerleaders is also a talent hunt show, to start soon on Vijay TV. Chennai Super Kings Juniors is a talent hunt for young cricketers, also coming on Vijay TV. Perscussionist Sivamani will perform with the finalists of Chennai's cheerleader hunt. Preity Zinta's Mohali team is also launching a talent hunt and a cricket academy in Mohali. Pakistani players are out of the IPL Season 2. England cricketers are in this year, including star players Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff. Aussie David Warner joins the Delhi team, while Michael Clarke pulls out of the IPL. 112 overseas players are auctioned this season. Rs 600 crore (nearly half the ad budget for cricket in 2009) is the advertising money so far. Rs 9.6 crore is the spending cap on the teams for 2009. Bangalore trades Robin Uthappa for Mumbai's Zaheer Khan. Mumbai's Ashish Nehra is traded for Delhi's Shikhar Dhawan. SRK's team has Eden Gardens, but is checking out Cuttack stadium as well.

Source: in.news.yahoo.com