Past experience of having played in Australia would help him adjust to the pitches in South Africa which will host the second edition of IPL from April 18, Rajasthan Royals pacer Siddharth Trivedi said in Mumbai on Tuesday.

“This would be my first visit to South Africa. I have not made any special preparations. I read what Glenn McGrath has said that conditions in South Africa would be similar to the Australian ones. I have played in Australia and that experience would help me”, Trivedi told reporters on Tuesday.

Retired Australia pace great McGrath told reporters in Delhi on Monday that the conditions in his country and SA were similar which will help him get adjusted in time for the IPL.

“I did enjoy the fan support and playing in Delhi (for Delhi Daredevils) last year but if I just think about the conditions, I feel it would be bouncy and quick, somewhat similar to what we have in Australia. I feel we can adjust to the conditions quite quickly,” McGrath said.

The 26-year-old Trivedi, who made his first class debut in 2002-03, has visited Australia for a five-week training stint at the Australian Cricket Academy under the Border-Gavaskar scholarship in 2003.

The lanky right-arm Gujarat Ranji Trophy bowler was also part of the India A team that visited Australia last year for the Emerging Players’ tournament and in 2006 for the Top End series.

Trivedi, who would be again playing under another Australian legend Shane Warne for his IPL franchise outfit, praised the leg spin great for the motivation he provided as captain-coach in 2008.

“I have been playing for seven years and had some good experience before IPL. Playing under Warne was a different experience. He always used to tell me ‘you have lot of variations’ and give a lot of encouragement”, said Trivedi, who picked up 13 wickets in 15 IPL ties in 2008.

“I worked a lot on my yorkers and slower ones. In this format you have to be unpredictable (to the batsmen). Warne told me my job, when I came on to bowl after six overs, was to contain the run flow and not take wickets”, he said.

Trivedi and his Gujarat and RR teammate Niraj Patel both welcomed their franchise outfit’s partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as the technology partner by saying the deal would help them in ironing out their own deficiencies through video analysis.

The Rajasthan Royals team is set to depart tonight for South Africa and their opening match is scheduled on April 18 against Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Source – expressindia.com

Chennai Super Kings is fully geared up for IPL II . Everything is falling in place and with coach Stephen Fleming’s arrival, CSK look set to capture the heart of one and all, as it did last time. A 30-member strong team comprising players and support staff will assemble in South Africa where the team will train and play practice matches.

Most of the players including Fleming, Matthew Hayden, George Bailey, Manpreet Gony, Suresh Raina, Shadab Jakati, Joginder Sharma, Sudeep Tyagi, Parthiv Patel along with players from Tamil Nadu will leave for South Africa from the city on Wednesday. The rest will join them in the next few days.

VB Chandrasekhar (director, cricketing operations, CSK) while announcing the players list informed that Kiwi Jacob Oram will be playing the entire tournament. It is believed that Michael Hussey will play when he makes himself available.

Fleming on his first day as coach of CSK handled the media with ease.He was eager to play the new role of coach with perfection. He stated that he was clearly aware what his role should be.

Although he appeared to look gentle he made it clear that he will handle the team professionally and stressed that there was no place for sentiment.

“We have a balanced side. I am eager to perform my role to the best of my ability,” said Fleming.

The former New Zealand captain made it clear that the captain was the boss and his role would be that of a supplementary one. “I would prefer the captain to have the final say. My job would be to work with players and see to that each one gives his best and help the captain marshall resources in the best way,” said Fleming.

He also praised Dhoni for his excellent leadership skills.

When quizzed whether he believed in John Buchanan’s theory of four captains? “I do not believe in his (John’s) theory. I do not wish to make innovations for the sake of it. Things will be more or less the same like last time,” reflected the Kiwi.

On team composition, Fleming said: “We have to go there and see the conditions.

As far as I am concerned the best team would take the field according to the opposition. Reputations and names do not matter. I see this (IPL II) as excellent opportunity in particular for ‘home’ grown players to prove their mettle.” N Srinivasan, owner of CSK, was hopeful of a good show by his team.

He was happy that at last IPL II was happening and said the governing committee was doing everything to see to that the public in South Africa was aware what IPL was all about.
Source – expressbuzz.com

A HIGHLY optimistic N Srinivasan, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament transcends borders. Srinivasan, who owns the Chennai Super Kings announced that his team has hired renowned foreign cricketers to attain victory.

