Shaun Pollock joins Mumbai Indians

The former South African fast bowler Shaun Pollock has signed a two-year contract with the Mumbai Indians to work as the team's mentor-cum-advisor and aid the support staff along with coach Lalchand Rajput.

Pollock's return to the Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise was under a cloud after he said last year that he would no longer be playing competitive cricket. But he revealed that the Mumbai Indians management offered a flexible job that he could accept.

"I still love the game and the pioneering aspect of a new team and a new concept is a challenge I'll enjoy. My role has evolved into that of an advisor and mentor after the management approached me with a flexible offer," Pollock told Daily News & Analysis.

During the first season of the IPL, Pollock had told the captain Sachin Tendulkar that he might not return next year but the seniors, including Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, convinced him to continue playing at the time. Pollock was believed to be kept in the loop by the highest officials of the management this time around.

He said he was looking forward to passing on to the Mumbai team what he learnt as a cricketer though he would not consider himself as a coach. "I don't see myself as a coach," he said. "I just believe over the years I've experienced so many different approaches and methods in getting the best out of players and I think my role with the Mumbai Indians is an opportunity to pass on my skills and knowledge."

Last year, he led the franchise during the first half of the tournament after Tendulkar was injured and Harbhajan Singh was banned. He scored 147 runs in eight innings at a strike-rate of 132.43 and took 11 wickets in 13 matches at an economy-rate of 6.54.

Though Mumbai failed to qualify for the semi-finals in the inaugural edition, Pollock was optimistic about their chances in the second season. "Obviously we're aiming to win the tournament," he said. "We can improve on last year's performance and hopefully we can get the best out of our players. I believe the Mumbai Indians have the raw ingredients to be a highly successful franchise."

Pollock was happy with the new recruits, particularly the South African batsman JP Duminy. "It's a very exciting mix of youth and experience," he said. "There are legends in the team - and we know what to expect from them - and on the other hand we have guys with huge potential. I think we've got a great balance to the team. JP is having a phenomenal run and playing with confidence and hopefully he will serve the team for many years to come."

Islamic militant plot to kidnap Indian cricketers Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar

Fears over the threat to cricket posed by Islamic terrorism grew yesterday as it was revealed that two top Indian players were the targets of a kidnap plot hatched by Muslim militants.

A court in India has heard that a Pakistan-based Islamic group planned to kidnap the country's former national cricket captain, Sourav Ganguly, together with legendary Test batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

The confession was made by Tariq Mohammed and Ashfaq Ahmed, who were members of the Harkat ul-Jehadi Islami (Islamic Holy War Movement), a Kashmiri separatist organisation which draws inspiration from Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

The pair told detectives that they had trained in Afghanistan and entered India from Bangladesh on a mission to kidnap the two cricket stars to force the release of two terrorist leaders being held in Indian jails.

Although the confessions were made in 2002, they have sent a chill through the Indian cricket establishment in the wake of the gun attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore at the start of this month.

Details of the plot emerged as the Indian Premier League dropped Delhi and Jaipur as host venues for the forthcoming Twenty-20 cricket tourmament, amid fears that terrorists might attack key matches or abduct top cricket stars.

Indian home minister, P Chidambaram, had voiced doubts over whether the tournament would go ahead at all. Officials are concerned that it coincides with campaigning for the Indian general election, and fear the country's security forces and police will be dangerously overstretched if they have to protect both events.

British and American officials have voiced fears that another terrorist attack in the run-up to the election could cause a new war between India and Pakistan.

The latest Premier League fixture list has now dropped Delhi and Jaipur from the list of venues, and shifted key matches to Dharamsala, the Himalayan hill town known as the home of the Dalai Lama.

Match dates have now been rearranged to avoid coinciding with polling in each area. One senior IPL official said:"We do not expect any problems now. The ministry will now consult the state governments and get back to us."

The decision has shocked the Delhi Daredevils, the Indian capital's franchise for the tournament, who now fears their revenues will be wiped out by the switch. The team includes former England captain Paul Collingwood, Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath and opening batsman Virender Sehwag.

"This is not the final schedule. We'll wait and see what finally emerges. If there are no matches in Delhi, we would need sort out the issue with the organizers as we would lose a lot of money on gate receipts and sponsorships," said a team spokesman.

