Revision as of 11:00, 25 June 2021

This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content.

The results of IPL finals, 2008-2016; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, May 30, 2016

Delhi Daredevils: IPL record, 2008-2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

1 History
2 Indian Premier League: The economics of
- 2.1 Advertising revenues
3 Coaches in IPL
- 3.1 As in Nov
4 Controversies: 2008-16
- 4.1 Spot fixing case: 2013
- 4.2 Dhoni on the suspension of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals
5 The IPL numbers
- 5.1 IPL broadcast rights
- 5.2 IPL title rights
  - 5.2.1 2017-22: Vivo pays Rs 2,199 crore
6 Valuation of the IPL
- 6.1 2014-19
7 IPL jinxed for team owners?
8 YEAR-WISE HISTORY
9 2013-14
10 2016
11 2017
12 2018
13 2019
14 2020
- 14.1 Mumbai Indians win fifth title
15 2021
- 15.1 The entire list
- 15.2 The auction

History

Established in 2008

The Times of India, April 8, 2016

Twenty20 cricket became phenomenally popular after India won the inaugural World Twenty20 title in 2007 under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The victory not only rejuvenated the Indians fans, who were reeling under the disappointment of the 2007 ODI World Cup, but it also gave way to the conceptualization of the Indian Premier League that has since then not only cashed on the craze but has also changed the way cricket is played in India.

Brain child of the then BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, the IPL was launched in 2008 with much fanfare as a competitive response to the Indian Cricket League (ICL) that was not recognized by the BCCI. Since then the IPL has not only come out as the clear victor but has given birth to various T20 leagues around the world and is the most-attended cricket league in the world. The ICL, with controversies of non-payment and fixing, folded up in 2009.

Following the same format as that of English Premier League (EPL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), the IPL works on a franchise system that were put for auction, where the highest bidder won the rights to own the team, representing each city.

2008: the beginnings

K ShriniwasRao, Apr 05 2017: The Times of India

A Decade After It Set The Benchmark For T20 Leagues, Is The IPL Still Blazing The Trail When It Comes To Innovation?

Ten years ago, on a pleasant afternoon in 2008, when a five-star hotel in the south of Mumbai played host to an Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction, the first of its kind in any sport across the world, Sotheby's London auction house was yet to make a killing from a fascinating bronze sculpture -a Swiss masterpiece -waiting to go under the hammer. The winning bid for Walking Man I didn't quite proverbially match up to the cheque written (and the noise made) for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the scale of contemporary European art notwithstanding.

Much later, Richard Madley , the competent London-based auctioneer at IPL for a decade now, would admit -a bit in disbelief and a lot in awe -that sport, much defined like art as an expression of human creative skill, had taken a multi-dimensional leap of faith that astonishing afternoon. Cricket, until then a sport that had been looking to readdress itself in ways that could reassure coming generations of its viability, was given a new life by administrators with twisted hearts and professionals with incredible designs.

This was 2008. India hadn't yet woken up to the idea of leagues until then. By that time, NFL the celebrated American football league was already 88 years old and the NBA the premier men's basketball tournament 62. It was pure innovation at play for IPL, working at multiple levels that helped redraft cricketing philosophies in ways that made the world sit up and take note. Never before had an investor in sport become a bigger talking point than the investment itself.

The results of the finals

2008-16: See graphic.

Impact on cricket in India

The Times of India, April 8, 2016

The first IPL auction took place on January 24, 2008 and the total base price for the auction was $400 million. The auction went on to fetch $723.59 million.

The Mumbai franchise (Mumbai Indians) owned by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was the most expensive franchise - fetching $111.9 million closely followed by Vijay Mallya's United Breweries which paid $111.6 million for the Bangalore franchise (Royal Challengers Bangalore). Media house Deccan Chronicle won the Hyderabad franchise (Deccan Chargers) for $107 million, while India Cements' Chennai franchise (Chennai Super Kings) cost $91 million.

Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla's Red Chillies Entertainment bought the Kolkata franchise (Kolkata Knight Riders) for $75.09, while Preity Zinta and her then beau Ness Wadia bought the Mohali team (Kings XI Punjab) for $76 million. Infrastructure development group GMR bagged the ownership of the Delhi team (Delhi Daredevils) for $84 million and the Emerging Media, consisting of its CEO Fraser Castellino, Manoj Badale and Lachlan Murdoch and other investors won the rights for the Jaipur franchise (Rajasthan Royals) for $67 million.

The maiden edition of IPL had eight teams comprising a minimum of 16 players each. The tournament lasted for 44 days and involved 59 matches. And since then the league has had its share of controversies and seen many ups and down.

Two new leagues - Pune Warriors India (bought by the Sahara group for $370 million) and Kochi Tuskers Kerala (purchased by Rendezvous Sports World for $333.3 million) - were brought in before the fourth season of the league in 2011. But the Kochi Tuskers were soon terminated for breaching the BCCI's terms and conditions.

2009 champions Deccan Chargers were suspended in 2012 and then renamed Sunrisers Hyderabad under new owners Sun TV Network. But the biggest shock came in 2013 when the IPL was rocked by the fixing and betting scandal and many big names got embroiled in the controversy and it resulted in not only a few heads being rolled but entire teams were suspended. After two years of trials and tribulations, two-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two seasons.

Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by Delhi police in Mumbai on charges of spot-fixing during IPL 6. Sreesanth and Chavan were subsequently banned for life by the BCCI's disciplinary committee.

Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants replaced Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two seasons. Dhoni and his longtime Chennai Super Kings teammate Suresh Raina were picked to play for opposing teams in the first-ever player draft of the IPL that was held in Mumbai on December 15, 2015.

Rising Pune Supergiants, the Pune franchise bought by Kolkata-based businessman Sanjiv Goenka, expectedly picked Dhoni as the first player for Rs 12.5 crore and Intex Technologies owner Keshav Bansal, who invested in Gujarat Lions, picked Raina as the first choice followed by Ravindra Jadeja - the local Saurashtra boy who has grown up playing in Rajkot.

The two new franchises paid Rs 12.5 crore to the first player they picked at the draft, Rs 9.5 crore to the second, Rs 7.5 crore to the third, Rs 5.5 crore to the fourth and Rs 4 crore to the fifth. The two franchises had a limited purse of Rs 66 crore to form their squads for the season and a minimum spending of Rs 40 crore was mandatory between the draft and the auction in February. Australian all-rounder Shane Watson emerged as the biggest draw going for a whopping Rs 9.50 crore bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore but it was Pawan Negi who turned heads with a mind-boggling deal of Rs 8.50 crore by Delhi Daredevils to be the costliest Indian buy in the 2016 IPL players' auction.

With corporate megabucks, Bollywood glamour and the frequent sound of wood thumping leather, the IPL has revolutionized the sport in the way it was played and cricketainment has been the new word to describe the evolution of a new chapter in history of cricket. The Indian Premier League has proved that cricket will never be the same again.

Records

2008-16, some 2017: See graphic.

IPL records, 2008-16, some 2017; The Times of India, April 5, 2017

2008-18/ Captains, stars who dropped themselves from the team

April 3, 2018: The Times of India

April 26, 2018: The Times of India

HIGHLIGHTS

In 2008, Mumbai Indians had to choose Shaun Pollock as their third captain of the season after stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh was suspended

In 2012, Ricky Ponting stepped aside handing over the reigns to Rohit Sharma, who lead Mumbai Indian to the title

In 2015, Steve Smith announced at the toss that he has replaced Shane Watson as captain of Rajasthan Royals

VVS DROPS HIMSELF FOR GILLY (2008)

Originally named as the Icon Player for Deccan Chargers before the first season of IPL, VVS Laxman gave up the status in a bid to allow his team spend more at the auctions. However, the genial Hyderabadi dropped himself from the team halfway through the season after the team’s poor run.

It allowed Adam Gilchrist to take over as the captain. ‘Gilly’ led the side in the next two seasons as well, and DC won the title under him in 2009.

DHAWAN MAKES WAY FOR SAMMY (2014)

In 2014, the Sunrisers Hyderabad announced that they’d ‘relieved’ Shikhar Dhawan of the burden of captaincy and appointed West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy as the new captain for the rest of the IPL season, hoping that the move will help Dhawan bat more freely. Sammy was included in the side and straight away thrusted into the captaincy role. Dhawan had managed only 215 runs in his first 10 outings as captain.

SANGA DROPS HIMSELF (2012)

While leading the Deccan Chargers in the 2012 IPL, Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara was enduring an ordinary run. He not only gave up the captaincy mid-stream but even dropped himself from the playing XI, making way for Australian big-hitter Cameron White to accommodate four overseas players in the XI. However, the move did not yield the desired results as Deccan Chargers could never get going in the tournament.

PONTING MAKES WAY FOR ROHIT (2013)

In 2013, Mumbai Indians began on shaky note when they lost three out of their first six matches. Skipper Ricky Ponting wasn’t in the best of form. The batting great decided to step down and handed over the reins to Rohit Sharma against Kolkata Knight Riders. MI eventually went on to clinch the title under Rohit, even as Ponting kept cheering the team from the sidelines.

VIJAY REPLACES MILLER (2016)

Struggling at the bottom of the points table in 2016, Kings XI Punjab made a bold move by removing David Miller, who had struggled with both the bat and leadership, as the team’s captain with Murali Vijay, even as they had 10 league matches remaining.

“David Miller continues to be an integral part of the team and is a very strong player of the squad,” KXIP said in a statement. Till that stage, Kings XI had won just one match out of six. Till that point, Miller had only managed to score 76 runs while Vijay had amassed 143.

An overview, 2008-19

Partha Bhaduri, April 18, 2020: The Times of India

There was a moment inside the sweltering cauldron of the Chinnaswamy Stadium all those years ago, on April 18, 2008 to be precise, when the still-nebulous Indian Premier League (IPL) acquired a wonderfully original and totally preposterous life of its own. Like most epoch-defining moments, it wasn’t exactly part of the script.

It was just two overs into the Royal Challengers Bangalore chase, but the hosts already seemed in disarray at 9/1. They had begun the innings looking bereft of hope, having been numbed into submission by Brendon McCullum’s unexpected and, at that time, unbelievable assault on their bowlers. The young, pacy Ashok Dinda steamed in to bowl for the Kolkata Knight Riders, and promptly got Virat Kohli to chop a short, wide one on to his stumps. The Chinnaswamy exploded.

The dismissal should have been greeted with stunned silence. Instead, up in the aisles, a prancing KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan discovered to his amazement that the whole stadium was dancing along with him, roaring its approval. Dinda was fist pumping at the crowd, which would continue its carnival merriment for the rest of the game.

That night, Bengaluru didn’t seem to care that their own home team, packed to the gills with Test stalwarts, had unravelled before their eyes.

A trend was set. This wasn’t about team loyalties anymore. It wasn’t about fan favourites either, but something totally alien to sporting leagues, a kind of collective joie de vivre that would propel the IPL to unprecedented heights and reshape the game’s dynamics, both within the field and beyond it. In that first season, crowds across the country’s giant stadiums revelled as the sheer audacity of it all hit home. Indian cricket was shedding its garb of tradition in full public glare, demolishing national-team boundaries and embracing an insatiable appetite for change.

This was cricket’s version of hip-hop, a deep cultural revolution, not some transient, silly hit-and-giggle gimmick. The IPL wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan thing but a stable entity which would usher in democratic norms in a hierarchical cricketing order. It would redraw the bounds of the financially possible.

Players would be auctioned off, permanently altering their non-monetary valuations in the eyes of coaches. Cricketing mercenaries would be born. And like most revolutions, the IPL would acquire a dark side.

That first match was a dream launch. McCullum’s extraordinary 73-ball 158, then the highest T20 score, contained 13 sixes and 10 fours, including, at one point, a scoop over fine leg for six off Zaheer Khan. That innings was an early pointer to the format’s fundamental redrawing of balance between bat and ball.

What was remarkable was that this wasn’t just a plonk-your-front-foot-andhit-through-the-line type of pitch. RCB’s batting order, comprising Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Kohli and Jacques Kallis, were used to ‘proper’ cricket and ‘proper’ responses to given situations. They lost by 140 runs.

