Dhoni iNC Goes on Sale

MUMBAI: The Indian international players such as MS Dhoni, RP Singh, Virender Sehwag, and Anil Kumble will in all probability be up for grabs for a minimum base price of $300,000-400,000 for the upcoming auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The IPL committee has set base prices for different category of players to ensure that players get a minimum fee per year for the 44 days they play in a year. While top current Indian international players, such as the above mentioned will be up for sale for the highest bidder above the base price, the four so-called stalwarts of Indian cricket who have been named ‘Iconic Players’: Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata), Rahul Dravid (Bangalore) and Yuvraj Singh (Mohali), will be paid 15% more than the top player’s fee in that particular team.

Foreign players such as Shane Warne will also be in the top auction league with a base price of $300,000, a BCCI official said.

Other international Indian players contracted by BCCI, who do not fit any of the above criteria, will be for sale at a minimum price between $100,000-$125,000. The contracted Ranji Trophy players will come at a catalogue price of $50,000 and the under 21 junior category have been fixed at $ 20,000.

There is expected to be a cap of $5-6 million for each franchisee, which excludes under 21 and players outside the contracted pool of players by BCCI, to ensure fair play and balance of players between the eight teams.

The IPL committee has scheduled a meeting next week with the six franchise owners to discuss the details and the bidding process with the six teams of the franchise owners.

The understanding is that if the players get picked up for more than their catalogue price, then IPL gets 20% of the players contracted amount while if the reverse takes place, then the IPL fund will bear the difference.

Franchise owners are of the opinion that it will finally come to a demand-supply ratio, and such fixed rates will finally not work. In fact, one of the franchise owners on condition of anonymity said the team owners are also allowed to approach players outside of the contracted BCCI player pool, and could settle on a price that is agreeable by the owner and the player.

With a total of 16 players to be taken on board by the eight teams, of which a maximum of only 4 - 6 international players can be a part of one team, owners are in informal discussion and consultations with players on team dynamics and how to work out the math of players.

Last month, the BCCI raised a whopping $1.8 billion from the eight franchise owners. GMR Holdings bagged team Delhi for $86 million, Mukesh Ambani-led RIL won Mumbai for $115 million. India Cements snagged Chennai for $95 million while UB Group picked up Bangalore for $114 million. Preity Zinta-Ness Wadia-Karan Paul-Mohit Burman won the Mohali team for $78 million while UK’s Emerging Media won Jaipur for $69 million. Hyderabad went to Deccan Chronicle Holdings for $110 million. The Kolkata team went to Shah Rukh Khan-Juhi Chawla-Jay Mehta for $77 million. The base price was set at $50 million.

IPL has contracted the top 80 cricketers according to ICC rankings, which will enable each franchisee to bid for Indian and overseas players contracted by IPL.

Source: EconomicTimes

Pakistan Seals Whitewash

Pakistan has completed a 5-0 series whitewash over Zimbabwe with a comprehensive seven-wicket victory in the final one-day international at the Sheikhupura Stadium.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the tourists were dismissed for just 181 inside 46 overs.

Abdur Rauf claimed three wickets and there were two apiece for fellow debutant Wahab Riaz and captain Shoaib Malik, while Brendan Taylor (48) top scored.

Pakistan went about their response in efficient manner and reached 3-187 with 19 overs to spare.

Younis Khan struck 63 from 51 balls while debutant Khurram Manzoor struck a half-century to help ease the home team towards their victory target.

Nasir Jamshed was the first Pakistan wicket to fall when he was caught at mid-off by Keith Dabengwa off the bowling of Elton Chigumbura for 19.

Man of the match Younus and Manzoor then put on 97 for the second wicket before the former chipped to Hamilton Masakadza at mid-on off Ray Price.

Manzoor became Price's second victim when he was bowled between bat and pad, but not before he had reached his maiden 50.

Fawad Alam (14 not out) then joined Misbah-ul-Haq (31 not out) in the middle and the pair finished the job with the minimum of fuss to seal Pakistan's fourth-ever 5-0 whitewash in ODIs.

Earlier, the Zimbabwe total of 181 represented something of a recovery after the Africans slipped to 5-67.

Rauf was first to strike with a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Masakadza (six) before Vusi Sibanda was run out for 18.

Riaz removed Tatenda Taibu (six) and Sean Williams (19) and when Justice Chibhabha was trapped leg before wicket by Malik for one, Zimbabwe were reeling.

A gritty partnership of 83 between Taylor and Chigumbura (34) added a measure of competitiveness to their total.

However, Chigumbura was stumped by young wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed as he came down the track to Fawad and Taylor was bowled by Malik inside four balls, after which there was little resistance from the Zimbabweans.

Gary Brent was run out for four, before Rauf bowled both Price (eight) and Christopher Mpofu (nought), beating the pair for pace to leave Dabengwa unbeaten on 16.

Zimbabwe innings
Sibanda run out (Rizwan Ahmed / Sarfraz Ahmed) 18 (36)
Masakadza c & b Abdur Rauf 5 (13)
Williams c Khurram Manzoor b Wahab Riaz 19 (42)
Taibu c Rizwan Ahmed b Wahab Riaz 6 (11)
Taylor b Shoaib Malik 49 (78)
Chibhabha lbw b Shoaib Malik 1 (2)
Chigumbura st Sarfraz Ahmed b Fawad Alam 34 (58)
Dabengwa not out 16 (20)
Brent run out (Sarfraz Ahmed / Shoaib Malik) 4 (5)
Price b Abdur Rauf 7 (14)
Mpofu b Abdur Rauf 0 (1)
Extras 22 (b 1, lb 3, w 11, nb 7)
Total 181 (all out; 45.4 overs)

