Champions League rights sold for $900 million to ESPN

ESPN-STAR Sports has won the exclusive Global Commercial Rights to telecast the Twenty20 Champions League matches for 10 years starting from the event's inaugural edition scheduled to be held from December 3-10.
The channel bagged the rights for USD 900 million, making the League highest value cricket tournament on a per game basis. On their way to secure the commercial right, ESPN STAR Sports left behind Abu Dhabi Sports Club and DIC.

The status of Twenty20 cricket as the sport's most lucrative avatar has been confirmed with commercial rights to the Champions League being sold to broadcasters ESPN-Star Sports (ESS). This makes the Champions League, promoted by the national boards of India, Australia and South Africa, the highest valued cricket tournament on a per-game basis.

The deal marks ESS's entry into the specialized Twenty20 market; it had lost out on the bid for the Indian Premier League after what seemed like a miscalculation on its part. The IPL rights were eventually sold to a consortium, including Sony Entertainment Television and the Singapore-based World Sports Group, for more than $1 billion. It had seemed like an outrageous price to pay at the time; now, after the overwhelming success of the inaugural IPL, it seems a steal.

ESS are the ICC's television rights holder until 2015 - they acquired the rights in 2006 for $1.1 billion over nine years - but the postponement of the Champions Trophy, originally due to start in Pakistan tomorrow, left them facing a long spell without a major series.

England unhappy with India venues,again

Like the last time England visited India, ECB are unhappy at the grounds chosen to host matches on the tour of India later in the year.

Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Mohali have all been excluded from the winter schedule that includes two Tests and seven one-day internationals.
A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said: "Fans will not experience the great grounds of India."

BCCI does not much care about English visitors as  Cricket is a religion in India and so filling up the stadium is not a big issue and it does not much cares about economy which will receive a boost if the English come in large numbers.

BCCI might be saving the big venues for the glamorous teams like Australia and Pakistan.

Tour dates:
Nov 6: England arrive in Mumbai
Nov 9: One-day warm-up match in Mumbai
Nov 11: One-day warm-up match in Mumbai
Nov 14: 1st One-day international, Rajkot
Nov 17: 2nd One-day international, Indore
Nov 20: 3rd One-day international, Kanpur
Nov 23: 4th One-day international, Jamshedpur
Nov 26: 5th One-day international, Cuttack
Nov 29: 6th One-day international, Guwahati
Dec 2: 7th One-day international, Delhi
Dec 5: Three-day warm-up match, Baroda
Dec 11: First Test, Ahmedabad
Dec 19: Second Test, Mumbai

Dhoni in touching distance of no.1 spot

Indian One-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is within touching distance of regaining the top spot in the ICC ODI Player Rankings after his consistent show with the bat in the just-concluded Asia Cup helped him jump two spots in the chart.

Dhoni was last at the head of affairs among the world's top ODI batsmen for one week in April 2006 and now he has only South Africa's Graeme Smith ahead of him.

Dhoni moved up two places in the rankings as a result of his 327 runs during the tournament. He was dismissed just twice in five innings and had a strike-rate of 91 runs per 100 balls.

Dhoni's gain, meanwhile, is Sachin Tendulkar's loss as the little master, who missed the tournament, drops four places to number six in the listings.

Both Andrew Symonds and Kumar Sangakkara climbed up four spots with the Australian in ninth position and the Sri Lankan a place further back.

BCCI gags cricket coach Gary Kirsten

India's cricket board has told coach Gary Kirsten not to comment on the team on his personal Web site.

Kirsten cannot write post-match comments or columns as per BCCI's policy. Only the team captains are allowed to write newspaper or Web site columns.

On the site (www.garykirsten.com), the South African, who took over in March, said there was a need to introduce a rotation policy, adding that one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was in need of rest.

The oldest international sporting rivalry-USA vs Canada

It is one of cricket's curiosities that the oldest international rivalry is not, as many assume, England against Australia. That started in 1877, some 33 years after a side representing USA met a team from Canada at Bloomingdale Park in Manhattan. It is believed that it is the world's oldest international sporting rivalry, pre-dating the Americas Cup by seven years.

There are some who dispute the validity of the claim that the game was an international. It was advertised locally as a meeting between USA and Canada even though the players were, in the main, drawn from two clubs. While the first contemporary reference to the sides being from USA and Canada did not come until 1853, it is generally acknowledged to have been an international.