The re-jigged schedule has also dealt a serious blow to the Jaipur-based Rajasthan Royals, which is partly owned by Celebrity Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty.

Both teams are guaranteed a share of the Indian Premier League's $1 billion television rights deal with Sony Television, but they could both lose out on marketing and merchandise deals.

IPL fate still not clear, MHA waits for states' feedback

New Delhi, Mar 18 With the Home Ministry waiting for the state governments' feedback on the revised schedule of the Indian Premier League, the fate of the high-profile event today continued to remain uncertain though there were reports of some states willing to give their nod to the new fixtures.

As the race to finalise the schedule continued, Home Minster P Chidambaram said a decision on the fate of the IPL second edition will be taken soon after the Ministry received feedback from the concerned state governments on the revised schedule.

Desperate to get the cash-rich league on track, the IPL's top brass has held a series of meetings since Monday and submitted a reworked schedule to the Home Ministry yesterday.

The new schedule has now taken into account the reservations and security constraints of the states hosting the matches.

"The last I heard was yesterday morning they submitted a revised schedule. The revised schedule has been sent to all the state governments concerned. We've asked them to give their comments and views as early as possible," Chidambaram told reporters here. (Agencies)

Uncertain IPL schedule affecting media plans

Mumbai: Uncertainty over dates, locations and broadcaster of the second season of Indian Premier League (IPL) is holding up media buying plans.

Advertizers and media planners told Mint that they do not know whether they would have to renegotiate ad deals if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the owner of IPL, changes the broadcaster for the widely viewed 20-over cricket tournament.

Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd’s Sony Max, which aired the first season on television, has moved court against BCCI to stop it from shifting telecast partners.

Even if the boradcaster remains the same, media buyers are concerned that a shorter schedule that packs in more matches in a day would splinter audiences and make the high ad rates unattractive.

The Indian government has twice rejected schedules suggested by the organizers on security concerns as the event overlaps the general election to be held in five phases between 16 April and 13 May. BCCI is now preparing a new schedule.

IPL sponsors such as Hyundai Motor India Ltd are particularly concerned that their contracts would become void if the broadcaster changes.

“We are naturally concerned about our sponsorship for the series and there’s no word from Sony at this moment,’’ says G. Sanjay, deputy general manager, marketing and sales, Hyundai Motor India.

Advertisers who have booked ads around the IPL are already making alternate plans in case the event is cancelled altogether, said media buyer Shashi Sinha, chief executive of Lodestar Universal Pvt. Ltd.

“Given the chaos surrounding the IPL, many advertisers could jump ship and get on to the elections (coverage) bandwagon or look for other high-impact properties,” said Sanjay Tripathy, executive vice-president and head of marketing at HDFC Standard Life Insurance Pvt Ltd.

Sinha also said some of the ad money pledged on the IPL may be diverted to new shows being launched by general entertainment channels, while others may look to invest more on the coverage of the general elections.

Even if Sony Max keeps its rights to beam the IPL, the confusion and security issues would make it tough for the broadcaster to charge the rates it has been getting in the past for the remaining time slots, a media buyer said on condition of anonymity.

Sony Max sold a 10-second spot for Rs2.5 lakh last year, and has hiked it to Rs3.5 lakh for the second season.

Rohit Gupta, president, network sales and revenue management of Multi Screen Media, declined to comment on anything related to the IPL. The league’s chief executive Sundar Raman did not take calls.

Media specialists such as Lodestar’s Sinha are concerned that a reshuffling of the play calendar, in which more games would be squeezed in a day, would split viewing audiences.

“Earlier we were under the impression that it would be 59 games played out in 45 days. Now they could try and finish the games in a shorter period where you may even see more than two games in a single day. The audience would be truncated,” Sinha said.

Brand strategy, which calls for long-term planning of advertising and marketing spends and activities, is also taking a hit. Shubha George, managing director of Mumbai-based media agency Mediaedge:cia, a part of GroupM India Pvt. Ltd, said her prime concern was for clients who planned have consumer activation plans around the IPL.

Consumer activation is an industry term for so-called non-traditional advertising such as organizing contests, events or promotions that typically calls for a fair amount of logistics planning.

