Lucky captaincy?

MOHALI, PTI: Mike Hussey cracked the fastest century in Twenty20 history as Chennai Super Kings pulled off a comfortable 33-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League match on Saturday.

Hussey's blistering unbeaten 116 off just 54 balls steered Chennai Super Kings to an imposing 240 for five on a perfect batting strip at the PCA stadium.

The Chennai outfit then restricted the home team to 207 for four to record a win in their opening match which turned out to be a high scoring contest under lights. (PTI Photo)

Bowlers’ day out

In a tournament dominated by big-hitting batsmen, in a format purpose built to break bowlers’ hearts, Delhi’s quick men showed that there was life for them even on dead pitches.

Glenn McGrath laid out the blueprint while Farveez Maharoof and Rajat Bhatia showed that this tournament did not belong merely to the big names and the millionaires. The Jaipur team, Shane Warne or not, failed to get off the ground and could only muster a feeble 129 for 8 from their 20 overs, a target that posed no problems for Delhi’s batsmen.

McGrath discarded any rustiness that might have been part of his game and hit a perfect line and length to winkle out the opening wicket of Taruwar Kohli. A couple of pressure-induced run outs later the Jaipur team was in a mess that it would not be able to extricate itself from.

While Maharoof bowled with good pace and swung the ball away from the right-handed batsmen, Bhatia stuck to his strengths, pinning the batsmen down with one line, attacking the stumps. Darren Lehmann’s exaggerated shuffle convinced the umpire to uphold Maharoof’s lbw shout when ball struck pad.

Mohammad Kaif, who was involved in the mix-up that resulted in Shane Watson’s run out, occupied the crease for an uncomfortable 9 off 19 balls before getting a bit too cute against Bhatia and chipping a catch straight to short fine-leg. What had been a troublesome 41 for 3 had turned into a disastrous 57 for 5.

Ravinder Jadeja chanced his arm gallantly to top-score with 29. But his luck ran out when he tried to clatter the ever-accurate Daniel Vettori out of the ground and connected with air, leaving the stumps in disarray.

Dinesh Salunkhe, who came into the Jaipur team after winning a talent hunt contest, chipped in with 26 and saved his team from a humiliating collapse but only pushed the score on to 129 in an innings that belonged to McGrath (1/21), Maharoof (2/11) and Bhatia (2/17).

Despite the small target, the 28,000-plus crowd largely hung around till the end to watch their team canter past the finish line.

Even the early departure of Virender Sehwag, who clattered three fours before being bowled off the fourth, did not dull the crowd’s enthusiasm. As Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan filled their boots, even the introduction of spin wizard Warne did little to change the result of the game as Delhi sauntered past Jaipur by 9 wickets.
Indian Premium League

Rajasthan Royals, Indian Premium League

Owner: Emerging Media Group

Franchise fee: $67 million

Most expensive player: Mohammad Kaif - $675,000

The Pink City of Jaipur is represented by the Rajasthan Royals. At first glance, this team will appear as the underdog. But beware, it is the only team to have a player who will also coach the team. And it is none other than the spin wizard from Down Under - Shane Warne. Warne is also the only non-Indian cricketer to lead a side in the IPL.

The team may not have an Icon Player but it manages a roll call of some of the finest talent in cricket. India's Mohammad Kaif and Munaf Patel will rub shoulders with the likes of Graeme Smith, Justin Langer and Younus Khan. Owned by the Emerging Media Group, the Royals will also field many of India's young guns. The team logo has a lion citing the power of the Royals and the war horn which denotes a war cry. The team will reflect Rajput values of courage and valour.

Kolkata Knight Riders, Indian Premium League

Owner: Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jai Mehta

Franchise fee: $75.09 million

Most expensive player: Sourav Ganguly - $1,092,500

The Eden Gardens will be home to the Kolkata Knight Riders. The star-studded squad comprises of some of the biggest names in world cricket. Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle of the West Indies, Brendon McCullum of New Zealand and rising Indian star Ishant Sharma are on this envious roster. Sourav Ganguly, the Prince of Kolkata, has been accorded Icon Player status and will lead the side.

