Shahid Afridi Pakistan captain named

The Pakistan Cricket Board ended weeks of uncertainty, by appointing Shahid Afridi to lead the country's campaign to defend the World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean from the end of next month. Afridi will once again take up the role he was given last year, after Younis Khan stepped away from the format, though he has for now only been handed the role for the duration of the tournament.

"It's a challenge for me and I accept it," Afridi said. "We are going to the West Indies with only one aim and that is to defend our title."

The limit on the tenure appears to be a result of the disciplinary action Afridi has faced since he was found guilty of ball-tampering - biting the ball repeatedly - in an ODI in Perth where he was captain. Until then, Pakistan had settled on Afridi as the Twenty20 captain till the World Cup and potentially as an ODI leader as well. But after that incident Afridi's stock fell considerably.

He was banned by the ICC for two T20Is, which led to Shoaib Malik taking over, albeit reluctantly. Then, the board slapped him with a Rs 3 million ($35,000) fine for the same incident, as well as placing him under probation for six months. Any further breaches, the message is clear, and punishment could be harsher.

The board took the unusual step of announcing a 15-man squad for the tournament without naming a captain earlier this month. Since then, and despite his punishments, Afridi was the clear frontrunner among a limited pool of alternatives. He met the chairman Ijaz Butt once in that period. He is flying in to Lahore today, having collected a presidential award during the day in Karachi.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Salman Butt were thought to be in the running as well, but Afridi's record in the format - he is among the most influential all-round players in the world - and a naturally aggressive streak has made the choice an easier one.

Afridi has already led his country in three T20Is and won all of them, with little outward detriment to his own individual impact. The decision to announce the captain so late does leave open the charge, however, that neither captain nor coach - the recently-appointed Waqar Younis - had any say in the team they will be in charge of in the Caribbean.

Pakistan will be without the services of Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, both banned by the PCB, as well as the injured Sohail Tanvir. Afridi said their absences from the Caribbean campaign were unfortunate. "Rana, Malik and Tanvir could have been in my playing eleven because they had performed well in the past," he said.

http://www.cricinfo.com/wt202010/content/current/story/453170.html

for Pune, Kochi $ 703m

The financial might of the IPL was on display again on Sunday when Pune and Kochi became the league's two new franchises, being sold for a value in excess of the original eight franchises combined.

The Sahara Group, the biggest patron of sports in the country, became owners of the Pune franchise after offering a staggering US$370m. The other new franchisee is a consortium of five companies called Rendezvous Sports World, which bid US$333.33m for Kochi. There were three other qualified bidders, including Adani Enterprises and VC digital solutions Pvt Ltd (Videocon), who were in the fray to become part of the IPL, which will be heartening for any existing franchise owners looking to offload their stake.

"It only shows there is no recession for the IPL and it is on the upswing," Lalit Modi, the league's commissioner, said after announcing the new franchises in Chennai.

Sahara, who have been sponsoring Indian cricket for the past 15 years, had bid for the same amount for three cities, but ultimately chose Pune over Ahmedabad and Nagpur. "When we considered the cities, in terms of infrastructure and logistics, Pune came first," Abhijit Sarkar, the head of Sahara's corporate communications, said. "Ït is also close to Mumbai - the commercial capital of India - and Aamby Valley (an upmarket township owned by the Sahara group)."

Ajay Shirke, president of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and a prominent businessmen from Pune, said he was obviously happy about Pune being rated as the most popular venue at the auction with three out of the five bidders preferring Pune as their home base over the rest of the 11 cities.

"MCA has always maintained that we will support all bids that are made for Pune," Shirke, who was present at the auction venue in Chennai, told Cricinfo. "That only increases Pune's association with cricket manifold.

"What they [the bidders] would have kept in mind was the market of Mumbai and Pune are nearby. Then there are private cities like Lavasa and Aamby Valley, which are about 20 kilometres from the ground."

According to Shirke, the Sahara franchise would have its home ground situated on the outskirts of Pune city, in Gahunje, which is on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The ground construction is already underway with Shapoorji Pallonji being the main contractors.

He was confident that the ground would be ready in time for the IPL's fourth season when Sahara would unveil its team. "The construction work has already started and it should be ready by March 2011," Shirke said.

While Sahara have a long history of sports sponsorship and are a high-profile corporate group, little is known about the winners of the Kochi franchise. It is a consortium with five partners - the Rendezvous group, Parini developers, Anand Shah Estate, Anchor Earth Private Limited and Film Waves. Minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor was involved in bringing together the group, but has no stake in the franchise.