“For brands that are planning activation attempts linked to the IPL, it’s a bit difficult to put those programmes together at short notice,” George said. In her view, if the IPL event is scrapped or delayed till September, then brands may be forced to redo consumer contact programmes, which may not work optimally for the brands.

We ended Sony deal due to last year's IPL coverage: BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), organiser of the Twenty20 cricket tournament, has alleged it terminated the broadcast contract with Sony’s SET Max due to serious violations of the deal’s terms by the broadcaster while telecasting the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) held last year.

Arguing the matter at the Bombay High Court today, BCCI counsels accused SET Max of allowing commercial interests to weigh over the coverage of IPL. This, they said, was communicated to Sony on February 9 this year. Sony accepted having received the BCCI letter.

BCCI counsels said SET Max telecast advertisements after the fifth ball of every over and did not show the last ball. Also, they said, the cameras did not follow the ball properly. Counsels for Sony said these were “operational issues.”

BCCI terminated its contract on March 14 by sending Sony a fax and signed a new contract with World Sports Group on the morning of March 15. The new contract allows BCCI to enter into a fresh agreement with any other broadcaster for domestic telecast rights of IPL.

On March 15, Sony moved the Bombay High Court, which granted an injunction, restraining the BCCI from entering into any broadcasting deal related to IPL.

BCCI urged the court to make WSG a party in the case. Sony objected to this. The court is likely to give its ruling soon.

On the issue of Reliance ADA group’s direct-to-home (DTH) arm, Big TV, walking out of the on-group sponsorship deal of Rs 137 crore after SET Max roped in Bharti Airtel’s DTH brand, Digital TV, as on-air sponsor, BCCI told the court it was in advanced stages of negotiations with Reliance and had requested Sony not to award the contract to Bharti or anyone else before it finished with Reliance one way or the other.

“But right now, this is not the main issue for us. The breach of contract is the main issue,” BCCI counsels told the court.

BCCI sells IPL rights to WSG Mauritius

MUMBAI: Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI) has sold the telecast rights for the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to World
Sports Group-Mauritius for over Rs 335 crore, 50% higher than its deal with Sony Max, a channel owned by Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television).

In the course of his argument at Bombay High Court on Tuesday, BCCI counsel Virag Tulzapurkar said: “We are getting
Rs 335 crore-plus extra from the new agreement.” Justice SJ Kathawala, on Tuesday, reserved his orders in the case.
WSG-India had won the broadcast rights for over $1.3 billion for 10 years.

It sold the telecast rights for Indian territory to MSM for Rs 220 crore per season, beginning 2008, for five years. BCCI, on March 15, signed an agreement awarding telecast rights to WSG Mauritius. WSG-Mauritius is not directly related to WSG-India.

However, MSM can still bag the rights from WSG-Mauritius. Mr Tulzapurkar has informed the Bombay high court that BCCI had agreed to allow WSG-Mauritius to award the sub-license to MSM for the telecast, provided the litigation is withdrawn.

According to the March 15 agreement, WSG-Mauritius must find a broadcaster by March 18 (Wednesday), BCCI counsel Venkatesh Dhond told ET. WSG-Mauritius is already in talks with broadcasters for the telecast rights of IPL season 2.

Among others, the contenders for the telecast rights of the 2009 season are ESPN-Star Sports, Neo Sports, Ten Sports and Doordarshan, Mr Dhond stated in the Bombay high court.

MSM had dragged BCCI to court after it received termination notice from the latter on Saturday. It wanted the court to restrain BCCI from discussing broadcast rights with any other party.

BCCI had given two notices regarding breach of agreement before terminating the contract, Mr Tulzapurkar said. He also said MSM’s decision to award on-air sponsorship to Bharti Airtel and its failure to address the issue of introducing certain ‘commercial elements’ during the last telecast season were contrary to the agreement.

MSM’s counsels Iqbal Chhagla and Janak Dwarkadas argued that BCCI had sent a notice for terminating the agreement through facsimile to MSM on Saturday after office hours. So, the termination would be effective only after they receive it on Monday.

IPL vs Sony case snowballs into a bitter legal battle

New Delhi: The spat between the Indian Premier League (IPL) and broadcaster Sony Entertainment has snowballed into a bitter legal battle.