That first IPL evening was also the first time the IPL made conventional batting seem uncool. In fact, the first IPL edition included all the pointers of things to come. Shane Warne used strong backroom support, tactical nous, swagger and positivity to scythe through opponents, laying the marker for modern T20’s constant craving for data analysis. Old warhorses like Adam Gilchrist and Sanath Jayasuriya showed that their withering frames were still suitable for belting boundaries. Since then, the IPL has been a league of veterans as much as youngsters, in spite of heightened fitness levels and fielders hunting in packs while flirting with boundary ropes.

Innovative shots, broadened bats and quick fixes by hapless bowlers, the first IPL had it all. It also had something that wouldn’t be seen again: the presence of Pakistani cricketers. Virender Sehwag became the first to declare that IPL performances should count towards national selection. Brett Lee said, “If we look back in 10 years’ time, this tournament is going to be a massive landmark.”

By 2014, the IPL was ranked sixth in terms of eyeballs among global sporting leagues. By 2015, each IPL edition was contributing around $160 million to the GDP. By 2017, Star India would be buying the broadcast rights for $2.55 billion. By 2018, 1,112 players would register for the auction and the franchises would spend Rs 600 crore to build their teams. Just before the coronavirus pandemic struck, Duff and Phelps calculated that the IPL brand valuation had soared 13.5% to Rs 47,500 cr.

It seemed nothing, not even the 2013 match-fixing scandal which led to the banning of two teams, could make a dent in the IPL’s soaring graph. Nothing, that is, until the coronavirus. While it’s a given that sporting leagues are not immune to global economic shocks, sporting activity has been hit hardest by the social-distancing norms this pandemic necessitates.

How long will it be till we can flock without fear to stadiums like we used to? Will future IPL games be live streamed from empty stadiums, neutering the league of its emotive appeal? What will the IPL look like in 2022, when the sponsorship rights may be up for grabs again?

Worryingly, is the age of the megabuck sporting league over? According to some estimates, the IPL and its peripheral industries could see a hit of Rs 10,000 crore. There has been no pandemic insurance by either broadcaster or board. The revenue model involves selling properties, to broadcasters, sponsors, franchises... what happens when that model is rendered obsolete? What happens when there are no gate receipts, no corporate boxes?

The IPL has always been shaped by significant external events, like India’s 2007 World T20 win which made the concept viable. Now, too, it’s time to look towards other global sporting leagues, and see how they cope. To survive in a post-pandemic world, the IPL must innovate again.

The greatest players, 2008-19

IPL’s Greatest XI, April 18, 2020: The Times of India

IPL 2020 has been postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus. But what is the greatest XI from the 12 seasons played so far? TOI pores over the statistics and rummages through the memories to come up with the team to beat every other team…

Shane Watson (RR, CSK): IPL’s Duracel man. Two-time MVP (2008, 2013). Biggame hunter (MoM, 2018 final). Pips David Warner, 3-time Orange Capper.

M 134, R 3575, SR 139.53, 6s 177, W 92, Ave 29.15, ER 7.93

Chris Gayle (RCB, KXIP): Punisher. Pleasure-provider. Unstoppable sixmachine (326). Nobody comes close.

M 125, R 4484, Ave 41.13, SR 151.02, 6s 326

Virat Kohli (RCB): IPL’s all-time highest scorer (5,412). Master of risk-free, highpressing cricket. Has smashed 191 sixes nonetheless. M 177, R 5412, Ave 37.84, SR 131.61, 6s 190

AB de Villiers (DD, RCB): Virtuoso crowd-pleaser who demonstrates the outer limits of innovation in T20. When he’s in the mood, even a yorker travels beyond the ropes.

M 154, R 4395, Ave 39.95, SR 151.23, 6s 212

MS Dhoni (CSK, RPS): Captain of the team. Ice cool as leader, and at the death. Barring Chacha Chowdhary, nobody calculates a target as precisely as him.

M 190, R 4432, Ave 42.20, SR 137.85, 6s 209, Ct 94, St 38

Andre Russell (DD, KKR): The enforcer. Possesses several gears; partial to the fifth. IPL’s highest strike rate: 186. Hustler with the ball. Two time MVP.

M 64, R 1400, SR 186.42, 6s 120, W 55, Ave 27.96, ER 8.88

Dwayne Bravo (CSK): Master of deception, especially at death. Flies like a bird, prowls like a panther. Can win games with bat too.

M 134, R 1483, SR 128.28, 6s 61, W 147, Ave 24.61, ER 8.39

Sunil Narine (KKR): Inscrutable offbreak bowler. Among the meanest and most consistent. Also has the second highest batting strike rate in IPL history (168). Two-time MVP too.

M 110, W 122, Ave 23.31, ER 6.67

Rashid Khan (SRH): IPL’s stingiest (ER 6.55). Match-winning leg-break bowler. Loves a challenge. Generally wins it.

M 46, W 55, Ave 21.69, ER 6.55

Lasith Malinga (MI): That slinging action. That mop of hair. That sound of stumps crashing. IPL’s highest wicket-taker ever. Key figure in MI .

M 122, W 170, Ave 19.80, ER 7.14

Jasprit Bumrah (MI): New master of unplayable yorkers. Player of the Match in 2019 final. His best is yet to come.

M 77, W 82, Ave 26.60, ER 7.55

12th man: Pollard (MI): All-purpose star

Coach: Stephen Fleming (CSK): With MS Dhoni as captain, he built the IPL’s most consistent team .

The most memorable matches, 2008-19

—Compiled by Hindol Basu, April 18, 2020: The Times of India

RAJASTHAN’S INCREDIBLE RUN

Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals, not the most fancied bunch at the beginning of the tournament, scripted a fairytale win to stretch the bounds of the possible in the very first IPL in 2008. Of course, the tone had been set in the very first game on April 18, with KKR’s Brendon McCullum smashing an incredible ton.

SLAP AND TEARS

That image from 2008 of temperamental fast bowler Sreesanth crying after being slapped by Harbhajan Singh, while his Kings XI Punjab teammate VRV Singh consoled him, will stay etched in our minds. Harbhajan was suspended for the season. Sreesanth confessed later he had been heckling his senior India teammate.

FOREIGN SHORES

The second season coincided with the general elections and the government refused to commit security personnel. Showcasing its financial might, the IPL was moved out of India, to South Africa, by then commissioner Lalit Modi.

THE MONGOOSE BAT

Australia’s Matthew Hayden unveiled his ‘Mongoose Bat’ in 2010, clobbering bowlers with what looked like a cross between a club and a baseball bat. The Mongoose had two distinguishing features: the handle was as long as the blade and the splice, which normal bats have in the blade, was built into the handle to guarantee a clean hitting surface. Needless to say, it was a hit.

GAYLESTORM

‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle upped the ante in Bangalore against Pune Warriors on April 23, 2013, scoring an unbelievable 175 off just 66 balls, the highest T20 individual score. Gayle hit 13 boundaries and an incredible 17 maximums.

THE DARK UNDERBELLY

A spot-fixing scandal rocked the league in 2013 when the Delhi police arrested three Rajasthan Royals cricketers, including Sreesanth. Soon after, Mumbai Police arrested film actor Vindu Dara Singh and CSK’s former team principal Gurunath Meiyappan for alleged betting, cheating and links with bookies. RR team co-owner Raj Kundra too was found to have placed bets on his team. The Supreme Court appointed a committee to probe the affair. Eventually, CSK and RR were banned for two years. The order, which came in 2015, meant the two teams missed the 2016 and 2017 IPL editions.

MUMBAI’S COMEBACK

In 2015, Mumbai Indians lost five out of their first six games, but the team never stopped believing in its abilities. In a dream comeback, they went on to win nine of their remaining 10 matches to lift the title for the second time.

VIRAT, ABD RUN RIOT

The 2016 IPL season will always be known for the amazing batsmanship by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. RCB needed to win four matches in a row to qualify for the playoffs. Kohli and De Villiers recorded a partnership of 229 runs (best in the IPL) against Gujarat Lions to set the ball rolling. Kohli smacked 109 off 55 balls, while De Villiers scored a unbeaten 129 off 52 balls. This was the first time two batsmen scored centuries in an IPL innings.

KOHLI’S FINE FORM

Kohli almost single-handedly guided his team to the title clash in 2016. With 973 runs in 16 games at 81.08, he was the highest scorer. No other batsman has been able to score as many runs in a single season.

‘MANKADING’ CONTROVERSY

In 2019, Ravichandran Ashwin, captaining Kings XI Punjab, ran out Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler at the non-striker’s end without giving him any prior warning. That ‘Mankading’, as the dismissal is known, cleaved the cricketing world in two and sparked off heated debate on the spirit of the game. Though this is a legally permissible dismissal, the issue is yet to be satisfactorily resolved.

‘CAPTAIN COOL’ LOSES HIS COOL

The usually unflappable MS Dhoni lost his composure in a match against RR last year, walking out on to the pitch after just having been dismissed, and lashing out at the umpires over a no-ball confusion. It just wasn’t cricket from one of the game’s great role models.

BLOODIED BUT NOT OUT bb

Shane Watson’s knock for CSK in the 2019 IPL final against Mumbai Indians was one for the ages. He batted through the pain barrier and a bloodied left knee. His 59-ball 80 nearly saw CSK pull off a 150-run chase against MI. Watson needed six stitches after the game.

Indian Premier League: The economics of

2016: Salary of retained players; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India Jan 02 2016

Advertising revenues

Multi Screen Media (MSM), the official broadcaster of Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought on board a total of eight sponsors for the sixth edition of the Twenty20 tournament, which would help it rake in Rs 200 crore more over last year, after lowering its ad rates by 10-15%. Three more sponsors are expected to join over the next two weeks.

The presenting sponsors — PepsiCo and Vodafone — have shelled out around Rs 40-60 crore each while the associate sponsors, which include Tata Photon, Karbonn tablets, Godrej, Samsung Mobiles, Panasonic and Usha Appliances, have paid around Rs 25-30 crore each for being seen on the channel during the tournament.

MSM is looking to earn Rs 950 crore as advertising revenue from IPL-6, up 27% from Rs 750 crore it garnered last year, a senior executive from the company told TOI.

This will be the first time that the IPL will have three feeds — the regular one on SET max, while Sony Six will broadcast a Hindi feed along with an HD one.

Some of the other sponsors likely to be signed on soon for the tournament, which starts on April 3, are Cadbury and Havells — both have had a long-term association with the IPL. This year, MSM has two presenting sponsors and is expected to close nine associate sponsors, up from only five which it managed last year. The channel has also struck large deals with Coca-Cola, Parle Agro, Marico, Berger Paints and Airtel, besides others, filling 70% of its inventory.

“Last year, we had increased the ad rates but could not sell the entire inventory. Our strategy to reduce rates has worked very well and we have seen the interest levels go up. Advertisers from all sectors are on board this year, signaling a revival in sentiments,” said Rohit Gupta, president, MSM.

During 2012, a 10-second ad spot during the IPL had a price tag of Rs 4.5-5.5 lakh, making it a highly premium property. However, reduction in rates has made it far more affordable, said media planners who buy TV airtime for advertisers. “If TV ratings had to fall, it had to fall last year. Now they have stabilized. It is definitely value for money at this rate and with lesser risk,” said Ajit Varghese, MD (South Asia), Maxus, which has bought airtime for telecom major Vodafone.

The IPL reached 170 million eyeballs and clocked an average rating of around 3.27 last year, according to TAM Media Research. MSM’s Gupta said he is expecting the reach to further grow this season. “If there is a big product launch or a new ad campaign, this is a large platform which is a must for any brand. It is a property which is targeted at male audiences, so it works well for brands which directly communicate with this audience group,” said Basabdutta Chowdhury, CEO of Platinum Media, a division of media buying group Madison. This year, soft drink giants PepsiCo is the new title sponsor of the IPL, having paid Rs 396 crore for the next five seasons.