In fact, Tharoor clarified to Cricinfo that he had no stake in the Kochi franchise and that his role was limited to encouraging the consortium that bagged the team. "My role consisted only of encouraging and blessing the venture, and steering it to Kerala," he told Cricinfo.

"Tharoor was involved in facilitating and trying to get a team for the state," Modi confirmed. "He is an ardent fan of cricket and he has been trying to get people from Kochi to bid for it. I think his involvement ends there."

Modi said the tournament's organsiers would provide the Kochi franchise a home ground till the Kerala Cricket Association completes construction of its new stadium. "Kerala Cricket Association is in the process of building the infrastructure and as when the stadium is ready teams will play there," he said. "But till the structures are ready, the IPL will provide them with an alternate venue."

Speaking to reporters, Shailendra Gaikwad of Rendezvous World Sport said, "We have closely been following every development within the IPL, right from the inaugural year. Today, I am very happy for our consortium of Rendezvous World Sport and the people of Kochi as we finally have a team to call our own in this amazing city-based sports franchise"

While the huge money offered by the new franchisees shows the health of the IPL, Modi said there were no plans in the near future to further increase the number of teams involved. "We also have no plans to expand further immediately. In fact I don't foresee an expansion in many, many years to come but then you never know."

The IPL will now feature 10 teams and - if the current format is retained - a total of 94 games, from the existing 60. After the first season in 2008, the league has already expanded its reach to other centres such as Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Dharamsala.

The franchise auction process was to have been completed on March 7 but was postponed by two weeks after the bidders and the BCCI objected to stiff financial clauses.

Tail-up Tigers Test Series 2010 England Vs Bangladesh

Strong tail-end batting got Bangladesh to 419 eventually but the second Test match is far from over as England ended the second day solidly despite a few blows. The visitors were 170 for three at stumps yesterday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

After Nayeem Islam and Shafiul Islam batted purposefully to score maiden half-centuries in the first session, England made sure they were still in the reckoning but struggled to score at a faster rate.

However the heroes on this scorching hot day of few runs and wickets were Nayeem and Shafiul as the Test match progressed to what could be some thrilling three days of cricket.

The two overnight batsmen, who came in late on the first day with the Tigers hoping for a score that would be 350 at best, frustrated the England fieldsmen and then dominated for almost two hours in the morning.

Nayeem farmed the strike for most of the first hour but as England started leaking runs, particularly through gaps in the slip cordon, Shafiul felt confident enough to take on the pacemen. Soon he struck boundaries through the tight off-side field, hitting the likes of Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Tredwell. He got on a roll and reached his half-century off 47 balls with a carved boundary over the covers.

Nayeem at the other end was contented with squirting boundaries through the slip cordon off Tim Bresnan and three overs later, he also reached a first half-century. The two added 74 for the ninth wicket, a record in Bangladesh-England Tests, before Shafiul edged one to Matt Prior who dove in front of the first slip to take the catch off Bresnan.

If England thought they could wrap it up quickly, the Tigers No 11 Rubel Hossain came out and slammed four boundaries in his 22-ball 17 to make sure a healthy first innings.

Shakib brought himself and Abdur Razzak into the attack within an over into the England innings and soon after lunch, Razzak had England captain Alistair Cook caught at mid-wicket for 21.

It would have been a far even worse day for tourists had the Tigers held the only chance they got from opener Jonathan Trott, who ended the day on an unbeaten 64.

He had Ian Bell for company when the day ended but Trott, who took 33 balls to get off the mark, had a reprieve when debutant Jahirul Islam dropped a simple chance at short leg off captain Shakib Al Hasan with England on 41-1.

Thereafter, Trott and Kevin Pietersen, who also had a strong lbw appeal against him turned down, took the visitors to tea safely in a 76-run stand but within minutes, the Tigers were back with two key wickets.

First, Kevin Pietersen was beaten in length by Shakib and toed it to short cover where Imrul Kayes took a simple catch. Seven balls later, Paul Collingwood fell leg-before to Rubel Hossain who used an otherwise futile old ball to good effect.

England soon restored parity with Bell, hitting three confident boundaries in his 25, and Trott reached his second Test fifty. The two have added 64 for the fourth wicket so far, confirming a long hard day for Tigers bowlers on a non-responsive wicket.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=131052

BCB cancels Raqibul's contract

The Bangladesh Cricket Board in a meeting on Friday decided to terminate cricketer Raqibul Hassan's current contract, following his letter to quit the game on Mar 10 and subsequent letter on Mar 17 revoking the decision.

The BCB in a statement said: "The Board considers Raqibul's conduct in the whole affair as disruptive to the preparation of the Bangladesh Team ahead of a highly important Test match. It was a serious breach of discipline on part of a contracted player and unbecoming of an international cricketer."