On Saturday, BCCI served a termination notice to Sony to end its exclusive broadcast rights, accusing it of breaching the original contract on several counts. Sony, which holds IPL broadcast rights for five years beginning 2008, reacted by dragging BCCI to court on Sunday.

The Bombay High Court is hearing the case.

CNN-IBN has learnt from reliable sources that bids this year are already in some cases 30 per cent higher than last year. So in effect IPL could get richer by an additional $300 million.

However, everything depends on the outcome of the hearing in Mumbai since the court said till the matter is heard BCCI shall not enter into any further agreements related to the IPL.

Sony has reportedly sold almost half the air time for over Rs 200 crore. It was expecting to earn between Rs 300 crore and Rs 350 crore in ad and sponsorship sales from the event.

Stress fracture rules Sreesanth out of IPL

	Sreesanth contribution in this IPL will be limited to being a 'fan mentor' and 'community face' of Kings XI Punjab

Sreesanth, the India and Kings XI Punjab fast bowler, will miss this year's IPL due to a stress fracture of his back.

He was one of Punjab's key bowlers last season with his 19 scalps making him the tournament's second highest wicket-taker. He was also involved in an infamous spat with Harbhajan Singh during the match against the Mumbai Indians.

"It is unfortunate that Sreesanth will not be participating in the season two due to his back injury," Punjab coach Tom Moody said. "He is a performer and was a great asset to the team last season and his absence on the field will surely be felt."

Sreesanth, who is currently in Sydney as part of his rehabilitation process, said he wanted to be with the team through the tournament even though he wouldn't be participating. "I will be their motivator and will cheer them through to the IPL season two finals." He will also interact with fans during the event in his role as 'fan mentor' and 'community face' for the franchise.

A string of injuries have kept Sreesanth on the sidelines for much of the time since last season's IPL. It has been nearly a year since he played for India, his patchy performances in the Duleep Trophy not convincing the selectors to pick him for the New Zealand tour. The latest fitness problem also reduces his chances of being part of India's defence of the World Twenty20, to be held in England this June.

IPL team inspects Raipur stadium

Raipur: A three-member Indian Premier League (IPL) team led by its Tournament Committee Chairman Dhiraj Malhotra today inspected the newly-built state-of-the-art Rs 100-crore International Cricket Stadium to explore the possibility of shifting a couple of IPL matches here.

The trio, which spent nearly three hours while taking stock of the 65,000-capacity stadium and other infrastructure soon after its arrival from Delhi this morning, is said to have expressed satisfaction over the ground condition and other aspects.

Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) President Baldev Singh Bhatia, who apprised the IPL team of the stadium, said the team dubbed the stadium as '''one of the best in the country.'' Two other committee members -- Board of Control for Cricket in India Pitch and Ground Committee Chairman Daljit Singh and Delhi Cricket Association Secretary Sunil Dev also had a second round of inspection of the wicket this evening.

Bhatia told UNI that the members also met a group of senior engineers regarding completion of some ongoing expansion projects in the 50-acre stadium complex.

The CSCS is leaving no stone unturned to bring the high-profile IPL matches to the stadium following Chief Minister Raman Singh's assurance to provide necessary security.

Bhatia said the IPL committee, which had given a positive indication about the possibility of holding Twenty-20 matches here, was likely to rush another team of officials and technical personnel to oversee the finishing work before making a final decision.

Bhatia asserted that all changes required in players' dressing rooms and other facilities could be completed in two-three weeks.

CCI gives green signal to IPL at Brabourne

Mumbai: The members of the Cricket Club of India (CCI) on Wednesday gave a green signal to the club's Executive Committee for hosting seven IPL ties this summer at the Brabourne Stadium as per a proposed deal offered by the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise outfit.

"We informed the members, whoever were present, about the proposal we have received from the Mumbai Indians and there was no objection. They were all very happy," said CCI Chief Executive and Secretary Kamaljeet Rajpal after an Open House session at the club's premises here.

Meanwhile, the IPL itself is awaiting the go-ahead from the Central Government to conduct its 45-day mega event.

The agreement now needs to be signed by the CCI, which owns the stadium in South Mumbai, and the MI to enable the hosting of all seven of the franchise's home matches, Rajpal said.

