"Sticky Something' could be KKR Captain for IPL-3

The Fake IPL blog or FIP has an interesting quote in reference to the captainship of the team. The blog reads,” News from our camp is that Sticky Something has verbally confirmed his availability to Dildo for next season depending on certain conditions. The idea is to declare him captain in a few months, and then let him build his team and support staff.

Here, ‘Sticky Something’ is an indication towards the Australian Captain Ricky Ponting, who chose to stay away from the IPL this time, in order to give himself rest for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and the Ashes in England.

Coach John Buchanan’s future in the Kolkata Knight Riders team also seems bleak. The FIP further says, “Director of Operations and Coach, who till 3 weeks ago were the most important designations in our squad, will now be part of the support staff. Sticky will also oversee a local talent scout after their tour of England later this year. Nobody knows Lordie's role next year.
Apart from the captaincy, the blog also puts an end on all the talk to SRK disinvesting his stake in the team. The mystery blogger tersely writes, “The team's not getting sold in a hurry, I can tell you this much.”

The Fake IPL Player blog’s popularity has soared to dizzying heights and the blog conducted an exclusive poll, wherein the readers were asked whether they wanted to have the identity of the anonymous blogger revealed. A large number of voters wanted the FIP to reveal his identity.

[the article was originally published at http://sports.in.msn.com/ipl/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3011020]

IPL 09 : Celebrity owners on a sticky wicket

There appears to be a strong inverse relationship between the celebrity status of the owner of an IPL team and its performance. Whether this relationship is also causal will be known after a few years.

However, as the table below suggests, the biggest celebrity without doubt is Mr Shah Rukh Khan. His team has the lowest score of three points.

Last year, in IPL-1, it was the Rajasthan team whose owner was not well known. It went on to win the tournament.

This year the team was taken over in part by Ms Shilpa Shetty who became a celebrity after her encounter with the late Jade Goody. Its performance has since declined.

The Bangalore team, which is as star-studded as a team can be, did badly last year but has improved its position this year. Mr Vijay Mallya, its owner, is known for his singular lifestyle, and is a global celebrity, not merely an Indian one. Mr Mallya’s Formula One team, Force India, is also near the bottom of the Grand Prix standings.

Mumbai stands somewhere in-between. Mr Mukesh Ambani, though as well known in urban India as Mr Barack Obama in the US, is not quite what can be properly described as a celebrity. His team has thus median points.

The Chennai team, on the other hand, is owned by the unassuming and unsung India Cements. It is at No 2 place with 13 points.

But it is really the Delhi team that proves the point beyond dispute. Its owner, GMR, is the least well known of all, and it has the highest number of points.

In 2008, after the 14 matches that lead to the semis, there was only one celebrity-owned team in the top four, Punjab. The bottom four had two celebrity-owned teams – Bangalore and Kolkata. Mumbai was in the middle like this time.

A former cricketer close to the current Indian team and also many of the players say that the key difference may lie in the interference factor. “You have to leave it to the coach and captain, you know, to decide things. The game is won mainly by on-field tactics, not off-field strategies.”

“I don’t think star status has much to do with it,” says Mr Anirban Das Blah of Globosport. “It comes down to the ability and focus of the owner which is not necessarily linked to being a star.”

In football, where there are not many celebrity owners, it is the reverse. Mr Silvio Berlusconi owns AC Milan, which is doing quite well. So is Manchester City, which is owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and member of the UAE’s Cabinet. Another celebrity is Mr Franz Beckenbauer, who is part-owner of Bayern Munich.

[the article was originally http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/05/15/stories/2009051552090100.htm]

Mumbai Indians beat Knight Riders by 92 runs

Port Elizabeth: Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya turned on their charm and made mockery of Twenty20 cricket being a young man's game as both posted breezy half-centuries to guide Mumbai Indians to a 92-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match.

The 36-year-old Tendulkar's 45-ball 68 was laced with six boundaries and four sixes, including one that went over the park.

