Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi said his organisation could not be held responsible if Sri Lanka cancelled their tour of England in April and May next year.
Sri Lanka, themselves a substitute side for Zimbabwe, could pull out of the scheduled two Tests and three one-day internationals, which precede the Ashes, because stars such as Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan are contracted to the IPL.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan board, who are in no position to offer their players anything like the money they might earn in the Twenty20 jamboree, are concluding a 40-million dollars deal with the IPL.
That would lead to the full participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL and the Twenty20 Champions League for the next decade.
Modi, speaking at the Global Sport Summit in London, said: "The ICC's (International Cricket Council's) tours programme is fixed seven years in advance. Everybody commits to that and players commit to their countries on that basis.
"There are gaps in the scheduling. Based on those gaps players and countries make other programmes to fill them. The Indian Premier League took into account the ICC's fixed programme and signed players on three-year contracts.
"The Sri Lanka board gave their players a no-objection certificate for three years to play in the Indian Premier League.
"Unfortunately the Zimbabwe tour to England was cancelled. The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) had an obligation to Sky television to bring another team in.
"It is always portrayed that the Indian Premier League is stopping the Test matches being played. There was never a scheduled Test in the first place.
"The Sri Lankan tour would breach the contract with the Indian Premier League."
England is unusual among major cricket nations in that good crowds regularly attend Test matches. Many believe the growth of Twenty20 tournament such as the IPL poses a threat to what traditionalists sill regard as the ultimate form of the game.
But Modi said there was room in the calendar for both brands of cricket. "Test cricket is here to stay. It has its own hard core following and we will continue to see that go forward," said Modi.
The England and Wales Cricket Board had said centrally contracted players could not play IPL cricket in 2009. But Modi said it might be possible for the likes of England captain Kevin Pietersen to get his hands on an IPL contract.
"We would love to have the English players play for the IPL. We have the top 100 players in the world in the IPL and they are the only players missing.
"The ECB has approached the BCCI and the IPL with the objective of saying they are ready to provide non-objection certificates to the English players to play in the IPL.
"But there is a big catch to it.
"The ECB are set to launch the English Premier League and the quid pro quo is that if the ECB was to release their players, then the IPL must release a minimum of 20 players for the English Premier League.
"It has to go to a governing council and the BCCI board for approval. In the absence of that approval we will continue the way we are.
"I hope the English players can participate but I cannot guarantee that."
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Laxman slams another ton against Australia
Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman continued to score freely as both the batsmen piled on the runs for the hosts. Both batsmen continued to play aggressive cricket as they played some attacking shots to India past the 300 mark. India were 337/3.
The Australians on the other hand also intoduced the new ball in the attack to put pressure on the Indian batsmen, but were still to get any success from it.
VVS Laxman again got the better of his favourite opponents Australia as he scored another century against them. Beautifully stroking the ball through the covers for a boundary, Laxman raised his bat in delight for yet another Test century for the Hyderabadi batsman. India were 389/3.
The Australians on the other hand also intoduced the new ball in the attack to put pressure on the Indian batsmen, but were still to get any success from it.
VVS Laxman again got the better of his favourite opponents Australia as he scored another century against them. Beautifully stroking the ball through the covers for a boundary, Laxman raised his bat in delight for yet another Test century for the Hyderabadi batsman. India were 389/3.
Anand retains world chess title with a draw
Viswanathan Anand was in no mood to relent after his 10th round loss to Russian Vladimir Kramnik a day before Diwali. The Indian Grandmaster mixed aggression with caution to eke out a draw and retain the World Championship title in the 11th game on Wednesday.
Anand required only half-a-point to clinch the title and win a purse of euro 250,000. He grabbed his chance with both hands the moment Kramnik offered him an opportunity. The 38-year-old Indian thus moved to 6.5 points and retained the title he won in Mexico last year by topping a field of eight players that also included Kramnik.
Kramnik tried to take the game on Wednesday through a maze of complicated moves, as that was the only way to put pressure on the Indian. However, Anand fought bravely and negated all threats posed by his rival. He neutralised the complications and steered the game to a position from where Kramnik could see no chance of winning and thus decided to concede the match.
This was the third World Championship title for Anand, who had earlier bagged the title in 2000 at Delhi and Tehran by winning the FIDE knock-out tournament, and then regained it last year at Mexico.