Coaches in IPL

As in Nov

Asheem Mukerji, Nov 30, 2019: The Times of India

COACHES IN IPL

Rajasthan Royals I Indian coaches: 1 (Batting coach: Amol Muzumdar); Foreign coaches: 2 (Head coach: Andrew McDonald-Aus, Fast bowling coach: Steffan Jones-Eng)

Kings XI Punjab I Indian coaches: 1 (Head coach: Anil Kumble); Foreign coaches: 2 (Fast bowling coach: Courtney Walsh-WI, Batting coach: Geaorge Bailey-Aus)

Delhi Capitals I Indian coaches: 0; Foreign coaches: 3 (Head Coach: Ricky Ponting-Aus, Fast bowling coach: James Hopes-Aus, Spin coach: Samuel Badree-WI)

Kolkata Knight Riders I Indian coaches: 0 Foreign coaches: 3 (Head coach: Brendon McCullum-NZ, Chief mentor: David Hussey-Aus, Bowling coach: Kyle Mills-NZ)

Mumbai Indians I Indian Coaches: 1 (Robin Singh); Foreign coaches: 2 (Head coach: Mahela Jayawardene-SL, Bowling coach: Shane Bond-NZ)

Chennai Super Kings I Indian coaches: 0 Foreign coaches: 3 (Head coach: Stephen Fleming-NZ, Batting coach: Mike Hussey-Aus, Bowling Consultant: Eric Simmons-SA)

Sunrisers Hyderabad I Indian coaches: 0; Foreign coaches: 1 (Head coach: Trevor Bayliss-Eng) Royal Challengers Bangalore I Indian coaches: 0; Foreign coaches: 2 (Head coach: Simon Katich-Aus, Bowling coach: Adam Griffith-Aus)

Controversies: 2008-16

The Times of India, December 3, 2016

Controversies associated with Indian Premier Leage, 2008-2016; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, April 14, 2016

1. 2016: Maharashtra asked to shift IPL matches

Bombay High Court asks IPL to shift 13 matches out of Maharashtra due to severe drought in the state.

2. 2015: CSK and RR suspended

Supreme Court suspends CSK and RR for two years. Two new teams, Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions, are introduced. Rajasthan Royals’ leggie Pravin Tambe alleges that his Mumbai teammate Hiken Shah had approached him to fix a few games.

3. 2014: IPL 7 conducted under Gavaskar’s supervision

The first half of IPL-7 is moved out of India to the UAE due to polls, and by SC orders the event is conducted under ex-captain Sunil Gavaskar. The shifting of the final from Mumbai to Bangalore too causes a furore.

4. 2013: Betting allegations hit CSK & RR

Delhi Police arrest three Rajasthan Royals players — S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan — on charges of spot-fixing. The scandal overwhelms the IPL when Mumbai police haul up BCCI president N Srinivasan’s son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings’ team principal Gurunath Meiyappan on charges of alleged betting. The Rajasthan Royals face further trouble when Delhi Police level same charges against co-owner and Raj Kundra. Following intervention by the Supreme Court, Srinivasan is eventually eased out after a long-drawn battle.

5. 2012: Shah Rukh Khan banned from Wankhede Stadium premises

A sting operation exposes cricketers willing to bowl no-balls or indulge in under-hand dealings with franchises, leading the BCCI to ban Mohnish Mishra, Shalabh Srivastava, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali. I t leads to an uproar in Parliament to stop IPL. A heated on-field argument between opposition players Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir also makes for ugly viewing. Then, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan is banned from the Wankhede Stadium premises after a scuffle with a Mumbai Cricket Association official. To top it all, RCB cricketer Luke Pomersbach is arrested on charges of molesting an American and assaulting her boyfriend.

6. 2010: Sunanda Pushkar’s ‘sweat equity’ in Kochi

Just before IPL 3, the governing council brings in two new teams, Sahara Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers, only for Modi to tweet about shady shareholding patterns and reveal Sunanda Pushkar’s ‘sweat equity’ in the Kochi set-up. The controversy forces Pushkar’s husband, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, to resign. Modi too is forced out.

7. 2009: IPL 2 shifted to South Africa

Then home minister P Chidambaram refuses to provide security for IPL 2 because of general elections, leading then-IPL commissioner Lalit Modi to shift the entire tournament to South Africa.

8. 2008: Harbhajan slaps Sreesanth.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh slaps India teammate S Sreesanth in Mohali and is banned, creating a furore.

Spot fixing case: 2013

Some details: Players involved in IPL-spot fixing; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, July 25, 2015

A timeline: Spot-fixing in IPL, May 2013-July 2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, July 25, 2015

See the graphics

Players involved in IPL-spot fixing

and

A timeline: Spot-fixing in IPL, May 2013-July 2015

Dhoni on the suspension of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals

‘WHAT WAS THE PLAYERS’ MISTAKE?’| But Captain Dhoni Admits CSK Erred During 2013 Fixing Saga| March 2019 | PTI

In July 2015, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended from the cash-rich league for two years for betting activities by their key officials Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra during the 2013 season.

While Dhoni agreed that then BCCI chief N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Meiyappan was part of the team setup, he said, in what capacity, is open to debate.

“Initially, when Guru’s name came up, (we knew) he was part of the team, all said and done. But in what capacity, that is debatable. Was he the owner, the team principal, the motivator... what exactly was he?

“I don’t know if anyone from the franchise introduced Guru to us as the owner... we all knew him as the son-in-law.”

What mistake did the players make, asked Mahendra Singh Dhoni, opening up on a phase of life made “most difficult and depressing” by the 2013 IPL fixing scandal. Dhoni broke his silence in a docudrama aptly titled Roar of the Lion, which focuses on the scandal that rocked Indian cricket and the ensuing fairy tale comeback by Chennai Super Kings following a two-year suspension for its management’s role in spot-fixing.

Dhoni, who led the CSK to three IPL titles, said they knew a “harsh punishment” was on the cards.

“We did deserve the punishment but the only thing is the quantum of the punishment. Finally we got to know that CSK will be banned for two years. There was a mixed feeling that time. Because you take a lot of things personally and, as a captain, question what did the team do wrong,” Dhoni stated.

“Yes there was mistake from our side (the franchise) but were the players involved in this? What mistake did we, as players, do to go through all of that?”

Recalling the torrid time when insinuations and allegations flew thick and fast, Dhoni said fixing a match requires the involvement of the majority of players.

“They started showcasing in the media or social media as if the team was involved. Is it possible (in cricket)? Yes it is possible, anyone can do spot-fixing. Umpires can do that, batsmen can, bowlers can... but match-fixing needs the involvement of the majority of the players.”

The IPL numbers

The Times of India

IPL broadcast rights

In 2008, the consortium of India's Sony Television network and the Singaporebased World Sports Group (WSG) had secured the rights of the IPL for ten years at a cost of more than $1 billion.As part of the deal, the consortium would pay the BCCI $908 million for the telecast rights and $108 million for the promotion of the tournament. However, in a reworked deal next year, BCCI signed a new deal with MSMPL (Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd) and World Sport Group (WSG) for Rs 8,200 crore with 80% of the amount to come from MSMPL. Later WSG exited the deal after a one-time payoff.

IPL title rights

DLF had bought the title rights of the IPL for five years in 2008 for Rs 200 crore.In 2013, Pepsi bid for the rights for the next five years and won it at Rs 396 crore.

2017-22: Vivo pays Rs 2,199 crore

K ShriniwasRao, Value of IPL title rights surges 455% as Vivo shells out Rs 2,200cr, June 28, 2017: The Times of India

Title Rights, Indian Premier League; June 28, 2017: The Times of India

See graphic, 'Title Rights, Indian Premier League'

Cricket administration may be going through turbulent times in India, but the game's fortunes continue to prosper in a manner that defies imagination .

Chinese mobile-maker Vivo retained the Indian Premier League (IPL) title rights for the next five years at Rs 2,199 crore, a 455% increase over the previous contract. Vivo had taken over the rights from PepsiCo from the 2015 season onwards after the latter expressed its inability to continue with its Rs 396 crore deal for five years. Pepsi had bought the title rights from the 2013 season onwards after IPL's first-ever title rights deal worth Rs 200 crore for five years signed in 2008 with real estate company DLF ended post the 2012 season.

Breaking it down on a per year basis, the value of IPL's title rights has soared from Rs 40 crore annually (Rs 200 crore from 2008-2012) to Rs 79.2 crore (Rs 396 crore for 2013-2017) to Rs 439.8 crore (Rs 2199 crore for 2018-2022). Or, to put it another way, the value doubled after the first five years of IPL and shot up another five times in the following five years.Vivo's competitor and another major Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Oppo, bid Rs 1430 crore Rs 769 crore less than what Vivo brought to the table. Oppo had beaten Vivo in March this year when it went on to grab the jersey rights of the Indian cricket team men, women, seniors and juniors for Rs 1,079 crore, a four-fold increase over the previous deal with Star India. Interestingly, Vivo and Oppo are owned by the same Chinese company -BBK Electronics -which also owns the OnePlus mobile brand.

“We received an overwhelming response for the title sponsorship rights and we are glad to have Vivo back on board. It is a renewal of a fruitful relationship with the brand that will extend for the next five years,“ BCCI's acti n g s e c re t a r y A m i t ab h Choudhary said.

Chinese mobile companies, which dominate the phone industry across the world outside of giants Apple and Samsung's considerable clout, have clearly found cricket to be the ideal platform to showcase their wares. Market sources credit the `invasion' to the incomparable popularity of cricket in the country, one that can be equated with football in Europe and baseball in the Americas merely for the eyeballs it manages to generate.

Valuation of the IPL

2014-19

The valuation of the IPL (2014-19) and its franchises (2019)
From: K. Shriniwas Rao, March 4, 2020: The Times of India

See graphic:

The valuation of the IPL (2014-19) and its franchises (2019)

IPL jinxed for team owners?

The Times of India, Jul 17 2015

Some notable IPL team owners; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, July 17, 2015

K ShriniwasRao

A leading Mumbai businessman, once interested in buying an Indian Premier League franchise today wants nothing to do with the glamorous cricket league. He believes IPL is bringing bad luck to team owners. Dramatic as it may sound, a quick look at where the owners have landed up post their IPL buys tends to lend credence to this expression of superstition. The businessman was insistent: “Vijay Mallya, Subrata Roy , Venkattram Reddy , the Maran brothers, even Lalit Modi -just look where they are.Isn't it eerie?“ As facts go, the businessman isn't off the mark. Subrata Roy is in jail, Reddy was ar rested, Mallya is in trouble with the authorities, Maranowned Sun TV is having prob lems with the home ministry over security clearances, Lalit Modi is wanted by ED, and Sunanda Pushkar is dead. Even love has gone missing from Ness Wadia and Pre ity Zinta's lives. And N Srinivasan has lost his prized BCCI president's chair.

Wait, not just Srinivasan.His son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, a mere cricket enthusiast according to his father-inlaw, has been pulled up by the Supreme Court for talking to bookmakers and banned for life from cricket. Ditto with another part owner, Raj Kundra of Rajasthan Royals.

Those who have bucked the trend are movie star Shah Rukh Khan, India's biggest businessman Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita, and the Delhi franchisee GMR.

Heck, the league itself is now in massive trouble. The judgment delivered by the SC-appointed Justice Lodha committee has reduced the IPL to just six teams of which, again, some are in serious financial trouble.

T Venkattram Reddy, the strapping boss of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, from Hyderabad, lost his team Deccan Chargers after cases of financial fraud with several banks began surfacing post 2011.

And the owners who replaced the team in Hyderabad Maran Brothers of Sun TV are also struggling. Once the eyes and ears of former DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the Chennai media barons are no longer politically protected.Apart from the cloud over their TV channels, they have had to sell their airline SpiceJet back to the original promoter.

Is this the reason why Parth Jindal of Bangalore-based JSW Group doesn't want to get into the IPL?

