The ‘90s were the period when everyone wanted to see India take on arch rivals Pakistan. Due to reasons extending beyond cricket administration, the encounters between the two sides were few but the contests were nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat ones!
Cut to the present scenario where we have had India take on Pakistan three times in the month of June itself; it is likely that the two sides may will meet 2 more times in the coming week (in the round robin stage of the ongoing Asia cup and probably the finals too).. Before this, we have had plenty of matches between the two sides with as many as 3 series in the last 2 years! Phew ... That’s a slew of matches and this sudden spurt of matches seems to have taken the sheen off these encounters! It’s just another day at the office for the players from either sides – I mean, with the increase in the number of international matches, players have learnt to take the matches in stride but still – an India – Pakistan encounter should remain an enthralling and an exciting one for audiences! The BCCI should look to regulate the number of times these countries meet in the coming years – satiate the appetite of fans but excess of anything is not good for everyone involved!
But I ain’t complaining – after getting hooked to the tele night after night during the IPL, I find the current slew of ODIs ongoing between as many as 10 countries (yes – you read it right! 10 countries – Australia in West Indies, New Zealand in England and the 6 nations in the Asia Cup) a good way to while away the plethora of time I have on my hands these days!
So, then – I am going away to the ongoing India – Pakistan match in the Asia Cup. India’s score at the end of the 23rd over reads 179/1 – Both Sehwag and Raina are thrashing the bowlers to all corners of the park and well, Sehwag has hit the 4th six of his innings! Kya peeta hai ye?? Anyways – Am getting back to the match to cheer for Sehwag and his around-the-corner 9th ODI century! And while I wrote all this, Sehwag marched into the 90s, helping himself to 2 sixes off the bowling of Salman Butt!
N.B.: Thanks to some publishing problems, Sehwag has marched on to his 9th hundred, a well-deserved landmark for this great batsman!
Showing posts with label IPL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IPL. Show all posts
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Taking stock of the IPL after-effects!
What lull! What happened? What is the time right now? 8:30 pm, right?? So why aren't the TV on? Where have all the screams and shoutings disappeared to? And and how come we got saas-bahu serials on TV again at this hour? What's wrong? No match today? An off day for the IPL?
These were some of the questions that I attempted to answer as I entered home - and then reality dawned on the ignorant me: The IPL extravaganza has come to a conclusion, the festivities, the celebrations had all reached a dramatic crescendo on Sunday, June 1, 2008. Life is expected to return to normal now that our daily dose of the 3-odd hr entertainment show is over. And it is unlikely to stage a comeback atleast till October 2008 and that too only if the Champions T20 cup takes off as planned.
The success of the IPL can be gauzed by how much the IPL had become a part of our daily life! Look at what the IPL has achieved - thank god for the instigation provided by the ICL else IPL may never have been conceptualized, despite whatever Lalit Modi may claim. The IPL has proven to be successful beyond any of our's wildest dreams! A hit with the masses, the stadium sales, the advertisers, the sponsors and the TRPs, all bear fruit to the unprecedented success that the IPL has enjoyed! Lalit Modi has even suggested holding the tournament twice a year from 2011 onwards - what option does ICC have but to make room for the IPL in the Future Tours programme! The game is attracting viewerships across all age groups and geographies and it's not only the organisers who are happy with the success - the players too are reaping benefits of performing in this niche tournament! With their salaries likely to go through the roof from next year onwards (when the cap of $5 million may be removed), the ICC better take proactive measures to ensure that players do not cut short their international careers to participate in the IPL.
The inaugural edition of the IPL has enjoyed unprecedented success and had become a daily ritual where we finished work in time and ensured that we were seated in front of the TV sets by 8 to cheer and egg our franchises on! The next day, at work, was obviously spent in lauding this format and analyzing the game, with expert views coming from both genders! The format and unpredictability of the game has stumped everyone - some have had a pleasant experience while others are fuming at the surprises coming their way! The least we have seen is an unearthing of the talent that abounds in India - if not for ODIs or Tests, we atleast got a healthy pool of youngsters to choose from for the international Twenty20 matches.
