Tim Southee to play in IPL

 

New Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee has signed to play for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket competition this year, assistant coach Steve Rixon said today.

Injuries have depleted the defending champions' bowling stocks so they have moved to shore them up by signing Southee, 22, who took 18 wickets at 17.33 during the one-day World Cup on the subcontinent.

Chennai are coached by former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, while Rixon, a former New Zealand coach, is the fielding coach and current New Zealand international Scott Styris is on their playing roster.

"It's good to have (Southee) on board, especially coming out of such a great recent tournament (at the World Cup)," Rixon told Radio Live today.

"It's an absolute bonus for us at the moment to be able to get our hands on such a quality player. "Tim's recent form over there (at the World Cup) indicates that he handles those conditions beautifully."

Knight Riders begin IPL training camp

 

With most of India seemingly focused on the World Cup semi final against Pakistan on Wednesday preparations for next months IPL got under way for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Eleven of the squad participated in the Knight Riders training camp at Eden Gardens on Sunday morning while World Cup fever swept the nation.

The players went through a number of fielding drills while Knight Riders coach Dav Whatmore watched on assessing the squad. Former Indian international Laxmipathy Balaji, who played a key role in helping the Chennai Super Kings win last years tournament was happy with how the players bonded.

”Of course, it’s a new experience for me, paying for a team for three seasons means you become really involved with that team,” said Balaji. “But we are professional cricketers. So, there shouldn’t be any problem for us. In fact, most of the cricketers have played for other teams earlier. This is a new season and we will start afresh,” he added.

Despite missing a number of key players including skipper Gautam Gambhir the Knight Riders will continue their preparations for the start of the IPL season. The Knight Riders will take on defending champions, the Super Kings on Friday, April 8th at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Times Internet achieves IPL media rights deal

 

Times Internet, part of The Times of India group, has won the global media rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament for four years, having bid Rs 261.6 crore. Covered are IPL mobile, radio and internet rights, along with broadcast rights for certain territories from 2011 to 2014, said N Srinivasan, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in a statement. Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd (MSML), which owns the SET and MAX channels, has IPL broadcast rights in the Indian sub-continent until 2017.

The bidding process followed after the Supreme Court had, last Friday, given a green signal to BCCI to proceed with the tenders for new global telecast rights for IPL-4, starting on April 8. In June 2010, BCCI had cancelled the media rights it had earlier awarded to World Sports Group, Mauritius, citing an allegedly improper payment of a facilitation fee worth Rs 425 crore from Multi-Screen Media (MSM).

The controversy surrounding the facilitation fee came to light when WSG India claimed to be the original buyer of the worldwide telecast rights of IPL for 10 years (2008 to 2017), in return for $1 billion (Rs 4,600 crore). MSM secured the rights to broadcast in India for five years (2008 to 2012) from WSG (India), with the option of securing rights for the remaining five years (2013-2017) by paying $25 million.

The BCCI, represented by former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, cancelled the original deal in 2009 and negotiated a new deal with WSG Mauritius. MSM then worked out an arrangement with WSG, Mauritius, guaranteeing a facilitation fee. The firm, along with WSG, had signed a deal with BCCI in 2007 for Rs 8,200 crore.

Apart from global TV rights, WSG also had some other rights including the Internet, live-streaming (with a short delay) and mobile rights. Last year, Google Inc’s YouTube platform signed a two-year deal to stream the matches. The deal was signed with Global Cricket Ventures (GCV), that acquired the rights from WSG. As part of the deal, GCV had agreed to pay BCCI Rs 25 crore yearly for the Google deal.

IPL tickets available from tomorrow

 

Tickets for the opening match of the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League, to be played between defending champion Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders here on April 8, will go on sale at the MAC Stadium, Chepauk, on March 24. Tickets can also be purchased at www.chennaisuperkings.com.

Tickets have been priced at Rs. 500 (A, B, C lower tier), Rs. 1,200 (G, H, I lower tier), Rs. 2,000 (A, B, C Upper tier), Rs. 2,500 (G, H, I upper tier), Rs. 3,000 (D lower tier and F lower tier), Rs. 4,000 (D, E, F upper tier), Rs. 5,000 (T3), Rs. 8,000 (Pavilion terrace) and Rs. 15,000 (Anna Pavilion).

