In a latest happening , Hard-hitting West Australian Luke Ronchi became the latest Australian to sign up for the Indian Premier League.He has signed a three year deal with Mumbai Indians which already include Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga and Shaun Pollock.

“I can’t wait to get over there and start training with the likes of Tendulkar and Jayasuriya and try to gain as much as I can from the wealth of experience they possess,” Ronchi said.“It will be a tremendous learning experience for me, not just in how to play Twenty20 cricket, but in all aspects of my game because I will be surrounded by so many champions.“And there may be an opportunity to open the batting with Sachin in front of his home crowd in Mumbai – that would be the stuff dreams are made of.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi expressed his disapproval of auctioning of players for the Indian Premier League. “It is not acceptable to me,” Karunanidhi, an avid follower of cricket, told reporters when asked about the auctioning.

Marvan Atapattu says: “I think the bidding was an indication of your worth. They should not have done it in the open. It was humiliating for some players.”

Pepsi signed a deal with DLF Indian Premier League as an official beverage at $12.5 million.Pepsi has an history of being in association with the domestic cricket of India andis also the global sponsor of International Cricket Council (ICC) .

A significant part of the deal is that the eight franchises – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Mohali, Jaipur and Hyderabad – will be the direct beneficiaries of the money accruing from the sponsorship.

‘Pepsi will pay $2.5 million each year and, importantly, the entire income from this deal will go to the eight franchise owners,’ according to the IPL sources who did not wish to be identified.

Car maker Hyundai has become one of the six associate sponsors of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) by buying air time rights from the official broadcaster Sony Set Max.

“Hyundai has bought air time rights for this season of IPL, which will have 59 matches beginning April 18,” HMIL Senior Vice-President Sales and Marketing Arvind Saxena said.