As per the proposed two-year deal, CCI stood to gain Rs 1.05 crore by hosting the seven home matches of the team owned by Indiawin Sports Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

A total of 700 seats on the first floor of the CCI pavilion's west wing, including the President's Box, would be given to MI during match days, according to the proposal by Mumbai Indians.

Six hundred more seats from the members' children's stand would be given away to the MI for its use and, in lieu of this, CCI has been offered the same number of seats in the West Stand by the franchise team.

The proposed deal allows CCI members "unfettered use of the Club House" during the match days while Mumbai Indians would have full use of the ground during match days and two days prior to the matches during the teams' practice sessions.

The proposed deal can be extended for a further two ears by mutual agreement, the members were informed.

Welcoming the CCI members' decision, Nita Ambani, owner of Mumbai Indians, said, "We are excited about Brabourne Stadium hosting out home matches. The stadium has iconic value in world cricket and has a special attraction for young and exciting cricketers several of whom will be playing for the first time.

"I am joined by Sachin Tendulkar (captain of the team) and the entire team in thanking the CCI members."

IPL official partners in tax net

It’s not just the organisers of the BCCI-IPL Twenty20 Cricket Tournament who are in trouble over match schedules amidst security concerns. Sponsors of the IPL teams have run into tax hassles as well.

The Commissiorate of Service Tax, Delhi, has slapped notices on official partners and sponsors of the tournament, including Hero Honda Motors and Jaiprakash Associates, asking them to show cause as to why service tax amounting to around Rs 6 crore should not be recovered from them for providing sponsorships.

Two notices were issued to Hero Honda seeking to recover Rs 4 crore in tax. A third notice was served on Jaiprakash Associates for allegedly an amount of Rs 1.85 crore.

Service tax is not chargeable on sponsoring sports events. However, these companies are sponsoring IPL teams (and not sports events). So they are bound to pay the tax, said a department official.

Hero Honda has the sponsorship rights of Delhi’s Daredevils, while Jaiprakash Associates was a sponsor of the Deccan Chargers team.

Another notice is being issued to DLF Ltd, which paid Rs 40 crore to BCCI for becoming the title sponsor of the IPL-T20 tournament. The Tax Department is expected to demand around Rs 5 crore from DLF.

The Department is also in the process of issuing notices to M/s GMR Sports and United Breweries, besides host of other companies, directing them to pay service tax on account of sponsoring IPL matches, sources said. Some companies like Adidas and Religare have already paid

Rs. 10 lakhs and Rs 24 lakhs respectively for sponsoring the Delhi Daredevils.

BCCI earned around Rs 200 crore from the first IPL season by using media rights of the matches, franchisee rights of the teams and title sponsorship.

Sri Lanka Cricket to review security situation for IPL

Colombo (PTI): In the wake of an unprecedented terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore, the island country's cricket board has made it clear that it will review security situation in their neighbouring country before their players head to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League.

D S De Silva, new chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, on Wednesday said the board will talk to the India-bound cricketers to take stock of the security situation during the tournament.

"We will be discussing all these matters. We will be talking to our players to elicit their views on the security situation in India for the IPL matches," Mr. De Silva said.

The Lankan cricketers who have been signed up by the different IPL franchises include skipper Mahela Jayawardene, left-arm pacer Chaminda Vass, spinners Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara.

Fate of the Twenty20 tournament is hanging on balance as the Indian government has refused to provide security during the Lok Sabha election period, with which dates of the IPL matches are clashing. The IPL organisers are trying hard to persuade the Home Ministry not to delay the tournament and have provided an alternative fixture.

Nishantha Ranatunga, newly appointed SLC secretary, who is also the brother of sacked chairman Arjuna Ranatunga, said: "We will have to look at the security aspects as they are under contract and are associated with the Sri Lanka Cricket."

"The SLC has also decided to precede any overseas national cricket tour with a visit of the manager or any senior official to get a first-hand report of the security arrangements in the foreign country," Mr. De Silva said.

"The SLC was also considering sending security personnel during the away tours," he added.

Dropped Delhi may host IPL matches: DDCA

Contrary to reports that Delhi has been dropped as a venue for the Indian Premier League (IPL), Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the city might host a few games of the Twenty20 event's second edition.