FoW: 1-23 (Masakadza, 5.5 ov), 2-35 (Sibanda, 10.3 ov), 3-48 (Taibu, 13.3 ov), 4-64 (Williams, 17.4 ov), 5-67 (Chibhabha, 18.4 ov), 6-151 (Chigumbura, 38.6 ov), 7-152 (Taylor, 39.3 ov), 8-158 (Brent, 41.1 ov), 9-181 (Price, 45.3 ov), 10-181 (Mpofu, 45.4 ov)

Bowling
Sohail Tanvir 7-1-24-0 (5w)
Abdur Rauf 8.4-0-45-3 (6nb)
Wahab Riaz 8-3-19-2
Shoaib Malik 10-1-35-2 (4w)
Rizwan Ahmed 4-0-26-0 (2w)
Fawad Alam 8-0-28-1

Pakistan innings
Nasir Jamshed c Dabengwa b Chigumbura 19 (18)
Khurram Manzoor b Price 50 (73)
Younis Khan c Masakadza b Price 63 (51)
Misbah-ul-Haq not out 31 (32)
Fawad Alam not out 14 (12)
Extras 10 (w 9, nb 1)
Total 187 (3 wickets; 31 overs)

FoW: 1-40 (Nasir Jamshed, 6.1 ov), 2-137 (Younis Khan, 22.5 ov), 3-145 (Khurram Manzoor, 24.4 ov)

Bowling
Chigumbura 6-0-37-1 (1nb, 2w)
Mpofu 3-0-23-0
Brent 6-0-35-0 (2w)
Price 10-1-38-2 (1w)
Dabengwa 6-0-54-0

Player of the match – Younis Khan
Player of the series – Shoaib Malik

Source: CricketAustralia

Tendulkar Third Indian to be Out 'hit wicket' in ODIs

Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday became the third Indian batsman to be out 'hit-wicket' in one day cricket. The master blaster, whose dismissals are often a subject of discussion, was at it once again while playing a Brett Lee delivery in the tri-series opener against Australia.

Just when he was looking good, Tendulkar played a defensive shot and while setting off for a run he ended up tickling the stumps with his foot. The Mumbai batsman, dismissed in this manner for the first time in his ODI career, joined compatriots Nayan Mongia and Anil Kumble who also had this dubious distinction in this version of the game.

Mongia was out off Wasim Akram (Pakistan) at Sharjah on April 7, 1995, while Kumble fell to Andrew Adams (NZ) at Wellington on 8.1.2003.
Apart from Tendulkar, two other members of the 10,000 ODI run club -- Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) and Brian Lara (West Indies) -- were also dismissed 'hit wicket' once each.

Source: HindustanTimes

Mark Taylor in Line for Cricket Australia's Top Post

Former captain Mark Taylor, who is highly regarded in cricketing circles, is expected to take over as the chairman of Cricket Australia (CA) in three years time, the media in Melbourne reported on Sunday.

According to a report in The Age, Taylor appears to be positioning himself to take over as CA chairman amid concern that chairman-elect Jack Clarke might struggle for his brash and arrogant attitude.

The appointment of Clarke, an extrovert Adelaide lawyer, to Australian cricket's top job in place of Creagh O'Connor is causing jitters over how his brash style will be received by India's power-charged cricket administrators.

Some observers worry that Clarke's straight-shooting style might erode years of quiet lobbying and headway made by O'Connor and chief executive James Sutherland.

"Behind the scenes, Australia has been working very hard to build a good relationship with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)," The Age quoted a source in the CA.

"They've used a quiet, thoughtful and courteous approach, which the Indians have responded to. There's a feeling that Jack might just be a disaster in India, with his loud, outgoing ways. It's going to become a very serious issue."

According to the report, it is believed that Taylor, a current CA board director, is lining up for the top post when Clarke's tenure ends in 2011.

Source: HindustanTimes

Players' Letter of Protest to Cricket Australia

FRUSTRATED Australian players will present Cricket Australia with a letter expressing their disappointment at the perceived lack of support offered to them during the Harbhajan Singh appeal.

The Herald reported that the Australian players, through their representative body, the Australian Cricketers' Association, will formally air their grievances to an employer they believe pressured them into accepting a move to downgrade a charge of racism against Harbhajan. The players feel pressure was applied by CA on two fronts.

Firstly, CA outlined the financial repercussions that would be incurred if India withdrew from the one-day series, as they had threatened if Harbhajan's appeal against a three-Test racism ban was unsuccessful.

The cricketers were told CA, the tournament host, could be sued for up to $60 million by ESPN, the company which purchased the rights to televise the series into Asia, if India withdrew. CA further advised that such a loss would take up to 10 years to recoup.

Players also felt pressure in the form of legal advice from CA, which told them that by downgrading the charge against Harbhajan from a 3.3 to a 2.8 - in effect, reducing a charge of racial vilification to one of verbal abuse - the Australians would have a better chance of successfully prosecuting the controversial Indian spinner. The players grudgingly agreed to the downgrade, which resulted in Harbhajan escaping suspension and incurring a minimal fine.

The paper said cricketers' association chief executive Paul Marsh is particularly angry that, as a result of the charge downgrade and Hansen's decision, Australian players were portrayed as the guilty party. The association feels the board displayed hypocrisy in having espoused a commitment to stamping out racial vilification from cricket, only to sweep it under the carpet. The move of the players to complain to CA in writing has the support of association president Darren Lehmann, who clarified his position after initially expressing satisfaction with the disciplinary process. "Post-hearing, we are very disappointed with the outcome and the subsequent unwarranted fallout for the Australian players," Lehmann said on Thursday. Australia's players have declined to speak publicly about their anger at CA, reluctant to further inflame a situation that some feel has already affected the quality of their play. But in sending a letter to their employer, the cricketers will leave little doubt as to their feelings.
Source: HindustanTimes