The title also made the Indian undisputed champion of the game. He was already the world champion in 'tournament and knockout formats' but this 'match-play' victory has made him the all-round champion. Anand's win is all the more significant considering that the chess bodies have unified.
Anand's dilemma
Anand was in a dilemma as to whether he should play it safe and allow his rival go for broke, or go for sharp, complicated lines that served him well in the first half of the match. He finally decided to play his usual aggressive game and reached a comfortable position midway through the game. It became clear the Indian Grandmaster would be able to squeeze out at least a draw unless he made a mistake or Kramnik pulled a rabbit out of his hat.
Anand surprised Kramnik by opening with the king pawn, his favourite first move with white that he had steadfastly avoided in this match thus far. Anand had started by moving a pawn in front of his queen, which he had done rarely before this match and forced a bemused Kramnik into sharp, complicated lines that the Russian failed to handle properly.
But on Wednesday, Kramnik was up for a battle and chose the Sicilian Najdorf, one of the sharpest openings and which he has not used many times.
Anand offered a pawn and Kramnik took it and created complications by launching an attack on the Indian Grandmaster's king.
However, Anand won back the pawn, exchanged pieces and traded off the queens to steer the game to a position where black had no choice but to draw.
As Kramnik offered his hand with a shake of his head, the crowd in the hall stood up to applaud Anand.
Anand required only half-a-point to clinch the title and win a purse of euro 250,000. He grabbed his chance with both hands the moment Kramnik offered him an opportunity. The 38-year-old Indian thus moved to 6.5 points and retained the title he won in Mexico last year by topping a field of eight players that also included Kramnik.
Kramnik tried to take the game on Wednesday through a maze of complicated moves, as that was the only way to put pressure on the Indian. However, Anand fought bravely and negated all threats posed by his rival. He neutralised the complications and steered the game to a position from where Kramnik could see no chance of winning and thus decided to concede the match.
This was the third World Championship title for Anand, who had earlier bagged the title in 2000 at Delhi and Tehran by winning the FIDE knock-out tournament, and then regained it last year at Mexico.
The title also made the Indian undisputed champion of the game. He was already the world champion in 'tournament and knockout formats' but this 'match-play' victory has made him the all-round champion. Anand's win is all the more significant considering that the chess bodies have unified.
Anand's dilemma
Anand was in a dilemma as to whether he should play it safe and allow his rival go for broke, or go for sharp, complicated lines that served him well in the first half of the match. He finally decided to play his usual aggressive game and reached a comfortable position midway through the game. It became clear the Indian Grandmaster would be able to squeeze out at least a draw unless he made a mistake or Kramnik pulled a rabbit out of his hat.
Anand surprised Kramnik by opening with the king pawn, his favourite first move with white that he had steadfastly avoided in this match thus far. Anand had started by moving a pawn in front of his queen, which he had done rarely before this match and forced a bemused Kramnik into sharp, complicated lines that the Russian failed to handle properly.
But on Wednesday, Kramnik was up for a battle and chose the Sicilian Najdorf, one of the sharpest openings and which he has not used many times.
Anand offered a pawn and Kramnik took it and created complications by launching an attack on the Indian Grandmaster's king.
However, Anand won back the pawn, exchanged pieces and traded off the queens to steer the game to a position where black had no choice but to draw.
As Kramnik offered his hand with a shake of his head, the crowd in the hall stood up to applaud Anand.
Aggressive Gambhir rattles Aussies
Three days of intense preparation brought three moments of respite for Australia as India dominated the opening day of the Kotla Test after a shaky start. Gautam Gambhir led the way with his highest Test score, an unbeaten 149 that riled the Australians no end as India ended on 296 for 3.
One of Australia's biggest concerns all tour has been the non-performance of Brett Lee and the pacer sent his first ball spearing down leg, followed it up with a near wide outside off. When he did manage to hit the target, Virender Sehwag’s pad came in the way of a delivery that would have uprooted the middle stump. Aleem Dar had to make a simple lbw decision.
Rahul Dravid came out looking to play his shots, wasting no time in cover driving for three and glancing for a boundary. But he was guilty once again — third time this series — of chasing a wide delivery, and only managed a thick edge off Mitchell Johnson that Matthew Hayden caught inches from the ground at first slip. At 27 for 2 India were perfectly poised to squander the advantage of having won a good toss.
