Kolkata, May 22 (PTI) In an emotional outburst, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan today said that he would stay away from the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League till he understood the code of conduct expected of him at the matches, a statement which has the potential to throw the tournament into a fresh controversy.
Making an oblique reference to his being debarred from the players’ dugout at the Eden Gardens by the ICC Anti Corruption officials, Shah Rukh said in a sms to his Kolkata Knight Rider players that he was still trying to understand the code of conduct expected of him at the matches.

“I am still trying to understand the code of conduct expected of me at the matches of the IPL…. ICC… Etc…. After I understand it, I will decide whether to accept it or not. Till such time, I will be with you guys at the hotel, in the meeting etc., but wont come for the matches,” he said.

Denying suggestions in a section of the media that his absence from the field had something to do with the team’s poor performance, he said “please dont ever feel it is anything to do with us as a team…. I am as dedicated to my Knights as I am to my kids…. Only, I wont be coming to the class room till the headmasters rules are understood by me…. I am a bit anti-Establishment kind of a guy, so I apologise for this quirk to u all.” Shah Rukh, who owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team, also denied any rift involving him, captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Buchanan saying such things are normal when the scale is not tilted in one’s favour.
Source :PTI

HYDEARABAD: Adam Gilchrist, captain of Deccan Chargers, admits it is really disappointing to see his team at the bottom of the table in the DLF-Indian Premier League.

“No doubt, it is frustrating. I am not used to losing so many games on the trot since it never happened during my stint with my national team. The people here would have wanted us to be on top of the ladder. And, that would have added value to the investors in the monetary sense also,” Gilchrist told The Hindu, reviewing Deccan’s performance thus far.

On the reaction of the officials of the franchisee, Gilchrist said they obviously had a bigger picture in mind.

“But they are a very understanding lot and have always supported us,” he added.

“We are aware that lack of consistency was one of the key reasons for our failure. I don’t want to blame any one department (bowling or batting) for the position we are in. But we are determined to set things right. We are looking at the IPL with a long-term perspective and not as a one-off edition,” he said.

Referring to the success stories of Aussies like Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach, Gilchrist said that he viewed it as a significant contribution of the IPL.

“This shows that there is plenty of talent in Australia. Lesser known players have produced some great performances. Hence, the IPL is not just about development of young domestic talent from India but also from all over the world. The standard of the game is going to improve in a big way because of this tournament,” he said.

Gilchrist picked fast bowler Manpreet Gony of Chennai Super Kings as one of the best bowling talents he had seen in the IPL. “But again, it is difficult to judge a cricketer on a long-term perspective by his performance in the Twenty20 format,” he said.

“However, having seen Rohit Sharma a lot, not just for his cricket skills but his personality, character and how he handles himself, I think he has all the attributes to be successful at the highest level. But only if he remains dedicated and is prepared to make lot of sacrifices.”

Gilchrist doesn’t think that age should be a barrier for playing in T20. “If you have the skill and the desire to succeed, complemented by physical fitness, you can do well,” he said.
Source: hindu.com

It seems that the IPL has succeeded in developing city loyalties. After a thriller of a game between Mohali Kings XI and Mumbai Indians on Wednesday — which Kings XI won by just one run — Mohali captain, Yuvraj Singh took a pot-shot at the Mumbai crowd for being openly hostile towards his team.

Yuvraj Singh sarcastically thanked the Mumbai crowd, reminding them that some of his players played for Team India as well. The joyous celebration by Yuvraj Singh after winning the thriller in Mumbai wasn’t just to celebrate victory or even his team’s passage through to the semi-finals.

The Kings XI skipper was sending out a strong message to the Mumbai crowd, which had apparently been aggressive and even abusive towards his players throughout the game. “A crowd should not do this,” he stated categorically.
Source: iplnewsonline.com

Mumbai, May 22 It’s almost curtains for Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) – owned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, that doesn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the SRK camp. Kolkata Knight Riders may soon don a new avatar of a full-fledged Sports company. Industry sources disclose that it will be on the lines of international football team Manchester United (MU), which is the world’s richest football club and valued in excess of 245 million pounds.

