IPL 2009

Kolkata Knight Rider brings in captaincy rotation
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Director of Operations John Buchanan and its icon player Sourav Ganguly announced on Tuesday that the team would not have a “fixed captain” for the second edition of the event, due to be played in South Africa next month. They said the captain fo each game would be picked from among a pool of four leaders including New Zealand wicket-keeeper batsman Brendon McCullum, West Indies skipper Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly. The think tank has not named the fourth player in the pool yet..The interesting concept mirrors the concept of captaincy-rotation seen in soccer. Buchanan is known for his out-of -the-box thinking and has given the cricketing world another new concept to think about. When Buchanan started the press briefing by saying he was keen to change the approach to captaincy and leadership in cricket, few had any clue about what was to follow. With four captains at the helm of affairs, he will have different views to draw from and different strategies will be adopted by the team when it encounters a difficult situation.

South Africa to host IPL

South Africa will host the second edition of the DLF-Indian Premier League from April 18, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Gerald Majola announced here on Tuesday.

The decision to accept South Africa’s offer to host the second edition of DLF-IPL has much to do with the fact that the promised 4-00 p.m. and 8-00 p.m. (IST) start of the games could be achieved more practically here than in England, which was the other venue nation being considered.

The notoriously fickle English weather in April and early part of May was another huge reason why the DLF-IPL tournament has headed to South Africa rather than England. It was estimated that rain could seriously affect as many as 70 per cent of the DLF-IPL T20 matches if they were scheduled for England.

The teams will start arriving in South Africa from April 1, 2009. The opening ceremony will be held in Cape Town, with the inaugural match being played on April 18. The final is likely to be held at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. As many as five other cities – Durban, Centurion, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town – have already been identified. East London and Bloemfontein are competing for a host city berth.

The schedule for the 59 matches and the host venues for the eight franchises will be released shortly. Royal Challengers are likely to be based in Johannesburg.




Latest updates

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

IPL 2009 may be held in South Africa

According to latest reports, England may not be a possible venue to hold the IPL 2009 and South Africa is all set to receive the final nod from the BCCI and IPL organisers. IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, who is on a visit to South Africa and England, may take a final decision on the venue of IPL 2009 within a day or two. The IPL is scheduled to begin on April 10 and will continue till May 24.


Sources believe that it may not be possible to hold the IPL 2009 in England because of their domestic season. In addition, the climate in England may affect the IPL schedule, which has been made to suit the Indian viewers.

South Africa could emerge as the most favourite venue for the IPL, because the timing zone difference between India and South Africa are only 3 hours. In addition, holding the tournament in South Africa, could be a cheaper option, as compared to England.

South Africa had successfully hosted the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup and that will help the country to get the IPL nod. According to sources, five venues in South Africa have been put on alert to hold the IPL matches once the announcement is made.


HC refuses interim relief to Sony on IPL broadcasting rights

The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to grant any interim relief to Sony in connection with the row over the broadcasting rights of the
Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sony had moved the Court last week after BCCI terminated the contract with it and entered into a new contract with World Sports Group (WSG) for the coming season of the T20 cricket tournament.

Sony had argued that termination of the contract was illegal.


BCCI decides to move IPL out of India


The Board of Control for Cricket in India, on tenterhooks over the hosting of the Indian Premier League, decided on Sunday to move the second edition of the lucrative event out of India.

Following an emergency BCCI Working Committee meeting that lasted nearly an hour, its president Shashank Manohar said, “Because of the attitude of the governments — particularly Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh — that they are not in a position to provide security, we were forced to take a decision to move the event out of India. We are in discussion with other boards who have shown willingness to hold the IPL in their respective countries.”

It is learnt that the venue and the new schedule would be announced on Monday. The meeting was convened hurriedly after Maharashtra CM, Ashok Chavan, wrote to the IPL saying that he could not hold matches in the state till the last phase of general elections got over on May 13.



Team India want England as IPL venue


The Indian players are keen that the Indian Premier League (IPL) be staged in England as they would get a feel of the conditions before the Twenty20 World Cup which will be hosted in that country from June 5 to 21.

"It would make sense in having the event in England as it would help our cricketers prepare for the T20 World Cup. They could get a good feel of the conditions there," said team India bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad.

Interestingly, South Africa-born India coach Gary Kirsten said that Johannesburg would be freezing in May, when the tournament will enter into its conclusive phase.

The IPL is slated to begin on April 10 either in South Africa or England after the Twenty20 tournament was shifted out of India this year due to security issues.