"As such the Board has terminated his contract with immediate effect and he will not be considered for selection in the National Team for three months effective from March 19 to June 19, 2010. However he will be allowed to participate in domestic cricket competitions."

The Board believes that timely punitive measures would discourage other players from taking similar path in future and has decided that very strict actions will be taken against cricketers who break discipline and BCB's Code of Conduct.

Sourav fined $20,000 for slow over rate

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly has been fined
$20,000 for slow over rate during the team’s opening match win against defending champions Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

The Knight Riders were assessed to be three overs behind the required rate at the end of the match. Under the IPL’s code of conduct, match referee Andy Pycroft fined Ganguly.

Knight Riders, who were placed at the bottom last year, stunned Chargers by 11 runs here Friday.

More at : Sourav fined $20,000 for slow over rate http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/sports/sourav-fined-20000-for-slow-over-rate_100334275.html#ixzz0ieesG8SD

IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders

Having worked with him at Middlesex, I recognise this as typical Buchanan: he is always looking to challenge received wisdom and shake things up. Sometimes his thinking can be insightful; at other times it just causes problems. In this case, I think it might have been unwise to challenge Ganguly, the Knight Riders’ captain and leading run-scorer last season. He is not known as the “Prince of Kolkata” for nothing.

In 2008, the Knight Riders started spectacularly, when New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum teed off in the opening match in Mumbai. But after that they suffered four consecutive defeats as their batting struggled to reproduce the same level of quality. As for their bowling, it was too reliant on the excellent Umar Gul, who averaged fewer than 16 runs per wicket. Without Gul and Shoaib Akhtar — both ruled out by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s tough stance on the IPL — the Knight Riders must find new ways of getting people out.

Fortunately, two lesser performers of the 2008 season have matured greatly in the past 12 months. Despite attracting a huge $950,000 bid, Ishant Sharma was a disappointment last year, but he has since turned himself into one of the world’s most respected young bowlers. His inswing, delivered from a high action and with canny variations in pace, will present batsmen with an unusual challenge.

Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan mystery spinner, had played just three one-day internationals when he was brought on board last year, which may explain why he was selected for only a single IPL match. Yet since then, he has been a revelation, averaging 23 runs per wicket in Tests and a scarcely credible 13 in one-dayers. Not bad for a bloke whom the Knight Riders signed originally as a replacement.

With McCullum available for the whole season, and Chris Gayle, of the West Indies, hoping to play in the IPL for the first time, Kolkata will have extra, top-order artillery. With openers like these, they are bound to unleash further pyrotechnics from time to time. But their biggest challenge will be to maintain form over the long haul. Their owner, the Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, will expect nothing less.

Key man: Brendon McCullum

Likely starting XI: Brendon McCullum (wk), Chris Gayle, Sourav Ganguly (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara, Debabrata Das, Moises Henriques, Laxmi Shukla, Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Ajantha Mendis.

Indian Punters League cashes in on IPL-3

As the Indian Premier League (IPL) frenzy catches up with cricket fanatics, action elsewhere (behind closed doors) is churning out big money as well — with some estimates pegging the amount at around Rs 5,000 crore per match.

According to sources, the bookies have changed the way they operate. Given the large number of games being played, the operators are opting for weekly settlement with punters, instead of the daily system preferred earlier.

The settlement cycle also depends on a punter’s credit worthiness. But bookies say that on days when two games are being played it becomes very difficult to find time. So, they opted for a longer settlement cycle.

Betting being illegal in India, most of the bookies are using the confines of their cars, instead of operating from hideouts in buildings, as they are mobile and can evade the police easily. Giving them company are mobile phones, with some meant for outgoing calls only, and laptops to keep track of scores and other developments on the field.

There is more to it. Traditionally, punters used to organise bets on who would win. Now, there are several options: If you go for a ‘session’, you have to put your money on number of runs scored in a session (innings). For example, if a team scores between, say, 150 and 180 runs, the punter will make money. If a team falls short of the 150-run mark, or manages to go past 180, the bookie takes the cash.

The other option is ‘gala’ in bookie-speak. This form of betting typically starts from the 12th over and requires people to predict how many runs would be scored over the next few overs. If, say, someone bets on a team scoring 19 runs in three overs and the batting team manages to score up to 19 runs, the punter makes the money. In case the team scores 20 or more runs, the bookie walks away with the cash.

There is a third variation — ‘khadda’ — where no one is willing to take a bet since the outcome is hard to predict. Here, it is the bookies who are involved and it’s the “insiders” who decide. “This is more of an exception and not the rule as no one wants to lose money,” said a bookie.

