Mallya Desired England As IPL Venue

Liquor baron and owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, Vijay Mallya, has said that he would have preferred England to host the second season of the Indian Premier League.

Vija Mallya and Lalit Modi

The Twenty20 competition was moved out of India because of a clash of dates with general elections and the IPL organisers sealed a deal to organise the event in South Africa.

“To be honest, I would have preferred England to South Africa,” the Daily Express quoted Mallya, as saying.

Mallya agreed that there is a huge possibility of rain disruptions; but he believed the tournament would have drawn bigger crowds in England.

“You could have taken just one flight from five or six cities in India to England and it would have been cheaper. Besides, an average Englishman loves his cricket and the stands there would have been full of spectators. But, I guess the weather conditions clinched the issue for South Africa,” he said.

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Indian Fans Disappointed

The change in venue for the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought disappointment to the Indians who were batting for the Twenty20 competition being played in India.

Fans Enjoying Cricket

“It is like imagining Wimbledon in England, Australian Open tennis, or the UFA cups being played abroad. The charm of an Indian event has gone. It has become a television event,” said Diana Edulji, former Indian women”s Test cricketer.

Jitender Kumar, a cricket coach, said: “It will send out a wrong message to the world that such a big country like ours could not provide security to a sporting event. I believe it would have been better if IPL would have been held in India.”

Disappointment was writ large on the faces of young cricket enthusiasts who felt that IPL should be hosted in India as very few matches are played on Indian soil.

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TV Rights Not Weather, Took IPL Away

Television rights and not the weather, it appears convinced Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi to chose South Africa instead of England for the second edition of the twenty20 tournament.

Lalit Modi,chairman IPL and(CSA) chief executive Gerald Majola

According to The Independent, Modi did not bother going on to London as initially planned to hear a pitch from the England and Wales Cricket Board for staging the game’s most lucrative competition.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India became less enthusiastic about hosting the event in Britain when they realised that apart from the bad weather in April and May, there may also encounter problems with broadcasting rights and revenue.

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IPL Rescheduled

India’s cricket board is looking to reschedule its popular Twenty20 league after the government, worried by Tuesday’s attack in Lahore, said the security forces would be preoccupied with general elections.

Rajasthan Royal

Six members of the Sri Lanka team and a coach were wounded when gunmen attacked their bus in Pakistan, heightening security concerns for the league involving many international players and due to be staged between April 10 and May 24.

The league had been looking to rework dates for some of the games because it would have clashed with the poll, a multi-phased affair to help deploy security forces for the massive exercise.

India goes to the polls between April 16 and May 13 with the votes to be counted three days later.

Indian Home (interior) Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said he had asked the senior-most bureaucrat to discuss the issue with cricket officials.

“I have spoken to the home secretary and asked him to get in touch with the (league) organisers to find out if the schedule can be adjusted,” Chidambaram told CNN-IBN channel.

He added: “Cricket in India will be safe. We will provide security. Only that (whether) the dates are adjusted so that our security forces are not stretched.”

The franchise league drew big crowds in its inaugural edition in 2008.

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Sri Lankan Cricket Team Bus Attacked

Gunmen killed at least four people in an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus on Tuesday as it drove to a stadium in the Pakistani city of Lahore, according witnesses and cricket officials.

sri lanka Cricket Team Attacked

Sri Lankan media, quoting the sports minister, said four players received minor injuries in the attack — Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana.

Pakistan television channels said four people were killed.

A witness told Reuters he believed two police commandos were killed along with a regular policeman and a traffic warden. Shopkeeper Ahmed Ali said the two police commandos had been driving behind the team bus when they were hit.

“It was a very heavy firing and I heard at least two explosions at the time,” said a Reuters witness who had been on his way to cover the test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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Draw looms after Younis Triple-Century

Younis Khan took advantage of a flat pitch at the National Stadium to become only the third Pakistan batsman to score a triple hundred, steering his side out of trouble in the first test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Younis ended the day on 306 not out as Pakistan reached 574 for five on the fourth day in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 644 for seven declared.

younis khan

The Pakistan captain’s marathon innings has so far spanned 731 minutes, 545 balls and included 27 fours and four sixes.

