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

IPL, the 34-day tournament that begins on April 18 in Cape Town, is expected to generate Rs 40 crore to Rs 45 crore in ticket sales, significantly higher than most analysts’ expectations after the tournament was shifted from India, owing to security concerns. The amount, however, is around half the ticket sales that the first edition of the IPL generated last year.

The revenue from ticket sales of IPL in South Africa will be divided between the eight teams. IPL will pay a flat fee towards booking each stadium, a source in IPL confirmed. CSA, however, will not take a share of the gate money.

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has already announced that the stadium tickets for the IPL will be priced low to enable wider audience.

Most of the IPL tickets have been sold online through a specialised website, www.computicket.com.

Source : 70 per cent of stadium tickets for IPL sold out

“The IPL is a good opportunity for the Indian team to prepare before it heads for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup,” said Yusuf, who was a member of the triumphant Indian team captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in South Africa in 2007.

Yusuf will leave for South Africa tonight along with his other Rajasthan Royals’ team-mates for the second edition of the 37-day IPL, starting from the April 18.

Congratulating Indian Test team on its historic victory in New Zealand, the all-rounder said, “It was a very good performance. As a team we are playing very well. We are enjoying each others success.” The flamboyant batsman said playing the cash-rich T20 league on foreign pitches would be a good experience for the players.

He said that IPL champions Rajasthan Royals’ were gearing up for the defence of their title.

“We have got together. The preparations are going well,” Yusuf said.

Source: IPL ideal preparation ahead of T20 World Cup: Yusuf

The Lancashire all-rounder has signed up for two weeks with the Chennai Super Kings and will earn $1.5mn on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of matches he plays for his new side.

Flintoff is one of a number of leading England players, including Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara, who will feature in the world’s most high-profile Twenty20 tournament, which has been moved to South Africa because of elections in India.

Flintoff’s participation had prompted fears of extra overload for him but the all-rounder, who has been dealing with injury problems, believes IPL will be the perfect stage to help him reach his peak this summer.

“It’s been frustrating with the hip injury, thigh injury and getting hit on the thumb just before the end of the tour of the West Indies and I think the IPL will be good for me,” said Flintoff. “There are a few people putting it down but playing should help me out a lot. When I stop and start is when my body is at its most vulnerable.

“I know I’m only bowling four overs a game, but it will give me a chance to work on my game in between games going into a Test series and I will be working with top facilities out in South Africa.”

Being part of IPL also give him a chance to look and learn about their preparation techniques and may give him a better insight into their strengths and weaknesses before the World Twenty20 that will be hosted in England.

“The Twenty20 World Cup is going to be huge and international Twenty20 cricket is going to become bigger and bigger,” said Flintoff. “While I’m out there I’ll be watching the likes of Dhoni, who has played a lot of it, and Hayden who had a good IPL last year. I will be speaking to a few of the Indian guys and see if I can pick their brains.

Flintoff opens his IPL career against Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians in Cape Town on April 18 before facing Pietersen’s Bangalore Royal Challengers in Port Elizabeth two days later.

Source : Flintoff looking to extract his best from IPL

Confident about performing well in the coming edition of the cash-rich league in South Africa, Mortaza said his inclusion will increase the IPL fan following in his country.

“It feels great that I’ve got a chance to play for a strong side like the Kolkata Knight Riders,” Mortaza told reporters on his arrival here Saturday.

Mortaza, who has scored 90 runs and taken nine wickets in nine Twenty20 matches, said he saw no problem playing in the IPL for the first time.

“I am confident of myself. I am sure it won’t be a problem to take the responsibility and perform. I’ll be playing in the IPL for the first time. My confidence definitely will get a boost in playing with big cricketers in the IPL,” he said.

Mortaza is excited at getting to play with Sourav Ganguly.

“I will play with a great cricketer like Ganguly. I’m really excited to play with him. Obviously, he will give me some tips when I meet him in a one-on-one,” Mortaza said.

However, Mortaza regretted that the KKR would not get to play their home matches in Kolkata. “We will miss playing in Kolkata. There would have been many supporters here to cheer us on. But at the same time, I feel the tournament will be equally successful in South Africa.”