And oh, the IPL had also freed us of the daily overdoses of the saas-bahu serials, albeit it was a temporary respite! Now that the IPL is over, we need to return to the normal grind of life and ensure that we sleep-walk thorugh the days till the T20 games are back on TV. As a report in the Times of India website claims, the soaps are back at the top of the TRPs chart - yet another proof of how the IPL had an impact on our daily routines. Click here to read the full report.
The inaugural edition of the IPL has enjoyed unprecedented success and had become a daily ritual where we finished work in time and ensured that we were seated in front of the TV sets by 8 to cheer and egg our franchises on! The next day, at work, was obviously spent in lauding this format and analyzing the game, with expert views coming from both genders! The format and unpredictability of the game has stumped everyone - some have had a pleasant experience while others are fuming at the surprises coming their way! The least we have seen is an unearthing of the talent that abounds in India - if not for ODIs or Tests, we atleast got a healthy pool of youngsters to choose from for the international Twenty20 matches.
And oh, the IPL had also freed us of the daily overdoses of the saas-bahu serials, albeit it was a temporary respite! Now that the IPL is over, we need to return to the normal grind of life and ensure that we sleep-walk thorugh the days till the T20 games are back on TV. As a report in the Times of India website claims, the soaps are back at the top of the TRPs chart - yet another proof of how the IPL had an impact on our daily routines. Click here to read the full report.
P.S. A report in the Times of India website also stated the the cap on players' salaries is unliely to be lifted next year. This is likely to ensure that all franchises have equal purchasing power. Click here to read the entire report.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Online Gambling - A booming menace!
Caught this interesting article in the Economic Times:
Quite a serious problem, huh? Especially considering the amount of money which is being circulated around but what is the solution to this? Why not follow suit and legalise the entire online gambling business similar to what the U.K. and the Caribbean have done? Atleast, countries would then stand to benefit from the revenues generated through online gambling (in terms of taxes). Along with the legalisation of gambling, make betting on sports, especially cricket, legal too! According to some reports on the Internet, the current IPL season has seen betting activities to the tune of Rs. 4,000 crore!
Legalise them and then tax them and subsequently pass on the tax benefits to the common people (and this time in equal amounts to either genders :-) ). Try as hard as they may, governments will never succeed in truly eradicating betting and gambling, so why not profit from this burgeoning industry? Atleast, legalisation provides the governments with a way to regulate and profit from the revneues generated by this industry - As they say, if you can't fight them, then join them! :)
The rapidly mushrooming number of illegal sports betting websites is
heightening concerns among authorities about global corruption, money laundering
and gambling addiction.
There are now an estimated 15,000 such sites on the World Wide Web,
including some 13,000 illegal ones, shuffling around $23.6 billion a year,
according to the authorities.
[---]
Declan Hill, a journalist and British expert on the problem, says the
amount of corruption in global sports has increased almost 100-fold in the past
five years thanks to Internet-based gambling.
"Ten years ago, national lotteries controlled 100 per cent of the sports
(betting) market," Hill said.
Quite a serious problem, huh? Especially considering the amount of money which is being circulated around but what is the solution to this? Why not follow suit and legalise the entire online gambling business similar to what the U.K. and the Caribbean have done? Atleast, countries would then stand to benefit from the revenues generated through online gambling (in terms of taxes). Along with the legalisation of gambling, make betting on sports, especially cricket, legal too! According to some reports on the Internet, the current IPL season has seen betting activities to the tune of Rs. 4,000 crore!
Legalise them and then tax them and subsequently pass on the tax benefits to the common people (and this time in equal amounts to either genders :-) ). Try as hard as they may, governments will never succeed in truly eradicating betting and gambling, so why not profit from this burgeoning industry? Atleast, legalisation provides the governments with a way to regulate and profit from the revneues generated by this industry - As they say, if you can't fight them, then join them! :)
Friday, May 23, 2008
Climbing the ladder!