Joy Bhattacharya, CEO, Kolkata Knight Riders said, “We are planning a number of things around KKR. However, we will be able to disclose the complete plan after June 2. Right now, the entire concentration is on the on-going tournament.” Bhattacharya said that the idea was to make a complete franchise out of KKR, that will includes all the facets like merchandising, exhibition of Sports around the world, a Sports academy and possible tie-up with clubs around the globe. Earlier, both SRK and Sourav Ganguly had expressed this desire during a television interview. “The objective was never to stop after launching the team,” said Bhattacharya. Analysts say it will be a daunting task for team SRK as even MU can hardly rely on money from T-shirts, posters or footballs – they really have to sell football – in the ground and on the TV. So what Sports will SRK sell? Whether he will look beyond cricket and also embrace hockey, football or other Sports remains unanswered.

Right from its inception, KKR has always won an edge over others in terms of capturing the limelight. Be it the starry title-holders SRK and Juhi Chawla or for the blazing golden Viking helmet, or the team theme ‘Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo Re’ created by Vishal-Shekhar – the team retained the hype and publicity.

Even the team has some of the biggest names in the global cricket arena including Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of the Indian cricket team.

The team also includes the Australian captain Ricky Ponting, allrounder Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Tatenda Taibu and wicket keeper batsman Brendon McCullum. The main bowlers are Shoaib Akhtar, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Karthik. The team also includes Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez and Salman Butt and Australian batsman Brad Hodge.
Source: financialexpress.com

NEW DELHI: As the Indian Premier League (IPL) enters the crucial knock-out stage, official broadcaster Sony Max has bowled a bouncer at media buyers by floating an all-time high ad rate for the last three matches. Sony Max has floated Rs 10 lakh per 10 seconds for the two semi-finals and final matches, which will be played on May 30, May 31 and June 1 in Mumbai.

This steep hike comes despite a decline in television ratings for the tournament from the explosive start it had witnessed. According to TAM Peoplemeter data, the average rating for IPL has come down to 4.72% from 5.2% during the first two weeks.

Media buyers, while expressing concerns over the astronomical rates Sony Max has floated, admit that the broadcaster would find a select set of takers even at those rates. “We are not surprised that Sony is charging such astronomical rates. There will be a select few advertisers who would want to be visible on the channel, because ratings are expected to be a record high during the semi-finals and final. And since the hype seems set to last through the tournament, Sony is selling aggressively,” a media buying source told ET. Sony Max has kept aside about 200 seconds of inventory for each of the three matches.

If Sony does manage to close spot deals at Rs 10 lakh, it will better ESPN-Star Sports’ (ESS) existing record. Last September, ESS had sold 10-second spots for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup final at rates ranging between Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh — and that was just for the final India-Pakistan match.

Sony Entertainment Television (SET) president Rohit Gupta said the broadcaster was close to signing up a couple of advertisers at rates ‘almost’ nearing the Rs 10-lakh slab.

Declining to give out the names of the interested advertisers, Mr Gupta said: “Our inventory is limited to about 600-650 seconds for the semis and finals put together, and we will close deals with three to four advertisers for spot buys.”

Instead of selling 10-second spots on a one-off basis, Sony plans to sell the inventory as a package of 50 or 60 seconds per match. While it began selling spots at Rs 2 lakh for 10-second spots, the broadcaster scaled up the rates to Rs 2.5 lakh per 10 seconds after the first week of the tournament. This was jacked up to Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh for weekend matches.

Sources said Sony Max is on its way to achieve the target of Rs 300 crore from the first IPL season. Last year, Sony had made nearly Rs 400 crore from the World Cup and Champions Trophy put together. Sony has been selling IPL rates at about 30-40% higher that what it sold last year’s World Cup matches. India’s early exit from the World Cup did not help the broadcaster’s cause then.

Sony had acquired IPL broadcast rights along with World Sports Group (WSG) for a steep $918 million. As per the deal, WSG has acquired the global broadcast rights for 10 years. Sony holds the rights for a five-year term.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com