His opening partner, the 39-year-old Jayasuriya scored 52 off 32 balls with four sixes and two boundaries as the Mumbai Indians raced to 187 for six at St George's Park.

Knight Riders opening pair of Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum needed to match the veteran duo but disappointed as the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side capitulated for 95.

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly and Australian Brad Hodge staged a brief fightback but once their 54-run partnership was brought to an end by Abhishek Nayar, it was one way traffic as Lasith Malinga ripped through the tail.

Ganguly topscored for the Knight Riders, with a 30-ball 34, hitting a six and three fours while Hodge scored 24 off 22 balls with the help of three boundaries.

Earlier, it was the right-left combination of Tendulkar and Jayasuriya that did all the damage.

[the article was originally published at http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sachin-jayasuriya-guide-mumbai-indians-to-187/451813]

Fake IPL player blogger vanishes

The mole who created ripples in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by spilling out the juicy dressing room gossip of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has suddenly stopped posting his missives after his blog made waves in the media.

The last time he had made a posting on fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com was Wednesday, after it was reported that the blogger had been identified as an insider in the KKR camp and could be a former player.

"We had a team meeting but hardly anything of note was discussed. Looks like things are secret until the mole is caught. Most guys in contention have been asked to be prepared. Lordie was there in the meeting, although he didn't speak much," the blogger said in his last posting.

The blog has become hugely popular among fans and players as it provides inside information about KKR and also about the IPL parties.

The writer, who claims to be a fringe player in the KKR team, says: "I am a perennial no-hoper. And have no hopes of getting a match in the IPL."

"The team is full of super stars and all I do is bowl a bit, bat a bit, and field like a maniac. But, there's one thing I do very well. Serve drinks. And that's what I am expecting do in South Africa. And throughout the IPL, I will be bringing to you the 'aankhon dekha haal', right from inside the dressing room, meeting room and players' bedrooms," he had written in his first posting Saturday.

Since the first day of the IPL, the blogger has poured out interesting tidbits, including information about team meetings.

The blogger has also given nicknames to cricketers - Lord Almighty (Sourav Ganguly), Calypso King (Chris Gayle), Sheikh of the Tweak (Shane Warne) and Kaan Moloo (Ajit Agarkar).

The popularity of the blog made the KKR team management start a witch hunt for the mole, to the extent of banning laptops and Internet connections from hotel rooms.

KKR team director Joy Bhattacharya said in a statement: "There is a blog spot which purports to be from a member of the KKR entourage. Poison pen writing of the dirtiest variety, but far too many factual errors."

[the article was originally published at http://sify.com/sports/cricket/ipl/iplfullstory.php?a=jeyrnOcdcej&title=IPL_player_blogger_mysteriously_vanishes&scategory=Twenty20&event=IPL_2009]

Dada is a dude for Knight Riders says Shah Rukh

Sourav Ganguly may no longer be the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, but team owner Shah Rukh Khan feels the former Indian skipper is still a "dude" and pivotal in the side's scheme of things in the on-going IPL.

"Dada is fantastic and there is no two ways about it. He does not need to prove it to anyone how great as a player he is. We know it in KKR. He's the main cog of our team. He's the guy the team centres around," Shah Rukh said in praise of Ganguly.

"(Brendon) McCullum, (Chris) Gayle, Brad (Hodge), David (Hussey), Ishant (Sharma), (Ashok) Dinda, Laxmi Ratan (Shukla) all feel the support from him, feel his intelligence, feel his winning ways. Dada is a dude," said the Bollywood superstar.

Shah Rukh also felt that Ganguly's two wickets for 24 runs tilted the match in his team's favour against Kings XI Punjab.

"Against Kings XI Punjab he was amazing with those couple of wickets. When Dada came on and got those two early wickets it changed the match in our favour and after that also he sort of kept them quiet and scared. I think that made a lot of difference," he was quoted as saying by IPL official website.