The encounter could actually have happened four years earlier. The St George's Club received an invitation from a Mr Phillpotts to travel to play a game against Toronto at a ground on the shores of Lake Ontario. A squad of 18 New Yorkers made a gruelling journey only to find on arrival on August 28 that the bemused Toronto club knew nothing about the proposal. St George's had been the victim of a hoax. Nevertheless, Toronto raised a side to play for a stake of $250 a side, and in front of a decent crowd, St George's won by ten wickets.

The relationship had been established and four years later a genuine invitation was sent to Toronto, who accepted. The stake had been upped to $1000 and the venue was to be the grounds of the St George's Club (around East 31 Street and First Avenue, at the time a rural setting) with two days - September 24 and 25 - put aside for the game.

The trip south for the Canadians was exhausting. They travelled by boat up the St Lawrence and across Lake Ontario before boarding a train on the burgeoning rail network on the American side. The trains had no buffet cars and so food had to be snatched at the irregular stops.

A large crowd, around 5000, was present on the first day and, as was customary, betting was to the fore. It is estimated that as much as $100,000 was bet on the match, close to $2 million in modern money. The game was scheduled to start at 10am but the teams were in no hurry and it eventually got underway at 11.40am.

Canada batted and were bowled out midway through the afternoon for 82. Given the state of pitches at the time, it was a respectable score, although contemporary accounts refer to the poor fielding of the USA. David Winckworth joint top-scored with 12, while Yorkshire-born Sam Wright and Harry Groom shared the wickets between them.

Winckworth is an interesting character and he can claim to be the first dual international. He appeared for Canada in the first three games against USA (there were two in 1845) and then, on moving to Detroit, he turned out for USA in 1846.

It is estimated that as much as $100,000 was bet on the match, close to $2 million in modern money

After an hour's break for a late lunch, USA batted, and although their innings extended into a second day, they conceded a first-innings lead of 18. What should have been the second day was in fact washed out and it was agreed that the match would resume on September 26. When Canada batted again Winckworth, who had taken four wickets with some quick bowling, again top-scored with 14 as Canada made 63.

USA were set a target of 82, although they had an immediate problem in that their No. 3, George Wheatcroft, had not turned up. James Turner and John Syme gave them a good start, but from 25 for 0 they lost six wickets for 11 runs once George Sharpe came on. The tail wagged slightly but USA only managed 58, losing by 23 runs. Earlier in the year Turner had scored 120 in a club match, believed to be the first three-figure score on US soil.

Some 20 minutes after the last wicket fell, Wheatcroft arrived. A heated but brief argument ensued as USA tried to insist he was entitled to bat, but the Canadians were having none of it.

In 1845 the sides met again home and away - Canada winning by 61 runs in Montreal at the end of July and by two wickets in New York a month later - and then in Harlem, New York in August 1846. USA finally broke their duck at the fourth time of asking, but in highly controversial circumstances and the fixture was suspended for seven years.

"Cricket was by far the biggest sport [in the USA] in this period," Tim Lockley, an expert in American history at Warwick University, told the Guardian in 1999. "Then the civil war started in 1861, just when it was reaching its peak of popularity. The sport became a victim of that war."

The USA-Canada contest continued intermittently. They last met in 2004 in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in Florida, the only occasion that the two have faced off in a first-class match.

source

TEAMS

UNITED STATES:
1 J Turner
2 R Ticknor
3 G Wheatcroft
4 S Wright
5 J Ticknor
6 RN Tilson
7 J Syme
8 S Dudson
9 H Groom
10 W Wild
11 R Bage

CANADA:
1 D Winckworth
2 JC Wilson
3 CJ Birch
4 GA Barber
5 G Sharpe
6 GA Phillpotts
7 JB Robinson
8 HJ Maddock
9 Freeling
10 F French
11 W Thompson

Singapore batsman hits Twenty20 double hundred

A batsman in Singapore has scored what is believed to be the first Twenty20 double hundred, bludgeoning a remarkable 219 from 56 balls in a club match.

Sagar Kulkarni, 28, hit 18 sixes and 23 fours in his in Marina Club's 368 for 3. His partner for much of his innings was Mulewa Dharmichand, who made 89 off 44 deliveries.