IPL TEAM CAPTAINS

Chennai Super Kings / Winning captain - M.S.Dhoni
King XI Punjab /Cricket entertainer- Yuvraj Singh
Mumbai Indians /Master blaster-Sachin Tendulkar
Kolkata knight rider /DADA - Ganguly
Deccan charger /Test hero - VVS laxman
Rajasthan Royals /Spin Champion - Warne
Delhi Dare Devils /Attacking - Sehwag
Bangalore Royal Challenger /White man - Kevin Peterson


IPL 2008 Standings

Teams Points
Rajasthan --- 22
Punjab --- 20
Chennai --- 16
Delhi --- 15
Mumbai --- 14
Kolkata --- 13
Bangalore --- 8
Deccan --- 4
























The Indian Premier League second season will be DLF IPL 2009. Indian Premier League is established by the BCCI in 2007.

The second season is tentatively scheduled between April 10 and May 29 2009.

The format of the tournament would remain unchanged from the 2008 season format.

The eight franchisees will first play against one another in a league on home-and-away basis.

The top four teams will then figure in the two semi-finals and a final

IPL OLD SCHEDULE

1. BRC Vs KKR 18-Apr-09 8:00 PM Bangalore
2. K XI P Vs CSK 19-Apr-09 5:00 PM Mohali
3. DDD Vs RR 19-Apr-09 8:30 PM Delhi
4. KKR Vs DC 20-Apr-09 4:00 PM Kolkata
5. MI Vs BRC 20-Apr-09 8:00 PM Mumbai
6. RR Vs K XI P 21-Apr-09 8:00 PM Jaipur
7. DC Vs DDD 22-Apr-09 8:00 PM Hyderabad
8. CSK Vs MI 23-Apr-09 8:00 PM Chennai
9. DC Vs RR 24-Apr-09 8:00 PM Hyderabad
10. K XI P Vs MI 25-Apr-09 8:00 PM Mohali
11. BRC Vs RR 26-Apr-09 8:00 PM Bangalore
12. CSK Vs KKR 26-Apr-09 4:00 PM Chennai
13. MI Vs DC 27-Apr-09 8:00 PM Mumbai
14. K XI P Vs DDD 27-Apr-09 4:00 PM Mohali
15. BRC Vs CSK 28-Apr-09 8:00 PM Bangalore
16. KKR Vs MI 29-Apr-09 8:00 PM Kolkata
17. DDD Vs BRC . 30-Apr-09 8:00 PM Delhi
18. DC Vs K XI P 1-May-09 8:00 PM Hyderabad
19. RR Vs KKR 1-May-09 4:00 PM Jaipur
20. CSK Vs DDD 2-May-09 8:00 PM Chennai
21. BRC Vs DC 3-May-09 4:00 PM Bangalore
22. K XI P Vs KKR 3-May-09 8:00 PM Mohali
23. MI Vs DDD 4-May-09 4:00 PM Mumbai
24. RR Vs CSK 4-May-09 8:00 PM Jaipur
25. BRC Vs K XI P 5-May-09 8:00 PM Bangalore
26. CSK Vs DC 6-May-09 8:00 PM Chennai
27. MI Vs RR 7-May-09 8:00 PM Mumbai
28. DDD Vs CSK 8-May-09 4:00 PM Delhi
29. KKR Vs BRC 8-May-09 8:00 PM Kolkata
30. RR Vs DC 9-May-09 8:00 PM Jaipur
31. CSK Vs K XI P 10-May-09 8:00 PM Chennai
32. DC Vs KKR 11-May-09 4:00 PM Hyderabad
33. RR vs DDD 11-May-09 8:00 PM Jaipur
34. K XI P Vs BRC 12-May-09 8:00 PM Mohali
35. KKR Vs DDD 13-May-09 8:00 PM Kolkata
36. MI Vs CSK 14-May-09 8:00 PM Mumbai
37. DDD Vs DC 15-May-09 8:00 PM Delhi
38. MI Vs KKR 16-May-09 8:00 PM Mumbai
39. DDD Vs K XI P 17-May-09 8:00 PM Delhi
40. RR Vs BRC 17-May-09 4:00 PM Jaipur
41. DC Vs MI 18-May-09 8:00 PM Hyderabad
42. KKR Vs CSK 18-May-09 4:00 PM Kolkata
43. BRC Vs DDD 19-May-09 8:00 PM Bangalore
44. KKR Vs RR 20-May-09 8:00 PM Kolkata
45. MI Vs K XI P 21-May-09 4:00 PM Mumbai
46. CSK Vs BRC 21-May-09 8:00 PM Chennai
47. DDD Vs KKR 22-May-09 8:00 PM Delhi
48. K XI P Vs DC 23-May-09 8:00 PM Mohali
49. DDD Vs MI 24-May-09 8:00 PM Delhi
50. CSK Vs RR 24-May-09 4:00 PM Chennai
51. DC Vs BRC 25-May-09 4:00 PM Hyderabad
52. KKR Vs K XI P 25-May-09 8:00 PM Kolkata
53. RR Vs MI 26-May-09 8:00 PM Jaipur
54. DC Vs CSK 27-May-09 8:00 PM Hyderabad
55. BRC Vs MI 28-May-09 4:00 PM Bangalore
56. K XI P Vs RR 28-May-09 8:00 PM Mohali