YEAR-WISE HISTORY

2013-14

IPL: 2013; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

IPL: 2014-2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

See graphics

IPL: 2013

IPL: 2014-2015

2016

The IPL auction of Feb 2016: The main buys; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, February 7, 2016

IPL, 2016, some facts; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, May 31, 2016

See graphics

The IPL auction of Feb 2016: The main buys

IPL, 2016, some facts

2017

Players retained and offloaded

Players retained and released, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, December 20, 2016

Players retained and released, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune supergiants; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, December 20, 2016

Players retained and released, Gujarat Lions and Kings Xi Punjab; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, December 20, 2016

Players retained and released, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, December 20, 2016

The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time India XI; The Times of India, April 20, 2017

The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time international players XI; The Times of India, April 20, 2017

See graphics,

Players retained and released, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore

Players retained and released, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune supergiants

Players retained and released, Gujarat Lions and Kings Xi Punjab

Players retained and released, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians

The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time India XI

The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time international players XI

The 2017 auctions

Manuja Veerappa, Feb 21 2017: The Times of India

Stokes Sets League Record As Highest-Paid Foreign Player; Mills, Woakes Too Cash In

England's cricketers dominated proceedings and extracted the maximum from franchises as aspirants went under the hammer in the 10th edition of the IPL auction. Leading the pack was allrounder Ben Stokes, 25, who became the most expensive overseas IPL player when he was snapped up by Pune for Rs. 14.50 crore. Stokes' teammate Tymal Mills was the next big gainer at Rs 12 crore. Starting off at a base price of Rs 50 lakh, the left-arm pacer saw aggressive bidding from Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB, looking to fill the void left by Mitchell Starc, splurged on the 24-year-old, a T20 specialist who is expected to be available through the league.

Another English player to come at a hefty price was all-rounder Chris Woakes, who went to Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 4.2 crore while his T20 skipper Eoin Morgan (Rs 2 crore) found a buyer in Punjab.

Although the teams had 354 players to choose from, only 160 came into the main auction. While the dominance of the England players was expected, the eye-popping figures was surprising since most of them would be available only during the league stage.

The other big foreign buys were Kagiso Rabada (SA, Delhi Daredevils, Rs 5 cr), Trent Boult (NZ, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rs 5 cr), Pat Cummins (Aus, Delhi Daredevils, Rs 4.5 cr) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (Aus, KKR, Rs 3.5cr).

It was a windfall for domestic cricketers too, led by all-rounder Karn Sharma. The top pick in 2014 (Rs 3.8 crore) emerged the highest paid Indian this time with Mumbai Indians spending Rs 3.2 crore on him. He was followed by Tamil Nadu pacer T Natarajan (Rs 3 crore, Kings XI Punjab). Off the maximum 77 players, including 29 overseas who could be picked, 66 players found teams on the day, 27 of them being foreign cricketers. Pune looked like they had an expensive shopping list and spent Rs 17.2 crore off the Rs 17.5 crore in their kitty on buying nine cricketers.

In contrast, Gujarat Lions barely loosened their purse strings, spending a mere Rs 3.85 crore off the Rs 14.35 crore they had. But they still managed to take home 11 players with Jason Roy (England) at Rs 1 crore being their most expensive purchase.

In a first, two Afghans and one UAE player Chirag Suri will be handed their maiden IPL contracts. It is the only instance of Associate players being picked after Ryan ten Doeschate of Holland.

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad welcomed the Afghans -Rashid Khan Arman and Mohammed Nabi. Arman, the 18-year-old leggie who made his international debut in 2015, went for a jaw-dropping Rs 4 crore (base price: 50 lakh) with the VVS Laxman-mentored SRH winning the bidding war with Mumbai Indians. All-rounder Nabi, on the other hand, had to settle for his base price of Rs 30 lakh. Suri, went to Gujarat for his base price of Rs 10 lakh.

Prior to Stokes going under the hammer, the proceedings at the auction resembled the lull before a storm. Even before auctioneer Richard Madley could finish announcing Stokes' name, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians raised the paddle.

While RCB pulled out at the Rs 4-crore mark, Delhi Daredevils jumped into the fray at Rs 4.20 crore and dropped out soon after. Mumbai, who came into the auction with a purse Rs. 11.555 crore, stretched themselves until Rs 10 crore.

The surprise omissions of Feb 2017

Feb 21 2017, The Times of India

NO TAKERS FOR TAHIR, ISHANT SHARMA

ISHANT SHARMA He is the highest-ranked bowler in ODIs and T20s, but South African spinner Imran Tahir failed to find buyers at Monday's auction. Tahir has 29 wickets in three IPL seasons since 2014 and had formed a lethal combination with Amit Mishra for Delhi Daredevils last season. Also missing the IPL bus were India pacer Ishant Sharma, Windies all-rounder

Jason Holder and Aussies Brad Haddin and Nathan Lyon.

LIST OF ESTABLISHED NAMES WHICH WERE IGNORED:

Ishant Sharma (2cr), Jason Holder (1.5cr), Brad Haddin (1.5cr), Nathan Lyon (1.5cr), Jonny Bairstow (1.5cr), Kyle Abbott (1.5cr), Alex Hales (1cr), Marlon Samuels (1cr), Ross Taylor (50L), Irfan Pathan (50L), Brad Hogg (50L), Mitchell Santner (50L), Imran Tahir (50L), Ish Sodhi (30L).In brackets: Base price

The surprise omissions of Feb 2017/ 2

The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys

The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys; The Times of India

How the teams stack up after the Feb 2017 auction; The Times of India, Feb 21, 2017

Unknown Indian players who made it big at the Feb 2017 auctions; The Times of India, Feb 21, 2017

See graphics

The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys (1 and 2)

How the teams stack up after the Feb 2017 auction

Unknown Indian players who made it big at the Feb 2017 auctions

2017/ IPL- 10

The highlights of IPL- 10, 2017 ; The Times of India, May 22, 2017

See graphic. The highlights of IPL- 10, 2017

Did high player salaries result in success?

Manuja Veerappa, May 23, 2017: The Times of India

See graphic

Crorepatis, how they fared, IPL-10, 2017; The Times of India, May 23, 2017, Manuja Veerappa

IPL-10: Some Investments Went Down The Drain Although A Few Teams Used Their Big Buys Well

If Tymal Mills' IPL performance is measured by his bid price, then each of the five wickets he claimed for Royal Challengers Bangalore came with a mindboggling tag of Rs 2.40 crore! The England pacer, who at Rs 12 crore was the second costliest player at IPL-10, did not do anything extraordinary in the five appearances he made for his franchise.

A T20 specialist, Mills was among the 21 players who hit pay dirt after being picked for a crore or more at the auction held in February . While Ben Stokes (Rising Pune Supergiant) was the costliest at Rs 14.5 crore, others like M Ashwin (Delhi Daredevils), Dan Christian (Rising Pune Supergiant) and Pawan Negi (RCB) earned Rs 1 crore each at the auction.While a few justified their price tags, some disappointed, while the others returned home after being benched through the season.

Stokes and Christian were Pune's main picks at the auction and wise ones at that.Stokes was at the heart of Pune's campaign in the 12 matches he played before joining the England team. Electric and quick as a fielder, the all-rounder claimed 12 wickets at an average of 26.33 and scored 316 runs including an unbeaten century (103 n.o.). His presence in the Pune dressing room turned out to be invaluable for the team. Likewise, Christian with 11 wickets from 13 matches didn't do badly either.

Apart from Pune, the teams for whom investment in crorepati players turned out to be profitable were Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The pace trio of Trent Boult (Rs 5cr), Chris Woakes (Rs 4.2cr) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (Rs 3.5cr) was Kolkata's top buys of the season.While Boult wasn't in peak form, Woakes turned out to be the bowling trump card for Kolkata, picking up 17 wickets in 13 matches.Coulter-Nile too fared well with 15 wickets from eight outings including his three-for in the Eliminator against Hyderabad.

Afghan spinner Rashid Khan and pacer M Siraj didn't disappoint Hyderabad. A Rs 2-crore investment in veteran Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson proved to be a game-changer for Mumbai, who were also rewarded for their faith in Karn Sharma (Rs 3.2cr), who saw them through to the final with his tidy bowling. In contrast, Karnataka's spin bowler K Gowtham, who created a buzz after attracting a Rs 2-crore bid, didn't get to play even a game for Mumbai.

2018

The auction

See graphics:

Some facts about the teams and players in IPL, January 2018 (Day 1 and day 2)

Top buys for IPL, January 2018 (Day 1 and day 2)

Some facts about the teams and players in IPL, January 2018 (Day 1 and day 2)
From: Manuja Veerappa, January 2018: The Times of India

Top buys for IPL, January 2018 (Day 1 and day 2)
From: Manuja Veerappa, January 2018: The Times of India

The main deals/ 1

Manuja Veerappa, Stokes leads IPL crorepati club, January 28, 2018: The Times of India

Big names that went unsold, 2018
From: Manuja Veerappa, Stokes leads IPL crorepati club, January 28, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

Big names that went unsold, 2018

Englishman Rakes In Rs 12.5 Crore; Jackpot For Rahul & Pandey Too

Many Indian Premier League dreams took flight and a few were crushed as a virtual conveyor belt of 110 established stars and littleknown players went under the hammer on Saturday, the opening day of the two-day IPL mega auction.

Like last year, England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who went for Rs. 14.5 crore in 2017, hit paydirt as Rajasthan Royals snapped him up for a whopping Rs 12.5 crore, making him the most expensive buy of the day and most likely of the auction. A pending case against him made no difference to the Englishman’s market value as Chennai Super Kings made the first charge followed by Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders before Rajasthan Royals jumped into the bidding war at the Rs 12-crore mark.

Asked about the availability of Stokes, Ranjit Barthakur, chairman and CEO of Royals, said, “As far as we are concerned, the ECB has cleared him for auction; he’s legally available, therefore we’ve bid for him. He’s a very important part. We’re trying to build the team and an all-rounder is absolutely important.”

Stokes was followed by KL Rahul and Manish Pandey. The batting talents from Karnataka commanded a mind-boggling Rs 11 crore each which Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad paid with glee. Mitchell Starc (KKR, Rs 9.40cr), Rashid Khan (SRH; Rs 9cr) and R Ashwin (KXIP; Rs. 7.60cr) were the top bowlers to earn the mega bucks.

UNCAPPED PLAYERS CALL THE SHOTS

As many as 40 uncapped cricketers from India and abroad were paraded. Of them, 19 hit the jackpot, with the price soaring beyond the Rs 1-crore mark. Krunal Pandya (base price Rs 40 lakh) was the biggest gainer among them, taking home a cool Rs 8.8 cr from his home team Mumbai Indians who exercised the RTM privilege even as teams like Bangalore, Royals and Hyderabad engaged in a bidding war for the all-rounder. Even as RCB sealed the deal, Mumbai owners pulled out the RTM card.

Jofra Archer, the 22-year-old medium-pacer from West Indies was the other big gainer on the day as Royals snapped him up for Rs 7.20 crore. Another overseas uncapped crorepati was D’Arcy Short, the 27-year-old lefthanded batsman-spinner from Australia also going to Royals. Both players have had a golden run at the ongoing Australian Big Bash League.

U-19 stars Kamlesh Nagarkoti (Rs 3.2 crore), Shubman Gill (Rs. 1.8 cr), Prithvi Shaw (Rs. 1.2 cr) too joined the elite crorepati club.

SOME STARS GET COLD SHOULDER

Franchises went mostly on current form and youth rather than reputation and experience. The price tags of some of the old warhorses is a case in point. Yuvraj Singh, who was the highest-paid player of 2014 and 2015, went for his base price of Rs 2 cr to Kings XI Punjab, while Chennai, who went for tried and tested players, were the sole bidders for Harbhajan Singh (Rs 2 cr). The franchises were not overenthusiastic when Gautam Gambhir’s name was called out and Delhi Daredevils welcomed him back for Rs 2.80 crore (base price Rs 2 crore).

GAYLE GOES UNSOLD

Meanwhile, explosive West Indies batsman Chris Gayle found no takers. Even RCB didn’t look interested.