Air-conditioned hospitality seats in the middle tiers of A, B, C, G, H and I will be sold at Rs.15,000 and hospitality seats for D, E and F will cost Rs. 25,000 per seat. Tickets will be sold from 9-30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Media giant achieves IPL cricket rights

 

India's largest media and entertainment conglomerate, the unlisted Bennett, Coleman & Co. (BCCL), has won internet, mobile, radio and some television rights for the Indian Premier League cricket tournaments for the next four years. Its digital media arm, Times Internet Ltd, will pay 2.616 billion rupees (about $58 million) for the 2011-14 rights, starting with the IPL-4 season that opens in Chennai on April 8.

The IPL announced on Sunday that a consortium led by Times Internet - part of the Times of India group, which is ultimately controlled by BCCL and its billionaire owners, Indu Jain and family - was the successful bidder. Another Indian media group, Harish Thawani’s Nimbus Communication, is part of the consortium.

The rights cover internet and mobile worldwide - with a five-minute delay on the Indian sub-continent - and global radio except for the Middle East. The TV rights exclude Australia, South Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Indian sub-continent. Nimbus will handle distribution and broadcast of the various TV rights.

Sony Group’s MultiScreen Media (MSM), which owns the SET Max network in India, continues to hold the Indian television rights under a deal it struck with the IPL in January 2008 and renegotiated in 2010. That deal, which started at $US1.026 billion and initially involved the sports marketing agency World Sports Group, is now worth about $US1.6 billion over a 10-year period.

In June last year, the IPL’s parent, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, cancelled all IPL rights deals with World Sports Group. The IPL, the world’s most lucrative Twenty20 cricket tournament, has set the benchmark for media rights sales since it burst onto the scene with its first eight-team tournament in 2008. But the league has also been beset by controversy over its financial dealings with franchise holders, media outlets and other cricket bodies.

Last April, just before the 2010 tournament was about to get underway, the BCCI removed its high-profile IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi after a clash with Indian politician and author Shashi Tharoor over a new IPL franchise team in the city of Kochi, and allegations of improper financial dealings. Modi, who now lives in the UK because he says he fears for his safety in India, has continued to protest his innocence of any wrongdoing. A BCCI disciplinary hearing against him is due to begin this week.

The IPL-4, with an expanded lineup of 10 teams, opens on April 8 when reigning champions Chennai Super Kings will host the Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai.  The tournament comes close on the heels of the cricket World Cup, the one-day international format which is due to stage its final on April 2 in Mumbai. Cricket is big business in India, where the fan base is the largest in the world and where television reaches potential audiences of hundreds of millions.

The latest IPL rights deal means that India’s most powerful media group now has an even greater interest in covering the tournament.  BCCL’s media portfolio includes a television network, newspapers such as English-language flagship The Times of India, the widely read financial daily The Economic Times, plus Hindi, Marathi and Kannada-language newspapers, magazines, FM radio stations, books, film and television production, and outdoor events.

The Jain family took control of BCCL in 1948, 110 years after its first newspaper appeared as the Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. Indu Jain, widow of the late Ashok K. Jain,  chairs the group while her two sons Samir and Vineet are vice chairman and managing director respectively. The group’s annual turnover and earnings suggest it could be valued at about $4 billion. In January, media in India reported that BCCL might launch an initial public offer within two years, though there has been no confirmation of that from the company.

Its main rivals in the India media and entertainment sector are Subhash Chandra’s Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Kalanithi Maran’s Sun TV Network, Shobhana Bhartia’s HT Media and Raghav Bahl’s Network18 Media.

IPL schedule reshaped due to Assembly elections

 

The Indian Premier League organisers were on Thursday forced to tweak the event’s schedule this year because of the upcoming assembly elections in five states of the country.

The league organisers, in a statement, said they have made some changes in the 2011 IPL original schedule taking into account the assembly elections in the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.

Keeping in mind the revised schedule, the organisers have also extended the deadline for media accreditation and said new forms will soon be made available.

“The revised media accreditation form will be sent out to the media soon. The mediapersons who have already applied for accreditation, will be contacted separately by IPL’s accreditation team,” IPL chairman Chirayu Amin said in the statement.

“The deadline for submission has been extended by two days to 6:00 pm on Friday, 25 March 2011,” it added.

Revised Schedule

Apr 8: 8.00 pm — Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai.

Apr 9: 4.00 pm — Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad.

8.00 pm — Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Kochi.

Apr 10: 4.00 pm — Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians in Delhi.

8.00 pm — Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab in Navi Mumbai.

Apr 11: 8.00 pm — Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers in Kolkata.