First semi-final 30-May-09 8:00 PM Mumbai


Second semi-final 31-May-09 8:00 PM Mumbai


IPL NEW SCHEDULE

On Tuesday, new schedule of Indian Premier League IPL is declared. There are no reductions in the numbers of matches. However two new venues are added. Ahmedabad and Vishakhapatnam will be added as the new host cities of IPL matches.



The IPL matches will be played during April 10-May 24 in the following cities on particular date.



Mumbai

April- 10, 12, 15, 18, 26

May- 9, 10, 12, 22, 24



Kolkata

April- 11, 14, 18, 21, 26

May- 2, 4



Bangaluru

April- 11

May- 7, 11, 13, 14, 20



Mohali

April- 12, 17, 18, 22, 28

May- 1, 17



Hyderabad

April- 13, 23, 27

May- 3, 6, 8, 10



Nagpur

April- 30

May- 2, 6



Vishakhapatnam

April- 18, 23, 26, 28



Jaipur

April- 14, 18, 20

May- 16



Delhi

April- 24, 25

May- 9, 12, 14, 18, 20



Chennai

May- 17, 19, 21, 22


Latest News on 18th March

There is no IPL venue in Delhi and Jaipur.The two cities, along with new venue Visakhapatnam, could not be accommodated in the match schedule sent by BCCI to the Union home ministry on Tuesday, as their respective governments have outrightly rejected the idea of hosting IPL matches during the general elections

Punjab and Himachal Pradesh (match venues Mohali and Dharamsala) have consented to provide security for the event, while West Bengal too is learned to have no problems with the schedule.

The ministry will take its final call in a day or two after getting responses from all states concerned. ``States have been asked to give their response in writing so that they cannot deviate from what they have been stating to the Centre during consultations at different levels,'' said a senior home ministry official.


IPL submits revised schedule


The new Fixtures for the IPL have been submitted for approval by the BCCI. Among the notable changes, Ahmedabad and Dharamsala have been chosen as new IPL venues while Delhi, Vizag and Jaipur have been done away with. Dharamsala will be hosting matches that were earlier allotted to Visakhapatnam.

The centre has also said that no para-military forces will be employed for the matches. However, the opening and the closing ceremonies of the IPL will be held as and when scheduled earlier - on April 10 and May 24.

Although the deadlock between the BCCI and the ministry still holds, it is expected that the final decision on the matter will be taken within 48 hours.
Matches allotted by venue:

Mumbai, CCI: April 12, 15, 23 May 3, 5, 8


Mumbai, DY Patil stadium: April 10, 14, 17, 25 May 12, 18, 22


Bangalore: May 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 19, 20


Mohali: April 12, 19, 21, 28


Hyderabad: April 27, 29, 30 May 6, 8, 11, 12


Kolkata April 11, 15, 16, 18, 22, 24, 26


Ahmedabad: April 11, 13, 17 May 6, 9, 10, 13




Pietersen may opt out of IPL 2009


Pietersen was signed by the Bangalore Royal Challengers for a record 1.1 million pounds and was due to be with them for three weeks, but he is now clearly having doubts about his personal safety.


Fellow England players Andrew Flintoff, Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara and Paul Collingwood are also contracted to take part in the competition but there must be doubts about their willingness to travel to India.


Ricky Ponting decides to skip IPL



Australian captain Ricky Ponting has decided to skip the IPL 2009 due to a very busy international schedule. Ponting said "My country comes first and there was no way I could give my all for Australia if I used the only two-week break we have to go and play in India". Ponting also said "Part of the reason I decided to withdraw from the IPL is that Twenty20 is such a physically demanding game and you have to be at your best to play the game and I want to be at my best for the [Twenty20] World Cup."