Read more

IPL cricketers set to earn more next year

If you thought that the IPl cricketers were earning more then you are in for a shocker. After the success of the first edition IPL commitee is set to remove the $5 million cap on the spending of the team on the players next year.

"If we hadn't done that, I can tell you that our players would already be the highest-paid across any sport in the world," IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi was quoted as saying in 'The Daily Telegraph' .

"It will happen - if not today, then tomorrow. Because once the franchises have established themselves, it will be a free-for-all," he added.

The report stated some leading Australian cricketers like Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee can expect a several-fold hike in their pays when they go back to play the next season after their short stints this time.

Indian ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who fetched the maximum bidding price of Rs 6 crore this season, reportedly told a senior Australian player last week that extraordinary contracts of up to $14-15 million were likely to be introduced by the next season.

Hayden confirmed that players were up for a financial windfall when the next season of the IPL gets underway.

"From what I have heard, some of the stuff (payments) this year could be just the tip of the iceberg," Hayden said.

Where are the consumer rights in IPL ?

I went for the two IPL matches which was played in the newly built D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The stadium is superb. Unlike Wankhede stadium of Mumbai which has benches, this stadium has bucket seats with seat nos. So, no problem regarding where to sit as we get our nos. on the ticket we purchase. The stadium has no pillars, hence, we can have full view of the stadium and field of play without any obstruction. The good things end here.

Feeling thirsty or hungry? Then you are going to be looted. You are not allowed to bring water from outside but then if you want to buy from the stalls Aquafina mineral water which costs Rs. 12 is being sold for Rs. 40. You might have noticed ads on TV, newspaper and radio exhorting you to complain if any shopkeeper asks you to pay a couple of Rupees extra for cooling any drinks. But here in such a big event things are being sold at sky-high price. Not just water. Soft drinks worth 40 being sold for 100. Food items worth 10-40 being sold for 40-100.

No wonder it is said that watching any live event in India is a painful experience. I understand Mukesh Ambani has purchased the most expensive IPl team and he is building a two billion dollar worth home but that doesn't mean he should extort money from loyal cricket fans.

Not slap, it was slugfest with Harbhajan: Sreesanth

Sreesanth has told a Malayalam news channel that he had fist fight with Harbhajan sing after the IPL match.


COOL!!! Why didn't he tell this before.

Maharashtra Government to ban IPL cheerleaders

Maharashtra Government looks to play 'moral police'. They are planning to ban cheerleaders from Mumbai matches. They argue that if bar dancers were banned for indecency so should these cheerleaders.It should be noted that the IPL teams have spent a lot on these cheerleaders. Notable is Vijay Mallya's Team Bangalore Royal Challengers who have brought Washington Red Skins.

Hats off to these stupid politicians who are extremely able to find anything Under The Sun to protest and create some controversies. They don't seem to understand vulgarity depends on one's perception. These cheerleaders just adds to the colour and festivities of Twenty20 cricket and does not makes it an 'immoral' event.

A Salsa dance, depending on one's perception, will be the most beautiful form of dance or the most vulgar.

Dignitaries booed at IPL opening ceremony ! WOW!!!

The crowd had enough of politicians and beurocrats hogging limelight at cricket events. When the eight captains names were announced you could hear the crowd cheering. The living legend received the loudest cheer. But the best part was when the crowd booed BCCI president Sharad Pawar. Ray Mali was given some respect but Lalit Modi reading out from four pages of written material was also not shown any respect.

Now I hope that Shahrukh Khan get this treatment. I had enough of him in cricket. Why doesn't he let new upcoming stars get some limelight.

IPL cricket twenty20 web resources

Official IPL site- iplt20.com
BCCI site- BCCI.tv (not yet fully launched)
Exclusive online partner- cricket.com (not yet launched)

MumbaiIndians - Mumbai
Knightriders - Kolkata
RoyalChallengers - Bangalore
Superkings - Chennai
DareDevils - Delhi
Royals - Jaipur
DeccanChargers - Hyderabad
Kings X1 - Mohali

