IPL Season 4 Opener

  Its that time of the year again.. you know, "DLF maximums", "Karbonn Kamaal Catch", "Citi moment of Success" yada yada all that crap sans Modi cam err.. Lalit K Modi. Well, what's new then? Primarily the tournament is bigger with 10 teams now in the fray and the format is as complex as the Benedict–Webb–Rubin equation, if not more. You know.. split into two groups then play home and away games with teams in their group and a random draw to pick the team to play twice from the opposite group and play the rest of the teams once.. Then the Playoffs for the finals. Phew!! If you're still reading this, either that made complete sense to you or you are waiting for the Benedict–Webb–Rubin reference to appear in this post somewhere. In the case of the latter please stop reading now! Thank you, for those now searching for some IPL hungama can continue reading.

   Two new franchises Sahara Group owned Pune Warriors India and Rendezvous Sports World Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd. owned Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Yes, the tradition of picking crappy team names is still very much evident. Somethings that keep the IPL very Indian indeed. Along with new teams the existing 8 teams were busy at the auctions buying players since the existing 3 year deal for all teams went *poof*. All franchisee owners were allowed to retain a maximum of 4 players (2 foreigners max). The first player retained will cost a team $1.8 million against the salary cap of $9 million, regardless of the amount the player is actually paid. The second player will cost $1.3 million, the third $900,000 and the fourth $500,000. Using all four retention options will mean that a franchise will have only $4.5m to spend on 26 other players. IPL season 3 champions CSK and runner-up MI were the only two teams to retain 4 players each. Where as, season 2 champs DC, KKR, KxiP did not retain even a single player. DD, RCB retained 1 player each and RR the inaugural season winners retained 2 players.

Players Retained:

• CSK - MS Dhoni (Ind), Suresh Raina (Ind), Murali Vijay (Ind), Albie Morkel (RSA)
• MI - SR Tendulkar (ind), Harbhajan Singh (Ind), Lasith Malinga (SL), Kieron Pollard (WI)
• RR - Shane Warne (Aus), Shane Watson (Aus)
• DD - Virender Sehwag (Ind)
• RCB - Virat Kohli (Ind)

 In the players auctioning things seemingly went very ugly. Some key highlights of the auctions can be seen HERE. The 10 teams have been split into two groups A and B.

Group A	Group B
Deccan Chargers	Kolkata Knight Riders
Delhi Daredevils	Kochi Tuskers Kerala
Kings XI Punjab	Royal Challengers Bangalore
Mumbai Indians	Rajasthan Royals
Pune Warriors India	Chennai Super Kings

   Coming up next will be the "Team Previews" before the "maha yudh" starts. So dont forget to catch all the action-reactions right here!

The IPL Saga continues

As much as the known remain known and the unknown remain yet to be known, it can be guaranteed that Lalit Modi will stir you up every time you are least expecting it. He is at it again. Yes, the little weasel he is. After the 7 Pakistani players got their visas approved from the Indian high commission, Mr. Modi has announced it is too little too late. Now the players cannot be fit into their franchises as the franchisees have already replaced those players and under “new” contract policies it is impossible to reverse the player’s contract. So, he pulls a rabbit out of the hat. He added that the players have just one way to play in the 3rd season and that is to fall into the auction list. Yet another deadline to apply and laws to be followed. Wonder if any Pakistani player is that desperate to participate in the money-minting IPL. Or will they stand up and say, “We are the T20 world champions so, you take your shitty tournament and come when I have the time.” But, what if they don’t? What if the players are keen to play some good club cricket and earn a few extra bucks? So, does KKR now have to bid for Gul/Razzaq against 7 other franchisee owners? The same applies for an Afridi or Misbah, Tanvir or Akmal and the rest of the folks. Mr. Modi you have outdone yourself congratulations!