Will Ganguly rise from the KKR ashes?

It is quite evident by the way things are shaping that the Kolkata Knight Riders team are gunning to be much more than only the glam team that they have been portrayed to be so far. With the off-the-field performances from Kolkata Knight Riders speaking louder than those on it, the side managed to ‘out-perform’ themselves in the second season by finishing at the bottom of the table.

However, if one were to look for signs this early before the tournament, then the Knight Riders seem serious enough to get their results back on track. John Buchanan was shown the door – as was his entourage – immediately after the debacle despite having a contract for a much longer tenure and another Aussie, Dav Whatmore was hired after a rather long and a winding hiring process. One almost sense that the manner in which both the coaches had been hired, it could be used as a case study in one of those Human Resources Management lectures in those MBA-schools in India!

Whatmore could not be a more different choice than Buchanan. Unlike his predecessor, Whatmore has had a rich experience of coaching in the sub-continent, and probably understands the culture and the psyche of the players as well as anyone else. He was the coach of the 1996 World Cup winning Sri Lankan side and also of the Bangladeshi side in the 2007 edition of the same. And had it not been for his inability to keep shut about an impending selection to the Indian team, he would have, in all probabilities, coached the most followed side of the cricketing world as well. He was head of the National Cricket Academy in India before accepting this offer.

This was followed by the selection of Sourav Ganguly as the captain of the side. Now, while the critics may paint this move as retrograde, a reasonably high-pressure tournament like this will need someone who could take the game by the scuff of its neck and bring back the results. And from those around, and despite the odd snigger about his fitness issues, Ganguly looks to be the best man for the job. Not only this, but Ganguly has also expressed his desire to play county cricket in the T20 competition, and if the rumour-mills are to be believed, he could be in line to sign a deal with Essex for the tournament!

Apart from the announcement of the coach and the captain, the Kolkata Knight Riders have begun to slowly get in the domestic players who could bolster their Indian bench strength. Probably, the realisation seems to have finally dawned upon the management, that given the high ratio of Indian to foreign players allowed in the playing eleven, it would make sense to get in the quality fringe Indian cricketers into the side as well. Instead of only targeting the big foreign names! As a result of this, ICL-returns, Rohan Gavaskar and Eklak Ahmid have been signed up by KKR and in all probabilities, there could be many more being pruned.

What would also work as an excellent news for the team management is that Brad Hodge has announced his retirement from international cricket. Despite Hodge’s slow start to the second season of the IPL, he took off reasonably well, and given his humongous experience, he should be a handy asset through the entire duration of the tournament.

To me, it does look like things are falling in place for the Kolkata Knight Riders and they could be one of the teams to look out for.

New South Wales celebrate their Champions League victory, New South Wales v Trinidad & Tobago, Champions League Twenty20 final, Hyderabad, October 23, 2009

New South Wales Blues have won the Champions League T20 by beating Trinidad and Tobago in the finals by 41 runs. Brett Lee was the star of the game as he first rescued the Blues from trouble with a 31-ball 48 and then bowled his two overs for ten runs and picked up two wickets.

The Trinidad and Tobago skipper Daren Ganga won the toss and invited the opposition to bat first. Soon enough, the Blues were in trouble as they lost their top four for 47, and the fifth at 75. It required the partnership between two bowlers, Steve Smith and Brett Lee to add 49 for the seventh wicket and take them out of trouble. Smith scored 33, whereas Lee smashed five sixes in his effort.

In reply, the Trinidad and Tobago side went off to a start like they were chasing 200 in the 20 overs and not 160. William Perkins set the ball rolling by being bowled for a duck off the second ball, while the rest followed soon after – TT soon collapsing to 68/5. Ramdin and Pollard then went on to try and rescue the side with some lusty hitting, but with the dismissal of Pollard, the TT hopes also vanished and the NSW Blues were deserving winners.

Lee was not only the man of the match, but also the man of the series for his dazzling show with both, the bat and the ball throughout the tournament.

Ricky to Retire from T20I

Ricky Ponting has announced his retirement from international Twenty20 cricket. However, he will continue to lead the Australian side in the ODIs and Test matches. He has also said that he will continue playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

Ponting has taken this decision to prolong his test match and ODI career, and has seemed to gone in a direction opposite to what most cricketers have been going; that is, to retire from the longer format to concentrate on the T20Is and get the riches in.

The decision was conveyed to the chief selector, coach and the current vice-captain, Michael Clarke, who will now take over the reigns of the T20I side. Clarke had captained the T20I side in Ponting’s absence, and currently is also leading the Aussie team in the ODIs as Ponting is back in Australia, resting. However, a formal decision in that regard has not been taken given that the Aussies next play another T20I in February next year only.

Recently, Australia had lost their Ashes series to England, and Ponting had expressed his desire to come back to England and win a test series here. However, the next series in the country will only be in 2013, which makes it difficult for the dream to become reality.

