Sport

Heady action round the corner

MUMBAI: The DLF-Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to get underway at Bangalore on Friday with a heady and eclectic mix of cricketers, corporate czars and celluloid heart-throbs coming together for a trailblazing Twenty20 competition.

Close to $2 billion have been raised, the prize money announced, the teams and support staff have been selected and the time for action has arrived. Legions of cricket diwane (fans) are waiting for the high-potential variety entertainment that each match will offer under lights.

The public support in India is clear. Several lakhs had lined up the streets of Mumbai when Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s ICC T20-winning team had a grand victory parade last September. Reflecting on the welcome, Dhoni put it all in a famous one liner: “We brought Mumbai to a halt today”.

Flattered by the scene in Mumbai, BCCI’s administrators went on an overdrive to woo corporates and the film world. Eight teams went for a whopping $723 million and SET MAX and World Sport Group (WSG) won the global media rights for $1.026 billion, including $108 million on promotional expenditure for 10 years.

In the auction for the allotment of players, the franchise-owners spent well over $40 million with India Cements (Chennai) paying the maximum for a player — $1.5 million to Dhoni for the first season. Hyderabad’s Deccan Chronicle picked up Australian Andrew Symonds for $1.35 million, while Sanath Jayarsuriya, Jacques Kallis, Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan came close to earning a million dollars for a season.

Four of the five ‘icon’ players — Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh — will also receive in excess of $1 million.

“It’s the defining moment of the IPL. I am also happy India’s cricketers are getting their due,” said Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of the IPL Governing Council.

The IPL rule that limits a team to fielding only four overseas players will largely benefit Indian first class and junior players, who have been assured of a minimum of $50,000 and $30,000. Players across the county have said that it would be a great feeling to share the dressing room with some of the modern greats and get a chance to improve their game.

“The IPL will be a super hit. India’s first class and under-19 players deserve the money. They play hard cricket. If money is going to improve the quality of life of the players and their families and make them comfortable, then why not”, said Sachin Tendulkar at the launch of his team, Mumbai Indians.

On the field, this version of the game has made players come up with shots that defy the traditional way of playing the game. “Batsmen will play innovative shots and make the game attractive. We have already seen the batsmen take the front leg away from the line of the ball and whacking the ball past mid-wicket,” said Sunil Gavaskar recently.

Tendulkar picked the two dexterous shots he played off Mitchell Johnson over wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist as the best among the range of strokes he played on the tour of Australia. Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik have shown the propensity to play the ‘Marillier Shot’ (named after Zimbabwe’s Doug Marillier) often.

The 59 matches in eight cities, packed in 44 days of India’s stifling April and May heat, is set to capture the essence of Gavaskar’s views and the unorthodox shots played by the likes of Tendulkar and others.

The IPL is optimistic that Indians will respond to make the event a memorable one.

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