Source : IPL will boost my confidence: Mortaza

History
Indian Premier League is a cricket tournament being organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and backed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). For the inaugural tournament to be held in Apr-Jun 2008, the BCCI had finalised a list of 8 teams who will be participating in the tournament. The teams representing 8 different cities of India, including Bangalore, were put up on auction in Mumbai on 20 February 2008 and the Bangalore team was won by Vijay Mallya, who paid US$111.6 million for it. This was the second highest bid for a team in the IPL, next only to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries’ bid of $111.9 million for the Mumbai team. Bollywood actresses Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone, and Sandalwood film stars Ramya and Upendra are the brand ambassadors of the team.

Kevin Pietersen made his way into RCB as one of the costliest players in IPL history. Kevin Pietersen was valued at $1.55m over a base price of $1.35m. Also Jesse Ryder from New Zealand was acquired in the auction at $160,000.

• Kevin Pietersen
• Rahul Dravid
• Jacques Kallis
• Anil Kumble
• Mark Boucher
• Robin Uthappa
• Dale Steyn
• Wasim Jaffer
• Nathan Bracken
• Virat Kohli
• Ross Taylor
• Praveen Kumar
• Jesse Ryder
• Sunil Joshi
• Cameron White
• Shreevats Goswami
• Dillon du Preezui
• Pankaj Singh
• Roelof van der Merwe
• Vinay Kumar

You can find Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 Schedule – click here.

The IPL opens on April 18 in Cape Town’s Newlands, Duminy’s home ground, with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. And Duminy, who will turn 25 four days before the tournament starts, knows he could possibly become the first South African player to take the field for the Indian Twenty20 league in South Africa.

“It’s very exciting to know that,” Duminy told Cricinfo. “It’s just such a rush though; we play our last one-day game against Australia on April 17 and the next day I play for Mumbai Indians. It would have been a lot better if there was time to mingle with the guys before, just to know everybody. But unfortunately the circumstances won’t allow that, so I have to get into it as soon as possible.”

However, Duminy says that the experience of sharing dressing rooms with some of the greatest players of this era will be unforgettable. “I am really looking forward to playing with those players, the likes of Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya,” he said. “I looked up to them as a young boy and to be playing alongside them is a great honour. I am definitely going to try and learn as much as I can from them and get to know them as well as I can.”

In fact, Duminy feels that the IPL would be a defining experience not just for the international players involved in it but also for junior cricketers in South Africa who will be watching it. “It will be a big step for the young guys and I am sure it will be a good learning curve for everyone,” he said. “For a lot of youngsters, their heroes are playing in IPL and to be able to watch them live at some of the venues is going to be a great experience.”

Duminy admits with an embarrassed laugh, though, that he hasn’t yet got used to the price tag placed on him by Mumbai Indians, the richest IPL franchise, at the players’ auction in February. “It’s just about sinking in,” he said. “I am still pinching myself just to make sure that I am serious about it, and realising what has actually happened. It’s lovely to be able to earn such a lot of money, and hopefully I can put it to good use and hope it works right for me.”

Asked to assess the pitch and weather conditions in Newlands, where IPL plays out its first week, Duminy says the ground could throw up some big scores, but only if the weather permits. “The pitch has been really good of late but normally in May we get into the winter months,” he said. “It could be a little bit cold at night and we might get some rain too. But it’s going to be a great experience for me to try and perform in front of the home crowd.”

But will the 36-day IPL, which has been tagged as an Indian domestic competition, attract enough crowds in South Africa? “Definitely, on weekends we are going to get good crowds in,” he said. “I am not too sure about the weekdays. But there has been a keen interest in the IPL around the country and I am sure that even if people don’t come to the ground they will be watching it on TV.”

Duminy made his international debut in 2004 but hit the headlines on his Test debut last December with an unbeaten half-century to help AB de Villiers guide South Africa past Australia in Perth. In the next Test in Melbourne, he hit a stunning 166, adding 180 with Dale Steyn, to help South Africa clinch a historic series win.

It was a timely performance which got him the prized IPL ticket in the auction that immediately followed. However, he has since returned scores of 13, 16, 17, 29, 73 not out, 17 and 7 in the subsequent four Tests, of which the last three were in South Africa. “Yes, it hasn’t gone according to plan,” Duminy said. “Especially, in this return series in South Africa (which Australia won 2-1). It’s not a huge worry though because I am still feeling fairly confident. Hopefully, if the one-day series can go well for me, I can take a bit of confidence going into the IPL.”

Source: It’s just about sinking in – Duminy

Amre, who coached the Mumbai Ranji team to two trophy victories in the last three years, said he took the offer from Mumbai Indians because it would offer him international exposure. “With my experience as the Mumbai coach I will be acting as the bridge between the domestic players and the coaching staff, mainly Pollock,” Amre said.