Highlights

January 28, 2018: The Times of India

10 things to know about IPL auction, 2018
From: January 28, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

10 things to know about IPL auction, 2018

Players sold/ 1

Players sold, day 1, (IPL auction, 2018)
From: January 28, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

Players sold, day 1, (IPL auction, 2018)

The main deals/ 2

IPL auction (day 2, 2018), some brief facts
From: January 29, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

IPL auction (day 2, 2018), some brief facts

Most expensive uncapped players

January 28, 2018: The Times of India

MOST EXPENSIVE UNCAPPED PLAYERS

Krunal Pandya (Rs 8.8 cr, MI – RTM; Base price Rs 40 lakh), Jofra Archer (Rs 7.2 cr, RR; BP Rs 40 lakh), Ishan Kishan (Rs 6.2 cr, MI; BP: Rs 40 lakh), D’Arcy Short (Rs 4 cr, RR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Deepak Hooda (Rs 3.6 cr, SRH – RTM; BP: Rs 40 lakh), Siddharth Kaul (Rs 3.8 cr, SRH; BP: Rs 30 lakh), Nitish Rana (Rs 3.4 cr, KKR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Rahul Tripathi (Rs 3.4 cr, RR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Kamlesh Nagarkoti (Rs 3.2 cr, KKR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Vijay Shankar (Rs 3.2 cr, DD; BP: Rs 40 lakh), Suryakumar Yadav (Rs 3.2 cr, MI; BP: Rs 30 lakh), Ankit Rajpoot (Rs 3 cr, KXIP; BP:Rs 30 lakh), Navdeep Saini (Rs 3 cr, RCB; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Khaleel Ahmed (Rs 3 cr, SRH; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Rahul Tewatia (Rs 3 cr, DD; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Shubman Gill (Rs 1.8 cr, KKR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Prithvi Shaw (Rs 1.2 cr, DD; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Manan Vohra (Rs 1.1 cr, RCB; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Mayank Agarwal (Rs 1 cr, KXIP; BP: Rs 20 lakh).

Lesser known players selected in 2018

Manuja Veerappa, RR Break Bank For Pacer, Shell Out ₹11.5Cr To Make Him Costliest Indian, January 29, 2018: The Times of India

Auction in IPL- team, players bought and amount spent

About an hour-and-a-half into the second day of the IPL auction, the money left with the franchises started to decrease with capped pacers commanding a good price. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals — the teams with the biggest purse — had one pacer on their ‘mustbuy’ list and the latter had the last laugh.

It turned out to be a blockbuster Sunday for left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat as he went for a mind boggling ₹ 11.5 crore, making him the second most expensive player of this season behind IPL teammate Ben Stokes (₹12.5 crore).

Starting off at a base price of ₹ 1.5 crore, it was common knowledge that the 26-yearold will be among the hot picks given his T20 credentials which includes 24 wickets last season, Chennai Super Kings were the first to bid for him and Kings XI Punjab jumped in immediately. Rajasthan Royals, who were mute spectators until the bid crossed the ₹11-crore mark, upped the ante and made the winning bid for the Saurashtra bowler, who last season went to Rising Pune Supergiants for his base price of ₹30 lakh. As the auction drew to a close, 169 of the 581 players found a team with a total of ₹431.7 crore spent on them. This included 56 overseas players from across nine countries. Earlier, Kings XI Punjab fought it out with Chennai for Australian pacer Andrew Tye before bagging him for ₹7.2 crore. After an intense paddle war between Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals, Karnataka spinner and a handy bat K Gowtham went to Royals for an impressive ₹6.2 crore.

AFGHANS HIT JACKPOT

Over the weekend, four players from Afghanistan generated a lot of buzz. After Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi returned to Sunrisers Hyderabad, 16-year-old Mujeeb Zadran and Zahir Khan went to Punjab and Rajasthan Royals respectively.

Mujeeb, who hails from Khost, a town 250km from Kabul, shot into the limelight last year when he picked up four wickets on debut against Ireland. The offie, often referred to as a mystery spinner, started with a base price of ₹50 lakh and Punjab and Delhi Daredevils immediately engaged in intense bidding. Delhi dropped out at ₹3.80 crore and Punjab sealed the deal at ₹4 crore. Mujeeb’s compatriot Zahir, went for ₹ 60 lakh from a base price of ₹20 lakh.

INVESTMENT IN FUTURE

With an eye on the future, the franchisees picked a total of seven India U-19 players, of whom four were bought on the second day. Speed gun Shivam Mavi went for ₹ 3 crore to Kolkata Knight Riders while big hitters Abhishek Sharma and Manjot Kalra were both snapped up by Delhi Daredevils for ₹55 lakh and ₹20 lakh respectively. Left-arm spinner Anukul Roy headed to the Mumbai Indians camp for ₹20 lakh.

A FIRST FOR NEPAL CRICKET

Nepal’s spin bowler Sandeep Lamichhane became the first player from Nepal to bag an IPL contract when Delhi got him on board for ₹20 lakh. The 17-year-old is highly rated by former Australian skipper Michael Clarke, who mentored him during a league in Hong Kong.

GAYLE GETS THIRD TIME LUCKY

West Indies big-hitter Chris Gayle, a marquee player who went unsold on the opening day and in the second session of the second day, emerged lucky the third time when Punjab successfully bid for him at his ₹ 2-crore base price. Likewise, Murali Vijay too was brought in the first round of the accelerated process by Chennai Super Kings at his base price (₹ 2 crore). Another current international Parthiv Patel (₹ 1.70 cr) headed to Royal Challengers Bangalore as did Mitchell Johnson (₹ 2 crore, KKR) and Tim Southee (₹1crore, RCB). Among the big names who failed to attract any bidders were Dale Steyn, Eoin Morgan, Martin Guptill, Joe Root, Nathan Lyon and Tymal Mills, who was the second most expensive player last season at ₹ 12 crore.

The youngest, the oldest, average age

Partha Bhaduri, April 6, 2018: The Times of India

Youngest and oldest players in each IPL team, April 2018
From: Partha Bhaduri, April 6, 2018: The Times of India

Average age of players in IPL 2018
From: Partha Bhaduri, April 6, 2018: The Times of India

HIGHLIGHTS

IPL has also welcomed those simply hoping to revive sagging mid-career fortunes with a booster shot of cricketing glory

In 2016, the average age of the top-10 was 29.10. Three players were above 30, and one was below 25

Last season the average age of the top-10 grew again to 30.30, with seven batsmen above 30 in the list

Worried about age spots? An IPL treatment may be just what you need. We’re not talking about the intense pulsed light cosmetic procedure so common in the beauty industry, but the glowing cricketing equivalent, the Indian Premier League. Since its inception in the nascent days of T20 strategizing, the league has been a haven for those seeking to smoothen the wrinkles of a post-retirement life. IPL has also welcomed those simply hoping to revive sagging mid-career fortunes with a booster shot of cricketing glory. Even at the auctions, reputation has tended to precede both skills and promise in the expense stakes.

This time around, the trend seems to have been bucked at the auctions, either because of a large number of available cricketers in the twilight of their careers or a more deliberate move from franchises to bank on fresh legs.

Some like CSK, though, have remained firmly in favour of veterans. Their logic is a proven one: the T20 game is a short one, so those high on skill and experience but low on youthful energy won’t be caught out in a hurry. They can, instead, shave off the years when it comes to performance.

CSK seem to have done their homework on the batting front. For the past three IPL seasons, the average age of the top 10 batting performers has been rising slowly and steadily. In 2015, the average age of the top-10 was 28.50, with Chris Gayle being the oldest at 35 (at that time) and Ajinkya Rahane being the youngest then at 26, which means all 10 batsmen were above 25. Four were above 30.

In 2016, the average age of the top-10 grew to 29.10, although only three were above 30, and one was below 25 (Quinton de Kock, 23 at the time). This was because of a large concentration of cricketers in the 27-34 age group, when a batsmen is in his prime.

Last season the average age of the top-10 grew again to 30.30, with seven batsmen above 30 in the list. The oldest was Gautam Gambhir at 35, the youngest Rahul Tripathi at 26. This doesn’t mean, though, that seniority is a guarantee of success and the other franchises have erred in banking on youth. A similar peek into the top-10 bowlers reveals the average age has been shrinking, from 28.80 in 2015 to 26.60 in 2017.

Interestingly, the average age of the worst batting performers too has been rising steadily. The top-10 worst batting performers (taking into consideration batting positions No. 1 to 6 only, minimum 11 innings) had an average age of 30.4 last season, up from 28.7 in 2016. That means banking on senior players is often a gamble. So what’s an IPL team management to do when picking a side?

For one, picking younger bowlers is the way to go. The days of the Nehras, Hoggs and Tambes may be over. On the batting front, there is an important difference in the ‘best and ‘worst’ sets: the ‘worst of ’ batting lists tend to be thinner on performers of pedigree, meaning who have also excelled with the bat at international level in ODI or Test cricket over time.

The highest, fittest achievers are more adept at stretching peak performance well into their 30s. So if you’re picking seniors, picking the ones with the best international records may be the way to go.

This time at the auction, many franchises displayed a tendency to pick younger domestic performers, the likes of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Rahul Tripathi and Ishan Kishan, to name just three. That means they have spent less on some proven but ageing players. This may have saved owners money, but until it translates into winning performances, their furrowed brows may not smoothen soon.

IPL business model

IPL runs on a Central and Local pool of sponsorships for revenues. Broadcasters, tournament sponsors, title rights holders and bid monies form the central pool. Gate money, in-stadia advertising, franchise sponsors and merchandising make for the Local Pool. The Central Pool revenue is shared by all eight franchises on a percentage basis. The franchise has to fend for itself where Local Pool is concerned.

Future

The players from Royals and CSK franchise cannot be bought by or absorbed in any other franchise. Each team has a limit of 26 players and a fixed purse. For CSK and RR players to participate in IPL, the BCCI will have to float a tender for two fresh teams. There is no restriction if CSK and RR want to sell their franchises ahead of the coming season, after BCCI clearance. A full-fledged auction of all players is now scheduled after the 2016 edition of IPL.Both Royals and CSK have 26 players each and so do most other franchises. CSK has one-year contracts with most of its cricketers, who can go back into the auction pool but other franchises will have to off-load players to be able to buy them. With Kochi Tuskers winning their arbitration with BCCI, they're free to participate in IPL. Some players can be included in the Kochi franchise if they agree to play the tournament. However, one new franchise will still have to be auctioned. If Kochi Tuskers are unwilling to play, BCCI will have to auction two new franchises. IPL broadcast rights are up for a resale in 2017.

The finals (graphic)

The results of the IPL finals, 2018- CSK beat SRH; CSK’s performance in the finals, 2008-2018
From: May 28, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

The results of the IPL finals, 2018: CSK beat SRH
CSK’s performance in the finals, 2008-2018

The best batsmen, bowlers IPL 2018

Gaurav Gupta, Veteran Aussie Pulverises SRH With Blazing Century As Chennai Canter To Title, May 28, 2018: The Times of India

The best batsmen, bowlers of IPL 2018
From: Gaurav Gupta, Veteran Aussie Pulverises SRH With Blazing Century As Chennai Canter To Title, May 28, 2018: The Times of India

“Teams win games, but finals are won by individuals,” MS Dhoni had quipped on the eve of the IPL final between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. His words proved prophetic as Shane Watson smashed the highest-ever score in an IPL final to seal the 2018 crown for CSK.

Watson pulverized the Sunrisers bowlers during his breathtaking, unbeaten 117 (57b, 11x4, 8x6) to turn the summit clash into a ridiculously one-sided affair at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night.

The Aussie’s blazing century, his second of the tournament, completed a fairytale return to the IPL for CSK, who clinched their third title after being banned for two years.

When he took 10 balls to get off the mark, little did one realize that Wason would explode in such a fashion that CSK would gallop home with as many as nine balls and eight wickets still intact. Chasing 179, the 37-year-old chose to be cautious at the start as he played out Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first over for a maiden.

After taking his time to get his eye in, Watson tore into one of the best attacks of the tournament with his devastating blade.

Sandep Sharma won’t forget the mauling that he received in the 13th over from Watson in a hurry. Ball after ball, the young medium-pacer ran in, trying the slower, knuckle delivery outside off stump, which normally ties up a batsman in knots in T20 cricket. However, on Sunday night, those deliveries landed deep into the stands behind long on, thrice in succession.

Between this six-hitting spree, Watson carted the youngster, who was consoled by his captain Kane Williamson, for two fours too, in an over which cost the Sunrisers 27 runs, and reduced the remaining part of the chase to a canter. To add to the Sunrisers’ woes, pacer Siddharth Kaul endured a horrible night as well, going for 43 for three overs, even as the experienced Watson negated the Rashid threat too.

Watson found an able ally in Suresh Raina (32), as the pair added 117 in 57 balls for the second wicket, after Faf du Plessis was dismissed early.

Earlier, Sunrisers picked up pace in the second half of their innings to post a competitive 178 for six.