Shah Rukh said it was too early to start celebrating after his team posted its first win in two games by beating Kings XI Punjab.

"It's good for the team that it has started coming together. Our top-order whether it's Ishant Sharma (in bowling) or Sourav Ganguly, Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle (batting) all are coming good together. We did not play too hot on the first day. I think the first match would be considered as a practice match and we are working on the mistakes committed on day one. The team is working together and that's what makes me feel a little more firm and good. But there is still a long way to go," he said.

Shah Rukh had a tough choice when asked who he thinks is bigger hitter between Chris Gayle or Brendon McCullum. "It is very difficult to say that. With Gayle we have a bet that he has to send one ball from South Africa to Kolkata and with McCullum we have that he has to send one back to New Zealand. We'll find out who is going to win. "I think both have their different strengths. Gayle has this timing and strength, McCullum has all timing and bliss.

McCullum is more like (Virender) Sehwag who times the ball whereas Gayle has got this strength like Yuvraj Singh. You can't really choose between them, they are both fantastic and when they both get going it is fantastic to watch."

[the article was originally published http://cricket.expressindia.com/news/Dada-is-a-dude-for-Knight-Riders--Shah-Rukh/450418/]

Shah Rukh dreams of victory lap with IPL trophy in Kolkata

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan admitted his team Kolkata Knight Riders is under a lot of pressure to perform due to the multiple-captaincy controversy in the second edition in Indian Premier League (IPL).

Shah Rukh said a fan following in a city like Kolkata also adds to the pressure. He hopes to win the IPL trophy this time around for Kolkata and take out a victory march in the city.

"I know the team is under a lot of pressure after the multiple captains, the choice of captain and all that. At the moment the team is under a bit of disarray, but we will stick together. We have started doing it," Shah Rukh said after KKR logged their first points, beating Kings XI Punjab by 11 runs via D/L method.

"My team is under more pressure because it is owned by a film star and then you have such fan following, the backing of a city that supports you one night and gets angry the next night."

"But I know they understand and they love the team. I am waiting for the day when I will go around Kolkata with the IPL trophy. I am sure the day will come," he said.

KKR coach John Buchanan's multiple-captain theory has brewed up a heated debate as Ganguly was replaced by Brendon McCullum as the new captain.

Shah Rukh hailed Ganguly as the most important member of his side.

"He has been a great player for the country. I hope he emerges as the player of the tournament."

Asked about the difference between cricket and acting, Shah Rukh said there are no 're-takes' on the field.

"The decisions have to be taken in split seconds so lot of time we are hoping that it is right. It is very difficult in the middle."

[the article was originally published at http://www.hindustantimes.com/highpl/storypage.aspx?id=eff01fce-3385-465a-a8c5-6c10120516f1&category=Chunk-HT-UI-IPLSectionPage-TopStories]

Priyanka to root for KKR in IPL II

Amethi, Apr 14 (PTI) Her busy campaign schedule for the general elections notwithstanding, Congress' star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi will cheer for Shahrukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders in the second Indian Premier League starting April 18 in South Africa.
"I guess so, yes," Priyanka said when asked whether she would support Kolkata Knight Riders during the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament that was shifted out of India owing to a clash of dates with elections.

Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Hyderabad-based team Deccan Chargers in their opening match in Cape Town on April 19.

"Yes," she told NDTV when asked whether she backed the team because it is owned by Shahrukh Khan.

Priyanka, her husband Robert and brother Rahul Gandhi had attended Kolkata Knight Riders match during the inaugural edition of IPL last year.

Incidentally, Kolkata Knight Riders play a match on April 23 when elections are scheduled to be held in Amethi, a constituency represented by Rahul Gandhi.

[credit : http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/B0D0B4C6781A424065257598003FA1AD?OpenDocument]

IPL a 'thank you' to SA, says Khan

Bringing the Indian Premier League (IPL) to South Africa is a means of saying "thank you" to South Africa for its hospitality and warmth over the years, says Kolkatta Knight Riders co-owner and Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan.