Tickets- Ticketpro.in ( except for matches in mumbai )
for mumbai matches kyazoonga.com

iPL Twenty20 schedule

April 18: Bangalore v Kolkata at Bangalore
April 19: Mohali v Chennai at Mohali and Delhi v Jaipur at Delhi
April 20: Mumbai v Bangalore at Mumbai; Kolkata v Hyderabad at Kolkata
April 21: Jaipur v Mohali at Jaipur
April 22: Hyderabad v Delhi at Hyderabad
April 23: Chennai v Mumbai at Chennai
April 24: Hyderabad v Jaipur at Hyderabad
April 25: Mohali v Mumbai at Mohali
April 26: Bangalore v Jaipur at Bangalore; Chennai v Kolkata at Chennai
April 27: Mumbai v Hyderabad at Mumbai; Mohali v Delhi at Mohali
April 28: Bangalore v Chennai at Bangalore
April 29: Kolkata v Mumbai at Kolkata
April 30: Delhi v Bangalore at Delhi.
May 1: Hyderabad v Mohali at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Kolkata at Jaipur
May 2: Chennai v Delhi at Chennai.
May 3: Hyderabad at Bangalore at Hyderabad; Mohali v Kolkata at Mohali
May 4: Mumbai v Delhi at Mumbai; Jaipur v Chennai at Jaipur
May 5: Bangalore v Mohali at Bangalore
May 6: Chennai v Hyderabad at Chennai
May 7: Mumbai v Jaipur at Mumbai
May 8: Delhi v Chennai at Delhi; Kolkata v Bangalore at Kolkata
May 9: Jaipur v Hyderabad at Jaipur
May 10: Bangalore v Mumbai at Bangalore; Chennai v Mohali at Chennai
May 11: Hyderabad v Kolkata at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Delhi at Jaipur
May 12: Mohali v Bangalore at Mohali
May 13: Kolkata v Delhi at Kolkata
May 14: Mumbai v Chennai at Mumbai; Mohali v Jaipur at Mohali
May 15: Delhi v Hyderabad at Delhi
May 16: Mumbai v Kolkata at Mumbai
May 17: Delhi v Mohali at Delhi; Jaipur v Bangalore at Jaipur
May 18: Hyderabad v Mumbai at Hyderabad; Kolkata v Chenna at Kolkata
May 19: Bangalore v Delhi at Bangalore
May 20: Kolkata v Jaipur at Kolkata
May 21: Mumbai v Mohali at Mumbai; Chennai v Bangalore at Chennai
May 22: Delhi v Kolkata at Delhi
May 23: Mohali v Hyderabad at Mohali.
May 24: Delhi v Mumbai at Delhi; Chennai v Jaipur at Chennai
May 25: Bangalore v Hyderabad at Bangalore; Kolkata v Mohali at Kolkata
May 26: Jaipur v Mumbai at Jaipur
May 27: Hyderabad v Chennai at Hyderabad
May 28 and 29: Rest days
May 30: First semi-final at Mumbai
May 31: Second semi-final at Mumbai
June 1: Final at Mumbai

ICC- In(dia)ternational Cricket club

It used to be called the Imperial Cricket Conference, it's now called the International Cricket Council but soon people will be referring to it as the Indian Cricket Club. This is not because Imtiaz Patel, a South African of Indian origin has been appointed the Chief Administrative Officer, but because Inderjit Singh Bindra has been made principal advisor to the ICC, an all-powerful post that gives him the widest range of powers of anyone in the ICC barring the president, a post that Sharad Pawar will next fill.

Pawar will succeed David Morgan in June 2010. Bindra, who is 66, was thought to be too old and experienced for the CEO's job, but this a position that is even better than the CEO's as it puts Bindra in a position where he reports directly to the president.

It gives Bindra, who will sign a formal contract for three years in the days to come, will have the right to attend any ICC meeting anywhere in the world. Bindra, who has been president of the BCCI, will be charged with advising the executive board of the ICC and the executive council in all matters relating to promoting the game.

This means that, for example, if the Indian Cricket League went to the ICC for redressal of its problems, the ICC board will refer it to Bindra. But Bindra's job will not be limited to firefighting, although that is one area in which is he a consummate master.

Falling directly in his ambit will be the implementation of the ICC's vision, spreading the game around the world - something Bindra's staunch enemy Jagmohan Dalmiya started - specifically in crucial areas like China and North America. Bindra will also be in charge of overseeing the relationship between various members of the ICC.

After all, the ICC itself is merely a collection of different national boards. If any contentious issues arise - and there is no shortage of those, for example the Pakistan Cricket Board's disappointment at Australia's refusal to tour - it will be upto Bindra to smooth over the ripples.