Put in by Dhoni, the Sunrisers were initially pegged back by good spells from seamers Lungi Ngidi and Deepak Chahar. Ngidi even bowled a maiden in his first spell.

SRH suffered an initial setback when ‘keeper-bat Shreevats Goswami, who replaced an injured Wriddhiman Saha, was run out by Karn Sharma while going for a needless second run.

That blow meant skipper Kane Williamson was in the middle by the second over. Together with Shikhar Dhawan (26, 25b, 2x4, 1x6), Williamson (47, 36b, 5x4, 2x6) stablized the innings. After Dhawan was castled by Ravindra Jadeja, middle-order batsmen Shakib Al Hasan (23, Yusuf Pathan (45 not out) and Carlos Brathwaite (21) all chipped in as SRH collected 105 from the last 10 overs.

The trio’s effort helped SRH get over the setback of losing Williamson, who was stumped while giving the charge to a Karn delivery which spun away far outside the off stump. Though he couldn’t complete what would’ve been his ninth fifty in the 2018 IPL, Williamson joined a rare club of batsmen who’ve completed 700 runs in a season.

The best performers/ first 30 games

IPL 11 (2018)- The best performers of the first 30 games
From: Dhananjay Mahapatra, SC’s switch hit: Won’t force one-state, one-vote on BCCI, May 2, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

IPL 11 (2018)- The best performers of the first 30 games

November: Extension, retention and dropping of players

Saibal Bose, Unadkat dropped over ‘high auction-price pressure’, November 16, 2018: The Times of India

November 2018- The extension, retention and dropping of players by IPL franchises
From: Saibal Bose, Unadkat dropped over ‘high auction-price pressure’, November 16, 2018: The Times of India

Rajasthan Royals continue to surprise. After having snapped up medium-pacer Jaydev Unadkat for Rs 11.3 crore, the highest for an Indian in the IPL auctions held early this year, the Jaipur-based franchise dropped another bombshell by releasing him. The reason for the decision was apparently the player’s high auction price.

“When reviewing Jaydev’s contributions to the team, we felt there was too much pressure on him to deliver vis-a-vis his auction price and hence we thought it would be better to release him,” Royals head of cricket Zubin Bharucha told TOI.

Unadkat had failed to deliver to expectations in the last edition of the IPL, having taken just 11 wickets in 15 matches, with the economy rate was a shade below 10. Royals owner Manoj Badale had told TOI after the auctions that the idea was to plan their strategy around an Indian strike bowler and Unadkat fitted the bill.

“We want to go into the next auction with a free mind,” a Royals official told TOI. Jaipur is scheduled to host the auctions in the third week of December. Royals also released another much talked-about player, South Africa’s big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen. Australian batsman D’Arcy Short and veteran medium-pacer Ben Laughlin were also released.

DAREDEVILS RELEASE GAMBHIR

Delhi Daredevils expectedly released Gautam Gambhir, who stepped down as the team’s in the middle of the 2018 season after a poor run of form. Apart from Gambhir, Delhi also released Jason Roy, Junior Dala, Liam Plunkett, Mohammed Shami, Sayan Ghosh, Daniel Christian, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Naman Ojha. The retained Delhi players include captain Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Amit Mishra and teen sensation Prithvi Shaw.

SUNRISERS RETAIN WARNER, LET GO OF BRATHWAITE, SAHA

Sunrisers Hyderabad retained David Warner — who missed the 2018 season following the ball-tampering scandal — while releasing nine players, including West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite.

SRH retained 17 players. England’s Alex Hales and all-rounder Chris Jordan too were dumped by franchise. Among Indians, the notable player to be released was Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. Earlier, Sunrisers had traded opener Shikhar Dhawan for Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nazeem and Vijay Shankar with Daredevils.

KINGS RELEASE AXAR, YUVI, FINCH

India’s 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh, left-arm spinner Axar Patel and Australia’s current limitedovers skipper Aaron Finch were among 11 players released by Kings XI Punjab. A pale shadow of his once explosive self, the 36-year-old Yuvraj managed just 65 runs at an abysmal average of 10.83 in eight games. With 134 runs in 10 games@16.75, the usually consistent Finch too didn’t find runs. Others who have been released are Ben Dwarshuis, former India pacers Mohit Sharma and Barinder Sran, batsman Manoj Tiwary, Kashmir’s Manzoor Dar, Akshdeep Nath and Mayank Dagar. Kings XI finished seventh out of eight teams last year.

MUMBAI DROP CUMMINS, MUSTAFIZUR AND DUMINY

The Mumbai Indians on Thursday released South African batsman Jean-Paul Duminy, seamers Pat Cummins (Australia) and Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) and Sri Lankan spinner Akila Dananjaya, while retaining 18 players. Cummins was bought by MI for Rs 5.4 crore, but was ruled out before the start of the last IPL due to injury. There were reports that Cricket Australia (CA) pulled him out due to fear of a burnout or injury during the tournament.

Mustafizur Rahman was purchased for Rs 2.2 crore, but played only seven matches last season, taking as many wickets. The left-arm paceman was with Sunrisers Hyderabad previously. Duminy was bought for Rs 1 crore, but played just six matches, in which he managed only 36 runs. MI have also released six domestic players — Saurabh Tiwary, Pradeep Sangwan, Sharad Lumba, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, UP pacer Mohsin Khan and Kerala’s MD Nidheesh.

The Mumbai franchise’s list of 10 released players includes one capped, five uncapped and four international players.

2019

The main deals at the auction

Saibal Bose, December 19, 2018: The Times of India

Indian Premier League, 2019- The main deals at the auction
From: Saibal Bose, December 19, 2018: The Times of India

RR Keep Medium-Pacer At Lower Price, Kings XI Add Mystery To Their Attack

Rajasthan Royals continue to surprise. After releasing Jaydev Unadkat for being high priced, they bought him right back for Rs 8.40 crores, making him the joint costliest player at Tuesday’s auctions. Given that they had snapped up the left-arm medium-pacer for Rs 11.5 crores in February, Unadkat might be feeling robbed of Rs 3.1 crores.

There would be no mixed feelings for Varun Chakravarthy, the mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu, who matched Unadkat in money splurged on him. He hit the jackpot with Kings XI Punjab pocketing the 27-year old, who can bowl both leg-spin and offspin. It is said about Chakravarthy that he gets through his four overs before the rivals can unravel him. Staring at a base price of Rs 20 lakh, Chakravarthy went for 42 times that amount.

England’s Sam Curran was called in rather late, but some of the franchises seemed to have held back their purse for him. The all-rounder, whose reputation has soared since his performance against India, caused a bidding war among Kings Xi Punjab, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Punjab added him to their roster for Rs 7.20 crore, making him the costliest overseas player on Tuesday.

Even though bowlers were mainly in focus, South African batsman Colin Ingram was laughing his way to the bank with Delhi Capitals buying him for Rs 6.4 crore.

Mumbai youngster Shivam Dube quite expectedly generated interest after smashing five sixes in one over recently. Royal Challengers Bangalore added him to the kitty for Rs 5 crore, the same price that Mohit Sharma (CSK), Axar Patel (DC) and Carlos Braithwaite earned. The Bengaluru side’s management, in fact, spoke of Dube’s sixes while justifying his high price.

Kings XI threw up another stunner in outbidding Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians for 18-year-old wicketkeeper batsman Prabhsimran Singh (Rs 4.80 crore).

Among the players currently playing for Team India, Mohammad Shami was the top pick at Rs 4.80 crore. Kings XI Punjab, on a rebuilding spree, will most likely use him as their strike bowler.

Golden oldies like Brendon McCullum got the royal ignore while Yuvraj Singh had to be brought back, Mumbai Indians buying him at base price of Rs 1 crore. In fact, all the highestrated spinners were left unsold. Clearly, the franchises were looking for surprise elements like Chakravarthy. “He is unknown and that is an advantage,” KXIP CEO Satish Menon explained. “It’s also the World Cup year and we don’t know whom we might lose. Varun is more of a backup to Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Zadran.”

Teams in the final

CSK vs. MI reached the final of IPL, 2019
From: May 11, 2019: The Times of India

See graphic, 'CSK vs. MI reached the final of IPL, 2019'

MI win the title

JAC Gladson, May 13, 2019: The Times of India

The IPL final, 2019- Scoreboard
From: JAC Gladson, May 13, 2019: The Times of India

MI beat CSK in the final of IPL, 2019
From: May 13, 2019: The Times of India

See graphics:

The IPL final, 2019- Scoreboard

MI beat CSK in the final of IPL, 2019

A proven track record does no good if you’re not good on the day. Having made his point beautifully on the eve of the IPL 2019 final against Chennai Super Kings, Rohit Sharma and Co. were expected to not just merely turn up, but put in an impressive performance. And by converting their words into deeds, Mumbai Indians not only won their fourth title but their one-run win over Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday was the second such finish – they had defeated Pune Warriors by the same margin in 2017.

In Chennai, Mumbai had an opposition that’s weathered many a storm, but in not refusing to give up or give in, Mumbai are now in a league of their own with the skipper making it a penta – four titles with Mumbai and one with Deccan Chargers.

As is their wont, Chennai turned the contest into a gripping finale and Rahul Chahar nearly cost them the game when he reprieved Shane Watson with the opener going great guns on 55. The Aussie smashed two overs for 20 runs each off Lasith Malinga (16th) and Krunal Pandya (18th) to negate all the good work Rahul Chahar had done by restricting Chennai to 72 for two at the halfway stage — they eventually had to rest content with 148/7.

When Watson finally fell with two deliveries to go for 80 (59b, 8x4, 6x4), Chennai still needed four. His 51-run partnership with Dwayne Bravo was not enough to see CSK cross the line with Lasith Malinga sounding the death knell by denying two runs off the last ball.

The start was just as exciting as the finish after the Mumbai skipper had no hesitation to bat first. But if Mumbai’s 149 for eight was a start-stop affair, Chennai had not reckoned with Mumbai’s bowling arsenal that slowly tilted the scales in their favour by choking runs in the middle.

Faf du Plessis was the initial aggressor, while Shane Watson took his time, but with Suresh Raina running out of luck, Ambati Rayudu coming a cropper and skipper MS Dhoni run-out going for a second on an overthrow, Mumbai cleverly wrested the initiative through Chahar’s excellent returns of one for 14, which included 13 dot balls and just one boundary.

2020

Mumbai Indians win fifth title

Gaurav Gupta, November 11, 2020: The Times of India

Scoreboard, Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, IPL- 2020
From: Gaurav Gupta, November 11, 2020: The Times of India

Mumbai Indians' five IPL titles, 2013-2020
From: Gaurav Gupta, November 11, 2020: The Times of India

Is he really injured? If this final was something of a ‘fitness test’ for Rohit Sharma, the star opener passed it with flying colours. Rested from the Indian team’s white-ball leg for the impending tour to Australia due to a rather mysterious hamstring injury which has caused big controversy, the Mumbaikar churned out a captain’s knock, cracking 68 (51b, 5x4, 4x6) to lead the Mumbai Indians to their fifth Indian Premier League title, as they downed the Delhi Capitals by five wickets in a onesided final in Dubai.

Unleashing his trademark front-foot pulls off the fast bowlers and smashing the spinners down the ground with characteristic ease, Rohit seemed intent on making a simple point he made when he returned from his injury to play for MI: ‘I’m fit and fine.’ He perished to a superb diving catch by substitute fielder Lalit Yadav at deep midwicket while trying to hook Anrich Nortje, but the job was done by then.

Towards the end, MI suffered a couple of more hiccups when Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya went out cheaply but Ishan Kishan (33 not out, 19b, 3x4, 1x6) continued his fabulous form to take MI home.

It was title No. 5 for ‘Captain Rohit,’ and his sixth as a player in the IPL. A decade back, MI had, for the only time, lost an IPL final while chasing against CSK, but this time, chasing just 157, they didn’t falter again, managing to defend the title successfully. It’s the first time that MI have won a crown in an even year. In what has been a magnificent campaign for them, MI came up with another dominant display in the final, beating the Capitals for the fourth time this season.

Earlier, skipper Shreyas Iyer (65 not out, 50b, 6x4, 2x6) and Rishabh Pant (56 not out, 38b, 4x4, 2x6) struck form, digging the Capitals out from a deep hole when they had slipped to 22 for three by just the fourth over, but MI still managed to restrict them to 156 for seven.