Fondly known as the Tom Cruise of Bollywood, Khan lands in Cape Town on Tuesday in time for the league at the weekend. His team has already been training in Bloemfontein for two weeks.

The Kolkatta Knight Riders, owned by Khan, Indian businessman Jai Mehta, and his Bollywood actress wife, Juhi Chawla, is one of the eight teams participating in the IPL this year.

Khan, 43, has made several trips to Namibia and South Africa, visiting Joburg, Durban, Cape Town and, more recently, Sun City, but this trip will be special because it will be his first visit "with the kids". He is expected to arrive with his wife, Gauri Khan, son Aryan and daughter Suhana.

The family would stay for a few weeks, mostly in Cape Town, he said.

He said he was really looking forward to the tournament.

"South Africans are such warm people, very welcoming, very open and friendly."

He said the tournament was significant for his team because the whole team would be in town, unlike last year when some players did not take part.

"We're hoping to see some of the wildlife and we're really looking forward to meeting some of the people again... and drink some good South African wine," he said.

He was expecting some competition, but the team were aiming to make the top six and hoping to secure a position in the top four teams of the tournament.

"But South Africans won't need to worry - as an actor and as a film-maker I can assure you we will put on a good show."

Despite his claim to fame as a Bollywood legend Khan has always had deep roots in sport, particularly cricket. He recalls a stint as a "good" wicketkeeper when he was 19.

Khan said he had been working on many projects, mostly to do with sport, because as a teenager he was involved in many sporting codes, including hockey and cricket, which took priority.

"Many youngsters never really had access to these sports. In our country you can't really make a career of it. So I wanted to create something that my son could be involved in one day. When I was young playing cricket wasn't really considered a profession, so I really wanted to create a platform for young people to develop their skills and talents. I look at it as a part of my social responsibility."

Given that his name Shahrukh means "face of the king", it is not surprising the star is currently the top actor in India, according to Internet critics.

Khan has won several awards for his outstanding performances in Darr, in 1993, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, in 1995, Dil To Pagal, in 1997 and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, in 1998. He owns three production houses in India, Red Chillies Entertainment and Idiot Box, and runs the Dreamz Unlimited production company with co-star Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza.

So what about Slumdog Millionaire?

Khan, who turned down a role in the movie, said he personally wanted to make the movie.

"I've said it's not an Indian film, it's a foreign film, and how India is portrayed in the movie is not the point of the film. The film is not about the country. But it was very well done. I think it turned out far better than if I had done it."

[credit : http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=17&art_id=vn20090414114913610C245954]

KKR to leave for South Africa without announcing squad

Kolkata, March 30 (IANS) Strange are the ways of the Kolkata Knight Riders. While it’s a normal practice for any team going abroad to announce the squad before leaving the shores, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Indian Premier League (IPL) team feels otherwise.

Ahead of the scheduled deparutre for South Africa Tuesday, the KKR management also refused to disclose how many players will be part of the final squad or how many players will fly at a later date.

“Well, it’s a new country, the conditions will be different. We don’t want to bring all our options into the open,” said KKR CEO Joy Bhattacharya.

Bhattacharya said several players didn’t have a passport. “We want to take as many players as we can,” he replied when asked how many players will be flown in to South Africa in the first batch Tuesday.

The KKR, which had started a camp ahead of the IPL a week back, wrapped up their preparations in India Monday with a net session at the Eden Gardens.

KKR begin their campaign April 19.

The tune-up was marred by a controversy after cricket operations manager John Buchanan unveiled his plan for multiple skippers, thereby deposing local boy Sourav Ganguly from sole captaincy. The former Aussie coach named Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Brad Hodge and Ganguly as his four skippers.

Unhappy at being pushed out from his coveted position, Ganguy hit back with a series of media interviews where he made veiled criticism on Buchanan’s move.

