Spectators will be able to enjoy the world’s most exciting cricketers live on home soil.
It may be a “non-stop carnival” in the words of commissioner Lalit Modi, but the relocated Indian Premier League will be a made-for-India carnival.
Although Modi is urging South Africans to support the matches, their presence primarily will be to act as wallpaper to the television pictures sent back to India — and, to be fair, many other countries too, including South Africa through SuperSport.
The direct benefits to Cricket South Africa and the individual franchises are limited to a hosting fee, the amount of which has not been divulged. The IPL will also meet the costs of staging the games.
All television, sponsorship and gate money will go to the IPL.
The IPL will make no concessions to local interests in terms of player eligibility, according to tournament director Dhiraj Malhotra, who said the rules will remain as they were for the first tournament in India last year.
Although teams may sign up to 10 overseas players, they can field no more than four at a time. They must have at least eight Indian players in their squads including two from the country’s under- 22 pool.
The IPL will be responsible for media accreditation, which was a source of controversy last year because of the strict control of image and I nternet rights.
Major international agencies such as Reuters and Agence France-Presse decided not to cover the matches because of the restrictions. Malhotra said the same terms would apply this year.
Ticket prices will be similar to those for domestic Pro20 games, probably in the region of R50 for adults and R20 for children, although there may be a premium for double-headers.
The entertainment value will undoubtedly be considerable, especially over a spectacular opening weekend at Newlands in Cape Town, where all eight teams will be in action.
On Saturday April 18 defending champions Rajasthan Royals, whose ranks include Shane Warne, Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel, take on the Bangalore Royal Challengers (Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn).
On the same day the 2008 runners-up, Chennai Super Kings (MS Dhoni, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hayden, Albie Morkel, Muttiah Muralitharan) take on Mumbai Indians (Sachin Tendulkar, JP Duminy, Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo).
The remaining teams will be in action the following day when the Kolkata Knight Riders play the Deccan Chargers and the Delhi Daredevils meet the Kings XI Punjab, with the four sides parading another cast of legendary names.
Over the course of two days, Cape Town spectators will be able to see the world’s most exciting cricketers in action, although in addition to the Indian and international stars the teams will be filled out with Indian players of lesser repute.
There will be a “curtain-raiser” between the Royals and South African champions the Cape Cobras at Newlands on April 11 and 12.
The only notable absentees at the start of the IPL will be current Australian one- day players, who will be travelling to Dubai immediately after the last match in South Africa on April 17 to play a one- day series against Pakistan, ending on May 7. No players from Pakistan are due to play in the IPL this year
Australian players who go to Dubai will be able to take part in the closing weeks of the tournament, which ends with the final in Johannesburg on May 24. Some of the most famous Australians such as Warne, Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath have retired from international cricket and will therefore be able to remain in the IPL.
England and West Indian players will only be able to play at the start of the tournament. They then have to go to England for a Test series, followed by one-day games, starting on May 6.
Some West Indian players have threatened to boycott the tour of England because they would prefer to play in the IPL but Modi cautioned against such a move, saying the IPL wanted its players to honour their national commitments.
Matches will start at 12.30pm and 4.30pm to suit Indian television, which may make it difficult to attract big crowds for weekday games.
Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket SA (CSA), said the terms of the agreement with the IPL were confidential. “It’s more or less the same sort of arrangement there would be for staging an International Cricket Council event,” he said.
Franchise chief executives will meet CSA tomorrow to discuss financial terms.
Cassim Docrat, whose Dolphins franchise will host 16 matches, said he doubted whether the franchise would earn more than R1-million. “We’re not doing it for the money,” he said. “It will bring in some nice income for us but when you consider the number of games, it won’t be as much on a daily basis as when we hire out the ground for events such as the Comrades Marathon.”
It may be a “non-stop carnival” in the words of commissioner Lalit Modi, but the relocated Indian Premier League will be a made-for-India carnival.
Although Modi is urging South Africans to support the matches, their presence primarily will be to act as wallpaper to the television pictures sent back to India — and, to be fair, many other countries too, including South Africa through SuperSport.
The direct benefits to Cricket South Africa and the individual franchises are limited to a hosting fee, the amount of which has not been divulged. The IPL will also meet the costs of staging the games.
All television, sponsorship and gate money will go to the IPL.
The IPL will make no concessions to local interests in terms of player eligibility, according to tournament director Dhiraj Malhotra, who said the rules will remain as they were for the first tournament in India last year.
Although teams may sign up to 10 overseas players, they can field no more than four at a time. They must have at least eight Indian players in their squads including two from the country’s under- 22 pool.
The IPL will be responsible for media accreditation, which was a source of controversy last year because of the strict control of image and I nternet rights.
Major international agencies such as Reuters and Agence France-Presse decided not to cover the matches because of the restrictions. Malhotra said the same terms would apply this year.
Ticket prices will be similar to those for domestic Pro20 games, probably in the region of R50 for adults and R20 for children, although there may be a premium for double-headers.
The entertainment value will undoubtedly be considerable, especially over a spectacular opening weekend at Newlands in Cape Town, where all eight teams will be in action.
On Saturday April 18 defending champions Rajasthan Royals, whose ranks include Shane Warne, Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel, take on the Bangalore Royal Challengers (Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn).
On the same day the 2008 runners-up, Chennai Super Kings (MS Dhoni, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hayden, Albie Morkel, Muttiah Muralitharan) take on Mumbai Indians (Sachin Tendulkar, JP Duminy, Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo).
The remaining teams will be in action the following day when the Kolkata Knight Riders play the Deccan Chargers and the Delhi Daredevils meet the Kings XI Punjab, with the four sides parading another cast of legendary names.
Over the course of two days, Cape Town spectators will be able to see the world’s most exciting cricketers in action, although in addition to the Indian and international stars the teams will be filled out with Indian players of lesser repute.
There will be a “curtain-raiser” between the Royals and South African champions the Cape Cobras at Newlands on April 11 and 12.
The only notable absentees at the start of the IPL will be current Australian one- day players, who will be travelling to Dubai immediately after the last match in South Africa on April 17 to play a one- day series against Pakistan, ending on May 7. No players from Pakistan are due to play in the IPL this year
Australian players who go to Dubai will be able to take part in the closing weeks of the tournament, which ends with the final in Johannesburg on May 24. Some of the most famous Australians such as Warne, Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath have retired from international cricket and will therefore be able to remain in the IPL.
England and West Indian players will only be able to play at the start of the tournament. They then have to go to England for a Test series, followed by one-day games, starting on May 6.
Some West Indian players have threatened to boycott the tour of England because they would prefer to play in the IPL but Modi cautioned against such a move, saying the IPL wanted its players to honour their national commitments.
Matches will start at 12.30pm and 4.30pm to suit Indian television, which may make it difficult to attract big crowds for weekday games.
Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket SA (CSA), said the terms of the agreement with the IPL were confidential. “It’s more or less the same sort of arrangement there would be for staging an International Cricket Council event,” he said.
Franchise chief executives will meet CSA tomorrow to discuss financial terms.
Cassim Docrat, whose Dolphins franchise will host 16 matches, said he doubted whether the franchise would earn more than R1-million. “We’re not doing it for the money,” he said. “It will bring in some nice income for us but when you consider the number of games, it won’t be as much on a daily basis as when we hire out the ground for events such as the Comrades Marathon.”
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