While on one hand I was thankful to the rain last night for making the night cooler, the same rain played a spoiltsport in Delhi when the washed out match between the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders got rained off! With the washout went any slim hopes KKR may have entertained of entering into the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the IPL. Quite a disappointing - some may say fitting - end to Dada and SRK's Journey!
A lot of promise - on paper .. They fought bravely but only in patches! Apart from 2-3 outstanding innings, there wasnothing substantial coming out of the KKR camp. Most importantly, the team had to play well together which they failed to have done in this edition atleast! Hoping for more from them the next time they come out to play! We still love you Knight Riders!
By the way, I am currently busy writing an article for the next edition of the The Charter magazine by ICFAI - so my posts may be very general till I finish with that! Additionally, I am workng on a top-secret dream project at the moment, details of which I can't furnish now. So please don't ask me! :-) I thank my argumentative friends who often ignite this I'll-show-you-how-it-is-done spirit in me - just keeps me going, trying my level best to go one step further, climb one more rung! Korbo, Lorbo, JEETBO RE!
Friday, May 2, 2008
Royal(s) Humbling the Knight Riders!
When the King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, launched his cricket franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders, in glittering style a few weeks along with a couple of heartwarming taglines, he could neve have imagines that a few days later he would be mouthing one of those after the third consecutive defeat in the IPL tournament -- Be scared, be shit scared!
Though the Knight Riders began their campaign in style winning two matches in a row, the fire seems to have died in the bellies of the Knight Riders ever since they have returned from the 6-day break!
Or maybe the fire was nowhere there in the first place! I mean take away Brendon's dreamy, breezy, surrealistic, out-of-this-world innings in the first match, a shocker of a pitch in the second and a couple of breezy knocks from Shukla and you are left staring at a batting line up that has failed to fire in any of the matches! Ya sure the bowling looks good, especially with Ishant running in and cleaning up the left handers, but the overall standard of the Riders have left a lot to desire. Where is the fire guys?? What happened to all that aggression? Lacking any sense of purpose or a reason to perform? Or all you are concerned about is pocketing your fat pay cheque? If the Knight Riders do not get their acts together in the coming days, then they may find themselves contesting for the top 4 position in the IPL championship -- from the bottom!
But nothing should be taken away from Rajasthan Royals, who have relied on local talent and the sheer presence of their captain, Shane Warne, to cause as many as 4 upsets. For someone labelled as underdogs, they sure have done wonderfully well to have 4 wins under their belt from the 5 matches they have played so far. The same can't be said of the other, more fanciful and overpaid, franchises. The battle for the Top Spot in the IPL championship promises to be a captivating one and in my heart, I believe it's just a matter of one win -- yes, just 1 win, 1 moment of inspiration -- to set the Knight Riders back on track! So, keep cheering SRK, Kolkata, All the King's Men! Because, Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re!
Though the Knight Riders began their campaign in style winning two matches in a row, the fire seems to have died in the bellies of the Knight Riders ever since they have returned from the 6-day break!
Or maybe the fire was nowhere there in the first place! I mean take away Brendon's dreamy, breezy, surrealistic, out-of-this-world innings in the first match, a shocker of a pitch in the second and a couple of breezy knocks from Shukla and you are left staring at a batting line up that has failed to fire in any of the matches! Ya sure the bowling looks good, especially with Ishant running in and cleaning up the left handers, but the overall standard of the Riders have left a lot to desire. Where is the fire guys?? What happened to all that aggression? Lacking any sense of purpose or a reason to perform? Or all you are concerned about is pocketing your fat pay cheque? If the Knight Riders do not get their acts together in the coming days, then they may find themselves contesting for the top 4 position in the IPL championship -- from the bottom!