The KKR pool of 28:

Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Ricky Ponting, David Hussey, Brad Hodge, Moises Henriques, Angelo Matthews, Ajantha Mendis, Charl Langeveldt, Mashrafe Mortaza, Sourav Ganguly, Ajit Agarkar, Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Akash Chopra, Cheteshwar Pujara, Yashpal Singh, Iqbal Abdullah, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda, Debabrata Das, Mohnish Parmar, Anureet Singh, Arindam Ghosh, Sourav Sarkar, Shoaib Sheikh and Sunny Singh.

Buchanan's captaincy theory absurd - Wadekar

Bangalore: Hitting out at Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan’s multiple captains’ theory as ‘another case of over-experimentation’, former India captain and coach Ajit Wadekar said that this theory will never work in cricket.

The southpaw also lambasted Buchanan for his comments on Indian senior batsmen like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman, questioning their fitness to play in the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa.

"Buchanan is just making a mockery of Twenty20 in particular and cricket in general. I don’t think this theory will work even in football, where a captain’s role on the field is limited as all the moves are done by the coach or the manager of the team sitting in the players’ box.

"It really sounds very funny to me as a single captain takes all the decisions on the field in cricket for a full season. I can understand if the captain fails to deliver for a long time, then there is a need for the change otherwise it will only add to more confusion," Wadekar told Cricketnext.com on Sunday.

"I was shocked to read somewhere that Sri Lankan skipper Kumara Sangakkara, who is definitely one of the most intelligent cricketers of modern times, saying he welcomed this theory. My question to him is will he be able to deliver the goods as captain if there are constant interferences from others during a tour? Leave alone in cricket, this theory may not work in any sport," he added.

"if Bachanan gets his way and implements this theory in South Africa, it will be a real disaster for the team. Because the players will be so confused with four different theories from four different captains, that they will be caught in two minds while attempting even basic things and in cricket if you are in two minds nothing will work for sure," Wadekar observed.

"You can take the present England team as an example, they have a very decent team but the players are totally confused to do even simple things on the field because the captaincy has changed hands as many as five times in the past one year or so. You just can’t have too many cooks as it is bound spoil the broth," he added.

"The best thing for Kolkata team is to allow Sourav Ganguly to continue as captain for the first ten or twelve matches and if he fails to deliver, then think about a change for the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

"I also don’t agree with Buchanan’s observation that Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman are too old to play in the IPL as age has got nothing to do with playing any form of cricket as long as they are fit mentally and physically," Wadekar pointed out.

"Moreover, when you are playing any form of domestic cricket, the pressure is less and I don’t see any harm in the three seniors playing as they still have lot of cricket left in them and are quite fit," he added.

[credit: http://cricketnext.in.com/news/buchanans-captaincy-theory-is-absurd-wadekar/39524-13.html]

Multiple Captians for KKR in IPL

Kolkata, Mar 25,2009 (PTI) : Sourav Ganguly will no longer be the "fixed" skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders as the team has decided to rotate captaincy in the second season of the Indian Premier League starting April 18 in South Africa.
KKR coach John Buchanan said the decision to have multiple captains has nothing to do with Ganguly's performance or fitness and denied any rift in the team.

"The decision has got nothing to do with Sourav's performance. Chris Gayle (West Indies), Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) and Ganguly will all captain KKR. There will be a nominated captain for each game," he said.

Ganguly, on his part, said his focus was to perform on the field.

"He is the coach, he has views. My goal is to score runs and take wickets," responded the former Indian captain when asked whether he was disappointed with the KKR's move.

Even before Ganguly could finish his response, Buchanan intervened to say "He is the King of Kolkata." "If you (the media) is going to make a big deal about it, go ahead, we are not going to do it. The concept of multiple captains is new and we will have to see how it goes," he said.

Asked how the team would cope with the conditions in South Africa, where the IPL was shifted after failing to get security assurance from the Indian government, Ganguly said, "It will be different to play there. Wickets will have bounce but let's see."

[credit : http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/16F2E32F123F44B1652575840036EC08?OpenDocument ]