"Some matches could still be worked out as per the new schedule sent to the Home Ministry. We are in constant touch with Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and police authorities," Jaitley told reporters in New Delhi.

"I am in constant touch with the authorities and I am hopeful that some matches will be played in Delhi. May be some matches presently planned for Gujarat could be shifted to Delhi. We have proposed new dates for matches in Delhi only
after May 6," he added.

Sources said while Dikshit had given her nod to the hosting of the matches, the police apparently declined to give the green signal citing lack of security forces due to the upcoming general elections.

Sources said the police authorities had suggested feasible dates only after the counting of votes.

However, Union Home Minster P Chidambaram said a decision on the fate of the second edition of the event would be taken soon after the Ministry received feedback from the concerned state governments on the revised schedule.

IPL performance may fetch ticket to T20 WC squad: Srikkanth

Cuttack (PTI): Performance in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) will be taken into consideration for picking the Indian squad for this year's ICC World Twenty20, chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth said here on Wednesday.

"We all will be watching the IPL. The performance there will be the benchmark (to pick the Indian squad for second edition of the T20 World Cup)," said the former India captain, who is here to watch the final of the Deodhar Trophy between West Zone and East Zone.

India will defend its title in the second edition of the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in England in June this year and Srikkanth said the selectors job would be to improve the bench strength.

"We are watching the domestic matches closely. This (Deodhar Trophy) being the season-ender, it's a very important tournament. We have a very good bench strength in batting.

There's good balance in bowling. The main idea is to watch more domestic matches and create a pool of youngsters," said Srikkanth, who was accompanied by fellow selectors Yashpal Sharma from North Zone and East's Raja Venkat.

Asked about Sachin Tendulkar's recent comment, which described the present Indian team as the best ever, Srikkanth, a member of Kapil's Devils that won the World Cup in 1983 said, "This team indeed has the best batting line-up. They are good in all departments."

IPL schedule: fresh list sent for approval

Chennai: BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan informed The Hindu here on Tuesday that a fresh list of dates for the conduct of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been sent to the Home Ministry. It has been reliably learnt that Nagpur and Dharamshala are among the venues.

The BCCI team, led by Mr. Srinivasan, held a 90-minute meeting with the Special Secretary (Internal Security) Raman Srivastava in New Delhi on Monday. The Home Ministry had maintained it would be hard to spare para-military forces for the tournament due to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The Home Ministry had asked the BCCI panel to re-work the schedule with the State Governments. — Special Correspondent

State okay with new IPL dates

KOLKATA: The state government seems to be okay with the new IPL dates announced by the ministry of home affairs. "We have just received the new dates. The ministry wants to finish the matches by April 26," home secretary Ardhendu Sen said at Writers' on Tuesday.

The home secretary insisted that the decision to accept or reject the new dates would be taken by chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti, who is currently in Darjeeling. "The decision will be taken by him after he comes back on Wednesday," Sen said. "We have raised objections to the May 4 date because the second phase of elections in the state is on May 7. But we shouldn't have any problem with the new date of the last match (April 26)."

Injured Sreesanth to miss second IPL

Chandigarh (PTI): Spunky pacer S Sreesanth will miss this year's Indian Premier League owing to a stress fracture, his IPL team Kings XI Punjab said here on Wednesday.

Sreesanth, currently rehabilitating in Sydney, would instead don a new role as the 'Fan Mentor and Community face' of the side, the IPL franchisee said in a statement.

"Sreesanth will miss the second season of IPL due to a L2 Stress fracture in his lower back," the statement said.

Sreesanth said despite not being able to play this season, he would be with the team all along the season.

"I intend to be with the team all along the IPL season. I will be their motivator and will cheer them through to the IPL Season 2 finals so that I can play the champions league with Kings XI Punjab," Sreesanth said in the statement.

"The new role that I will play in the interim for Kings Xi Punjab as a fan mentor and community face is going to be very exciting," said the pacer.

Coach Tom Moody rued Sreesanth's absence and wished the pacer a speedy recovery.

"It is unfortunate that Sreesanth will not be participating in the season 2 due to his back injury. He is a performer and was a great asset to the team last season and his absence on the field will surely be felt," he said.

Sreesanth featured in the infamous slap-gate episode last year when Harbhajan Singh slapped him after the Mohali-based side's match with the Mumbai Indians.