But nothing should be taken away from Rajasthan Royals, who have relied on local talent and the sheer presence of their captain, Shane Warne, to cause as many as 4 upsets. For someone labelled as underdogs, they sure have done wonderfully well to have 4 wins under their belt from the 5 matches they have played so far. The same can't be said of the other, more fanciful and overpaid, franchises. The battle for the Top Spot in the IPL championship promises to be a captivating one and in my heart, I believe it's just a matter of one win -- yes, just 1 win, 1 moment of inspiration -- to set the Knight Riders back on track! So, keep cheering SRK, Kolkata, All the King's Men! Because, Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re!
Friday, April 25, 2008
The MAA of all Reality Shows!!
Hey readers, I was just going through the posts of a fellow blogger when all of a sudden, a crazy idea manifested itself in my mind. However, before you proceed, a word of caution: I am currently in a crazy, zapped state of mind and I intend being in this bent frame of mind for another 2-3 days or so! Any one hurt by the views expressed below should go and sue the blogger who sowed the seeds of the following idea in my mind! Now, if you are done reading the safety regulations et al, can we proceed?
After going through the post, I thought that why such a useless debate: I mean, dance all you want, it's your life, we are in the world's biggest democracy and man, let's just face it, we do much more crazier things on TV these days than simply watching a few gals dance semi-nudely! And as they say, there is money to be made in every venture -- so why don't we monitize this debate nationally while letting the people, the makers of this democracy, decide whether or not the dancing of the cheerleaders and the ban on the dance bar girls should stay? I mean, relaity TV show's formats are becoming real cliched these days and we desperately need some controversy and new format so why don't we make a three-part reality show out of this entire debate?
In the first part, our esteemed judges (one of them has to be Rakhi Sawant --- hee hee hee) will conduct a nation-wide hunt to procure the best of the best dancing bar girls in the country (we may even go international -- cool, huh??) post which we shall publicize the whole thing and like all reality TV shows go, get 3 final girls who will parade their stuff (i.e. their skimpy outfit-clad dance moves) country-wide.. The audience poll would then decide the ultimate winner among these Indian dance bar girls while the judges will try their level best to ensure that the best dancers stay on the show and are not eliminated because of some misconceived or conceited public voting.
The second leg of this show will see the foreign cheerleaders (currently here for the IPL) who will then fight to come out trumps as the Miss World Cheerleader and in the final part, the top 3 participants from the earlier two parts will go head-to-head to determine which of these breeds or genres of dancers -- the bar girls or the foreign cheerleaders -- shall be allowed to dance wherever they want -- be it in dance bars, on national TV or at public parties!!
Now wouldn't this be a great, money-minting idea?? I mean, just think about the TRPs -- they are going to go through the roofs! Sponsors will flock and fight over a 10-second ad slot on this show -- mark my words, my dear readers, this show will be the BAAP, errr... sorry for the gender error, the MAA of all shows!! Move aside IPL, SRK's kya aap paasvi paas se tez ho, Indian Idol, saas-bahu serials -- it's the season of the Dance shows and the MAA of all reality shows is here and how!!
N.B.: The blogger who sowed the seeds of this visionary, revolutionary idea has a private blog. So, I am taking the liberty to copy-paste, i.e., plagiarize her post without seeking due permission from the concerned Blogger!! Ho sake to mujhe maaf kar dena --
I mean why fight when you can dance and cordially sort the issue?? I hope all parties concerned adopt my suggested idea and I get a hefty royalty payment from it. And hey, with food crisis being such a hot issue, here is my second take (errr.. not mine) on the food crisis where the author defends the biofuels that are being targeted as the culprits for the current crisis! Enjoy reading!
After going through the post, I thought that why such a useless debate: I mean, dance all you want, it's your life, we are in the world's biggest democracy and man, let's just face it, we do much more crazier things on TV these days than simply watching a few gals dance semi-nudely! And as they say, there is money to be made in every venture -- so why don't we monitize this debate nationally while letting the people, the makers of this democracy, decide whether or not the dancing of the cheerleaders and the ban on the dance bar girls should stay? I mean, relaity TV show's formats are becoming real cliched these days and we desperately need some controversy and new format so why don't we make a three-part reality show out of this entire debate?