Owned by the Badshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan, the franchise has left no stone unturned while spending on the team's promotion. The mission and vision statements of the team clearly signify the power and confidence this side will exude. After all, they are the King's men!

Deccan Chargers, Indian Premium League

Owner: Deccan Chronicle and M Group

Franchise fee: $107 million

Most expensive player: Andrew Symonds - $1,350,000

The Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad is owned by media house Deccan Chronicle. Local favourite and captain of the team VVS Laxman gave up the chance to be Icon Player to help his team have more to bid with. The gesture did pay off and the Chargers added the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Scott Styris, Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi to its roster. RP Singh, Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa were also the pick of the bowlers. Exciting young prospects like Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, Arjun Yadav and Sarveesh Kumar are also part of the squad.

The Deccan Chargers mascot represents a charging bull signifying strength, power and aggression while the red and gold bands on the flag stand for dominance and victory. Former Indian player Robin Singh will don the coach's role and the squad will look to live up to their tag of being "The Unstoppables".

Chennai Super Kings, Indian Premium League

Owner: India Cements

Franchise fee: $91 million

Most expensive player: Mahendra Singh Dhoni - $1.5 million

The Chennai Super Kings created history of sorts when they outbid competitors to have Mahendra Singh Dhoni in their ranks. The highest paid star of the league will also fulfill skipper duties for the team. Owned by India Cements, the franchise has added star value in former cricketer Kris Srikkanth and South Indian actors Vijay and Nayantar appointed as brand ambassadors. The MA Chidambaram Stadium will be the home ground.

Coached by former South African cricketer Kepler Wessels, the team makes up for the absence of an Icon Player by having stalwarts like Matthew Hayden, Stephen Fleming, Michael Hussey, Jacob Oram, Makhaya Ntini and Muttiah Muralidharan lending their participation to the Super Kings. The team's name was chosen as a tribute to the rulers of the golden era of Tamil culture.

Royal Challengers, Indian Premium League

Owner: UB Group

Franchise fee: $111.6 million

Most expensive player: Rahul Dravid - $1,035,000

Business tycoon Dr. Vijay Mallya owns the Bangalore Royal Challengers, named after one of Mallya's top brands. The team from the Garden City will be led by one of its favourite sons Rahul Dravid who is also its Icon Player. A formidable line-up, the squad has great talent with the likes of Indian Test cricket captain Anil Kumble along with Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan, West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul, South Africa's Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Dale Steyn, Aussies Nathan Bracken and Cameron White. Youth will be represented by the U-19 Cricket World Cup winning captain Virat Kohli, Shreevats Goswami and Arun Kumar among others.

Charu Sharma is designated as the CEO of the team while former Kiwi captain Martin Crowe has also been roped in to be part of the team management. Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad has been sought to coach the team. Red and golden yellow are the team colours. The Royal Challengers will be expected to shine in the IPL with their talent, determination and buoyancy.

Delhi Daredevils, Indian Premium League

Owner: GMR Holdings

Franchise fee: $84 million

Most expensive player: Virender Sehwag - $833,750

The Delhi Daredevils will be led by Icon Player Virender Sehwag - the Nawab of Najafgarh who recently scored the fastest triple hundred in Test cricket. The team boasts of solid batsmen like AB de Villiers, Gautam Gambhir and Shoaib Malik, and bowlers led by the likes of Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori and Mohammad Asif.

The team is owned by the GMR Group and its home ground is the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium at Delhi. Greg Shipperd will don the mantle of the coach while Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is the brand ambassador of the Daredevils. Watch out for this team as they proclaim that they are going to play their cricket with unabashed enthusiasm and well on the front foot.