Apr 12: 4.00 pm — Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils in Jaipur.

8.00 pm — Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians in Bangalore.

Apr 13: 4.00 pm — Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings in Mohali.

8.00 pm — Pune Warriors vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Navi Mumbai.

Apr 14: 8.00 pm — Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad.

Apr 15: 4.00 pm — Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Jaipur.

8.00 pm — Mumbai Indians vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Mumbai.

Apr 16: 4.00 pm — Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai.

8.00 pm — Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab in Hyderabad.

Apr 17: 4.00 pm — Pune Warriors vs Delhi Daredevils in Navi Mumbai.

8.00 pm — Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals in Kolkata.

Apr 18: 8.00 pm — Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Chennai Super Kings in Kochi.

Apr 19: 4.00 pm — Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers in Delhi.

8.00 pm — Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals in Bangalore.

Apr 20: 4.00 pm — Mumbai Indians vs Pune Warriors in Mumbai.

8.00 pm — Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Kolkata.

Apr 21: 8.00 pm — Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals in Mohali.

Apr 22: 4.00 pm — Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Kolkata.

8.00 pm — Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai.

Apr 23: 8.00 pm — Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab in Delhi.

Apr 24: 4.00 pm — Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad.

8.00 pm — Rajasthan Royals vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Jaipur.

Apr 25: 8.00 pm — Chennai Super Kings vs Pune Warriors in Chennai.

Apr 26: 8.00 pm — Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Delhi.

Apr 27: 4.00 pm — Pune Warriors vs Chennai Super Kings in Navi Mumbai.

8.00 pm — Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Deccan Chargers in Kochi.

Apr 28: 8.00 pm — Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Delhi.

Apr 29: 4.00 pm — Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians in Jaipur.

8.00 pm — Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors in Bangalore.

Apr 30: 4.00 pm — Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Delhi Daredevils in Kochi.

8.00 pm — Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab in Kolkata.

May 1: 4.00 pm — Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors in Jaipur.

8.00 pm — Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers in Chennai.

May 2: 4.00 pm — Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai.

8.00 pm — Delhi Daredevils vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Delhi.

May 3: 8.00 pm — Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad.

May 4: 4.00 pm — Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals in Chennai.

8.00 pm — Pune Warriors vs Mumbai Indians in Navi Mumbai.

May 5: 4.00 pm — Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Kochi.

8.00 pm — Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils in Hyderabad.

May 6: 8.00 pm — Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab in Bangalore.

May 7: 4.00 pm — Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings in Kolkata.

8.00 pm — Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai.

May 8: 4.00 pm — Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Bangalore.

8.00 pm — Kings XI Punjab vs Pune Warriors in Mohali.

May 9: 8.00 pm — Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings in Jaipur.

May 10: 4.00 pm — Deccan Chargers vs Pune Warriors in Hyderabad.

8.00 pm — Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians in Mohali.

May 11: 8.00 pm — Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Jaipur.

May 12: 8.00 pm — Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils in Chennai.

May 13: 8.00 pm — Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Kings XI Punjab in Indore.

May 14: 4.00 pm — Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Bangalore.

8.00 pm — Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers in Mumbai.

May 15: 4.00 pm — Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils in Dharamsala.

8.00 pm — Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Rajasthan Royals in Indore.

May 16: 8.00 pm — Pune Warriors vs Deccan Chargers in Navi Mumbai.

May 17: 8.00 pm — Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dharamsala.

May 18: 8.00 pm — Chennai Super Kings vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Chennai.

May 19: 8.00 pm — Pune Warriors vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Navi Mumbai.

May 20: 8.00 pm — Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai.

May 21: 4.00 pm — Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers in Dharamsala.

8.00 pm — Delhi Daredevils vs Pune Warriors in Delhi.

May 22: 4.00 pm — Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings in Bangalore.

8.00 pm — Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians in Kolkata.

May 24: 8.00 pm — Qualifier 1: First Placed Team vs Second Placed Team in Mumbai.

May 25: 8.00 pm — Eliminator: Third Placed Team vs Fourth Placed Team in Mumbai.

May 27: 8.00 pm — Qualifier 2: Winner of Eliminator vs Loser of Qualifier 1 in Chennai.

May 28: 8pm — Final: Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Qualifier 2 in Chennai.

Canon will pull out IPL ads

 

As the crisis in Japan deepens, Canon India, a subsidiary of the Japanese imaging and optical products major, has pressed the panic button. In a major setback to its plans, Canon India is contemplating pulling out from advertising during the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting April 8.