Thankfully for the home side, home boy Gambhir was in no mood to squander a golden opportunity to bat long. Sachin Tendulkar constantly spoke to Gambhir, presumably urging him to keep his concentration going, and it paid dividends. Even as Tendulkar batted freely, showing the balance and timing that has brought him more runs than any other batsman in history, Gambhir tightened his game and settled in for the long haul.
This was not to say that Gambhir looked to block everything. Rather, he cut out the risks, offering the full face of the bat to repeatedly drive the ball back down the ground through the on side as the bowlers tried to force the mistake of bowling around the stumps to the left-hander.
Tendulkar's stroke-filled stay came to an end against the run of play when he played a bit inside the line to Johnson on 68 and feathered an edge to the keeper.
Just as he had done earlier, Gambhir switched gears once more, this time speeding up as V.V.S. Laxman bedded down with some luscious strokes.
Gambhir trotted down the pitch to all the bowlers, shuffling and meeting the ball with an unhurried bat. When Shane Watson tried to keep things tight with Gambhir on 99, the fighter in Gambhir came to the fore as he gave the bowler the charge and carted an emphatic six over wide mid-on.
All through the day, Australia's bowlers had tried to get under Gambhir's skin, exchanging sharp words more than once. But more than the words Gambhir replied with strokes.
What really hurt Australia's bowlers — and once again they were guilty of bowling so short that that they gave the ball no chance to swing, conventional of reverse — were the 149 runs Gambhir piled up from 390 minutes of batting. Laxman got to 54 almost unnoticed, in good time, setting the stage perfectly for the second day.
One of Australia's biggest concerns all tour has been the non-performance of Brett Lee and the pacer sent his first ball spearing down leg, followed it up with a near wide outside off. When he did manage to hit the target, Virender Sehwag’s pad came in the way of a delivery that would have uprooted the middle stump. Aleem Dar had to make a simple lbw decision.
Rahul Dravid came out looking to play his shots, wasting no time in cover driving for three and glancing for a boundary. But he was guilty once again — third time this series — of chasing a wide delivery, and only managed a thick edge off Mitchell Johnson that Matthew Hayden caught inches from the ground at first slip. At 27 for 2 India were perfectly poised to squander the advantage of having won a good toss.
Thankfully for the home side, home boy Gambhir was in no mood to squander a golden opportunity to bat long. Sachin Tendulkar constantly spoke to Gambhir, presumably urging him to keep his concentration going, and it paid dividends. Even as Tendulkar batted freely, showing the balance and timing that has brought him more runs than any other batsman in history, Gambhir tightened his game and settled in for the long haul.
This was not to say that Gambhir looked to block everything. Rather, he cut out the risks, offering the full face of the bat to repeatedly drive the ball back down the ground through the on side as the bowlers tried to force the mistake of bowling around the stumps to the left-hander.
Tendulkar's stroke-filled stay came to an end against the run of play when he played a bit inside the line to Johnson on 68 and feathered an edge to the keeper.
Just as he had done earlier, Gambhir switched gears once more, this time speeding up as V.V.S. Laxman bedded down with some luscious strokes.
Gambhir trotted down the pitch to all the bowlers, shuffling and meeting the ball with an unhurried bat. When Shane Watson tried to keep things tight with Gambhir on 99, the fighter in Gambhir came to the fore as he gave the bowler the charge and carted an emphatic six over wide mid-on.
All through the day, Australia's bowlers had tried to get under Gambhir's skin, exchanging sharp words more than once. But more than the words Gambhir replied with strokes.
What really hurt Australia's bowlers — and once again they were guilty of bowling so short that that they gave the ball no chance to swing, conventional of reverse — were the 149 runs Gambhir piled up from 390 minutes of batting. Laxman got to 54 almost unnoticed, in good time, setting the stage perfectly for the second day.
Ambani Denies Interest in Bidding for IPL Cricket Franchise
India's second-richest man, Anil Ambani, denied a claim from Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi that he may bid for a franchise in the Twenty20 cricket competition.
``We categorically deny any interest as claimed by Mr. Lalit Modi,'' an Ambani spokesman said in an e-mailed statement today.
Modi said in an interview in London on Oct. 24. that Ambani ``is very interested and we will add one more team next year.''
The IPL, a six-week tournament which completed its inaugural competition in June, has drawn some of the best players in the world, including South African Jacques Kallis and Australian Andrew Symonds, and generated revenue of about $200 million, an all-time high for a single season in the sport.