Mumbai Indians, Indian Premium League

Owner: Reliance Industries Ltd

Franchise fee: $111.9 million

Most expensive player: Sachin Tendulkar - $1,121,250

Team Mumbai exemplifies the essence of its home city. The land of a myriad dreams is a melting pot and Mumbai Indians does its best to showcase the same. This franchise is the most expensive in the league and has a fantastic side headed by none other than the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar who is also its Icon Player.

Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shaun Pollock, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Loots Bosman alongside young talent from Mumbai Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Pinal Shah and Yogesh Takawade make up the Mumbai squad balancing youth and experience. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited owns the team and one can surely look forward to some scintillating performances from the Mumbai Indians.

Links XI Punjab, Indian Premium League

Mission:
To be the most successful and entertaining franchise in the league.

Vision:
To promote cricket in the region by providing global explsure to local talent, and attracting new audiences for the sport through innovative presentation.

Owner: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia (Bombay Dyeing), Karan Paul (Apeejay Surendra Group) and Mohit Burman (Dabur)
Franchise fee: $76 million
Most expensive player: Yuvraj Singh - $1,063,750

Lion-hearted, spirited, passionate, hospitable, entertaining and brave - these are the words that the Kings XI Punjab team use to describe themselves. The team has made its mission clear "To be the most successful and entertaining franchise in the league". With Bollywood's Preity Zinta, and renowned industrialists Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman and Karan Paul behind this venture, the franchise has managed to come up with an impressive list of cricketers.

Batting stalwarts Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara and Ramnaresh Sarwan will be expected to deliver alongside smiling assassin Brett Lee, break-dancing S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan who will spearhead the bowling attack. Tom Moody is designated as the coach, while local favourite Yuvaj Singh is the captain of the starry squad.

Royal Saturday - King Yuvi vs Superking Dhoni

Mohali: When the Kings (Kings XI Punjab - the Mohali team) clash with the Superkings (Chennai Superkings - the Chennai team) at the newly launched Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Saturday, pyrotechnics are guaranteed.

Touted as two of the strongest in the eight-team tournament, the Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI Punjab will try to take home ground advantage over the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Superkings in the T20 game at the magnificent Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) ground here.

Yuvraj (Yuvi to friends in his hometown Chandigarh) may want to repeat his six sixes in an over that he hit in South Africa last year in the inaugural T20 world cup.

"That was making history. Such things do not happen everyday. But this is cricket and I hope it happens again," Yuvi said, as he mixed practice with zipping around in the city in his yellow BMW sports car to promote the IPL.

Yuvi has on his side Australian Brett Lee, one of the fastest bowlers in the world, the maverick S. Sreesanth, the dependable Irfan Pathan and spinners Piyush Chawla and Romesh Powar.

On the batting front, Yuvraj - the icon player of the Mohali team co-owned by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta and her industrialist boyfriend Ness Wadia - will lead from the front with ample support from Sri Lankan strikers Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane, Australian James Hopes and the ever-consistent local Punjab batsman Pankaj Dharmani.

But not only does the Chennai team have as many stars, Yuvraj and his gang will have to decode the thinking mind of Dhoni - India's T20 world cup winning captain.

Dhoni's team has hard-hitting Australian opener Mathew Hayden, the ever-deadly spinner Muthiah Murlitharan, Australian batsman Michael Hussey and former New Zealander skipper Stephen Fleming.

"It will be great exposure to be playing with top players from other countries in your side. This will be interesting," Fleming summed it up.

Players from both sides, barring Dhoni himself, who arrived here two days ago, have been hard at practice. "The boys are very excited and raring to go for the first match. Chennai has got a good balanced team and it will be a delight for the audience to see a thrilling encounter. We have a young team with world-class all-rounders. The boys are in good form; had some good sessions on the net and we hope to come on top," Kings XI Punjab coach Tom Moody said.

