Kerala hopes to host 2-3 IPL matches this season

KOCHI: Despite not having an IPL team this season, Kerala hopes to host at least two or three Indian Premier League matches, Kerala Cricket Association secretary TC Mathew said on Tuesday.

A positive signal in this regard was given to Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy by IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla during their recent meeting at New Delhi, he told reporters.

Sports minister K Babu had informed him in this regard, Mathew said.

At least two or three IPL matches are likely to be given to Kochi, he said, quoting Babu.

BCCI had terminated the KTK franchise last year for breaching the terms of agreement after the franchise was unable to furnish a new bank guarantee.

Mathew said he would meet the IPL chairman at Delhi on January 11 to inform him about Kochi's preparedness to host the matches.

KCA has also requested BCCI president N Srinivasan to give Kochi two matches of Chennai Super Kings, he said adding no positive or negative response has been received so far.

KCA is in the cluster of CSK, he said. The association is yet to receive about Rs 90 lakh from Kochi Tuskers Kerala, he said.

ED puts BCCI in dock for Rs 1,650cr forex violations

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued show-cause notices to the Indian cricket board for foreign exchange contraventions amounting to Rs 1,650 crore. The violations under FEMA relate to the conduct of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa in 2009.

BCCI conducted the tournament in South Africa purportedly because the government could not provide security cover owing to the general elections. The BCCI entered into an agreement with Cricket South Africa (CSA) and hosted the tournament there over a period of 37 days.

For that purpose, a foreign bank account was operated by the BCCI without disclosing or seeking approval of the Reserve Bank of India as required under the FEMA (1999) legislation. Other banks were also not informed.

The BCCI illegally transferred Rs 250 crore to this foreign bank account through the CSA and spent it on IPL 2, evading scrutiny by the RBI and other banks, the ED said.

It said the BCCI had failed to repatriate the revenues earned in South Africa. The ED also found that the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) had failed to discharge its responsibilities in regulating and monitoring these transactions.

Lalit Modi, former chairman of IPL, was mainly responsible for the conduct of IPL 2 and has been issued a show-cause notice by the directorate. Besides SBT and its officials, other officials of the BCCI, including former president Shashank Manohar and current president N Srinivasan, have also been issued a show-cause notices.

The BCCI officials - Manohar, Srinivasan and Modi (now suspended and facing an internal inquiry) - had worked together in taking IPL 2 to South Africa after they were convinced that hosting the tournament in India with adequate safety measures was not possible.

The tournament in South Africa was a huge success but not without its share of controversies. CSA also underwent an independent probe in 2010-11 after financial irregularities were reported in the South African media.

It was alleged by some members of CSA that approximately 68 million rand had gone missing from its coffers and that some officials had been paid close to 4.8 million rand in bonuses for the successful conduct of the IPL in South Africa in 2009.

IPL to get more exciting

NEW DELHI: As the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) draws closer, innovative plans are afoot to make the Twenty20 extravaganza bigger and better than before. 

The league's new commissioner, Rajeev Shukla, has a few surprises up his sleeve, like a contest between Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and Sachin Tendulkar, F1 drivers Jenson Button andLewis Hamilton playing a 'Super Over' and a team owners' tournament. 

"We've witnessed an increase in IPL spectator numbers. Last season, 160 million people watched the event and 200 countries watched IPL on www.timesofindia.com. There were 72 millions hits on the TOI website, an increase of 79 per cent," said Shukla, during an interaction with TOI. 

The IPL and franchise owners are collaborating to ensure that all facets of this year's tournament, from technical issues influencing the quality of cricket to entertainment and glamour quotient, keep the fans glued to the growing format. 

"We are factoring in elements we hope will make IPL more exciting for viewers. There is a proposal to start an owners' league - 10 overs a side contest. Watching Shah Rukh Khan bowl to Vijay Mallya would be interesting," remarked Shukla. 

A Super Over for celebrities from India and abroad, is also under consideration. 

"We're trying to involve top stars from other sports, like Usain Bolt. A Super Over between Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter protagonist) and his idol Sachin Tendulkar is something many Indians will find riveting viewing. We'd love to stage a Button vs Hamilton Super Over match too." 

Having said that, Shukla emphasized that IPL isn't only about glamour; the matches will be the main eye-ball grabber. 

"We have planned the opening ceremony of the IPL a day before the first match. We don't want the match to be affected by the ceremony," he explained. "There won't be official night parties from the IPL side. If teams wish to stage parties, it's their call. But they'll have to keep in mind the schedule of their players and certain guidelines," he added. 

To make the game more thrilling, arrangements are being made to create high-scoring pitches. "We are expecting on an average over 150 runs in 20 overs. Each IPL venue will have three earmarked pitches. The BCCI ground and pitch committee will monitor the event closely. The best curator will be given an award of Rs 50 lakh," said Shukla. 