In the first part, our esteemed judges (one of them has to be Rakhi Sawant --- hee hee hee) will conduct a nation-wide hunt to procure the best of the best dancing bar girls in the country (we may even go international -- cool, huh??) post which we shall publicize the whole thing and like all reality TV shows go, get 3 final girls who will parade their stuff (i.e. their skimpy outfit-clad dance moves) country-wide.. The audience poll would then decide the ultimate winner among these Indian dance bar girls while the judges will try their level best to ensure that the best dancers stay on the show and are not eliminated because of some misconceived or conceited public voting.
The second leg of this show will see the foreign cheerleaders (currently here for the IPL) who will then fight to come out trumps as the Miss World Cheerleader and in the final part, the top 3 participants from the earlier two parts will go head-to-head to determine which of these breeds or genres of dancers -- the bar girls or the foreign cheerleaders -- shall be allowed to dance wherever they want -- be it in dance bars, on national TV or at public parties!!
Now wouldn't this be a great, money-minting idea?? I mean, just think about the TRPs -- they are going to go through the roofs! Sponsors will flock and fight over a 10-second ad slot on this show -- mark my words, my dear readers, this show will be the BAAP, errr... sorry for the gender error, the MAA of all shows!! Move aside IPL, SRK's kya aap paasvi paas se tez ho, Indian Idol, saas-bahu serials -- it's the season of the Dance shows and the MAA of all reality shows is here and how!!
N.B.: The blogger who sowed the seeds of this visionary, revolutionary idea has a private blog. So, I am taking the liberty to copy-paste, i.e., plagiarize her post without seeking due permission from the concerned Blogger!! Ho sake to mujhe maaf kar dena --
Yesterday there was this debate on television against the presence of
cheerleaders in the IPL matches. There was some old politician talking about
culture and censorship on one side and Prahlad Kakkar on the other side-
laughing at him :D I also thought that a mountain is being created out of a
molehill. If this is what people want to watch- well, let them! Don't make moral
judgements against anyone. Just chill...!
Then came the head of the Mumbai Bar Girls' Association. I was totally
expecting some wierdly dressed middle aged women screeching into the camera (a
la Rakhi Sawant)... but was pleasantly surprised to find an elderly, soft-spoken
lady who just made a very small and valid point.She says that 2 years back these
dance bars were closed down in Mumbai on the pretext that these girls are
scantily dressed and watching them dance like this in public is "wrong".
Now the same government is allowing American females to be scantily dressed
and dance in public and that too on national television. This is a clear case of
being double-faced and the very grounds on which they had closed the bars, now
stand violated.
I mean why fight when you can dance and cordially sort the issue?? I hope all parties concerned adopt my suggested idea and I get a hefty royalty payment from it. And hey, with food crisis being such a hot issue, here is my second take (errr.. not mine) on the food crisis where the author defends the biofuels that are being targeted as the culprits for the current crisis! Enjoy reading!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Agar main cricketer hota to..
It's not often that I question my decisons or choices or that of my parents. But after hearing of the bids in the auction round of IPL, I sure am left wondering as to why didn't my parents let me become a cricketer or something like that.. For my dear readers, here is a sample..
Kaash mujhe unhone cricketer banaya hota!! .. !! To unka bhi har baat pe TV wale interview lene pahuchte, unhe phone kar k mera updates dete.. Magar ye ho na saka.. aur ab ye aalam hai ki hum raat k baarah baje bhi apne lappie me ye keypads khatkhata rahe hai.. Kabhi kabhi mere dil me khayal aata hai ..
Aisa nahi hai ki mujhme cricekter banne layak qualities nahi hai.. Maine
mere first 13 years Jharkhand me hi bitaye, so I could have been the Indian
captian and the nation's biggest sensation, like Dhoni! Or, look at my height..
