Melbourne: Riding on his superb bowling performances during a brief stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL), pace spearhead Brett Lee emerged as the richest Australian cricketer from the tournament and returned home with 80,000 dollars per scalp for his four wickets.

At the auction, Lee was bought for 900,000 dollars and he took home more than 320,000 dollars in his four matches with Kings XI Punjab.

Meanwhile, captain Ricky Ponting, who had a poor outing with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the tournament, returned home as the richest Australian batsman after earnings were worked out on a dollars-per-runs-scored basis.

Ponting was roped in for a modest 400,000 dollars and earned 3663 dollars for every run that he scored in the four matches that he played.

He scored 39 runs, which also included two golden ducks, and took home 142,000 dollars.

However, Ponting admitted that he would have liked to score more runs saying that his impact ”wasn’t that great”, according to The Australian newspaper.

The World-Cup-winning captain also voiced his concern that the temptation to play in the IPL could end up ruining international cricket as we know it.

”There’s a real danger there that international players might just see the glitz and glamour of this event and not want to play international cricket any more, which I don’t think would be great for the game,” Ponting was quoted as saying by The Australian.

All-rounder Andrew Symonds, who was the highest paid foreign player at the auction, became richer by 500,000 dollars after making just four appearances with the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.

Symonds pocketed 3000 dollars for each of his 161 runs.

Opener Matthew Hayden (134,000 dollars) and Michael Hussey (125,000 dollars) both brought home more for two weeks’ work than most Australians get for two years.

Simon Katich, who played just two matches for Kings XI Punjab, fetched only 200,000 dollars at the auction but earned 60,000 dollars for his efforts.

Source: sify.com

Mumbai (PTI): An arbiter on Saturday passed an interim order restraining Pakistani player Mohammad Yousuf from participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL), an Indian Cricket League (ICL) lawyer said.”Justice (retd) Dr B P Saraf passed an interim order restraining Yousuf from participating in IPL in any manner,” said ICL’s lawyer Hitesh Jain.Jain said now there would be a final hearing, which is likely to commence in July.

Yousuf and ICL are caught up in legal wrangle, as the Essel Group-bankrolled ICL alleged that the player breached his earlier contract with them and signed up for the IPL.The dispute then landed before arbiter Dr Saraf who, on December 15 last year, restrained Yousuf from playing for any rival league till further orders.Though Yousuf signed up for IPL, he was not picked up by any of the IPL franchise teams.

Advocate Jain said Saturday’s order was a first of its kind in Indian sports. “It is significant for IPL too,” the ICL laywer said.At this stage, no penalty has been imposed on Yousuf, but the arbiter may contemplate such action at the time of the final decision, he added.

Source: hindu.com

NEW DELHI: Lights, camera, action. Edge-of-the-seat thrills with sound effects, an item number and a Shah Rukh Khan guest appearance thrown in. No, it’s not a Bollywood blockbuster or a TV serial that is pulling in eyeballs. In the age of reality TV, IPL’s Twenty20 bonanza is the new entertainment.

The new cricket format is obviously packing a big punch with viewers, women in particular. TV audiences, much like those who are watching action at the stadia, seem to be lapping up the big glitzy shows under floodlights every evening. Cricket is at the centre of the action, but it is part of a package with other elements that are almost as essential.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, TAM’s vice-president (communications), feels the new format has proved its across-the-board appeal to audiences beyond sports lovers.”People are not watching IPL just for cricket. It is all-round entertainment with film stars, cheerleaders and also some great cricket,” he said. Whether it is Akshay Kumar rappelling across Ferozeshah Kotla or cheerleaders strutting their stuff during breaks or the spectacle of watching Muttiah Muralitharan play alongside M S Dhoni, people are liking the mix of visual delights.IPL has also been responsible for busting the myth that not too many women watch cricket. Women have shown a far higher interest in IPL.

About 36% of the total audience share watching IPL comprises women. Incidentally, it is the same number that watched India play in the much-hyped World Cup pre-semi-final stage as had been reported then.While one-third of the audience being women may not appear to be a large share of the pie, the number gains significance when compared to general entertainment programmes.Soaps and family dramas usually have 70% women out of the total viewership while Kaun Banega Crorepati , at the height of its popularity, drew 55% female viewership.

Another indicator are TRP ratings that the programme has drawn. IPL began its innings with a bang and a viewership of 8.21 in six metros on April 18 but this came down to 4.97 on April 19. The latest figures available with TAM show that viewership has gone up to 5.57 for six metros — Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai.Comparatively, the rating for the Challenger Trophy held in 2007 was a mere 0.37 despite a high interest in cricket and massive publicity. News programmes draw TRPs of 1-2 while soaps average 3-4 points.

According to industry sources, IPL could be the next mass-based programme attracting not just men but women and youth as well.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

LAHORE: Many Pakistani actors are betting their money on the cricket matches of Indian Premier League, said sources. Reportedly many have lost thousands they put on stake. According to sources film industry icons Babar Ali, Shan, Saood, director Masood Butt, Altaf Husaain, actress Durdana Rehman and many others were betting on every match of the premier league.

Singers, musicians and even the studio workers had been betting.The studios get deserted as soon as the match starts while the actors have also made a betting spot in Iqbal Town for the purpose.Besides the film industry actors, other icons of TV and stage were also playing the favourite game around these days, added sources.

Source: thepost.com.pk

Karachi(PTI): Desperate to play in the Indian Premier League, Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar on Saturday filed a fresh appeal with an appellate tribunal, praying for a temporary stay on his five-year ban so that he can take part in the IPL and earn his living.

“Shoaib said that since the tribunal will take time to reach a final verdict on the appeal he has filed against the ban, he should be given a temporary stay for a month so that he can play in the IPL,” Justice (retd) Aftab Farrukh, who heads the three-man tribunal, told PTI.The tribunal will now meet on Sunday to deliberate upon the fresh application but Farrukh said the majority’s decision would prevail in the matter.

Farrukh, a retired judge of the Lahore High Court, said he had appointed a noted lawyer as Amicus Curiae to help the tribunal handle the case.He said the Amicus Curiae was an expert on criminology.

This appointment gives credence to reports that the two other members of the tribunal, former Test player Hasib Ahsan and former minister Salman Taseer had joined hands in favour of Shoaib while the justice felt the case made against him by the board was very strong and the ban justified.
Source: hindu.com