The betting odds are decided by a ring of leading bookies who decide the rates, which is then communicated to the others over the phone.

For those looking to play straight, there is the traditional form of betting as well. Bookies said Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders are seen as the hot favourites in IPL-3. As a result, someone betting one rupee on these four teams will get less in return. In contrast, the odds on a Rajasthan Royals win are 1:2.

Similarly, betting on Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist is considered to be less rewarding as these players are seen to be match winners.

Modi planning overseas IPL tournament

With the IPL’s return to India being heralded as a huge success IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi is already planning to stage another overseas IPL tournament.

Although the idea is still in the planning stages England, America and the Middle East have already been pin pointed as possible locations.

"This is just a proposal at the moment. The idea is to begin with exhibition matches overseas. It all depends on how the British, North American and Middle Eastern TV viewers react to this year's IPL,” Modi told the Times of India.

”Based on that, there could be a short IPL played outside India in the future," he added.

Last years IPL was held in South Africa after Modi decided to move the tournament because it clashed with local elections in India.

Deccan Chargers survived a late assault from Irfan Pathan

Deccan were cruising at one stage when Punjab had been reduced to 68-6, but Irfan Pathan raised his team's hopes with a stunning onslaught of 60 from 29 balls. The left-hander, however, fell on the first ball of the final over in which the team needed 19 runs.

Pathan cracked five sixes and three fours in his knock but it didn't prove enough as his team slumped to its third straight defeat in the competition.

Chasing 171, Punjab were set back early in their innings when Manvinder Bisla was run out for a duck, before captain Kumar Sangakkara was sent back by fellow Sri Lankan Chaminda Vaas for no score.

Opener Ravi Bopara kept Punjab in the hunt but kept losing wickets at the other end, with Yuvraj Singh falling for four before Mahela Jayawardene and Adrian Barath were sent back cheaply as well.

Vaas' opening spell broke the back of the Punjab batting in which he took two wickets while every other Deccan bowler picked up a wicket each. Andrew Symonds starred for the Chargers with both bat and ball. It was also the first instance that Deccan had beaten Punjab in the IPL in five meetings.

Earlier, the Chargers threw away a cracking start to post 170-7 as the IPL staged its first game at at the Barabati stadium.

Andrew Symonds was the top-scorer with 53 but Deccan failed to build on a perfect launch pad set up by captain Adam Gilchrist, who scored 33 from just 12 balls after Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and decided to bowl.

Gilchrist's wicket was followed by an unfortunate incident for the Chargers, who lost opener VVS Laxman to injury. The batsman got his by a wayward throw while trying to make his ground while taking a run.

Herschelle Gibbs and Symonds, however, kept the Chargers on track for a big total as they cruised to 100-1 at the halfway stage. But Yuvraj Singh's introduction undid their good work as Gibbs fell for 23, before Rohit Sharma was run out in the same over.

Deccan kept losing wickets in the second half as they only managed 70 runs in their next 10 overs.

IPL may get 6 bidders for 2 new teams

The base price of $225 million is still a dampener for prospective bidders who have picked up the tender document for bidding for the franchises of two new teams for the fourth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL)“Not more than six investors are expected to place their bids for the new teams,” a BCCI source told Business Standard.

The minimum bid price ($225 million) is almost double the figure of the most expensive IPL team — the Mumbai Indians — owned by Mukesh Ambani, who had paid $111.9 million in 2008. There were 16 bidders for the 8 franchises in the first season.

According to sources, Videocon, Jaypee Associates, Sahara, Adani Group and a conglomerate in the construction business from Pune will be placing bids. IPL will be accepting the bids for the two new teams on March 21 at 10 am. The bids will be opened and the winner will be declared at 11 am on the same day.

IPL had invited bids for the franchises for two new teams in February and was supposed to declare the winners on March 7, however, it had to modify its tender norms after it suffered a setback receiving only two bids for the two teams on offer. Most of the prospective bidders who had bought the ITT had raised concerns on the stiff financial terms of the earlier tender.

IPL later made three major changes in the new tender: the $100 million (Rs 460 crore) performance guarantee as stipulated in the first ITT was brought down to $10 million (Rs 46 crore). The amount should be submitted 24 hours before the bid. The winning bidder will have to submit a bank guarantee, which will be 10 per cent of the bid amount, within 48 hours of winning a franchise. In the earlier tender it was 100 per cent of the bid amount.

The most important change was the withdrawal of the networth clause. In the earlier tender it was $1 billion (Rs 4,600 crore). “Essentially, we have gone back to 2008 when bidding for the existing franchises was held. But, since the values have gone up, the performance guarantee has also gone up from $5 million to $10 million,” IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had said.