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Kochi
IPL Governing Council adds four games to next year’s IPL (Satire)
MUMBAI—
In response to Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s complaints that they have lost approximately 25% of expected revenue owing to a reduction in the number of games played in the IPL, the governing council decided to increase the number of games by four in next year’s edition.
In addition to the playoffs for the top four spots in the competition, there will be play-offs for the wooden spoon.
Cricket Bytes: Of Saurav Ganguly,spot-fixing verdicts and World Cup contenders
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Saurav Ganguly is going, going, gone…
The Bengali player’s hopes of participating in IPL4 were dealt a death-blow by objections raised by Royal Challengers Bangalore,Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. Team Kochi had evinced interest in the former Indian captain but could sign him on only if none of the other franchisees demurred. The iconic batsman remained unsold in the 2011 auction.
Although Ganguly fans—particularly Kolkattans—will be disappointed, bending over backwards to accommodate anyone is not the way to run a premier tournament. Accusations of ad-hoc decision making were leveled against Lalit Modi, the ex-IPL honcho. Modifying the rules to suit two interested parties is not in the best interest of the IPL. The IPL Governing Council is managing a business, not a charity.
Besides, if the Kochi team really needed the ex-skipper on their side, they ought to have purchased him outright when they had the opportunity. The chasing after Ganguly now smacks of ill-preparation. Verily, a case of putting the cart before the horse.
IPL: Court Battles,Keralite preparations and Moral Leadership
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For the BCCI, it has not been a good week, by any standards. Their No. 1 Test side has floundered in the series that could decide who has bragging rights.
But it’s the two setbacks in the Mumbai High Court that will set the agenda this weekend when the working committee meets.
The BCCI are undecided how to tackle the adverse rulings against them in the court cases against the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.
Should they pursue the matter further all the way to the Supreme Court? Or should they let laying dogs lie?
Bolshoi—the Boxer— and the IPL (Satire)
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My dog, Bolshoi , the Boxer, is quite peeved with me.
How do I know that?
Well, for one, he keeps giving me these dirty looks, looks that would have you believe that I am going to eat up everything that is laid in his name-plated bowl.
IPL: A Sea Of Storms For Kochi, Kings XI and Rajasthan Royals
Image by kdewhunter via Flickr
The route to IPL4 has never seemed as foggy as it is today.
And there seems to be no one sounding the fog horn either!
The three vessels SS Kings XI Punjab, SS Rajasthan Royals and SS Kochi are stranded in the stormy seas seeking a lighthouse to guide them to safety.
But their distress signals , their SOSs, have received little response from the current keepers of the beacon.
The IPL seas are still uncharted waters and the reefs are mapped as they are traversed.
Three voyages in three seasons and it was Heigh Ho! Life’s a bottle of rum!
Life’s not so rummy any more for the voyagers.
Nor quite so profitable!
The treasure hunt continues!
Indian cricket: More cricketing mores
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The third one-day between India and Australia was rained off. A similar fate befell the first one-day at Kochi.
It just goes to show that cramming in a series in what’s usually the off-season requires detailed planning. Though we had a wonderful Test series, the fans and spectators were left short-changed by the washout of the two ODIs.
Rain, rain, go away, the Ozzies and Indies want to play!
The Australians are probably left a little shell-shocked by the way their curtailed tour of India turned out. A winless tour for a team of their calibre will rankle for a long time.
I don’t envy the Poms when they meet the kangaroos down under.
The Australians will be doubly motivated to move up the rankings and prove that their recent losses are just an aberration.
IPL Road: Kochi dilly-dallies, Modi prevaricates
It has been ominously quiet on the IPL front over the past few days.
Except for news reports that the Enforcement Directorate is studying the BCCI filed FIR against the abrasive Lalit Modi, to fructify their case against his willingness (or unwillingness) to respond to their inquiries. There has been little to report in the Indian press or media.
Lalit Modi and his lawyer claim that they have yet to receive a copy of the FIR filed by the BCCI; this is, of course, a classic delaying tactic to fob off the media until they have studied the ramifications and can respond to the allegations in a coherent manner.
The jurisdiction of the Chennai police has been questioned by Modi and his lawyer.
The ED has issued a Look Out notice that will have Mr. Modi detained at all Indian ports if he attempts to enter the country; the IPL ex-honcho shows no inclination to oblige the authorities, preferring to remain in London with token noises about answering any queries via video conference.
Meanwhile, there still seems no resolution to the dispute within the Kochi consortium with the warring parties unable to come to any sort of arrangement as yet.
Rendezvous, who hold the major chunk of sweat equity are at loggerheads with the other co-owners, namely Anchor Earth, Parinee Developers, Anand Shyam Estates and Vivek Venugopal. Only Filmwave Combines are fine with letting Rendezvous continue in the Kochi consortium with management control.
Rendezvous are willing to buy their sweat equity as long as they retain a say in management matters but doubts are expressed by their partners about the source of their funding and whether the infusion of funds would pass muster with the IT department and ED.
Shashi Tharoor has not been consulted this time around; it is considered best to keep the politician at bay while discussing business matters.
The clock is ticking for the Kochi franchisee and the BCCI must be hoping for a quick resolution, or else it will be a case of even more mud-slinging in the media.
Sunanda Pushkar, now Tharoor’s spouse, has relinquished her stake and is thus no longer a factor in the mediation.
Is this the lull before the storm? Or is it the eye of the storm?
The road to IPL 4 has never seemed more bumpy or more full of obstacles and potholes. Will road rage win the day?
Note: This is an updated version of the earlier article.
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IPL’s ‘Twittergate’!
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Image via Wikipedia
With the spat between the 2 protagonists of the IPL ‘Twittergate’ now hitting Parliament, i.e. Tharoor’s conduct being questioned by the opposition parties, and with demands for his resignation becoming more strident, my thoughts on Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi.
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According to global sports salaries review, IPL is the second-highest paid league, based on first-team salaries on a pro-rata basis, second only to the NBA league. |
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Make Time For Sports. 