IPL cannot afford to be complacent on corruption threat: ICC

Indian Premier League's refusal to take the ICC's help in dealing with the threat of match fixing is not much of a concern for the governing body but it has warned that the cash-rich Twenty20 event remains very vulnerable to corruption.

"The board has consistently said it cannot afford to be complacent (about the risk of corruption in Twenty20 cricket)," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat told 'Cricinfo'.

"We are mindful that with Twenty20 cricket there is great excitement and money. Put those ingredients into a pot and there is a higher concern," he added.

The IPL has hired private staff to deal with possible wrongdoings at the event underway in South Africa and Lorgat said the ICC doesn't have any issues with it as the home board, the BCCI, is fully responsible for ensuring that the event remains corruption-free.

"It is not dissimilar to county cricket, in that it is a domestic tournament, and the onus for matters such as anti-corruption and doping lie with the home board," he said.

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200904241240.htm]

Kings XI, KKR look to get IPL campaign on track

Thoroughly outplayed in their opening matches, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab will lock horns on Tuesday hoping to haul their Indian Premier League campaign back on track.

Ravaged by injuries that have denied them the services of star players like Shaun Marsh, Brett Lee and S Sreesanth, the Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI were handed a 10-wicket drubbing by Delhi Daredevils in their rain-truncated opening match on Sunday.

On the same night, Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders were beaten by eight wickets by last year's bottom-placed Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.

"I want this nightmare to end," said Shah Rukh after the thrashing.

Kolkata, it seemed, were yet to recover from the pre-tournament furore over captaincy, at the end of which Sourav Ganguly was replaced by New Zealand's Brendon McCullum at the helm.

McCullum couldn't have asked for a worse start to his stint but remained optimistic about the team bouncing back in the coming matches.

"It is a long tournament and we will bounce back," he insisted.

Kings XI, on the other hand, are trying to cope with the injury blows that have left them severely depleted.

Last season's highest scorer Marsh, along with tearaway pacer Lee, were out of contention even before the tournament and adding to their woes is the non-availability of all-rounder James Hopes, who is on national duty.

Sreesanth too has been left with the job of promoting the team from the sidelines as a back injury keeps him out of on-field action.

Against a balanced Delhi, Kings XI's batting struggled to hold up and bowling was such that Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir took just a little over four overs to get past a 54-run target that was set for six overs in the rain-shortened game.

The Mohali-based team's batting relies heavily on skipper Yuvraj and Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara, both of whom didn't contribute much in the lost match.

Yuvraj, however, remained hopeful of a turnaround.

"We are happy with the start, off course we can take some positive out of it and we have enough games coming up, so looking forward to that," he said.

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindustantimes.com/highpl/storypage.aspx?id=2e3cdbef-06d9-483f-a96a-301b13e8b282&category=Chunk-HT-UI-IPLSectionPage-TopStories]

IPL, CSA yet to resolve hospitality dispute

Durban: The organisers of the Indian Premier League and Cricket South Africa are yet to resolve the hospitality suites dispute at eight venues which will host the matches of the Twenty20 tournament.

The controversy arose following uncertainty over whether the owners of the suites will be allowed free entry there during the IPL matches.

Cricket South Africa CEO, Gerald Majola, said in a statement that everything was being done to resolve the problems.

"Cricket South Africa is in discussions with the DLF Indian Premier League and the cricket boards at the eight venues that will be hosting Season 2009 of the league in South Africa," he said.

"CSA will look to uphold the interest and rights of all stakeholders. Discussions are in the final stages of an amicable resolution for all parties concerned and CSA is confident that this matter will be settled soon," he added.

Majola, however, said CSA is not in a position to comment further and a statement will be issued after the conclusion of the discussions.

The venues where the IPL matches will be played are in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Bloemfontein and Kimberley.

The IPL is set to kick off in Cape Town on April 18.

[credit : http://cricketnext.in.com/news/ipl-csa-yet-to-resolve-hospitality-dispute/39872-27.html]

England loses the IPL race to South Africa?

NEW DELHI: The moment Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi switched his travel plans to go Johannesburg instead of London, it was evident where the second edition of the Twenty20 cricket tournament is headed.

Modi dropped enough hints in his now famous late night exclusive interviews to Indian television channels to suit the prime time overseas, that South Africa is his preference, the fickle late winter weather ruling England out.

He said the organisers needed to take the weather pattern into account besides other factors like the April 26 London marathon which could make getting rooms extremely difficult. And then there is the English County season and the Test and One-day series against the West Indies.

Modi had made it clear that South Africa is a more attractive proposition what with their domestic season ending before the IPL gets underway. In England, some key venues will not be available for the IPL games without disrupting their domestic programme.

Moreover, South Africa is closer to India and that would give a time advantage over England.

Importantly, in this time of recession, the cost of holding the tournament will be cheaper in South Africa than in England, though the overall expenses will go a manifold because of the switch from India.

The other vexed problem for the organisers was the TV rights issue. In South Africa, Supersport has the rights to the IPL as well as all international cricket played in the country whereas in England Setanta holds the IPL rights and Sky Sports the international rights. Sky will have to telecast the England-West Indies series when the IPL would be on.

Simply put, South Africa has good stadiums, impeccable facilities and perfect weather to boot. Of course, the presence of Indian diaspora will be as good as it is in England and they all enjoy the shortest version of the game as seen in the Twenty20 World Championship two years ago.

Let warm Durban host IPL final

JOHANNESBURG: Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock on Wednesday said Durban should host the final and semi-final matches of the Indian Premier League because of the favourable weather conditions in the city.

"Durban is the only city in the country with the warm weather to make it feasible to hold matches that deep into winter," Pollock said.

Pollock, adviser to the Mumbai Indians franchise, though was apprehensive how local fans would connect with the teams.

"Our fans may struggle initially to identify with teams. In that respect, it would have been better to have franchises based in particular cities to give people time to get to know 'their' team," he said.

The tournament will see 59 matches being played in five weeks, which Pollock said would be very demanding from players, who will shuttle between six different venues.

"It will also mean, with 25 players per franchise, that guys will lead a nomadic life on the road, unable to leave their stuff at their base camp," Pollock said.

[ credit : http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Let-warm-Durban-host-IPL-final-Pollock/articleshow/4313265.cms ]