Crucially, Bindra will also be principally in charge of handling the various major properties of the ICC, overseeing the smooth conduct of major events like World Cups, the Champions Trophy and the Twenty20 World Cup. Bindra will have offices both in New Delhi and Dubai, and will continue to be president of the Punjab Cricket Association, which will enable him to attend important BCCI meetings as and when required, but he will not be able to hold any office within the BCCI.

This ICC appointment also means that Bindra will have to resign from the governing council of the Indian Premier League. It is understood that Patel was appointed CEO after close to 72 hours of "negotiations" between the BCCI and other members of the ICC.

Initially the BCCI had pushed hard for Bindra to be made president, and he was one of the long-list of 50 candidates that was later whittled down to 15, and finally six. "There was an absolute consensus on his choice," said Morgan, the ICC president elect.

"He was among six candidates shortlisted for the job by the executive board from a list of 15 chosen by our consultants." Patel was seen to be the ideal compromise candidate, with Bindra being made principal advisor.

What IPL now require is hooligans

IPL has been a huge success so far.It has proved to be money churner for every one.You can say that it has become the English Premiere league of cricket. The twenty20 format will generate soccer style violence. You might have hooligans,especilly in Mumbai. With our trigger happy cops we can have Serie A kind of situation arising because of this.
I hope they have good preventive measures in place.

Indian Cricket's unsung heroes-Bowlers

India managed to defeat the Australians today on account of some uperb bowling display by our young Bowlers. In our country, we have always undervalued our bowlers. A psyche has been set that India' only strength is batting. True, Indian batting has always been in limelight due to the fact that batsmen had longer shelf life. Hence, they remain in the eyes of the fans. However, bowlers, especially fast, are retired due to stress and injury or after a bad patch are thrown out of the team, unlike the batsmen.
Good pace bowlers are alway associated in todays' world with Australia,Pakistan and even England. But we tend to forget that our bowlers,too, have won matches for us. Only difference is that due to the nature of team selection one bowler has never been able to stay in limelight for long.

IPL schedule

The opening Twenty20 encounter in the Cricket Board-promoted Indian Premier League will see liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Bangalore outfit take on Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata side at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium under lights on April 18.

The final of the multi-million dollar League, as well as the two semi-finals, would be held in Mumbai - and in all probability at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium, Lalit Modi, IPL Commissioner and Chairman, said on Friday.

"The final will be on June 1 and the semi-finals on May 30 and 31, all in Mumbai. We have the option of hosting these matches either at the CCI or DY Patil stadium (in Navi Mumbai). I guess they will choose CCI," Modi told reporters.

The IPL Governing Council had a day-long meeting on Friday with the eight franchise owners and representatives of the match staging associations for explaining the entire format of the IPL, the marketing strategy and guidelines, according to Modi.

"Seven or eight ICC Elite Panel umpires along with 16 Indian umpires would officiate in the tournament. The match referees are being appointed and we already have the anti-corruption and anti-doping measures in place," Modi said.

Modi reiterated that no national team sponsors would get protection in the IPL as demanded by Cricket Australia.

For complete updated schedule
Also read Why IPL model does not make sense

What is with the cricket team

I think Dhoni must be rueing the fact that he kept The wall Dravid and Ganguly out of one day cricket team in Australia. India are 98/5 in 24 overs.

Does the IPL model make sense?

After the emergence of the Indian Premier League, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah had grandly announced: "Indian cricket is now worth a billion dollars every year." So where is all this money to come from and where will it go? What’s the ‘business model’ of the IPL? Is there any way the franchisees who have bid millions of dollars a year can make money?

To get a fix on the answers to these questions, let's start from the source of the river of moolah. The IPL - read BCCI - has four major sources of revenue. The first is the sale of media rights for the matches, which will fetch the board $1 billion over a 10-year period. The second includes things like title sponsorship of the tournament, licensed merchandise and so on. Put together, these form what the IPL calls "central revenues".

From the sale of media rights, IPL will keep 20% for itself, give out 8% as prize money for the tournament and distribute the remaining 72% evenly between the 8 franchisees. These proportions are valid till 2012, after which IPL’s share goes up in two stages by 2018, with the shares of both prize money and franchisees declining.