India is cricket's money-spinner: Modi

New Delhi: The Indian cricket board is, perhaps, seen as a bully because of its firmness in dealing with the rest of the cricketing world as most Test-playing nations make money by playing India, says Board vice-president Lalit Modi.

"Look, no one was concerned about cricket in India for the past 100 years. Now the situation is such that most of the boards earn only when their team plays against India. Earlier they used to earn when they played against Australia," Modi, who is also the chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), told BBC's Hindi programme Ek Mulaqat.

"If the various cricket boards earn money by playing against India, then we too have to put across our viewpoints firmly. We expect to be treated equally. That's the reason we are being called overbearing," he said in the programme, to be broadcast Sunday.

Modi, who also heads the marketing sub-committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has been credited with bringing in money through sponsorship.

Besides the billion-dollar Indian Premier League, which began in Bangalore Friday, he also aggressively sold television rights and various sponsorship rights for the BCCI.

"It has been a mix of everything. The first thing that the new board decided was that the system will be transparent. All the discussions will be carried out by the committee," he said.

"Of course my experience proved to be useful where money was concerned. I was aware of the kind of money middlemen make in deals like these. And then I was also fortunate, the market was good, there was still enthusiasm for Indian cricket and the broadcast officials received high bids."

Modi is banking on his success of television deals. But despite the economy slowing down a bit, he is confident that television as well as the Indian team's performance will continue to fill the BCCI coffers.

"It (economy slow down) will affect everything and cricket won't be untouched by this. But people watch cricket on television. As long as people watch television, cricket will benefit financially.’’

"Secondly, a lot will depend on the performance of the Indian team. If the team performs badly, it will have an adverse affect," he said.

The money has increased for Indian first-class players who are yet to play international cricket. "When the income of the Board increases, the players also get more money. The players get 26 per cent of the Board's income, 13 per cent for the Indian team and the rest for the Ranji (Trophy) players. The Ranji players who used to earn Rs 20,000-30,000 earlier are now earning Rs.50-60 lakh (Rs.5-6 million) annually," said Modi.

"The income of the Board increased last year. Before that the Board had no income. So if any Ranji Trophy player plays all the matches, he will receive Rs.50-60 lakhs."

Bangalore, Mumbai look evenly matched

Mumbai: After the mauling they received from Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match of the Indian Premier League, Bangalore's Royal Challengers would be eager to set things right when they take on hosts Mumbai Indians in their second clash at the Wankhede Stadium Sunday.

Bangalore captain Rahul Dravid, after a 140-run loss Friday, must ensure not to allow a repeat of the carnage at the hands of Sri Lankan marauder Sanath Jayasuriya, who is bound to open the innings with captain Sachin Tendulkar, if the Mumbai batsman regained full fitness from his groin injury.

New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum had taken away the game by carting around the inexperienced Praveen Kumar, the rusty Zaheer Khan back in action after being laid low by his ankle injury for more than three months and young Aussie Ashley Noffke during his pulverising 158 not out.

Absence of two key bowlers, South Africa's exciting pace find Dale Steyn, who is busy in domestic cricket back home, and injured Australian left-arm bowler Nathan Bracken seemed to have unhinged the Bangalore team's bowling attack against Sourav Ganguly's team at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Injured Test captain Anil Kumble was also missed in bowling and it's not likely that he would be fit in time to take the field against Mumbai.

If bowling appeared to be the weak link in the visiting team's armour, their batting too was under question in chase of 222 for 3 despite the presence of Dravid, and South Africans Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher.

The team owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya will be anxious to put up an improved display and get into the winning ways against an evenly matched opposition.

As far as the Reliance Industries-owned Mumbai team is concerned, their biggest worry is the fitness of Tendulkar. "There are still two days to go and a decision will be taken whether I will play or not just before the match," Tendulkar said, when the 27-strong team was launched at a function here on Thursday.

In case, Tendulkar fails to pass the fitness test, off-spinner and vice-captain Harbhajan Singh will take over the reins. He would be expected to bring the aggressiveness he displays on the field to the captaincy stakes too.

