Malayalis missing own team in IPL

Watching the KKR vs RCB match in the Yacht Club with a whole lot of my friends made me really nostalgic and suddenly I wished Kochi Tuskers still existed.

We all have our own favourite teams, then why am I wishing and hoping?

The IPL has a world culture and thus having our own team made us part of this.

It was such fun last year with matches being played in our city. And I think more than just matches it was the ability to be able to see your stars in front of you.

People from all over Kerala would travel to see the matches. A million fingers would be crossed when we would see black clouds looming over the international stadium.

The silence when the wickets fell and the madness when there was a four or a six. It was fantastic to see it all happen before our own eyes and not just on TV.

It was also great to be able to tell a metro guy that even we have matches being played in our city when they talked about their experiences.

I remember so clearly how Kochi had become a sea of purple and orange. All the paraphernalia and merchandise.

T-shirts, caps, signed bats, banners and more. People selling all this around the stadium. The traffic, the buzz, the tension. The IPL had Kochi swooning.

And there would be those messages and calls; hey are you in the stadium? What’s happening there? Which block are you sitting in? I truly miss us having an IPL team.

When we thought the IPL couldn’t get crazier — it did and KKR was playing. And suddenly the stadium erupted when the magnetic charismatic amazing Shah Rukh Khan walked in.

He waved, he blew kisses, he clapped and from where he was, he indulged every fan.

His team lost (mine too) but he was the winner. He walked around waving to everyone. Touching hands and smiling.

I love the IPL and I know many do too in this cricket crazy Kerala. And I miss miss miss watching the matches live and also having our own team.

IPL 2012: RCB sign former Kochi player Prashanth Parameswaran

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have signed left-handed paceman Prashanth Parameswaran from Kerala as a replacement for injured S Aravind.

Parameswaran will join the squad at the earliest, the RCB said in a statement.

"We are happy with the induction of Parameswaran in our squad. He will boost our bowling resources during the most critical phase of the ongoing tournament," RCB owner Sidhartha Mallya in a statement.

The pacer was a part of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala outfit in the 2011 season of the IPL. (PTI)

IPL Pune team has common goal

PUNE: Steve Smith's journey as a vital cog in Pune's wheel hasn't been that smooth.

In 2009, he was in the auction pool but wasn't picked by any franchise. He was signed the next year by Bangalore as replacement for Jessy Ryder, who is now his teammate. But the 22-year-old Australian did not get a game.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala signed him for the base price of $200,000 last year. However, an ankle injury prevented him from playing.

The middle-order batsman, who also bowls leg-spin, was in the auction pool this year for the base price of $200,000 after Kochi was suspended by the Board. But as the franchises have to do the balancing act between players and spending cap, Smith was not picked by any team.

Pune, who did not participate in the auction due to their differences with the BCCI, signed him later after he captained Sydney Sixers to Big Bash title in Australia. Finally, Smith got his first IPL game with his third team this year. And he bagged Man of the Match on debut helping Pune beat Mumbai in their own den.

Smith has held his own in the season so far with 194 crucial runs at 38.8 with a strike rate of 152.75 (before the start of Pune-Hyderabad game). And he has been the tiger in the field. In T20 internationals for Australia, his T20 average is just 15 and in ODIs 22.8.

Smith had been to India for the World Cup last year. Australia decided to replace him withCameron White for the quarterfinal against India which they lost.

Smith's story of rejection and his search for redemption is symptomatic of Pune team.

Captain Ganguly himself was rejected by all franchise in the auction last year. Even other members have something to prove to the cricket fans and national selectors. Leggie Rahul Sharma and paceman Ashok Dinda are not yet certainties for Team India. Robin Uthappa has failed to cement his place with Men in Blue. Murali Kartik feels he is not far from being the best left-arm spinner in the world but men who matter may not feel so. Left-arm pacemanAshish Nehra, who was a part of the World Cup team but did not play the final after suffering a finger injury, is also trying to get back at selectors.

Manish Pandey got an unbeaten 200 vs Mumbai in Mumbai in his last Ranji game. But had to sit out in frustration due to hernia surgery in a season which could have boosted his Test berth aspirations.

Angleo Mathews and Tamim Iqbal have made a name for themselves at the international level. But other foreign playes in Pune team (Callum Ferguson, Wayne Parnell, Marlon Samuels, Jesse Ryder, Alfonso Thomas, Luke Wright) are still searching their place at the highest level. And Aussie Test and ODI skipper Michael Clarke, who is supposed to join the team next week, has to prove his T20 credentials more than anyone else after retiring from the shortest version.

But there can be one distinct advantage with such group. The likelihood of class division in the team is less since no player is current international 'star'. It's easier to unite such angry and hungry players towards a common goal.

IPL 5: Delhi's bench strength impresses Mahela

New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene on Friday said an impressive bench strength offers them the luxury of rotating players during the ongoing tournament to give some players a break in a packed Indian Premier League (IPL) schedule.

The Sri Lankan, who played for the Kochi Tuskers Kerala last season, said the packed IPL schedule was not a problem for them as all the other teams had to go through it as well. "I think every team is going through it. Some times we a few days off. If a player has a good game and he is tired we can rotate him," Jayawardene said.

Delhi will be without the services of Kevin Pietersen at the end of the month as he would be going back England to prepare for the home series against the West Indies. Delhi though will welcome back Australian David Warner, who was away on national duty in the West Indies.

