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.

In yet another news coming from the Chennai Super Kings team, the former fast bowler who was out from international cricket due to an injury, L Balaji was included in the team

“I’m happy with the progress, but it’s an ongoing process,” Balaji told the Hindu. “I still need to play more competitive cricket. I’m taking it step by step.” He last played an international in August 2005 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Balaji said he was happy to have been picked by the Super Kings but he wasn’t sure how much he would get to play in this edition of the tournament.

“It works both ways,” said VB Chandrasekhar, the head of cricketing matters for the Super Kings, of Balaji’s inclusion in the squad. “When he’s fit and bowling well, it’s good for us, while the IPL is a platform to continue his comeback.”