"I am of the opinion that everything should be planned. I have told franchisees that we should all avoid leaving anything for the 11th hour," Shukla said.

Bayliss to take over as KKR coach

MUMBAI: Former Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss will replace Dav Whatmore as the new chief coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Whatmore stepped down from his position on Monday after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) gave him charge of their national team.

Bayliss, 49, is now the third coach to be in charge of the Knight Riders after John Buchanan and Whatmore.

Prior to this new assignment, he had worked with the Sri Lankan national team for four years and resigned after their defeat in the World Cup final to India.

"I have followed the IPL and KKR's performance and I am honored to become part of this team which has already built a reputation as a very popular and professional franchise," Bayliss said after the appointment.

Bayliss also has a reputation of sorts in coaching in the Twenty20 format.

It was under him that Sri Lanka also reached the final of the 2009 World Twenty20 in the West Indies.

Kochi Tuskers players could be paraded in fresh IPL auction

MUMBAI: Cricketers belonging to the sacked Kochi Tuskers franchise may finally see light at the end of the tunnel when the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council meets early next month.

A player auction is on the cards and the governing council is working on allowing franchisees an added purse to spend on Kochi cricketers, who will be put on sale once again.

Franchise officials recently met in Mumbai and discussed the idea of an added purse and the amount that should be allowed for spending when cricketers like Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravindra Jadeja, S Sreesanth and others are brought up for auction again.

These players are yet to receive a small amount of their payments from the sacked Kochi franchise, while the majority of it was already compensated.

It is likely that there will be no further remuneration for these cricketers but instead the BCCI gave them an opportunity in the auction to earn their price.

The players who do not get sold in the auction will be compensated by the board from the money received through encashment of Kochi's bank guarantee.

The amount for the added purse has not been finalised yet. Franchise officials who met recently came up with various budget caps ranging from $750,000 to $1 million and more but the final call will be taken only after the GC meet next month.

The franchises are also waiting for the GC to schedule the trading window as early as possible. Further, IPL's 2012 and 2013 editions may see only nine teams participating and if the board feels the necessity to add a 10th team (replacing Kochi), it will happen only in 2014 or later.

One of the primary reasons for not having a 10th team in place is that the new team, if and when the auction happens, should be allowed a level-playing field as far as buying players are concerned.

No reason to disclose IPL bonus: Former CSA head

JOHANNESBURG: Former Cricket South Africa chief operating officer Don McIntosh has told an inquiry committee that there was no need to disclose the huge bonuses that he, CEO Gerald Majola and other CSA officials got for hosting IPL's second season in South Africa two years ago. 


McIntosh told this to the Nicholson inquiry into the financial affairs of CSA. He received 1.4 million rands for his role in the second IPL which was hosted in South Africa due to security concerns arising out of general elections in India at that time. 


The former official also told the inquiry, instituted by sports minister Fikile Mbalula, that the remuneration committee of CSA was inefficient. 


"(The committee) has not been vigorous," McIntosh said. "They arrange rushed meetings and then go on to assess staff performances. That, to me, is not satisfactory. I did not tell (the remuneration committee) about the IPL bonus. I dealt with Gerald (Majola) as my superior. I disclosed everything to him," McIntosh said. 


"With me, the buck stops with Majola. As long as he knew, that was fine." 


Majola, who awarded the bonus to McIntosh, also pocketed an IPL bonus of 1.8 million rands himself, but did not tell the remuneration committee about this, which subsequently led to calls for an independent inquiry by former CSA president Mtutuzeli Nyoka. Nyoka was ousted in absentia and the inquiry converted to an internal one which largely cleared Majola. 


Reinstated to his position after court action, Nyoka got an audit firm to do an independent inquiry which found Majola to be in breach of the Companies Act. But CSA again did not take strong action against Majola. 


With mounting dissatisfaction for CSA among cricket fans and sponsors shying away, Mbalula decided to establish the three-man inquiry headed by retired judge Chris Nicholson. 


Majola is expected to testify at the commission next week.

Mumbai Indians hope to get Zaheer again

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians are keen to bring Zaheer Khan back into the fold for IPL 5. The Mukesh Ambani-owned MI team even made an offer to Royal Challengers Bangalore recently for the pacer, but it was rejected on the grounds that Zaheer is the spearhead of the RCB attack. 

Sources, however, say there is still a possibility MI may get their wish. RCB are also being pursued by some other teams for Zaheer. 

Zaheer played for RCB in the first season, but was subsequently traded to MI, where he played two seasons before being sold to RCB again in the 2011 auctions. Chris Gayle's signing with RCB, however, is still in limbo, though negotiations are on between the player and team owners.