While speaking to the media, Srinivasan said, “I think, the IPL transcends borders. We only wanted the best and it does not matter which country he hails from.” He has appointed Stephen Fleming, the former captain of New Zealand as the coach of the Chennai Super Kings. His team also has South African Greg King as the trainer and Australian Tom Simsek as the physio.

On the question whether the hiring of foreign coaches and players would increase the budget of the team or not, Srinivasan replied, “We are not concerned by the budgets. Money is not the issue, but what is more important is winning. Our focus is on winning the tournament this year.” Srinivasan also declared that they have a fair idea about their finances based on last year, but the amount spend would be known only after the tournament is over.

When asked about his views on the doctrine of John Buchanan, the Australian coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), about having multiple captains in a single team, Srinivasan said that Shahrukh Khan, the owner of the KKR has already replied to Gavaskar on that issue. He did not wish to say anything more on that topic.

Srinivasan also expects a very good market for the Season II of IPL, though it would be held outside India this time. According to Srinivasan, the huge Asian population in South Africa would play the role of a positive catalyst in getting success there. The sale of tickets is also encouraging, he added.
Source – merinews.com

Last season’s finalist Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would prove an even stronger side in the IPL this year, said N. Srinivasan, the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of India Cements — the franchise owner of CSK — at the official press conference of the team here on Monday.

“We missed winning the IPL by a whisker in the last edition and our aim is to win the title this year. We are focussed on this,” said Mr. Srinivasan.

He added the coming in of influential all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and the presence of several multi-dimensional cricketers such as Albie Morkel and Jacob Oram would add great depth and value to the side.

Mr. Srinivasan expected the IPL to be a success. “The fact that the tickets for the opening games in Cape Town have been sold out tells us about the interest the tournament has generated. Cricket South Africa has gone out of its way to support the IPL,” he said.

Asked about batting legend Sunil Gavaskar’s criticism of Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach John Buchannan, Mr. Srinivasan replied, “I think Shah Rukh Khan has answered.”

Stephen Fleming, CSK’s player-cum-coach, lavished praise on Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“He’s an outstanding captain and leader. While there has been a lot of focus on his attributes as a skipper, sometimes we forget how hard it is for him to keep wickets and remain a key batsman while doing the top job. His contribution as a player is second to none. He leads by example. And he has the respect of the cricketing community.”
Source – hindu.com

Pakistan players, who have been dumped by the Indian Premier League (IPL), Monday asked the IPL bosses to either allow them to play in the IPL or clear their dues amounting to $38.5 million. Addressing a joint press conference here at a local club, Shoaib Malik, Misbahul Haq, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez said they were baffled under which law their contracts had been suspended and terminated. The IPL has terminated contracts of five Pakistan cricketers – Younis Khan, Malik, Shahid Afridi, Salman and Shoaib Akhtar who all played in the inaugural IPL tournament – and suspended contracts of Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Misbah and Kamran.

The players said they were not informed about their contracts’ termination and suspension by the IPL. “We still have no official information in black and white regarding our contracts’ suspension or termination. This is beyond our comprehension,” the players lamented.

They said the IPL wrongly terminated their three-year contracts after the Pakistan government did not allow them to go to India because of the strained political relations between the two countries. “We did not violate our contracts. We didn’t refuse to play in the IPL. The organisers should not have terminated our contracts at a short notice without clearing dues for the full three-year contract. The IPL has now been shifted to South Africa for security reasons and we want the IPL to either allow us to play or compensate us fully.” The Pakistan stars said they would file a case against the IPL management after consulting the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “This is not a matter of India and Pakistan but livelihood, security, future and well being of cricketers.”

Fast bowler Umar, infact, has now informed his team, Kolkata Knight Riders, to increase his contractual fee as he was brought in the players auction last year for only $150,000. Opener Mohammad Hafeez, who represented the Kolkata Knight Riders, only had a one-year contract with them while fast bowler Mohammad Asif has been released by Delhi Daredevils after testing positive in a dope test carried out in the league last year by the organisers. However, Asif has now got his dues from the IPL and has no grievances.
Source – dailytimes.com.pk