The players’ auction for the Indian Premier League’s second season, scheduled to be held from April 10 to May 29, in Goa on Friday.

The price list:

Source: Rediff

England’s star duo of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen broke the Indian Premier League record for the highest-paid player after they were sold for US $ 1.55 million each in the players’s auction for the second season held in Goa on Friday.

All-rounder Flintoff was purchased by Chennai Super Kings, while England former captain Pietersen, as expected, was snapped up Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore Royal Challengers .

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni held the previous record at $1.5 million that Chennai paid for him last year.

Pietersen’s bid started at $1.35 million, while Flintoff’s base price was $950,000 and the duo would no doubt be rejoicing in the Caribbean after getting such a high signing amount.

Amongst the other players sold was South Africa’s rising star Jean Paul Duminy who was purchased by Mumbai Indians for a whopping $ 950,000 after starting with a base price of $300,000.

Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait was bought by IPL champions Rajasthan Royals for $ 375,000 to replace Sohail Tanvir, who emerged as the highest-wicket last year.

Only four players were sold in the first round of the auction and 13 players now remain in the fray.

Source: rediff.com

New Delhi: Owners of Rajasthan Royals, the team that won the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, have sold a 12% stake to London-based entrepreneur Raj Kundra and his partner, Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, in a deal that values the Jaipur franchise at $140 million (about Rs680 crore) .

At that valuation, the stake bought by the two would be worth $16.8 million. “This is a significant valuation given that we had bought the team for $67 million,” said Raghu Iyer, chief marketing officer, Rajasthan Royals.

A big chunk of the new investment will be used to fund new marketing initiatives, which include a DVD that documents the team’s rise to fame in season one of IPL, and a Bollywood film featuring Rajasthan Royals. The money will be used to procure new players and stage matches with local clubs in the UK and in Australia.

“The selling of this stake is part of our long-term strategic approach to build the Rajasthan Royals into a global sports brand,” said Manoj Badale, chairman, Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt. Ltd, owner of the franchise.

He added that the investment would enhance the “off-field commercial potential of a brand already recognized throughout India and much of the global cricketing world.” “Last season was very much about cricket and conquering the hearts of people in India… season two will be about conquering our global ambitions,” Badale said.

Kundra is chief executive of Essential General Trading LLC, a Dubai-based trading company dealing in precious metals, construction, mining and green renewable energy projects. Shetty has invested in the venture in her capacity as the chief executive officer of S2 Global Productions Pvt Ltd., which is her home film production company.

“It’s a strategic business investment. I always support the underdogs as I am myself one. Rajasthan Royals were the underdogs in IPL before they succeeded (in winning the title)”, Shetty told a media conference held in Mumbai on Tuesday. Some reports recently said Rajasthan Royals was looking at raising funds through an initial public offering. Iyer said the funds raised from the stake sale will take care of the team’s immediate capital requirements. “We aren’t looking for a listing right now, but it isn’t ruled out for future,” Iyer added.
Source: livemint.com

Pakistan’s leading cricketers will not be allowed to travel to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) because of the government’s concerns over security, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Monday. Saleem Altaf, PCB chief operating officer, said the foreign ministry had written to the board advising it not to send Pakistani players to India for any IPL event.

“We have informed the IPL and Indian board that our players can’t take part in the IPL this year,” Altaf told Reuters.

Around a dozen Pakistani cricketers are signed up with different franchises in the IPL while five others, including leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, were entered in a players auction to be held in Goa on Thursday.

The Geo TV channel reported the foreign ministry saying that it had only given the advice based on security concerns for the players, but the final decision had to be taken by the PCB. Altaf said they had sought clearance from the sport ministry for allowing cricketers to travel to India because of the tense relations between Pakistan and India after the Mumbai militant attacks in November.

“The sports ministry said it would give clearance but the foreign ministry has told us it would not be advisable to send players to India at this time,” Altaf said.

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, who plays for Delhi, said the players would abide by the directives of the government and board. “It is disappointing but something we have to accept given the prevailing circumstances,” he said.

Pakistani players were a major draw in the first IPL tournament with all-rounder Sohail Tanvir guiding his Rajasthan Royals to the title and winning the best bowler award.

The Indian government had stopped its team from undertaking a test tour of Pakistan in January after the Mumbai attacks. Later the Pakistani sports ministry refused to give permission to the national hockey and squash teams to travel to India for international events.
Source: Rediff.com

NEW DELHI: Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG)-owned Big TV’s four-year Rs 137-crore deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as Indian Premier League (IPL)’s exclusive DTH partner is being renegotiated and may be called off.

Big TV has raised objections to its rival Bharti Airtel’s DTH brand picking up on-air sponsorship
on IPL’s broadcast rights holder Sony Entertainment Television (SET).

Big TV does not want any of its rivals to partner with Sony as on-air sponsor. As per the original deal inked almost six months back, Big TV is a ground sponsor and has rights to advertise only on ground.

An official close to the development told ET, “Big TV is renegotiating its exclusive DTH rights deal for IPL and is most likely to pull out if the company’s demands are not met. It is also negotiating on the amount it has committed to IPL since it believes the deal has loopholes through which some other players can get benefits from the deal.”

Replying to an email sent by ET, an R-ADAG spokesperson said, “We will not be in a position to offer any comment on your query at this point of time.”

But, for BCCI, giving in to Big TV’s demands may not be possible. Unlike last year, Sony is not offering any category exclusive on-air rights to advertisers now. So any DTH company can pick up on-air sponsorship during the IPL matches on Sony, and the broadcaster’s deal with Bharti Airtel is almost closed. A Sony official, who did not wish to be named, said: “We had offered Big TV on-air sponsorship rights some time back, but at that time they were not interested.”

PL commissioner Lalit Modi or IPL CEO Sundar Raman could not be reached for comment. ET has learnt that Big TV has also asked BCCI for exclusive re-runs and behind-the-scenes uncut footage of IPL matches. That too is not possible since Sony has exclusive broadcast rights for all platforms—satellite and DTH, which it had won early last year along with World Sports Group for $918 million.

Also, as per government regulations, exclusivity of content is not allowed on the DTH platform. A channel is bound to provide its feed to all the DTH platforms unlike the West.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com