Watson admitted the second edition of the IPL couldn’t help but lack the same dazzling atmosphere after being shifted to South Africa due to security reasons.

The Australian all-rounder believed the competition, starting on April 18, would still be well organised in South Africa but doubted it would boast the same huge crowds or fanatical interest as in India.

“I think it will definitely be slightly different,” Watson told Fox Sports.

“It’s extremely sad the IPL won’t be held in India. It is a beautiful country and the people there are absolutely fanatical about cricket.

“But it’s still going to be an amazing tournament as it was last year. *

“It’s going to be interesting to see how it’s all going to come together in a couple of weeks.”

Watson was named the competition’s best player in 2008 after starring with both the bat and the ball for the unfancied Rajasthan Royals who snared the inaugural trophy.

Now the Shane Warne-led Royals and the seven other Indian franchises will be based in different South African cities as the tournament is likely to streamlined from six weeks to five and include double-headers.

The Republic beat England to the hosting rights due to several factors, including weather, finances, television rights and the speedy issuing of more than 1000 visas.

Rain is less likely to affect matches in South Africa during the tournament period and with a dollar worth almost 10 rand it is an attractive option financially.

Watson, who was immediately recalled to the Australian one-day side after last year’s IPL, again aims to use the tournament as a springboard back into the international arena.

A strong Ashes candidate, the injury-plagued 27-year-old, who is overcoming back stress fractures, will return to the bowling crease midway through the competition.

“The IPL’s again come at the right time of my career to get back on the track,” he said.

The Queenslander also confirmed he was close to finalising a move to NSW for next season’s domestic competition for lifestyle reasons.

Watson, whose partner is Sydney-based sports presenter Lee Furlong, commuted from Sydney to Brisbane to play for the Bulls this season.
Source – news.com.au

The costliest players on the Indian Premier League roster, England’s Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff stand to lose as much as 150,000 pounds (USD 219,511 approx) due to the organisers’ decision to push back the event’s start by a week as their work has been cut to 14 days.

Pietersen, who will captain Bangalore Royal Challengers, and Andrew Flintoff, set to turn out for Chennai Super Kings, were bought for a record $1.55 million by their respective franchisees in the players’ auction.

The IPL was on Tuesday shifted to South Africa after its organisers failed to get the required security assurance from the Indian government.

England was also in the running to host the event but unpredictable weather at this time of the year in the country tilted the scales in South Africa’s favour. The league’s start was pushed back by a week to April 18 which means the England pair’s three weeks’ work has been reduced to two.

“Their pro-rata earnings will now be 300,000 pounds rather than 450,000 pounds,” ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported.

Pietersen and Flintoff, after completing their stints with the IPL, will return to play for England against West Indies.

Pietersen and Flintoff’s pay-cut will also hurt their respective counties Hampshire and Lancashire, who are due to receive 10 per cent of their earnings. “Ideally I’d like to have played in India,” admitted Flintoff.

“It’s the Indian Premier League and you have the chance to play in front of those crowds and those venues and it’s a special place to play cricket. I’m disappointed we’re not going there but it’s still taking place and if it’s South Africa then I’m sure they’ll put on a great tournament, but I don’t think it will quite the same as if it had been in India,” he said.
Source – cricket.ndtv.com

Sourav Ganguly will no longer be the “fixed” skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders as the team has decided to rotate captaincy in the second season of the Indian Premier League starting April 18 in South Africa.

KKR coach John Buchanan said the decision to have multiple captains has nothing to do with Ganguly’s performance or fitness and denied any rift in the team.

“The decision has got nothing to do with Sourav’s performance. Chris Gayle (West Indies), Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) and Ganguly will all captain KKR. There will be a nominated captain for each game,” he said.

Ganguly, on his part, said his focus was to perform on the field.

“He is the coach, he has views. My goal is to score runs and take wickets,” responded the former Indian captain when asked whether he was disappointed with the KKR’s move.

Even before Ganguly could finish his response, Buchanan intervened to say “He is the King of Kolkata.”

“If you (the media) is going to make a big deal about it, go ahead, we are not going to do it. The concept of multiple captains is new and we will have to see how it goes,” he said. Asked how the team would cope with the conditions in South Africa, where the IPL was shifted after failing to get security assurance from the Indian government, Ganguly said, “It will be different to play there. Wickets will have bounce but let’s see.”
Source – indianexpress.com

South Africa was confirmed as host of the second edition of the Indian Premier League next month.

“We are very happy to confirm that South Africa will host the 2009 DLF Indian Premier League tournament,” IPL chairman Lalit Modi said in a statement following a meeting of the event’s organisers and Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola.

England was also considered a possible alternative for the competition, which was moved out of India as its dates clashed with those of the country’s general elections.

The tournament will start on April 18.

“We would like to thank Cricket South Africa very much for the support they have given us over the past few days, which has helped us to come to this decision.

“The BCCI and the Indian Premier League wish to thank both the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) for their generous offers to host Season II of the DLF Indian Premier League. A lot of factors were considered by us while evaluating the final choice for the host venue. However, in the final analysis I think it was the South African weather, which prevailed and tilted the balance in favour of the Rainbow Nation.

“I would like to once again reaffirm the IPL’s commitment to its loyal fans stating that matches will be broadcast in India at 4 pm and 8 pm as promised,” Modi added.

The DLF Indian Premier League will now work closely with Cricket South Africa to ensure that all the necessary logistics and technicalities are completed well in time before the league kicks-off on April 18.

Season II of the DLF Indian Premier League will feature the eight Franchises doing battle over 36 days in South Africa and each franchise will continue to play on a home and away basis with seven matches at home.

The top four franchises in the league will contest the semi-finals and the victorious semi-finalists will meet in the grand final all over one weekend.

The league will showcase 59 matches, providing broadcasters and in-stadia spectators with 177 hours of live “family entertainment”, which will also be viewed by a significant international audience.

All matches will be at 4 pm and 8 pm IST to coincide with prime time for television audiences in India.
Source – cricket.rediff.com

The moment Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi switched his travel plans to go Johannesburg instead of
London, it was evident where the second edition of the Twenty20 cricket tournament is headed.

Modi dropped enough hints in his now famous late night exclusive interviews to Indian television channels to suit the prime time overseas, that South Africa is his preference, the fickle late winter weather ruling England out.

He said the organisers needed to take the weather pattern into account besides other factors like the April 26 London marathon which could make getting rooms extremely difficult. And then there is the English County season and the Test and One-day series against the West Indies.

Modi had made it clear that South Africa is a more attractive proposition what with their domestic season ending before the IPL gets underway. In England, some key venues will not be available for the IPL games without disrupting their domestic programme.

Moreover, South Africa is closer to India and that would give a time advantage over England.

Importantly, in this time of recession, the cost of holding the tournament will be cheaper in South Africa than in England, though the overall expenses will go a manifold because of the switch from India.

The other vexed problem for the organisers was the TV rights issue. In South Africa, Supersport has the rights to the IPL as well as all international cricket played in the country whereas in England Setanta holds the IPL rights and Sky Sports the international rights. Sky will have to telecast the England-West Indies series when the IPL would be on.

Simply put, South Africa has good stadiums, impeccable facilities and perfect weather to boot. Of course, the presence of Indian diaspora will be as good as it is in England and they all enjoy the shortest version of the game as seen in the Twenty20 World Championship two years ago.
Source – ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com