Even as Tendulkar's fitness remains an issue, the team, with as many as 27 playing members on its rolls, has been going about its task of gearing up with confidence.

It has three wicketkeepers in it, including Luke Ronchi of Western Australia - a hard-hitting bastman yet to play for his country in any form.

Going by the practice sessions, he seems to be the first choice ahead of two other younger Indians - Pinal Shah and Yogesh Takawale - both of whom can hit the ball powerfully.

Among the key players in the team are Harbhajan and former South African captain Shaun Pollock. Pollock has just retired from international cricket and can be miserly with the ball and extremely handy lower down with the bat.

Dravid promises to bounce back

Bangalore: Rahul Dravid hailed Brendon McCullum for his demolishing 158-run innings, resulting in his side's crushing 140-run defeat, but promised to bounce back in the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

"It was great innings. Hats off to him. There was something in the wicket but he (McCullum) batted through the innings," Dravid, leading Bangalore Royal Challengers, said after losing the opening IPL encounter to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Dravid said the humiliating defeat would not affect the morale of the team. "But it is a long tournament. Lots of games are ahead and one lose is not going to dampen our spirits," he said.

Sourav Ganguly, the winning captain, too heaped praised on McCullum and also appreciated the efforts of his fast bowlers. "He took away the game (from the hosts). I have seen some great batting on the flat tracks but not on this kind of surface.’’

"We knew anything short is going to be hit for runs so we told our bowlers to bowl full and they did a good job," he said.

McCullum's ton crushes Bangalore in IPL opener

Bangalore: New Zealander Brendon McCullum hammered Twenty20 cricket's highest ever score, an unbeaten 158, as Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Bangalore Royal Challengers by 140 runs in the opening Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Friday night.

McCullum was adjudged the Man of the Match for his breathtaking innings, during which he cracked 10 boundaries and 13 sixes in front of a boisterous crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Also present to cheer teams were their owners - Vijay Mallya of the United Breweries group for the home team and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan for the Koklata squad.

After being put into bat by Bangalore captain Rahul Dravid, Kolkata Knight Riders posted 222 for three wickets in 20 overs and then bowled out the hosts for 82 in just 15.1 overs.

It was a lucky day for McCullum, who also keeps wickets for New Zealand. He might not have opened the innings had the hard-hitting West Indian Chris Gayle arrived for the lung opener. But the 26-year-old right-hander grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he opened the innings with Ganguly (10) and raised 61.

McCullum was, in fact, involved in four successive 50-plus partnerships. He also added 51 for the second wicket with Australia captain Ricky Ponting (20), 60 for the third with David Hussey (12), also an Australian, and an unbeaten 50 for the fourth with Pakistani Mohammed Hafeez (5 not out).

All six Bangalore Royal Challengers bowlers got hammered badly by a rampaging McCullum.

And when the host batted, Kolkata Knight Riders simply pinned their batsmen down with their sharp bowling and sharp fielding. The Kolkata side took almost all the catches offered, except for the one dropped by Ponting.

Bangalore's miserable performance was evident from the fact that pacer Praveen Kumar, who had earlier in the evening bowled the first ball of the lucrative tournament, was the only batsman to reach double figures. He remained unbeaten on 18 (15 balls, 1x4, 2x6s). 'Extras' was the highest contributor with 19.

India discard Ajit Agarkar bagged three wickets for 25 while debutant pacer Ashok Dinda and Ganguly captured two wickets apiece.

The IPL has brought together some of the fiercest players from the world over. It was, for instance, unimaginable to have Ganguly and Ponting, who have contested many a battle for their countries and also the 2003 World Cup final, hug and embrace each other when Bangalore batted.

When Ganguly bowled Zaheer Khan, Ponting ran in and gave the former India captain a warm hug, sporting a big smile, while Shah Rukh Khan danced in the stands.

