Indian Premier League

Started in 2008 Indian Premier League has experienced unparalled success last year. The 20 twenty format has changed the Gentleman's game forever..

The 20-20 Cricket format provided the missing or say declining Glamour from the game of cricket. Though there have been cynics but the success of IPL and T20 World Cup has proved everybody wrong.

On March 24 BCCI announced that the IPL 2009 season will be hosted NOT in India but in South Africa.The Indian Premier league will now kick-off on April 18th in South Africa with the final to be played on May 24th 2009. As it got clear that the IPL could not be held in India because of the security concerns and England and South Africa remaining the only two relevant choices.

Giving the reason for selecting South Africa over England  N. Srinivasan, Honorary Secretary, BCCI said, "... However, in the final analysis I think it was the South African weather, which prevailed and tilted the balance in favour of the Rainbow Nation....". Holding the event in South Africa wont have the same impact at it had last yearand the Indian public will have to remain conted with watching the macthes on TV. Thats why BCCI is planning to hold the matches so that they start at 4 pm and 8 pm Indian Time.

The IPL 2009 will kick of on league kicks-off on April 18th 2009. All that remains to be seen is how much enthusiasm Indian public will be having for the macthes and what South African will make out of their Captain playing for an Indian team in South Africa. So let the game begin.

The 3 hrs game offers the instant live wire entertainment with lots of boundaries and lots of action.

There are 8 teams taking part. Teams play each other twice in a round robin system, with the top four ranking sides progressing to the semi-finals. There are total 56 matches scheduled.

IPL Bosses strike a deal with Indian Government

After the horrific attack on Srilankan Cricketers in Pakistan many people had been raising doubts about the IPL 2009. With IPL schedule falling during the time when India goes to polls, even the government and politicians were not sure about the mega event. However Mr. Modi (IPL Chief) said in a recent statement the Indian Premier League 2009 will go on as per schedule except for a few changes.

* There can be a change of Location for a few matches
* There will be no match on the day of Counting of Votes

The new schedule will be announced soon. In addition the Indian Home Minister has ensured full security for the matches and the teams. So guess the IPL 2009 is ON, and everybody seriously hopes hat everything goes on smoothly especially off the ground.

Rajasthan Royals
Captain : Shane Warne
Owner : Emerging Media Group: (Manoj Badale, Lachlan Murdoch, Suresh Chellaram)
Head Coach : Shane Warne

Kings XI Punjab - Mohali
Captain- Yuvraj Singh
Owner: Preity Zinta (Bollywood Star), Ness Wadia (Bombay Dyeing), Karan Paul (Apeejay Surendera Group) and Mohit Burman (Dabur)
Head Coach : Tom Moody


Chennai Super Kings
Captain : MS Dhoni
Owner: India Cements and N Srinivasan
Head Coach : Stephen Fleming


Delhi DareDevils
Captain : Virender Sehwag (Icon Player)
Owner : GMR Holdings
Head Coach : Greg Shipperd

Mumbai Indians
Captain : Sachin Tendulkar (Icon Player)
Owner: Reliance Industries Limited
Head Coach: Lalchand Rajput


Kolkata Knight Riders
Captain : Saurav Ganguly
Owner: ShahRukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, Juhi & Jai Mehta
Head Coach : John Buchanan


Bangalore Royal Challengers
Captain : Rahul Dravid (Icon Player)
Owner : Dr. Vijay Mallya and UB group
Head Coach: Ray Jennings


Hyderabad Deccan Chargers
Captain : Adam Gilchrist
Owner : Deccan Chronicle
Head Coach : Darren Lehmann

Teams
1 Rajasthan Royals (11W, 3L)
2 Kings XI Punjab (10W, 4L)
3 Chennai Super Kings (8W, 6L)
4 Delhi Daredevils (7W, 6L)
5 Mumbai Indians (7W, 7L)
6 Kolkata Knight Riders (6W, 7L)
7 Royal Challengers Bangalore (4W, 10L)
8 Deccan Chargers (2W, 12L)

The Top Batsman came out to be *surprise* *surprise* Shaun Marsh  followed by Gautam Gambhir and Sanath Jayasurya. The Bowling department was headed by Sohail Tanveer followed by the evergreen Shane Warne and Sreesanth.