Dharamsala hoping to bask in IPL glory

Dharmasala (PTI): Even as the fate of the Indian Premier League (IPL) hangs in balance, the picturesque cricket stadium of Dharmasala is bracing for its date with the second edition of the Twenty20 tournament scheduled to start next month.

With the IPL authorities dropping Delhi, Jaipur and Visakhapatnam from the fixture they submitted to the Home Ministry yesterday, Dharmasala is set to host a few matches provided the tournament gets the Centre's nod.

Located 4000 feet above the sea level in the lap of the Himalayas, the stadium would prove to be a treat for the touring players, said Administrative manager of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, Sunil Chauhan.

"The stadium will provide ideal conditions for a great game of cricket and I am sure with its picturesque location, the players will have a nice time playing here," Chauhan told PTI.

"We have hosted an international match between South Africa A and India A and many domestic tournaments but hosting the IPL matches will prove to a great boost for the stadium.

It will put Dharmasala into the world cricket map," he added.

However, the stadium is not fully ready to host the high-profile tournament.

The Rs 35 crore project has spectators' stands with around 19,000 capacity, separate corporates and media boxes in addition to the floodlights -- some of which need that finishing touch but Chauhan remains confident that they would be able to meet the deadline.

"Hundreds of workers are working to complete the construction works. Floodlights are yet to be installed but we still have 40 days to go before we host the first match and I am confident the stadium will be ready within the time limit," said Chauhan.

Asked about the security arrangements, Chauhan said, "The Himachal government has assured that security would not be a problem and they would deploy adequate security personnel for the event."

Chauhan, who is also the pitch curator, said expecting the IPL matches, he was also working on the pitch.

"The pitch will assist both the bowlers and the batsmen. It will have bounce for the bowlers and will also be a treat to bat on," he said.

Delhi CM keen on IPL in Delhi, appeals to Chidambaram

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit has appealed to the Union Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram not to deny the cricket fans of the capital the pleasure of witnessing the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.

Even as Chidambaram made it clear Wednesday the IPL should finalise its schedule in consultation with the state governments involved in holding the matches instead of revising it every now and then, Dikshit was approached by the owners of the Delhi franchise Delhi Daredevils to find ways to hold their matches in the city.

The IPL organisers dropped Delhi, Jaipur and Visakhapatnam as venues after their state governments expressed inability to provide adequate security in view of the General Elections. Delhi security comes directly under the Home Ministry.

A Daredevils spokesman admitted that the franchise officials met Dikhsit who, he said, was as keen as any Delhi cricket fan that the the IPL games should be held in the capital.

Also, Wednesday, the Delhi Police Commissioner Y. S. Dadwal told reporters that the security machinery in the national capital was not adequate to take care of elections as well as IPL.

Dadwal's reasoning was that security risks cannot be taken for the IPL after the audacious attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore March 3 during their tour of Pakistan.

However, the central government is under pressure not only from some of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies, but also from some industrialists who have sunk huge amounts in IPL's second edition which is likely to cost over Rs 17 billion to earn in excess of Rs 100 billion from the 44-day Twenty20 league.

Chidambaram reiterated that the fate of the multi-billion dollar twenty20 league rests with the state governments which will examine the thrice revised IPL schedule and his ministry would strictly go by their advice.

He told reporters after a meeting of the Union Cabinet that his ministry received the new IPL schedule and it has been sent to the state governments.

"Any decision will be taken after the states give their verdict on the dates," Chidambaram said.

The IPL scheduled to be held from April 10 to May 24 and the home ministry does not want to take chances by stretching central forces to provide security for both the elections and the IPL.

The government has made it clear to the organisers that it will not be able to spare any of the paramilitary forces and wanted state governments to take the call on security for the IPL matches.

Dharmasala and Ahmedabad have been named as the new venues in place of Delhi and Jaipur. The organisers are also looking at Raipur in Chattisgarh as a possible venue.

The West Bengal government, however, has cleared the schedule after the change of dates.

Eden Gardens would host seven matches of the IPL on April 11, 15, 16, 18, 22, 24 and 26. West Bengal government was earlier reluctant to provide security for IPL during the elections in the state in three phases, April 30, May 7 and May 13.