"Pietersen is leaving end of the month for his season so Warner will come and join the team. Plus we got many players sitting on the bench. So its all about rotation. If we feel we need to give a player a couple of days off then we give a break and utilize the bench strength. We have Andre on the bench and couple of others. So if Morne Morkel requires a break we will give him," he said.

Jaywardene was also impressed with Delhi's bowling attack. "Bowlers have done a great job. I think Morne has led the pack efficiently. Umesh Yadav is impressive. But I think the way Shahbaz Nadeem is bowling very very well. He is a confident guy on the field and a brilliant fielder. We have got a lot of experience in Ajit Agarkar and Aavishkar Salvi. Vaaron Aaron will be available by the end of the month," he said.

The Sri Lankan also said that every cricketer is working on the surprise element. "I think everyone has done different things to stay on the top of the game. I think in Twenty20 cricket scoring runs is important. To add the surprise element to their scoring quickly batsmen have come with new techniques. Dilshan' Dilscope, KP switch-hit and many more. Bowlers have also evolved different version, to slow balls, slow bouncers and many more. It is great for the game," he said.

IPL auction: Ravindra Jadeja costliest at $2 mn, Vinay Kumar bags $1 mn

VVS Laxman, S Sreesanth and Brendon McCullum - all part of the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the 2011 IPL - have commanded the highest reserve price of US$ 400,000 in the final auction shortlist for the 2012 season. The Kochi trio joins England offspinner Graeme Swann, who is yet to feature in the IPL, as the four players to command the maximum base price in the 144-strong list.

On January 20, the BCCI had released a preliminary list comprising of 183 players, who hadn't participated in earlier seasons of the IPL. That has been pruned further by the IPL organisers based on the feedback received from the franchises. The Kochi players, who weren't part of the earlier list, were expectedly included, and the entire roster of players will go under the hammer on February 4 in Bangalore.

"The shortlist comprises some outstanding cricket talent," the IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said. "Given that it was prepared on the basis of the feedback of the franchises themselves, the stage is set for an exciting and eventful player auction, this Saturday. The franchises purchased the bulk of their respective squads in 2011. Their aim at the upcoming auction will be to bring in some players who can make a difference to their prospects in the tournament. The auction will mark the formal opening of IPL 2012."

In all, 16 Kochi players feature in the list including the newly-appointed Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene (reserve price US$ 300,000) and the retired offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan (US$ 200,000). India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, whose stock has been on the rise following a successful return to ODI action, was pegged at a surprisingly low US$ 100,000. Tamim Iqbal was a notable addition, and will be the only Bangladesh player in the auction, at a reserve price of US$ 50,000.

Azhar Mahmood and Imran Tahir are the only players of Pakistan origin in the auction. Mahmood, however, now possesses a British passport, while Tahir is presently part of South Africa's Test team. Pakistan players have not been part of the IPL since the 2009 season.

Indian interest in the auction will be limited to eight newly-added players, all capped. Seven of them were part of the Kochi franchise last year while the eighth one is the fast bowler VRV Singh. The preliminary list had 25 Zimbabwe internationals, but only seven of them made it to the final draft.

Terminated Kochi Tuskers seek Kerala chief minister's help

THIRUVANANTPURAM: The owners of Kochi Tuskers, the terminated Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, have sought help from Kerala chief Minister Oommen Chandy to revive the state's Twenty20 cricket team.

Chandy said on Thursday that officials from Rendezvous Sports, owners of Kochi Tuskers, have requested him for help to revive the team.

"I told them that I will discuss this issue with my cabinet colleagues and find out what can be done," Chandy told reporters after a special cabinet meeting.

The IPL franchise was terminated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after it defaulted on an annual payment of Rs.156 crore as a bank guarantee.

Prasanth Mishra, a representative of Rendezvous Sports, met Chandy twice and discussed the problems.

"We have also met Sports Minister KB Ganesh Kumar to seek his help as well. We are also going to seek legal recourse of cancelling our franchise because in the past two franchises (Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals) were successful after they went to the court," said Mishra.

Rendezvous won the franchisee rights for the Kochi IPL team for Rs.1,500 crore for 10 years.

Rendezvous is owned by a consortium that includes companies like Kerala-based Elite Group of Vivek Venugopal, Anchor Earth, Parani Development Pvt. Ltd., Anand Shah Developers and Film Waves.

The team had its trouble right from the start. Sashi Tharoor, a Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, lost his job as the minister for state for external affairs after it was revealed that Sunanda Pushkar, whom he later married, was given sweat equity. Tharoor reportedly did the initial spade work to bring the owners together and bid for the team.

Then came a serious difference opinion between the owners and that too was sorted out before the team finally took the field. But then it defaulted in payment to the BCCI.

Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata Qualify for IPL4 play offs

Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata cruise to the play offs rounds of IPL 4th season which will begin from 24th May.

First two teams, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings will play in Qualifier 1 and 3rd and 4th team, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders play in Eliminator. Winner of Qualifier 1 will directly enter the Finals. Loser of Qualifier 1 will play against the winner of eliminator in Qualifier 2 and the Winner will get berth for Finals. Finals will be played at Chennai on 28th May.

Congratulations to Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata for entering Qualifier rounds and wish all good luck .