I'm of the same height as Sachin and Gavaskar, so I believe I could pretty well
have been the next Tendulkar or Gavaskar by now.. Arre ye bhi nahi to
take a look at my hair only.. mere or veeru me se kiske sar pe baal jyada
hai?? Those of you who have seen me recently, kyun, ho gaye na confused??
Aur rahi sahi baat, to ji main itne saalo se calcutta me hu, main to dada ki jageh
lene k liye hi paida hua tha.. Kuch nahi to take a look at the number of years I
spent in Nigeria.. Kam se kam mujhe Zimbabwe ka captain hi bana dete!! Ye sada
mujhe shikayat rahegi mere parents se.. Arre wo to bade the, unhe to mujhse
jyada akal thi...
Kaash mujhe unhone cricketer banaya hota!! .. !! To unka bhi har baat pe TV wale interview lene pahuchte, unhe phone kar k mera updates dete.. Magar ye ho na saka.. aur ab ye aalam hai ki hum raat k baarah baje bhi apne lappie me ye keypads khatkhata rahe hai.. Kabhi kabhi mere dil me khayal aata hai ..
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The IPL - Gloassary: The Basic Know-How..
What is the Indian Premier League?
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a franchise-based Twenty20 competition organised by the BCCI, and it has official sanction since it has the backing of the ICC. It features the world's best cricketers playing - their affiliation decided by open auction - for eight city-based franchises, owned by a host of businessmen and celebrity consortiums. The inaugural edition of the tournament will run from April 18 to June 1.
What are the logistics of the IPL?
The tournament will begin on April 18, when Bangalore take on Kolkata at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The tournament will feature 59 matches in total, the teams playing each other on a home-and-away basis. Click here for the full list of fixtures.
Why is the IPL generating such a buzz?
Two main reasons why. One the football-club concept of the IPL, which is unlike anything cricket has known. The best players from across the world playing not according to nationality but according to market forces. Second, the sheer financial scale of the IPL is unprecedented at this level of cricket. The BCCI has already made close to US$ 1.75 billion solely from the sale of TV rights ($908 million), promotion ($108 million) and franchises (approximately $700 million). Players are expected to earn close to US$1 million for a three-year contract. It's an entire cricket economy out there.
Who are the top cricketers involved?
There are 77 names in the fray, the top current players: Dhoni, Ponting, Gilchrist, Shoaib Akhtar, Jayawardene, Jayasuriya, Yuvraj, Hayden...The notable absentees are from England, because the IPL will clash with their domestic season, and Australia's Michael Clarke, who opted to focus on his regular cricket.
Who are the franchise owners - celebrities and others?
Mukesh Ambani, the Reliance Industries chairman, acquired the Mumbai franchise for $111.9 million over a 10-year period; beer and airline baron Vijay Mallya, who also owns a Formula 1 team, won the Bangalore franchise for $111.6 million; Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment won the Kolkata franchise for $75 million; the biggest surprise was the Chandigarh franchise, which went to Preity Zinta, another Bollywood star, and Ness Wadia, together with two other industrialists, for $75 million. The winning team will get richer by $3 million if they win the first edition of the tournament.
How are the players paired with teams?
The BCCI will conduct a player auction on February 20, in which the respective franchises can bid for a maximum of eight international players from pool of 89 players who have been contracted to the board. But Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Yuvraj Singh are not up for auction as they have been given 'iconic' status by the BCCI - which means that they have to represent the city in which they are based. Another exception to the bidding process is with regard to the Australian players - a clause in the rules of Cricket Australia has meant that each team can select a maximum of two Australians.
Whose idea is the IPL?
The IPL is the brainchild of Lalit Modi, the vice-president of the BCCI, and is modeled along the lines of club football in Europe, specifically the English Premier League. Though there is a school of thought that the idea came about in the 1990s, the announcement that such a tournament would happen, and which it would be a precursor to Twenty20 Champions League, cricket's version of the European Champions League, came only after Subhash Chandra, the owner of Zee Televison said, in April last year, that he was intending to start an unofficial league called the Indian Cricket League, fuelling speculation that is was a reactive idea rather than a proactive one.
