Probables for Mumbai and Chennai Team

Chennai Super Kings

Matthew Hayden
Parthiv Patel
Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni (capt/wk)
S Badrinath
Andrew Flintoff
Albie Morkel
L Balaji
Joginder Sharma
Manpreet Gony
Muttiah Muralitharan

Mumbai Indians

Sanath Jayasuriya
Sachin Tendulkar (capt)
Shikhar Dhawan
JP Duminy
Dwayne Bravo
Abhishek Nayar
Yogesh Takawale (wk)
Harbhajan Singh
Dhawal Kulkarni
Zaheer Khan
Kyle Mills

Note:

Morkel, Duminy and Ntini it means playing the IPL opener within hours of finishing the day-night ODI against Australia in Johannesburg.

KKR Captain: New Zealand's Brendon McCullum replaces Sourav Ganguly

The Knight Riders take on the Deccan Chargers in Newlands on Sunday The 19th April 2009.

It has been talks and talk’s allover time since Australian coach John Buchanan brought up the theory of multiple captains for his team for the second edition of the IPL in South Africa.

With McCullum being appointed skipper for the initial matches and could be replaced by someone else in days to come.

Diamond-studded trophy for Man of the Match in Mumbai Indians IPL ties

A scintillating trophy coated with hundreds of diamonds and other precious stones would be presented to the man of the match for the home matches of Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League Season 2.

The 2-feet tall trophy primed by The Gitanjali Group, bejeweled with 550 diamonds and 785 precious stones worth for about Rs. 3.5crore

Mumbai Indians, led by champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar, are to commence their campaign in the IPL by playing in the tournament opener at Cape Town on April 18 against 2008 runners-up Chennai Super Kings (CSK), led by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

IPL have designated the home and away matches for the eight franchise teams in the 2nd edition of the tournament as its being held outside the country.

Cricinfo, Journey with IPL T20

Cricinfo, part of ESPN network has taken initiative to successfully give their best views, reviews, statistics and updates from time to time.

It will be very special for cricket lovers to watch the telecast live on the television and also participate in Fantasy Cricket hosted by Cricinfo. So, here it is with fully loaded goodies and prize to be won as the competition progresses.

Exiting Prizes to be won are:

LCD TV + Home theatre
Nintendo Wii Gaming console
Apple Time Capsule 1TB
Apple iPod Touch (16 GB)
Sony PSP

Pakistan: We are still waiting for an answer!

Many Pakistani players are still waiting for a firm answer from the IPL regarding the status of their participation in the event with supporting documentary evidence to confirm whether the contracts have been frozen or terminated by the franchises and the IPL.

Pakistan cricketers including Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul have asked the IPL to inform them about their existing status in the league.

Strained relations

One of the former Pakistan skipper believes either the IPL should let the players know in writing the status of their contracts or allow them to play in the second edition of the league in South Africa.

Rajasthan Royals for whom Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir played last year have said they had suspended contracts of their Pakistani signings. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board has informed the IPL that while the Pakistan government had advised its cricketers against traveling to India due to security reasons, it had no objection in allowing its players to tour South Africa for the twenty20 tournament.

Upon the request from players to speak to IPL organizers to know their stand, the PCB which is not directly involved with any of the player’s contracts with the IPL are now ready to help out with this regard.

Tickets available online – Location or Venue of play and Price

Tickets for the double-header in Cape Town on April 18 are priced between R 50 for students to R 200/150 for the grand stands and are inclusive of the opening ceremony.

Kingsmead in Durban hosts 16 games, the most for a single venue, and the tickets are priced between R 25 for students to R 150 for the grand stands.

The prices are pretty cheaper in the smaller venues like East London, Port Elizabeth, Kimberley and Bloemfontein, ranging between R 10 and R 75.

Dada sole Knight Riders Captain, for now

Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner SRK has called provisional armistice in the ongoing confrontation between last year’s captain Sourav Ganguly and head coach John Buchanan over the captaincy issue.

In a bit to douse the controversy over Buchanan’s multi-captain theory, SRK played peacemaker throughout a marathon meeting with the two principal protagonists, later indicating that "as of now" Ganguly would remain the team’s sole captain.

A final decision, though, will be taken only after a two-week camp in South Africa, meaning a window has been left open for Buchanan to implement his ideas at Bloemfontein, where the team will be based during IPL Season 2.

Immense respect for the two senior-most members of KKR team regarding decisions are taken in tandem. As the squad has not been finalized because of the venue change etc, the call would be taken on captain, vice-captain and the team after the sessions in South Africa prior to the first game.