Showing commendable fightback, Iyer and Pant dug in to add 96 in 69 balls for the fourth wicket to bail their team out of crisis and breathe some life into the summit clash. However, pulling things back brilliantly, MI conceded merely 38 in the final five overs to gain the upper hand.

For the eight time in this IPL, Man of the Match Trent Boult provided a breakthrough in the first over for MI when he had Marcus Stoinis caught behind off the very first ball of the match, the first such instance in an IPL final. Boult struck again when Ajinkya Rahane was caught down the legside for just two in the third over.

The Capitals suffered their biggest blow when talismanic batsman Shikhar Dhawan (15) missed a slog sweep off off-spinner Jayant Yadav to be castled for just 15. It’s not often that you see Dhawan mess up that stroke, but then whatever MI have touched this time has turned into gold.

2021

The entire list

February 19, 2021: The Times of India

IPL 2021: Full squad, players list of all eight teams

NEW DELHI: Every year, the IPL Player Auction brings with it a lot of excitement and thrill. Franchisees splurge large sums of money to seal a deal, while some players fail to find a bidder.

In the IPL 2021 Player Auction, South African all-rounder Chris Morris made headlines by becoming IPL's most expensive buy of all time. Morris was fetched by Rajasthan Royals for a mammoth Rs. 16.25 crore. Meanwhile Krishnappa Gowtham became the highest uncapped Indian buy of all time. He was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 9.25 crore.

Here's the full squad list of all eight IPL teams after the squads for the 2021 edition were finalised:

DELHI CAPITALS

Shreyas Iyer (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings

MUMBAI INDIANS

Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Anmolpreet Singh, Aditya Tare (wk), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan (wk), Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, R. Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazlewood, KM Asif, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K. Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishanth

PUNJAB KINGS

KL Rahul (c&wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Prabsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen , Saurabh Kumar

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Rinku Singh, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Eoin Morgan (c), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun CV, Kuldeep Yadav, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD

David Warner (c), Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Virat Singh, Mitchell Marsh, Jason Holder, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Sanju Samson (c&wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manan Vohra, Anuj Rawat, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, KC Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Josh Philippe (wk), AB de Villiers (wk), Pavan Deshpande, Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Kane Richardson, Harshal Patel, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Christian, Suyash Prabhudessai, KS Bharat

The auction

Prasad.RS, February 19, 2021: The Times of India

How the IPL franchises stack up, 2021
From: Prasad.RS, February 19, 2021: The Times of India

IPL auction, history, as in February 2021- Morris becomes most expensive buy in IPL auction history
From: February 19, 2021: The Times of India

PAY DAY FOR ALLROUNDERS

RR Break Bank For Morris; Maxwell And Jamieson Fetch Big Money Too

Chennai:

With millions flying around the room, you wouldn’t expect social media to go into overdrive over a Rs 50 lakh or a Rs 20 lakh buy. But then, while Cheteshwar Pujara is an emotional favourite of many after his heroics in Test cricket, Arjun Tendulkar’s inclusion in the IPL auction list had become a point of debate. So, when Pujara finally got an IPL team — Chennai Super Kings — after seven years, the entire auction room applauded the gesture. “It was a mark of respect for all that Pujara has done for India,” a CSK official told TOI.

Arjun, on the other hand, was the last pick of the day as Zaheer Khan quietly raised the baton to have team mentor Sachin Tendulkar’s son in the set-up after two T20 game for Mumbai.

But before that, a few familiar stories played out. South African allrounder Chris Morris, with 34 runs and 11 wickets from nine games in IPL-13 for Royal Challengers Bangalore, broke all records to become the highest-paid player of the IPL. Rajasthan Royals, looking to rebuild again, paid 16.25 cr, edging out Punjab Kings in a bidding war. Morris’ price tag went past the Rs 16 cr record that was paid by RCB for Yuvraj Singh in 2015.

“We spoke to Morris before the auction and did a medical review to see if he can last the season. He’s in a bubble now in South Africa and about to play the domestic competition. He will play an important role for us in all phases of the game. He can win us the game with the bat as well and the ball,” said Jake Lush McCrum, RR’s COO. But then, that’s the reason RCB paid Rs 10 cr last time for the 33-year-old, but without much reward.

The auction lived up its tag of being allrounders’ ticket to big money. New Zealand’s Kylie Jamieson was bought for Rs 15 crore by RCB. He had scored a couple of 40s against India in Test matches in 2020 and gave Virat Kohli & Co a difficult time with his pace and bounce. Kohli must have taken a note of that and with Kiwi Mike Hesson as the coach, the decision was made to bring him in.

There was another usual suspect — Glenn Maxwell — who went for Rs 14.25 crore without hitting a single six in the last edition of the IPL in UAE for Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab). But on paper, he is one who can contribute handsomely both with the bat and ball, and that’s what led to a bidding war between CSK and RCB. CSK, quite uncharacteristically went till Rs 14 cr mark for the player, but then gave up as Kohli’s franchise looked for “impact players”.

CSK, desperate for spin-bowling allrounders, made two smart buys in the form of Moeen Ali (Rs 7 cr) and K Gowtham (Rs 9.25 cr). Gowtham became the highest-paid Indian at the auction. “Moeen can be an opener option too while Gowtham will fill two vacant spots — Kedar Jadhav and Harbhajan Singh,” a source said.

Another big-money buy was Australian pacer Jhye Richardson by Punjab Kings for Rs 14 cr. They needed a pace-bowling partner for Mohammad Shami after releasing Sheldon Cortrell following a hammering by Rahul Tewatia in one of the games last season. “We knew there would be competition for Richardson but we have the team we required,” team owner Preity Zinta, who also acquired England opener Dawid Mallan for Rs 1.5 cr, said. Punjab also got Tamil Nadu batsman Shahrukh Khan (Rs 5.4 cr), who was extremely impressive in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

The KKR table, which attracted eyeballs due to the presence of SRK’s son Aryan and Juhi Chawla’s daughter Jhanvi, brought Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan back in the team for Rs 3.25 cr along with veteran offie Harbhajan Singh for his base price of Rs 2 cr. MI, on the other hand, had Nathan Coulter Nile and Jimmy Neeham back as their medium-pace back-up for Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. SRH picked up Kedar Jadhav for Rs 2 cr late in the day to add some experience to their middle-order.

Delhi Capitals, too, quietly brought Steve Smith into their line-up for a mere Rs 2.2 crore.

‘Pujara a back-up for Raina’

Pujara’s return to the IPL fold was celebrated by most but there were voices who felt the Test specialist would have been better off playing County instead of sitting on the reserve-bench of CSK for two months. But it’s understood that CSK had a plan in place to get Pujara in and it was not just about respect for the stalwart. “He is a back-up for Suresh Raina, who hasn’t played cricket in a while,” a source said.

The fact that Dhoni wants players who are used to taking pressure is another reason behind Pujara’s inclusion in the squad.

