Sachin Tendulkar likely to buy Mumbai Masters in IBL

June 22, 2013

Sachin_TendulkarNew Delhi, Jun 22: There will be a dash of cricket in the inaugural Indian Badminton League with star batsman Sachin Tendulkar set to be part of a conglomerate to buy the Mumbai Masters franchisee in the event.

Tendulkar will be part of a conglomerate, which is in the process of buying the Mumbai Masters, according to highly-placed sources in the Badminton Association of India.

"Tendulkar is in the process of buying the Mumbai Masters. He would be the external face of the Mumbai team like Shah Rukh Khan, who promoted his team Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL," a BAI official said on condition of anonymity.

"He will own a share in the franchise, while the rest will be owned by two to three other companies. He will be one of the partners," the source added.

The Indian Badminton League took a huge step forward when it announced its first franchise -- the PVP Group that successfully bid for the Hyderabad Hotshots.

Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Lucknow are the six cities that will feature in the first edition of IBL. The owners of teams -- Mumbai Masters (Mumbai), Pune Vijetas (Pune), Rajdhani Smashers (Delhi), Karnataka Kings (Bangalore) and Lucknow Warriors (Lucknow) -- have been decided but will be officially revealed later this month.

"Lucknow will be owned by Sahara, while Dabur is buying Pune. Bangalore is also confirmed. They have invested a lot of money already. Delhi and Karnataka are owned by corporates from real estate," the source added.

The $1 million IBL is less than two months away and organisers are planning to divulge more details in the time to come.

"At a lower level, we have not started our work till now. Till now the organising committee for the different cities has not been decided. So there is still no clarity on a few things, there are few issues to be sorted out," the source said.

"Some officials are in Singapore now to talk to the players for their agreement. The auction stands on June 30 as of now. Last week there was a meeting in Delhi, all this was discussed."

The league, which will feature six franchises and run for 18 days, is set to be launched on August 14 with some high-voltage action expected between PVR Ventures' Hyderabad Hotshots and Karnataka Kings.

Each franchise will host a two-day leg and the event will have a grand total of 90 matches. The top four franchises will clash in the semifinals and the winners will meet in the grand final on August 31 in Mumbai.

However, Ashish Chadha, the CEO of Sporty Solutionz, the commercial partner of the League, said that reports about Tendulkar buying a team in the IBL were not correct.

Chadha said his company has been entrusted with the marketing of the League and said there was no such proposal from Tendulkar.

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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
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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