The match was preceded by a glamorous opening ceremony that contained fabulous fireworks.

The 45-day tournament will have 59 matches, with the final slated for June 1 in Mumbai.

McCullum shines for Kolkata Knight Riders

Bangalore: Brendon McCullum hit a blazing 73-ball unbeaten knock of 158 to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to a massive 222 against Bangalore Royal Challengers in the lung-opener of the Indian Premier League here today.

McCullum went berserk right from the word go as he hit Zaheer Khan for 18 runs in the second over of the innings after being put in to bat by hosts skipper Rahul Dravid at Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The Kiwi player then hit a towering long-off six off Ashley Noffke to bring up the 50 for Knight Riders in just four overs. The wicket-keeper batsman was difficult to contain as he showed no mercy and hit all the bowlers all around the park.

McCullum's scintillating innings was studded with 13 sixes and 10 boundaries.

Zaheer Khan drew the first blood for the hosts when he had Kolkata skipper Sourav Ganguly (10) caught by South African Jaques Kallis in the slip cordon.

But only after Ganguly and McCullum had put on 61 runs for the first wicket to lay a strong foundation for a big total.

McCullum drove Noffke for a couple to get his century, leading to wild celebrations among the team owner Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan and his colleague Arjun Rampal.

Kallis and Noffke bore the brunt of McCullum fury conceding 42 and 48 runs respectively in their quota of four overs.

I am excited to play with Tendulkar: Jayasuriya

Mumbai: Former Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya is looking forward to play with Sachin Tendulkar in the upcoming Indian Premier League Twenty20, starting here on Sunday.

"I am very happy I will play with Sachin Tendulkar. Besides I will get an opportunity to start the innings with him," said Sri Lanka's former skipper with a chuckle to the media persons here on Wednesday.

After a long pratice session at Bandra Kurla Complex facility, he said, "I got the first opportunity to play with Sachin during a charity match in England. Now IPL has given another opportunity to play with him."

When asked about how he felt playing with youngsters at the age of 38, Jayasuriya shot back," I do not think so. I am still a young player both on and off the field."

The Lankan hero said his team Mumbai Indians was all prepared for the IPL.

"We know our strengths and weaknesses. We are also preparing to counter the opponents in every match. We will try to keep Mumbai flag high," he said.

IPL ticket sales yet to take off in big way

Delhi/Kolkata/Mumbai With just five days to go for its inaugural match, ticket sales for the Twenty20 cricket tournament of the multi-million-rupee Indian Premier League (IPL) is yet to take off in a big way.

Only a handful of teams have started sales of their tickets while others are still pondering on a suitable date.

The hype generated by inaugural IPL has already added to the excitement of fans who would be eager to see the international stars rub shoulders with national and domestic players in a unique format.

But it seems they will have to scamper for tickets at the last minute.

Various franchises have kept the ticket prices as low as Rs.50, which will allow even the common man to witness the T20 tournament. The franchises, though, have done little to publicise the mode of sales.

The matches start at timings varying from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and play is expected to end after midnight. Soaring heat and odd timings of the matches will definitely be factors that spectators will consider before booking their tickets.

Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad were the first to start ticket sales on Friday, followed by King XI Punjab of Mohali on Saturday. Mumbai Indians also started the online sale of their tickets from Sunday.

"We are glad to announce the sale of tickets online and we look forward for the public to extend their support for the Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai Indians team has a great mix of iconic international players and talented youngsters," said R. Balachandran, president and chief marketing officer, Reliance Retail.

But other franchisees are yet to announce dates of their sales, which is sure to create some confusion among the spectators.

All franchises have adopted different tactics to lure the spectators. Deccan Chargers will provide free refreshments to all spectators. Fans would also be treated to a variety of exciting entertainment shows and fireworks at the venues.

Deccan Chargers have also announced a lucky draw scheme. Every ticket will carry a coupon for a chance to win fabulous prizes. These include a Mercedes Benz, seven Maruti Swift cars, 35 Yamaha motorbikes and 35 colour televisions.