The second stream - other central revenues - will be shared between IPL, franchisees and prize money in the ratio 40:54:6 up to 2017 after which IPL’s share will increase to 50%, the franchisees’ share will drop to 45% and the remaining 5% will go for prize money. The third major source is, of course, the amounts bid by the franchisees. The fourth stream comes from the revenues generated by the franchisee rights, of which 20% will be given to IPL.

From the franchisees’ perspective, while the share in central revenues will be a given, they can raise money on their own by a variety of means. These include selling advertising space in the stadia for home matches, licensing products for their team like T-shirts, getting sponsorship for the team uniform, advertising on tickets and so on, apart from the gate money. As already mentioned, 20% of all of this will then go to IPL.

What do the players make? Apart from the annual fee contracted with the franchisee, they get a daily allowance of $100 through the IPL season, which lasts about a month-and-a-half. The total amount spent on player fees for an IPL team cannot be less than $3.3 million each year and is actually expected to be significantly higher. In other words, players will earn about Rs 80 lakh or more per season on average, though the amount would vary from one member of the team to another.

Players could also get bonuses from the team owners and perhaps even the prize money that the team wins by virtue of where it finishes in the tournament. But it is for each franchisee to decide whether these payments are made to the players or not.

Even in the case of the annual fee negotiated between a player and the franchisee, not all of the negotiated amount may actually go into the player’s pocket.

This is because the IPL is reaching two different kinds of agreements with players when it gets them on board. Under one arrangement — called the "firm agreement", the IPL commits a certain fee to the player. If a franchisee bids more for that player in the auction between franchisees for different players, the IPL gets to keep the excess. Under the other - the "basic agreement" – the player gets whatever is bid for him. Not surprisingly, most players so far have opted for the "basic agreement".

Now that we have the broad structure of the flow of money in place, how does this translate into actual numbers? The bottomline, acknowledge BCCI officials as well as franchisees, will depend on whether the IPL as a concept takes off and captures audiences.

As things stand, the expenses committed by franchisees are more than what they are certain to receive as income from IPL or from sale of their own rights. The UB Group, which acquired the Bangalore franchise, says the idea was to use it as a vehicle to promote its brands. "We are not looking at making money. But revenues will be in excess of costs," said Vijay Rekhi, president of United Spirits, the spirits company of the UB Group.

Some franchisees said that if everything goes according to plan, they will break even and perhaps even start making some money after about three years.

Sources say IPL is guaranteeing $7 million per franchisee from central revenues. But what will come from the local level is anybody’s guess. Even with the right to market just about everything connected with their teams, the industry is not expecting to raise more than $2 million per franchisee each year. BCCI expects the franchisees to earn $1.5 million from gate money in every IPL match, but insiders say the figure is "exaggerated" and that the franchisee will be fortunate to get $1.5 million from 7 home matches at home. In fact, highly charged India-Pakistan one-day matches make around $3 to $4million.

However, based on IPL’s calculation, tickets will have to be sold for Rs 750 to Rs 1,000 per match for gate money to be of the estimated levels. Will the fans pay that much? Apparently, there is also a suggestion from IPL that franchisees could have some "business class" tickets for Rs 10,000 each. Again, will there be takers for such expensive tickets? There are franchisees who are planning to sell tickets for Rs 200 to Rs 300 to keep them within the reach of the middle class, without which making the IPL a success would be difficult. But then, they cannot expect huge revenue from the gate money.

Assuming the gate money is around $2 million for all seven home matches, this means the franchisee in the first year can look forward to total income of about $10 million after paying 20% of local revenues to IPL.

Against this, the franchisee will have to spend at least $8 million. To this must be added the bid amount divided by 10. For Mumbai or Bangalore, that means another $11 million. Even if it’s lower for others, the franchisee's expenditure will be anything from 1.5 to 2 times of what his income is, at least in the first year.

What can change in this equation to make the business financially rewarding for the franchisee? If local revenues really rise, things could get better. It all boils down to whether the IPL teams can make their cities identify with them. That’s the billion dollar question.

BCCI threaten Aussie players of backlash in IPL

After the Sydney test fracas where the Australian players behaved very badly with the Indians, BCCI has warned that that Aussies players will be in trouble. It is sad that the BCCI had to make such a statement after the next two match was played in good spirit.