Modi said the first season had been a ``fantastic success,'' and anticipated that the franchise sale for the league's ninth team may bring in as much as $200 million. Media reports in India said there could be as many as four new teams by 2011. Modi declined to say when the new franchise would be chosen or where it would be located.
In January 2008, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which runs the IPL, sold its broadcast rights to Sony Corp. and World Sport Group, a Singapore-based marketer, for $1 billion over 10 years. ESPN Inc. and News Corp.'s Star Sports network, which have a joint venture in India, followed in September with a deal worth almost $1 billion to broadcast the Champions League -- a new tournament featuring the best Twenty20 teams.
Auctioned Off
Modi, 44, auctioned off the IPL's eight city teams in 2008 to investors including Ambani's brother and India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd. Bollywood film star Shah Rukh Khan, and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan Murdoch took part in the bidding, which raised about $724 million.
The IPL has lured some of cricket's best players by paying the highest salaries the game has seen. In February, Kallis signed a $2.7 million contract for three seasons with the Bangalore Royal Challengers, and Symonds fetched $4 million for three seasons from the Deccan Chargers.
Twenty20 is the newest form of the game. The big-hitting shorter format has led to a spike in sponsorships and public interest in cricket since the first match in England in 2003.
Forbes magazine estimates that 49-year-old Ambani, owner of some of India's biggest businesses, is worth $42 billion, while his brother Mukesh is worth $43 billion. They don't speak.
``We categorically deny any interest as claimed by Mr. Lalit Modi,'' an Ambani spokesman said in an e-mailed statement today.
Modi said in an interview in London on Oct. 24. that Ambani ``is very interested and we will add one more team next year.''
The IPL, a six-week tournament which completed its inaugural competition in June, has drawn some of the best players in the world, including South African Jacques Kallis and Australian Andrew Symonds, and generated revenue of about $200 million, an all-time high for a single season in the sport.
Modi said the first season had been a ``fantastic success,'' and anticipated that the franchise sale for the league's ninth team may bring in as much as $200 million. Media reports in India said there could be as many as four new teams by 2011. Modi declined to say when the new franchise would be chosen or where it would be located.
In January 2008, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which runs the IPL, sold its broadcast rights to Sony Corp. and World Sport Group, a Singapore-based marketer, for $1 billion over 10 years. ESPN Inc. and News Corp.'s Star Sports network, which have a joint venture in India, followed in September with a deal worth almost $1 billion to broadcast the Champions League -- a new tournament featuring the best Twenty20 teams.
Auctioned Off
Modi, 44, auctioned off the IPL's eight city teams in 2008 to investors including Ambani's brother and India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd. Bollywood film star Shah Rukh Khan, and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan Murdoch took part in the bidding, which raised about $724 million.
The IPL has lured some of cricket's best players by paying the highest salaries the game has seen. In February, Kallis signed a $2.7 million contract for three seasons with the Bangalore Royal Challengers, and Symonds fetched $4 million for three seasons from the Deccan Chargers.
Twenty20 is the newest form of the game. The big-hitting shorter format has led to a spike in sponsorships and public interest in cricket since the first match in England in 2003.
Forbes magazine estimates that 49-year-old Ambani, owner of some of India's biggest businesses, is worth $42 billion, while his brother Mukesh is worth $43 billion. They don't speak.
Chess goes the T20 way
It's time for another World Championship in chess.
No, the world body hasn’t split like in 1993 when Gary Kasparov and Nigel Short broke away from FIDE to set up a separate world championship cycle. Neither it is about the next match in this cycle between Veselin Topalov and Gata Kamsky.
This is the about the World Blitz Chess Championship - the shortest version of the game which could be compared to a Twenty20 match, but a bit speedier.
Krishnan Sasikiran will be India's lone representative in the 16-player World Blitz Championship that will be held at Almaty in Kazakhstan from November seven.
In all 15 rounds will be played in the two-day tournament with players getting five minutes each to complete the game in each round.
Among the top players in contention for a top prize of 80,000 Swiss francs are Alexander Morozevich, newly-crowned Russian champion Peter Svidler, Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaizan, Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine and Gata Kamsky of the United States.
No, the world body hasn’t split like in 1993 when Gary Kasparov and Nigel Short broke away from FIDE to set up a separate world championship cycle. Neither it is about the next match in this cycle between Veselin Topalov and Gata Kamsky.
