Now, IPL-type Indian Badminton League

October 24, 2012

ipl_badminton

New Delhi, October 24: Call it the Saina effect. Badminton is all set to take a superfast shuttle to new heights with the launch of the Indian Badminton League (IBL), a million-dollar event which could change of the face of the sport worldwide.

The IBL, based on a franchise model and tentatively scheduled to be held from January 20 to February 11 next year, would have $1 million (approx Rs 5.5 crore) as prize money, the highest for any badminton tournament in the world, sources close to the event told TOI on Tuesday.

Encouraged by the reaction of the public as well as that of sponsors to the success of Indian players, particularly Saina Nehwal, in recent times, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has planned to hold the event more or less on the lines of the Indian Premier League.

Sources said the event, which will have six city-based franchises, would try to rope in top players from countries like China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia and other country with "hefty appearance fees".

Former India stars like Pullela Gopichand and Pradeep Gandhe are part of the governing council of the IBL which has BAI's president Akhilesh Das Gupta as chairman.

Badminton legend Prakash Padukone has been approached to come on board as an advisor. BAI has asked Sporty Solutionz Pvt Limited to plan and execute the event.

Sources said the IBL organizers are planning to rope in Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone, daughter of Prakash, besides former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, a former member of the IPL governing council.

"Aamir is known to be an avid badminton fan and has always encouraged Saina (Nehwal), while Deepika not only carries the famous Padukone surname but was a state-level player herself," sources said.

They added that Aamir was most likely to be offered the 'brand ambassador' role for IBL and Deepika will most probably be one of the city-based franchisee owners. "Gavaskar is being approached to play a big role in the IBL."

When contacted, IBL governing council member Gandhe, who's the president of Maharashtra Badminton Association, the nodal agency for the event, told TOI that he was not aware of details for the event since Sporty Solutionz Pvt Limited was in charge of executing it.

"We are holding this tournament with some goals in mind. First, it's aimed at creating more and more opportunities for Indian players. Then, it will help participation of top players in India which is good for the sport in the country. It will also help upcoming players as they would be getting a chance to play the world's top stars," said Gandhe, winner of two bronze medals in the 1982 Asian Games.

Times View

The launch of a badminton league along the lines of the IPL is a most welcome development. Along with the fact that India had its largest haul of medals at the recent Olympics, it is a sign of the fact that the country is beginning to make strides in sports other than cricket.

For any sports lover, that is good news. None of the sports should be seen as competing with each other. On the contrary, the more a variety of sports flourish, the more each will get enriched by a genuine culture of sports and physical fitness, as the Australian example illustrates so well.


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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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Agencies
June 7,2020

New Delhi, Jun 7: Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria on Sunday said that Sourav Ganguly would be fit to lead the International Cricket Council (ICC), and added there is no reason for respective cricket boards to not support Ganguly if he wants to hold the post.

In an interaction with media, the former spinner said Ganguly has all the qualities of leading the ICC as he has been a reputed cricketer and knows what a player goes through in his life.

"I also think that it would be really helpful if Sourav Ganguly goes on to lead ICC, it will help cricket and the players as a reputed cricketer will hold such a big post, he has played professional cricket, he has led the Indian side and he has also held an administrative post in the Cricket Association of Bengal," Kaneria told media.

"It depends on all of the boards whether they want to support Ganguly or not, if other boards support Ganguly and PCB doesn't, then also Ganguly would have the maximum number of votes, as a cricketer Ganguly is fit to lead the ICC, he had led the Indian side so well and he has earned a name for himself, so I don't see any reason for boards not supporting Ganguly," he added.

Ganguly had become the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last year, but speculation continued to rise over the former skipper heading the ICC.

"He is currently the president of the BCCI, he knows in and out of everything, he knows what players have to deal with and he is aware of what cricket needs, he knows what support needs to be given to associate nations, players would be able to put forward their point in front of Ganguly," Kaneria said.

In May this year, Cricket South Africa's (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith had backed Ganguly to lead the ICC looking at the current scenario.

"Now it is even more important to have someone in a role who can provide leadership who understands and can navigate the challenges in the game today. I think post-COVID with the things that are going to come our way, to have strong leadership is important. I feel that someone like Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment," sport24.co.za had quoted Smith as saying.

"I know him well, I played against him a number of times and worked with him as an administrator and in television. I feel that he has got the credibility, the leadership skills, and is someone that can really take the game forward and I think that, more than anything, that is needed right now at an ICC level," he added.

ICC's elections are slated to be held in July this year and current chairperson Shashank Manohar has already clarified that he is not seeking a tenure extension.

Ganguly was exceptional in making India play its first day-night Test last year.

India had played its inaugural day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens last year.

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