New Delhi: As the Indian Premier League authorities toy with the idea of hosting the cash-rich extravaganza twice a year from 2011, Delhi Daredevils’ captain Virender Sehwag warns it may lead to premature retirements among the top players.

IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi, in a recent interview, said for the first three editions, IPL would remain an annual event but after that, he would like to see the Twenty20 league twice a year, starting in May and September.

Sehwag, however, is apprehensive about the move, which he fears may not augur well for the game. “I think having it twice a year might trigger premature retirements,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

Sehwag believes the hype and hoopla around IPL notwithstanding, people still put international cricket ahead of the Twenty20 extravaganza and it would be difficult to squeeze in two IPL seasons in an already crammed international calendar.

“I think before they think about introducing a second IPL in the same year, they would have to see the schedule. The fact remains that people at large crave more for international cricket than IPL – be it India vs Pakistan or England vs Australia.’’

“I guess they would have to find at least four months to accommodate two IPLs, which would not be an easy task,” Sehwag explained.
Source:sify.com

Mumbai: Tickets for the Indian Premier League semifinal matches, to be held at the Wankhede Stadium here on May 30 and 31, are going to cost the cricket fans dear with the rates fixed between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 12,000 for most stands barring the popular East Lower.

The costliest ticket (Rs. 12,000) is the one which gains the fan entry into the Garware Club house, the upper tier to the left of the players’ dressing rooms, according to information provided by Mumbai Cricket Association sources.

This is double the amount the fans paid for the league stage of the competition.

The Sunil Gavaskar stand tickets, the upper tier of the East stand with corporate boxes, would cost Rs. 5,000 each, while tickets for the Vijay Merchant stand (upper and lower) have been priced at Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 1,000 respectively, the sources said. — PTI
Source:hindu.com

RANCHI: Railway minister Lalu Prasad, once a big fan of Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, feels that the cricketer has lost his way.

Lalu, who was here to surrender his passport in a CBI court hearing fodder scam cases, said the ace cricketer has apparently lost interest in the game and is more inclined towards hairstyles and glamour now.

“I have seen Dhoni play from his initial days, but the way he is playing now I can only say there has been a marked decline in his game,” said Lalu. “My observation is that these days he is more into hairstyling and glamour than cricket.”
Referring to a query on the Indian Premier League and his upcoming cricketer son Tejaswi, the railway minister said: “The concept is good as it is also promoting young cricketers. At present, my son is busy carrying water and towel for senior players. When he proves his worth, he will get a chance to play in the team.”

“Earlier, Dhoni used to bang the balls but nowadays he has curtailed his shots… Jada style maarne mein pareshan rahata hei (he has become style-concious),” Lalu said here last night to questions.

“Dar se khelta hoga, kahin out ho jaiga (Dhoni might have curtailed shots for fear of getting out),” he said in his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style.

The RJD chief, who is president of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), has, has been a regular fixture at all Delhi’s matches at the Kotla. Recently, he was spotted cheering Team Delhi from the VIP box.
Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

In the 54 th match of DLF – IPL, Deccan Chargers batted first and got a poor start as they lost the openers – Gilly and Gibbs at a team score of just 15.The Chennai Super Kings bowler bowled excellent line and length and didnot let the batsmen of Deccan Chargers score freely. Wickets were falling at regular intervals and in they end they managed only 147 runs. Some relief was brought by Venugopal Rao who was the top scorer with 46 run for the Chargers.It looks like a real easy chance for Chennai Super Kings to win the match and assure a berth in the semi finals.

In the match between Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings all th Charger fans would love to see atleast one win by the Deccan’s on the home ground. More over they would like to end it on a winning note where as Chennai Super Kings wish to win the match and built a momentum for the semi finals.

Deccan Chargers (probables): 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Venugopal Rao, 5 Shahid Afridi, 6 Ravi Teja, 7 Arjun Yadav, 8 Sanjay Bangar, 9 Nuwan Zoysa, 10 RP Singh, 11 P Vijaykumar.

Chennai Super Kings (probables): 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), Stephen Fleming, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Albie Morkel, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), 6 S Badrinath, 7 Abhinav Mukund/ Joginder Sharma, 8 Manpreet Gony, 9 L Balaji, 10, Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Match Number – 54

Time – 8 pm (20:00 hours IST)

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