Amre was part of a bunch of candidates who were asked to give their presentation two days ago but his handsome CV as a coach and also his experience on the South African circuit clinched the deal in his favour. Amre was part of the 1991-92 tour and even scored a century on debut in Durban. He later played for Boland in the South African domestic circuit in 1999 where he got the chance to move around the country.

Mumbai Indians officials confirmed Amre’s appointment but did not divulge much on Rajput’s exit. “He [Rajput] has put in his papers citing personal reasons,” a Mumbai spokesperson said. Rajput, however, was unavailable for comment.

Source : Mumbai Indians hire Amre as assistant coach

The Godrej Group has just signed up as one of the co-sponsors for IPL (Season 2). HUL has joined the list of sponsors of the much-hyped sports event, scheduled for April 2009.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola India has turned associate sponsor of yet another IPL team, Delhi Dare Devils, for its flagship brand Coke. Earlier, the company had signed up as the associate sponsor for Kolkata Knight Riders for its Sprite brand.

Incidentally, IPL had only seven sponsors in its first season; the number has risen to ten in this (second) season. At present, IPL (Season2) sponsors include Coca-Cola India, the Godrej Group, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Vodafone, LG, Samsung Mobile, Airtel Digital TV, Hyundai and Havells.

“Indian corporates are sponsoring IPL teams in a bid to grab high visibility for their brands. We are expecting some more Indian companies to join the IPL sponsors list next week,” said an analyst based in Mumbai.

A Coca-Cola India spokesperson, while commenting on the company’s new sponsorships, said, “We are committed to the IPL as it gives us yet another opportunity to connect with consumers. After signing up as the associate sponsor of Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Dare Devils for Sprite and Coca-Cola respectively, we are now looking forward to the season II of the cricketing extravaganza.”

An HUL spokesperson, when contacted for comments regarding the company becoming an IPL sponsor, said, “We have no comments to offer.” HK Press, executive director and president of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), the Godrej Group, however, confirmed that the company has signed up as one of the co-sponsors for IPL (Season 2).

“We will be using this opportunity to gain visibility for our brands,” said Press. The company is planning to beam a series of television advertisements to promote its flagship brands during the tournament.

On the rationale behind Coke’s move to sponsor two IPL teams, the company spokesperson said, “Cricket and Bollywood are the two biggest passions in India. With IPL bringing these together, its appeal transcends demographics, geographies and even socio-economic classifications.”

Meanwhile, Sony has kick-started its second round of television campaign to promote its channel Sony Max.

According to industry sources, Idea Cellular will soon join the IPL (Season 2) bandwagon. “Lowe India is currently working on advertising campaigns for Idea Cellular,” added sources.

Source: Hindustan Unilever, Godrej join IPL bandwagon

“I don’t want to disclose the names of the players who would be going to South Africa now as we want to keep all options open,” Joy Bhattacharya, Kolkata’s team director, said after the conclusion of a six-day training camp at the Eden Gardens. “We might take the whole squad which took part in the conditioning camp to South Africa. Nothing has been finalised right now. The final team for KKR would be announced in South Africa.”

John Buchanan, Kolkata’s director of cricket operations, had already sparked speculation with his revolutionary theory of doing away with a fixed captain and instead have four or five leaders through the tournament. Kolkata had been led in the first season by their ‘icon’ player, Sourav Ganguly, who is not fully convinced by Buchanan’s multiple-captain theory.

Kolkata’s players will leave for Bloemfontein in batches, with the first lot flying out on Tuesday evening for the tournament which kicks off on April 18. Ganguly is expected to leave for South Africa on April 5.

Source: Kolkata to announce captain and squad in South Africa

The second edition of IPL is taking place in South Africa. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to shift the Twenty20 tournament outside the country after state governments failed to assure security for the event that clashed with general elections.

Last year’s winning team, Rajasthan Royals will kick off the series with a match against Bangalore Royal Challengers at Newlands, Cape Town April 18 and the 33-year-old actress also admitted to undergoing pressure to maintain the winning streak.

“The pressure is really on, especially for us but I feel Rajasthan Royals have an edge since three of our players belong to the South African team, namely South Africa captain Graeme Smith, Morne Morkel and Tyron Henderson,” she wrote.

Source: Shilpa hopes IPL will be a success in South Africa