The Indian Premier League is set to start with a bang at Newlands, with four games on the first two days of the series.

The final programme will be finalised on Thursday, but it has been learned that the series will start at Newlands on April 18 with an opening ceremony and two games.

Provincial cricket bosses were scurrying on Wednesday to make arrangements for the series, which starts in 23 days’ time.

It was originally decided that the 59 games will be played in Johannesburg, Centurion, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London but Bloemfontein has also been added to the list.

It is believed the Free State capital will host at least four games.

Cape Cobras chief executive André Odendaal said: “It’s another opportunity for Cape supporters to see world class cricket. Spectators flooded to games in the local Pro20 Series and the recent test against Australia.”

Newlands had serious problems with the outfield and two SuperSport games were moved to Paarl.

The problems have now been solved and the field is ready to be an important venue for the IPL series.
Source – cricketnext.in.com

The country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero Honda, said on Thursday that it will not withdraw the sponsorship of the Delhi IPL team though the tournament is shifted out of the country.

“We will not withdraw the sponsorship of Delhi IPL team. We will have to see in what manner and shape the sponsorship have to take place, we are in discussion with the team owner GMR,” Hero Honda Motors MD and CEO Pawan Munjal told reporters on the sidelines of CII annual session in New Delhi.

Speaking on the issue of shifting of IPL out of the country he said, “Shifting the venue of the tournament, is not a great thing for the tournament. It is a domestic tournament and it is meant for creating interest among fan club here in the country, he said.

However, he expressed happiness that the tournament is taking place this year.

Speaking about his company Munjal said, Hero Honda would continue to focus on the rural market.
Source – cricket.expressindia.com

Lakshmi Rai who was the unofficial ‘Cheer Leader’ for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during last year’s IPL was in Chennai for the photo shoot of her upcoming film Naan Avanillai – part 2.

Lakshmi Rai, a big lover of cricket seems to be disappointed a lot due to the IPL’s decision of shifting the matches to South Africa. But she is planning to attend at least a few matches during her forthcoming shooting trip to Europe.

Is there any special invite for Lakshmi from her close boy friend M.S.Dhoni?

“Oh… please stop this. We are still good friends only. We have never crossed our limits at any stage. But the media has created so much controversy between me and Dhoni that it is high time that I clear it. I have always been interested in sports but I started liking cricket only after IPL began.

I had never been to a stadium to watch a match until the IPL began. The organisers Wanted me to attend matches regularly, provided the time is there. The media, of course, kept highlighting my presence” she confesses.

Answering to a question about her life partner, the actress said that she believes in destiny and dossn’t know who is going to be her life partner.

Currently, Lakshmi is busy with four films in Tamil including Simbhu Devan’s Erunbu Kottayil Murattu Singham where she plays the role of a cowboy and two Malayalam films.
Source – entertainment.oneindia.in

With the Indian Premier League no longer Indian the big question is can it repeat last year’s success in terms of viewership? MindShare-Mint-Synovate survey reveals that the recipe behind IPL’s mega success is its localised loyalty with a city-based dedicated fane base.

Teams saw the highest viewership ranging between 42 to a whopping 88 per cent whenever the matches were played on their home turf. The representation of their city was the main reason why fans backed individual teams. But this year IPL is no longer Indian and that’s why analysts say many of its success factors have lost its relevance. Thus, franchisees will have to come up with new marketing campaigns to attract new eyeballs and hard sell their teams.

“The marketing will be obviously tweaked because the aala re in Mumbai can’t be aala re in South Africa,” said Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, O&M India. One way to woo the crowd will be to get them in local multiplexes and create a charged atmosphere that’s the closest one will get to an amphitheatre feel. In other case as some tour operators and airlines are planning along with the franchise owners that fly down the fans at specially discounted rates.

“We and the franchisees are trying to make sure that the city fans get to see the matches live. It is very important to have their continuity in this IPL too,” said Lalit Modi, commissioner, IPL.
But there will be a huge business opportunity that is bound to get lost from local hotels to transporters and others logistics vendors. The pitch is getting queer every passing day.
Source – profit.ndtv.com

Multi Screen Media and World Sport Group have signed on as the official broadcast partners for the IPL. The nine-year deal, that runs through till 2017, is worth Rs 8,200 crore. The new agreement, which is more than double the earlier deal signed last year for 10 years with the same two parties, gives Multi Screen Media the exclusive audio visual rights (in India) to all the 59 matches of the second edition of the IPL.

The development comes after the Bombay High Court had cleared the way for the BCCI to seek a new broadcast deal by rejecting a plea from Sony TV, which had challenged the Indian cricket board’s decision to terminate its five-year deal to televise the IPL. Talks had failed because MSM, which holds the IPL contract under the Sony umbrella, wanted a non-terminable contract, which the BCCI/IPL refused to provide.

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, was “absolutely delighted” with the new deal. “We have what we believe to be the best deal for the DLF Indian Premier League and Indian cricket fans alike,” Modi said. “I am certain that Multi Screen Media will pull out all the stops in ensuring that the best technology is utilized to deliver excellent content that is creative, innovative and enriching for the cricket fans in India and indeed across the globe.”

The IPL’s relationship with Sony had turned rocky last month after the IPL lost out on a US$31.16 million deal because of a dispute between Sony and Big TV, a direct-to-home provider. Ties between the two dipped further after the subsequent resignation of Kunal Dasgupta, the then Sony CEO, who was known to be close to Modi. Sony is also understood to have been keen on re-negotiating the financial terms of its contract with the IPL and had concerns about the tournament’s revised dates and some of the venues that were being considered.

Manjit Singh, the MSM CEO, said the deal helped reaffirm the broadcaster’s commitment to the Indian subcontinent and the global cricket fan alike. “We are absolutely delighted to bring the exciting IPL line-up of Indian and international cricketers to the millions of cricket fans globally,” he said. “At Multi Screen Media & World Sport Group we have done some pioneering work in showcasing cricket in an entertaining and informative way and we will continue to innovate and extend the excitement of cricket through the IPL. We look forward to a long and successful association with the IPL as the leagues global media rights partner.”

Venu Nair, CEO, WSG said the objective was to place Indian cricket on the global sports calendar. “It’s a task, that we have managed with great distinction,” Nair said. “Today, fans across the world are looking forward to the start of season 2 of the IPL and we are happy to partner with Multi Screen Media to bring the league to a global audience.”

With the tournament moving away from India, there is likely to be a significant international audience now. All matches will be telecast at 4 pm IST and at 8 pm IST in the evening to coincide with prime time for television audiences in India.
Source – content.cricinfo.com