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T20Cricket.Asia hopes you enjoy this Ricky Ponting wallpaper. He was born December 19, 1974, he has represented the Australian cricket team in in One Day International, Twenty20 International and Test matches. He is also a Tasmanian Tiger in Australian Domestic cricket. He has by far proven that he is a legend of the game regardless of this years Ashes loss. Well done Ricky - keep playing T20! Read more on his Ponting's retirement of T20I.

Shane Warne has called out to put an end to the fifty overs format and have only test matches and the T20s being played. According to the former leg-spinner from Australia, the fifty overs format is past its sell-by date and it does not make too much sense to continue playing it.

Warne accepted that it was a big call to make – given the history – but had no doubts that it had ceased to be interesting enough.

In fact, the T20 cricket was introduced by England after the first class features in the four-day and forty overs cricket was found to be dying a slow death and hence the counties had been running into huge losses. With the introduction of the T20 cricket, the coffers have been buzzing again for the counties.

There have been many such calls in the past as well, but the ICC has not yet come out with a statement regarding this.

According to me, it is difficult to put a format to sleep, especially if the audiences still flock to watch the game and if there is a market for it. It also does seem that between redundant test matches and ODIs, the former will be the first to die, but having an ODI series with seven matches was clearly over-stepping the limits, especially after an exciting Ashes series like the one played earlier.

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The IPL has asked its franchises to directly deal with the concerned players instead of going through the player agents. This new rule has been brought about because the IPL had received many complaints about agents promising many cricketers from the various countries in the world about an IPL berth.

Another reason that experts put forward is the fact that many of the ICL players have rejoined the main fold and this has caused many contracts to be negotiated between these players’ agents and the franchise. The BCCI had set a limit of Rs.8-20 lakh for these ICL players, but it has been said that the rule may have been violated.

There have been complaints to the effect of the agents signing up upcoming cricketers for the IPL, but not in the prescribed format of the contract which has been specified by the IPL. The IPL has now asked the franchises to re-register all the players’ contracts and also make it known to the governing council of all their signings in the recent times, by the 25th of August.

The IPL has then said that they “will then update the player registry and publish a finalised list of registered players with the league on August 27”

Jacques Rudolph, the South African cricketer, accidentally killed a pigeon while attempting to throw the ball to a team mate during a Twenty20 match. It was during a Twenty20 county cricket game between Yorkshire and Lancashire in England on the 29-May-2009. Lancashire won by five wickets.

Who: Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers
When: May 22, 2009
Where: Centurion
Winner: Deccan Chargers won by 6 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)

2nd Semi-Final

Who: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings
When: May 23, 2009
Where: Johannesburg
Winner: Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)

The Grand Final

Who: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers
When: May 24, 2009
Where: Johannesburg

The Winner of the Indian Premier League 2009 are the Deccan Chargers

(Deccan Chargers won by 6 runs)

Well Done Gilly!

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Due to security concerns the Indian Premier League will not be held in India for 2009. Instead it has shifted to South Africa to hit off on the 18th April.

What are the Big Boys Saying?

Shane Warne Rajasthan Royals Captian "Hopefully they get some good crowds. But, it'll be nothing like if it was in India, and it's a shame it can't be in India."

Shaun Pollock Mumbai Indians Coaching Adviser "I must admit it's sad that the tournament has been forced out of India - that's where the passion of the game is at its highest. But on the other hand I'm delighted South Africa has been given the opportunity of staging the most exciting cricket event in the world." "Durban should host the final and semi-final matches of the Indian Premier League because of the favourable weather conditions in the city. Durban is the only city in the country with the warm weather to make it feasible to hold matches that deep into winter."

Jonty Rhodes Mumbai Indians Field Coaching Staff "I'm very happy to hear that it will be staged in our country. It will at least give me the opportunity of being close to my young family for the duration of the tournament." "However I don't want the people of India to get me wrong. I love visiting and playing in India. They are a passionate lot when it comes to cricket. Having seen how the tournament was played and conducted last year I'm sure South Africa will be able to match, if not better, the standards of the 2008 tournament."

Graeme Smith Captian of South Africa "The Indian Premier League tournament will be just as big in South Africa in 2009 as the first tournament was in India last year."

2009 Indian Premier League Details

The IPL commissioner Lalit Modi announced their will be 59 games played over 5 weeks. The games will be played at 6 venues meaning the 25 person teams will be travelling like nomads over the period. Lamit also hinted at an official opening at Sahara Park, Newlands in Cape Town while the closing ceremony would be in Johannesburg. Sahara Stadium in Kingsmead may also be a possible semi-final venue.

8 teams will play - Rajasthan Royals (2008 champions), Chennai Super Kings (runners-ups), Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers, Deccan Chargers and the Delhi Daredevils.

The team will rock up from April 8 onwards to start acclimatising to give them 10 days to prepare for the April 18 opening.