Younis and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 240, also set a new benchmark as it was the first time rival captains had scored double hundreds in the same test.

Younis reached his triple ton after reverse sweeping Muttiah Muralitharan and running three runs.

In an impressive display of endurance and concentration, Younis bowed his head after reaching the landmark while the small crowd gathered at the stadium gave him a standing ovation.

The blistering knock by Younis, who also became the sixth Pakistani to reach 5,000 runs in test cricket, ended any hopes Sri Lanka had of winning the match.

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Flintoff to Confront ECB

England all rounder Andrew Flintoff could be heading for a showdown with ECB bosses over playing in the Indian Premier League.

andrew-flintoff

reddie, 31, is struggling with a hip problem that will keep him out of Thursday’s Fourth Test against West Indies and maybe more matches.

ECB chief executive David Collier confirmed that the board has the power to withdraw Flintoff from the IPL on medical grounds.

Flintoff has been signed up by the Chennai Super Kings for a record price of 1.55 million pounds, making him the joint most valuable cricketer in history with Kevin Pietersen.

The ECB have agreed to a three-week IPL window for England’s Test players starting on April 10 so, in reality, he will receive around 540,000 pounds from the Chennai Super Kings.

Collier said: “We’d be concerned if any player was carrying an injury that may affect his participation in the Ashes. There are medical clauses in Andrew’s contract. The IPL are very responsible in that area.”

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Clarke likely to miss first Test

Australian Vice-Captain Michael Clarke is likely to be ruled out of the first Test match against South Africa due to a serious back injury. The first Test match will start on Thursday.

michael clarke

Admitting the spasms and discomfort, Clarke had a couple of net sessions instead of playing a tour match against South Africa Board President’s XI at Senwes Park.

His unavailability for the first Test match would be serious blow for Kangaroos who have lost their number one spot in recent times.

Clarke, who had a lot of inflammation and spasm, said, “I do not know exactly how it happened. I guess it’s a sprain. I had a lot of inflammation and spasm. It is improving slowly every day since we arrived here.”

The Australian Vice-captain was, however, hopeful to play in the first Test match.

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Bucknor Calls Time On Umpiring Career

West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor, who has officiated in a record 126 tests, will retire from international matches in March.

Steve Bucknor

Bucknor, 62, told the Jamaica Gleaner that the third test between South Africa and Australia in Cape steve bucknorTown would be his last international.

“I have notified the ICC that the South Africa v Australia series will be my last test series. The third test, my last test,” said the Jamaican.

Bucknor, who hails from Montego Bay, said he felt physically able to continue but felt it was the right time to stand down.

“The body is feeling quite good and I know I could go on for two or three years. However, something inside me is telling me it is time to go,” he added.

The umpire, who was the first to officiate 100 tests, said he hopes to work with the West Indies Cricket Board on developing new umpiring talent in the Caribbean.

“I still would like to continue making a contribution,” he said. Bucknor has stood in 179 one day internationals, including five consecutive World Cups.

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Sri Lanka Start Solid

Opener Malinda Warnapura and Kumar Sangakkara scored crisp half centuries to lead Sri Lanka to 120 for two against Pakistan at lunch on the opening day of the first test in Karachi on Saturday.

kumar Sangakkara

Sangakkara was unbeaten on 51 while captain Mahela Jayawardene was on five at lunch after Tharanga Paranavitana fell for a first ball duck on his debut at National Stadium.

Pakistan awarded test caps to opener Khurrum Manzoor and pacer Sohail Khan. Sri Lanka won the toss and batted first on a pitch which offered some movement to the fast bowlers.

Umar Gul struck for the home side on the fourth ball of the first over when he had Paranavitana caught at second slip by Misbah-ul-Haq.

Warnapura and Sangakkara then teamed up to play some fluent shots, putting on 90 from 105 balls as the tourists made steady progress.

Warnapura hit seven fours in his sixth test fifty before he was also caught at second slip by Misbah off Yasir Arafat who was Pakistan’s best bowler in the session.

Sangakkara also made his 29th test fifty from 84 balls, striking six fours.

Pakistan is playing its first test after 14 months after overseas teams refused to tour the country because of security fears.

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