Team owners are also going out of their way and selling tickets themselves. Kings XI Punjab's co-owner Preity Zinta and Australian paceman Brett Lee personally sold tickets and autographed them as well.

IPL new frontier in cricket: Symonds

Hyderabad: After bagging a fat pay check, Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds wants to help Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad win the title in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) starting Friday.

"I must thank the owners for bidding for me in such a big way. It came as a surprise. But now my ambition is to win the tournament. Money is definitely a factor. I think IPL is a new frontier in cricket," he said.

On the possible clash between international assignments and IPL, Symonds said: "This is something that should never happen. I think the cricket boards and the ICC should see to it that there is a window for IPL."

He also said that since Twenty20 is a very fast format, there would be no place for sledging.

Parthiv eyeing a comeback via IPL

Chennai: Parthiv Patel, aiming to stage a comeback into the Indian cricket team, underlined his determination by getting straight to work for Chennai Super Kings on arrival at Chennai to prepare for the Indian Premier League starting on April 18.

"Of course, it is great to get such an opportunity as I am sure there will be a lot of people watching your performance. I hope to do well in this tournament (Indian Premier League)," said Parthiv.

Parthiv, who turned 23 last month, is also aware of the fact that he needs to work that much harder now than at any time in the past to regain his spot in the Indian team.

The Ahmedabad-based player made his debut for India in 2002 at Trent Bridge against England as a late replacement for an injured Ajay Ratra to become the youngest wicketkeeper ever in Test history.

He went on to play 19 Tests and 14 ODIs, but failed to retain his spot and it was not long before he was omitted from the Indian team. The arrival of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik further affected Parthiv's chances of staging a comeback.

Looking back, Parthiv said, "It is always tough when you get dropped from the Indian team. However, I took this in my stride and worked harder on my technique, both batting and wicket-keeping besides my overall fitness. Hopefully, I will get an opportunity to get back into the Indian team."

On the hard work he did in the past four years, Parthiv said, "Basically, it was my concentration that I need to work on and also on my overall fitness."

In his debut Test, Parthiv kept wickets for 145 overs as England made 617 in their first innings replying to India's 357. Parthiv failed with the bat, lasting all of 10 deliveries before getting out for a duck. However, in the second essay, the teenager came up with a rearguard action in making an unbeaten 19 that helped India to force a draw.

"When I look back, I feel it was a matter of keeping your concentration over a long period of time that matters most in wicket-keeping. And to do that, fitness is the key. Like I said, I have since put in a lot of effort to improve in these areas," he stated.

Parthiv did well in 2007, when he scored five consecutive centuries, including against South Africa "A" team and in the Irani Trophy.

Don’t compare IPL with national duty: Lee

Mohali: Australian pace spearhead Brett Lee rubbished suggestions that the Indian Premier League (IPL) will lure players away from national duty, saying both can co-exist without being detrimental to each other.

"I don't think we should compare or match IPL with Australian cricket team as both have their own place," said Lee, who would be playing for Kings XI Punjab, one of the eight IPL teams competing in the Twenty20 tournament beginning next week.

On being quizzed about a recent survey conducted by Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) which says nearly half of the Aussie cricketers were willing to give up their central contracts to play in the cash-awash IPL, Lee said, "I don't think there is any reason why we can't do both (play for Australia and IPL simultaneously)."

"My heart is for Australian team and wearing Baggy Green cap is a great honour," he added.

The express bowler said he would give his ‘best’ while playing for his IPL team ‘as I do when I play for Australia’.

Apart from Lee, Kings XI Punjab will have Yuvraj Singh as ‘icon player’ leading the side and will also feature Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardane, Romesh Powar, James Hopes, VRV Singh, Uday Kaul among other players.

Lee also felt players from different countries playing in one side ‘will also help strengthen bonds between the nations’.