The Japanese multinational which specializes in products like cameras and photocopiers plans to launch a new range of cameras next month and was going to put out a new campaign starring its brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar. But with supplies being hit, the company is not sure of being able to fulfil the demand if it goes ahead with the media campaign.

Alok Bharadwaj, senior VP, Canon India, told TOI, "With the launch of a new campaign we expect demand to be created for the product but with issues on the supply side the decision on whether we will go ahead with the mass media campaign will be taken in a couple of days."

However, an official broadcaster of the IPL-SET Max said there is no clause which can allow for any advertiser to pull out from the tournament under any circumstances. "There is no question of any advertiser pulling out once the contract is signed. Such provisions are not part of the terms and conditions," said Rohit Gupta, president of Multi Screen Media (the parent company of SET Max).

Canon, along with other Japanese companies, has increased its advertising and marketing spends over the last one year to ramp up its presence in the country.

Sony, one of the biggest exporters of electronics out of Japan, has been on an overdrive and signed on the Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni before the start of the ICC World Cup to garner market share away from its Korean rivals LG and Samsung, but the Japanese electronics major said it cannot comment on any expected cuts in marketing and advertising budgets post what happened in Japan. But given the ongoing crisis, with the kind of destruction that has been brought about by the earthquake and the tsunami and now the threat of a nuclear meltdown, the Indian subsidiaries of Japanese multinationals may have to cut costs and resort to austerity measures. In fact, Canon has cancelled a foreign jaunt that it had organized for its trade partners as a mark of respect to the victims back in Japan and also to cut unwanted expenditure.

Lele looks for IPL chief Amin's resignation

 

Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jaywant Lele on Friday attacked Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Chirayu Amin in connection with the recent Income Tax survey at the latter's company. Lele said Amin should resign from his post as he too had indulged in financial irregularities like his predecessor Lalit Modi. Amin is also president of Baroda Cricket Association (BCA).

Lele argued that he was thrown out of BCA on false charges of financial irregularities years ago and none of them have been proved. "I was thrown out of BCA by Amin on false charges and my membership too was cancelled. Now, the IT department has found irregularities worth Rs 100 crore in his company Alembic and asked him to pay Rs 20 crore. Shouldn't Amin resign from his post in BCA and IPL?" questioned Lele.

Lele was ousted from BCA secretary's post in 2002 and he has been at loggerheads with the association since then. "He holds such high post and hence is accountable to the nation. I will write a letter to BCCI president Shashank Manohar in next couple of days and ask him to take necessary steps in the matter," Lele said.

Kings XI Punjab releases final squad for IPL IV

Kings XI Punjab will be led by Australia's ace cricketer Adam Gilchrist, who led Deccan Chargers to win the IPL two title in South Africa. At the helm is Michael Bevan, the Team Coach, who brings with him valuable years of experience and expertise and will be responsible for training and guiding the players throughout the season.

"All our players have their distinctive qualities yet complement each other to form a team. This team will bring in a new perspective and vigor to the game and we promise our fans an exhilarating and action–packed season of cricket in IPL 4," COO of Kings XI Punjab, Col Arvinder Singh said in a release.

The KXIP squad for IPL season4 is as follows: Overseas Players: Captain- Adam Gilchrist, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Ryan Harris, Nathan Rimmington, Dmitri Mascarenhas, Stuart Broad.

Indian International Players: Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Abhishek Nayar

Domestic Players: Paras Dogra, Sunny Singh, Nitin Saini, Bipul Sharma, Love Ablish, Vikaramjeet Malik, Siddarth Chitnis, Paul Valthaty, Shalabh Srivastava, Bhargav Bhatt, Mandeep Singh, Amit Yadav.

Kochi IPL team changed name as 'Kochi Tuskers Kerala'

The Kochi IPL team, which will be making its maiden appearance at the Indian Premier League this season, will henceforth be known as " Kochi Tuskers Kerala", sources said. The official name of the team has been approved by the BCCI and the IPL governing council, Kerala Cricketing Association (KCA) sources said on Saturday.

An online voting was conducted by the Kochi IPL franchisee on their official website to find a name acceptable to the cricket lovers of Kerala.  The franchisees were awaiting approval from the BCCI and the IPL governing council to rename the team, which was previously named "Indi Commandos".

The newly formed team's first match will be against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 9. The team will also play four other matches at Kochi.