How different are the IPL and ICL to each other?
The IPL is an official sanctioned Twenty20 tournament, and unlike the ICL, which is not recognised by any of the national boards or the ICC, it will have a better status, international reach, players, and the requisite infrastructure by default. Since the IPL is sanctioned by the ICC, players don't have the danger of bringing their international/first-class careers to a halt - as is the case with the ICL - whose players have been banned by the various boards. Another major difference is with regard to franchises - the ownership of the team rests with the individual owners and not one single entity.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a franchise-based Twenty20 competition organised by the BCCI, and it has official sanction since it has the backing of the ICC. It features the world's best cricketers playing - their affiliation decided by open auction - for eight city-based franchises, owned by a host of businessmen and celebrity consortiums. The inaugural edition of the tournament will run from April 18 to June 1.
What are the logistics of the IPL?
The tournament will begin on April 18, when Bangalore take on Kolkata at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The tournament will feature 59 matches in total, the teams playing each other on a home-and-away basis. Click here for the full list of fixtures.
Why is the IPL generating such a buzz?
Two main reasons why. One the football-club concept of the IPL, which is unlike anything cricket has known. The best players from across the world playing not according to nationality but according to market forces. Second, the sheer financial scale of the IPL is unprecedented at this level of cricket. The BCCI has already made close to US$ 1.75 billion solely from the sale of TV rights ($908 million), promotion ($108 million) and franchises (approximately $700 million). Players are expected to earn close to US$1 million for a three-year contract. It's an entire cricket economy out there.
Who are the top cricketers involved?
There are 77 names in the fray, the top current players: Dhoni, Ponting, Gilchrist, Shoaib Akhtar, Jayawardene, Jayasuriya, Yuvraj, Hayden...The notable absentees are from England, because the IPL will clash with their domestic season, and Australia's Michael Clarke, who opted to focus on his regular cricket.
Who are the franchise owners - celebrities and others?
Mukesh Ambani, the Reliance Industries chairman, acquired the Mumbai franchise for $111.9 million over a 10-year period; beer and airline baron Vijay Mallya, who also owns a Formula 1 team, won the Bangalore franchise for $111.6 million; Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment won the Kolkata franchise for $75 million; the biggest surprise was the Chandigarh franchise, which went to Preity Zinta, another Bollywood star, and Ness Wadia, together with two other industrialists, for $75 million. The winning team will get richer by $3 million if they win the first edition of the tournament.
How are the players paired with teams?
The BCCI will conduct a player auction on February 20, in which the respective franchises can bid for a maximum of eight international players from pool of 89 players who have been contracted to the board. But Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Yuvraj Singh are not up for auction as they have been given 'iconic' status by the BCCI - which means that they have to represent the city in which they are based. Another exception to the bidding process is with regard to the Australian players - a clause in the rules of Cricket Australia has meant that each team can select a maximum of two Australians.
Whose idea is the IPL?
The IPL is the brainchild of Lalit Modi, the vice-president of the BCCI, and is modeled along the lines of club football in Europe, specifically the English Premier League. Though there is a school of thought that the idea came about in the 1990s, the announcement that such a tournament would happen, and which it would be a precursor to Twenty20 Champions League, cricket's version of the European Champions League, came only after Subhash Chandra, the owner of Zee Televison said, in April last year, that he was intending to start an unofficial league called the Indian Cricket League, fuelling speculation that is was a reactive idea rather than a proactive one.
How different are the IPL and ICL to each other?
The IPL is an official sanctioned Twenty20 tournament, and unlike the ICL, which is not recognised by any of the national boards or the ICC, it will have a better status, international reach, players, and the requisite infrastructure by default. Since the IPL is sanctioned by the ICC, players don't have the danger of bringing their international/first-class careers to a halt - as is the case with the ICL - whose players have been banned by the various boards. Another major difference is with regard to franchises - the ownership of the team rests with the individual owners and not one single entity.
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