This is the about the World Blitz Chess Championship - the shortest version of the game which could be compared to a Twenty20 match, but a bit speedier.
Krishnan Sasikiran will be India's lone representative in the 16-player World Blitz Championship that will be held at Almaty in Kazakhstan from November seven.
In all 15 rounds will be played in the two-day tournament with players getting five minutes each to complete the game in each round.
Among the top players in contention for a top prize of 80,000 Swiss francs are Alexander Morozevich, newly-crowned Russian champion Peter Svidler, Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaizan, Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine and Gata Kamsky of the United States.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Champions League to begin on December 3
The inaugural Champions League Twenty20 will be played between December 3 and 10, instead of October, the organisers - the boards of India, Australia and South Africa - have announced. To accommodate the change, the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Perth has been pushed back from December 12 to December 17.
The eight-team tournament was initially scheduled to begin on September 29, the reserve day of the Champions Trophy, but the ICC was unhappy with its timing, given its close proximity to the Champions Trophy. It asked the three founding members of the Champions League to rethink, and they said they would revert in seven days.
It was expected last week that the dates would be postponed to early December, between England's two-Test and seven-ODI tour of India.
No other international fixtures have been scheduled on those dates, allowing all players to participate. The tournament has been sandwiched between the India's seventh one-dayer against England and the first Test in Ahmedabad, which start a day before and after the tournament respectively.
"We are happy that we were able to find a window during the first week of December for the inaugural edition of the Champions League Twenty20," Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said. "There was a gap in between the one-day internationals and Tests [in India] against the touring England squad, which will enable both the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings (the IPL finalists) to regroup and focus on the inaugural edition of the Champions League Twenty20."
Gerald Majola and James Sutherland, the chief executives of the South African and Australian boards respectively, said they had consulted the players, players' associations and the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) - the hosts of the Perth Test - before deciding the dates.
"We were pleased with the WACA reaction that the new playing dates offer local fans, including corporate groups wanting to entertain at the cricket, good dates for pre-Christmas Test match enjoyment, and we also took feedback from players that the changes could be accommodated without compromising what will be a defacto World Test Cricket Championship bout between Australian and South Africa during December and January," Sutherland said.
Majola told Cricinfo that the organisers have "conveyed the new dates to the ICC and they are fine with it." The venues and commercial partnership details will be finalised in the coming weeks.
The Champions Twenty 20 League comprises the Twenty20 domestic finalists from India , Australia and South Africa, Pakistan's winner Sialkot and England's champion Middlesex. The competition was announced on July 30, with a total prize money of US$ 6 million which will be shared between all teams.
The eight-team tournament was initially scheduled to begin on September 29, the reserve day of the Champions Trophy, but the ICC was unhappy with its timing, given its close proximity to the Champions Trophy. It asked the three founding members of the Champions League to rethink, and they said they would revert in seven days.
It was expected last week that the dates would be postponed to early December, between England's two-Test and seven-ODI tour of India.
No other international fixtures have been scheduled on those dates, allowing all players to participate. The tournament has been sandwiched between the India's seventh one-dayer against England and the first Test in Ahmedabad, which start a day before and after the tournament respectively.
"We are happy that we were able to find a window during the first week of December for the inaugural edition of the Champions League Twenty20," Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said. "There was a gap in between the one-day internationals and Tests [in India] against the touring England squad, which will enable both the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings (the IPL finalists) to regroup and focus on the inaugural edition of the Champions League Twenty20."
Gerald Majola and James Sutherland, the chief executives of the South African and Australian boards respectively, said they had consulted the players, players' associations and the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) - the hosts of the Perth Test - before deciding the dates.
"We were pleased with the WACA reaction that the new playing dates offer local fans, including corporate groups wanting to entertain at the cricket, good dates for pre-Christmas Test match enjoyment, and we also took feedback from players that the changes could be accommodated without compromising what will be a defacto World Test Cricket Championship bout between Australian and South Africa during December and January," Sutherland said.
Majola told Cricinfo that the organisers have "conveyed the new dates to the ICC and they are fine with it." The venues and commercial partnership details will be finalised in the coming weeks.
The Champions Twenty 20 League comprises the Twenty20 domestic finalists from India , Australia and South Africa, Pakistan's winner Sialkot and England's champion Middlesex. The competition was announced on July 30, with a total prize money of US$ 6 million which will be shared between all teams.
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