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+[[Category:Cricket |I ]]
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+[[File: The results of IPL finals, 2008-2016.jpg| The results of IPL finals, 2008-2016; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=30_05_2016_021_023_013&type=P&artUrl=A-NEW-SUNRISE-IN-BENGALURU-30052016021023&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], May 30, 2016|frame|500px]]
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-[[Category:India|B]]
-[[Category:Sports|B]]
-=INDIA’S LANDMARK SINGLES VICTORIES=
+[[File: delhi daredevils ipl record 2008 2015.jpg| Delhi Daredevils: IPL record, 2008-2015; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=DEVILS-GET-THE-BLUES-AGAIN-19052015022005 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-[http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=CAP/2013/08/10&PageLabel=29&EntityId=Ar02900&ViewMode=HTML The Times of India] 2013/08/10
-====PRAKASH PADUKONE====
+=History=
-All England title 1980; Winner World Cup 1981; Commonwealth Games singles gold 1978; Bronze at World Championships 1983
+==Established in 2008==
-====SYED MODI====
+[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/ipl/news/How-IPL-changed-the-dynamics-of-Indian-cricket/articleshow/51738244.cms ''The Times of India''], April 8, 2016
-Commonwealth Games singles gold 1982; Bronze at Delhi Asian Games
-====PULLELA GOPICHAND====
-All England title 2001
-====APARNA POPAT====
-Runner-up World Junior Championship 1996; French Open 1998; Silver at Commonwealth Games 1998
-====SAINA NEHWAL====
-Bronze at London Olympics 2012; Gold at Commonwealth Games 2010; 17 major international titles
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=SAINA-AND-SINDHU-STUDY-IN-CONTRAST-20082016026026 ''The Times of India''], Aug 20 2016
+Twenty20 cricket became phenomenally popular after India won the inaugural World Twenty20 title in 2007 under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The victory not only rejuvenated the Indians fans, who were reeling under the disappointment of the 2007 ODI World Cup, but it also gave way to the conceptualization of the Indian Premier League that has since then not only cashed on the craze but has also changed the way cricket is played in India.
-Manne Ratnakar
+Brain child of the then BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, the IPL was launched in 2008 with much fanfare as a competitive response to the Indian Cricket League (ICL) that was not recognized by the BCCI. Since then the IPL has not only come out as the clear victor but has given birth to various T20 leagues around the world and is the most-attended cricket league in the world. The ICL, with controversies of non-payment and fixing, folded up in 2009.
-Saina's trademark clam on court helps her deal with pesky opponents who try to rattle her with body smashes and stares. Sindhu, on her part, doesn't like body smashes and would get easily rattled and concede points. It's because of this that she tended to lose many matches from winning positions.
+Following the same format as that of English Premier League (EPL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), the IPL works on a franchise system that were put for auction, where the highest bidder won the rights to own the team, representing each city.
-Saina, a proven champion, interestingly does not believe she is a natural stroke maker. She has herself admitted on a number of occasions that she lacked natural talent compared to some other players. Saina relies more on hard work and training and needs at least six to eight weeks to peak before a tournament.
+===2008: the beginnings===
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=NOT-QUITE-A-PERFECT-10-05042017023030  K ShriniwasRao, Apr 05 2017: The Times of India]
-====PARUPALLI KASHYAP====
+A Decade After It Set The Benchmark For T20 Leagues, Is The IPL Still Blazing The Trail When It Comes To Innovation?
-Bronze at Commonwealth Games 2010
-==== PV Sindhu====
-[[File: Badminton, P V Sindhu, Marin and Saina Nehwal.jpg|Badminton, P V Sindhu, Marin and Saina Nehwal; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=SAINA-AND-SINDHU-STUDY-IN-CONTRAST-20082016026026 ''The Times of India''], August 20, 2016|frame|500px]]
-Bronze at World Badminton Championships, China, 2013
+Ten years ago, on a pleasant afternoon in 2008, when a five-star hotel in the south of Mumbai played host to an Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction, the first of its kind in any sport across the world, Sotheby's London auction house was yet to make a killing from a fascinating bronze sculpture -a Swiss masterpiece -waiting to go under the hammer. The winning bid for Walking Man I didn't quite proverbially match up to the cheque written (and the noise made) for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the scale of contemporary European art notwithstanding.
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=SAINA-AND-SINDHU-STUDY-IN-CONTRAST-20082016026026 ''The Times of India''], Aug 20 2016
+Much later, Richard Madley , the competent London-based auctioneer at IPL for a decade now, would admit -a bit in disbelief and a lot in awe -that sport, much defined like art as an expression of human creative skill, had taken a multi-dimensional leap of faith that astonishing afternoon. Cricket, until then a sport that had been looking to readdress itself in ways that could reassure coming generations of its viability, was given a new life by administrators with twisted hearts and professionals with incredible designs.
-Manne Ratnakar
+This was 2008. India hadn't yet woken up to the idea of leagues until then. By that time, NFL  the celebrated American football league  was already 88 years old and the NBA  the premier men's basketball tournament  62. It was pure innovation at play for IPL, working at multiple levels that helped redraft cricketing philosophies in ways that made the world sit up and take note. Never before had an investor in sport become a bigger talking point than the investment itself.
-PV Sindhu has seized the opportunity to unleash her electric prowess as a shuttler on the greatest stage of all, eventually becoming the first female sportsperson to win a silver for India.
+===The results of the finals===
+-16: See graphic.
-Sindhu has numerous chinks in her defence but in 2016, she has worked hard on reducing the chinks. She looks solid in defence now and has sur prised many with her retrieving ability . Saina likes faster court conditions -when the shuttle is moving fast between the courts it will be advantage Saina. Sindhu prefers the opposite, she likes if the shuttle is slow. That is why in Asian conditions, where they use air conditioners, the shuttle moves well and Saina performs better. In Brazil, however, the shuttle moved slower and Sindhu was on a roll.
+===Impact on cricket in India===
+[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/ipl/news/How-IPL-changed-the-dynamics-of-Indian-cricket/articleshow/51738244.cms ''The Times of India''], April 8, 2016
-At the Olympics 2016, Sindhu has been a revelation. She was cool like a cucumber even in the gold medal match and hardly ever seemed annoyed throughout her memorable campaign.
+The first IPL auction took place on January 24, 2008 and the total base price for the auction was $400 million. The auction went on to fetch $723.59 million.
-Standing tall at 5'11“, Sindhu likes to pack her shots with a lot of power. Saina, however, is a rally player who wears down the opponent and pounces on the mistakes of others.
+The Mumbai franchise (Mumbai Indians) owned by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was the most expensive franchise - fetching $111.9 million closely followed by Vijay Mallya's United Breweries which paid $111.6 million for the Bangalore franchise (Royal Challengers Bangalore). Media house Deccan Chronicle won the Hyderabad franchise (Deccan Chargers) for $107 million, while India Cements' Chennai franchise (Chennai Super Kings) cost $91 million.
-=International titles, victories=
+Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla's Red Chillies Entertainment bought the Kolkata franchise (Kolkata Knight Riders) for $75.09, while Preity Zinta and her then beau Ness Wadia bought the Mohali team (Kings XI Punjab) for $76 million. Infrastructure development group GMR bagged the ownership of the Delhi team (Delhi Daredevils) for $84 million and the Emerging Media, consisting of its CEO Fraser Castellino, Manoj Badale and Lachlan Murdoch and other investors won the rights for the Jaipur franchise (Rajasthan Royals) for $67 million.
-== Asian Junior Championship==
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F07%2F23&entity=Ar03521&sk=710D3FFB&mode=text  July 23, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+The maiden edition of IPL had eight teams comprising a minimum of 16 players each. The tournament lasted for 44 days and involved 59 matches. And since then the league has had its share of controversies and seen many ups and down.
-''' Gold '''
+Two new leagues - Pune Warriors India (bought by the Sahara group for $370 million) and Kochi Tuskers Kerala (purchased by Rendezvous Sports World for $333.3 million) - were brought in before the fourth season of the league in 2011. But the Kochi Tuskers were soon terminated for breaching the BCCI's terms and conditions.
-: Gautam Thakkar won the boys singles gold
+champions Deccan Chargers were suspended in 2012 and then renamed Sunrisers Hyderabad under new owners Sun TV Network.
+But the biggest shock came in 2013 when the IPL was rocked by the fixing and betting scandal and many big names got embroiled in the controversy and it resulted in not only a few heads being rolled but entire teams were suspended. After two years of trials and tribulations, two-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two seasons.
-: [[PV Sindhu]] was the first girl to achieve this honour.
+Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by Delhi police in Mumbai on charges of spot-fixing during IPL 6. Sreesanth and Chavan were subsequently banned for life by the BCCI's disciplinary committee.
-: Lakshya Sen toppled top seed and reigning world junior champion Kunlavut Vitidsaran to become the first Indian boy after 53 years to win the Asian Junior Championship, in Jakarta. The 16-year-old needed just 46 minutes to beat Kunlavut 21-19, 21-18 in the final.
+Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants replaced Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two seasons. Dhoni and his longtime Chennai Super Kings teammate Suresh Raina were picked to play for opposing teams in the first-ever player draft of the IPL that was held in Mumbai on December 15, 2015.
-''' ''Other medals '' '''
+Rising Pune Supergiants, the Pune franchise bought by Kolkata-based businessman Sanjiv Goenka, expectedly picked Dhoni as the first player for Rs 12.5 crore and Intex Technologies owner Keshav Bansal, who invested in Gujarat Lions, picked Raina as the first choice followed by Ravindra Jadeja - the local Saurashtra boy who has grown up playing in Rajkot.
-'''2009''': Mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Chopra/Prajakta Sawant claimed bronze.
+The two new franchises paid Rs 12.5 crore to the first player they picked at the draft, Rs 9.5 crore to the second, Rs 7.5 crore to the third, Rs 5.5 crore to the fourth and Rs 4 crore to the fifth. The two franchises had a limited purse of Rs 66 crore to form their squads for the season and a minimum spending of Rs 40 crore was mandatory between the draft and the auction in February.
+Australian all-rounder Shane Watson emerged as the biggest draw going for a whopping Rs 9.50 crore bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore but it was Pawan Negi who turned heads with a mind-boggling deal of Rs 8.50 crore by Delhi Daredevils to be the costliest Indian buy in the 2016 IPL players' auction.
-'''2011''': Sameer Verma won silver
+With corporate megabucks, Bollywood glamour and the frequent sound of wood thumping leather, the IPL has revolutionized the sport in the way it was played and cricketainment has been the new word to describe the evolution of a new chapter in history of cricket.
+The Indian Premier League has proved that cricket will never be the same again.
-'''2011''': Sindhu clinched bronze.
+===Records===
+-16, some 2017: See graphic.
+[[File: IPL records, 2008-16, some 2017.jpg|IPL records, 2008-16, some 2017; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=05_04_2017_001_062_003&type=P&artUrl=A-DECADE-OF-SHAKING-THE-WORLD-05042017001062&eid=31808 The Times of India], April 5, 2017|frame|500px]]
-'''2012''': Sameer Verma won bronze.
-=Premier Badminton League=
+==2008-18/ Captains, stars who dropped themselves from the team==
-==2018: Saina, Sindhu, Srikanth, Marin get the highest prices==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F04%2F03&entity=Ar02202&sk=097E89E9&mode=text  April 3, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F09&entity=Ar02611&sk=461A32F9&mode=text  October 9, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/ipl-captains-who-stepped-down-mid-season/articleshow/63923068.cms  April 26, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and world champion Carolina Marin were the expected top buys at the Premier Badminton League season four auction, fetching the maximum price of Rs 80 lakh each here on Monday. India’s top male shuttler Kidambi Srikanth too was picked for Rs 80 lakh at the auction.
-The unexpected one was rising doubles star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy who was the highest paid non-Icon Indian player with Rs 52 lakh. With all players returning to the auction pool for the first time since 2015 and no Right to Match (RTM) card at teams’ disposal, the exercise gained more significance with franchisees looking to get the combination right besides their ideal Icon player.
+'''HIGHLIGHTS'''
-Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto was the highest paid non-Icon Player with Delhi Dashers splurging Rs 70 lakh for his services. The Delhi outfit won a tense battle with two other teams to acquire the World No 11, paying Rs 40 lakh above his base price.
+In 2008, Mumbai Indians had to choose Shaun Pollock as their third captain of the season after stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh was suspended
-Icon players Marin and Sindhu were the obvious choice for most teams. At least four teams raised the prize purse to Rs 80 lakh, the maximum limit a team can bid for a player, before the players got assigned to the teams by a draw of lots.
+In 2012, Ricky Ponting stepped aside handing over the reigns to Rohit Sharma, who lead Mumbai Indian to the title
-Among the non-Icon Indians, Rankireddy was the top draw as Ahmedabad Smash Masters outbid the Hyderabad Hunters to secure the youngster for Rs 52 lakh, a massive jump from his base price of Rs 15 lakh.
+In 2015, Steve Smith announced at the toss that he has replaced Shane Watson as captain of Rajasthan Royals
-The fourth season of the PBL will begin in Mumbai on December 22 while the final will be held in Bengaluru on January 13, 2019. A ninth team, Pune7 Aces, has been added this year and Marin will be playing for them.
+''' VVS DROPS HIMSELF FOR GILLY (2008) '''
-=Statistics, year-wise=
+Originally named as the Icon Player for Deccan Chargers before the first season of IPL, VVS Laxman gave up the status in a bid to allow his team spend more at the auctions. However, the genial Hyderabadi dropped himself from the team halfway through the season after the team’s poor run.
-=2014:Watershed year=
+It allowed Adam Gilchrist to take over as the captain. ‘Gilly’ led the side in the next two seasons as well, and DC won the title under him in 2009.
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=UNPRECEDENTED-LEAP-IN-BADMINTON-27122014015005 ''The Times of India'']
+''' DHAWAN MAKES WAY FOR SAMMY (2014) '''
-Dec 27 2014
+In 2014, the Sunrisers Hyderabad announced that they’d ‘relieved’ Shikhar Dhawan of the burden of captaincy and appointed West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy as the new captain for the rest of the IPL season, hoping that the move will help Dhawan bat more freely. Sammy was included in the side and straight away thrusted into the captaincy role. Dhawan had managed only 215 runs in his first 10 outings as captain.
-''' UNPRECEDENTED LEAP IN BADMINTON '''
+''' SANGA DROPS HIMSELF (2012) '''
-Amit Kumar Das
+While leading the Deccan Chargers in the 2012 IPL, Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara was enduring an ordinary run. He not only gave up the captaincy mid-stream but even dropped himself from the playing XI, making way for Australian big-hitter Cameron White to accommodate four overseas players in the XI. However, the move did not yield the desired results as Deccan Chargers could never get going in the tournament.
-It turned out to be a watershed year for Indian badminton as the home shuttlers clinched no less than eight individual titles and also broke new grounds in team championships, making India a dominant force at the international stage
+''' PONTING MAKES WAY FOR ROHIT (2013) '''
-Saina Nehwal and K. Srikanth clinching titles at China Super Series Premier and P.V. Sindhu bagging five bronze, including a World Championship medal, besides the historic bronze medals at Uber Cup and Asian Games, were the highlights of the year in which Indian badminton achieved unprecedented success at the global platform.
-If Saina led the resurgence of Indian badminton in the last few years, the year also saw the emergence of younger stars, who made it a terrific season with the help of their stupen dous performance.
-While Saina scooped three titles, Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap, Aravind Bhat, Sindhu and H.S. Prannoy -all laid their hands on the crown at least once in the year gone by.In fact, Saurabh Verma and P.C. Thulasi also won titles in the International challenge category.
+In 2013, Mumbai Indians began on shaky note when they lost three out of their first six matches. Skipper Ricky Ponting wasn’t in the best of form. The batting great decided to step down and handed over the reins to Rohit Sharma against Kolkata Knight Riders. MI eventually went on to clinch the title under Rohit, even as Ponting kept cheering the team from the sidelines.
-It was yet again Saina who set things in motion with a victory at the India Grand Prix Gold, which finally broke her long title drought. The Indian ace added two more titles to her kitty, clinching the Australia Super Series at Sydney in June and China Super Series Premier at Fuzhou in November.
+''' VIJAY REPLACES MILLER (2016) '''
-While Saina blew hot and cold, teen sensation Sindhu continued to make big strides in world badminton with her performance, which saw her reach the finals of India Grand Prix Gold first in Lucknow and then winning the bronze at the Asian Badminton Championship in Gimcheon.
+Struggling at the bottom of the points table in 2016, Kings XI Punjab made a bold move by removing David Miller, who had struggled with both the bat and leadership, as the team’s captain with Murali Vijay, even as they had 10 league matches remaining.
-In fact, Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Poppanna also made their presence felt by clinching the bronze in the same tournament in April.
+“David Miller continues to be an integral part of the team and is a very strong player of the squad,” KXIP said in a statement. Till that stage, Kings XI had won just one match out of
+six. Till that point, Miller had only managed to score 76 runs while Vijay had amassed 143.
-Next month, India hosted the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cup Finals for the first time and Saina and Sindhu ensured that it turned out to be a memorable one as they shepherded the women's team to a historic bronze.
+==An overview, 2008-19==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL/2020/04/18&entity=Ar01408&sk=EE95F159&mode=text  Partha Bhaduri, April 18, 2020: ''The Times of India'']
-Sindhu had a golden chance of winning the Commonwealth Games women's singles title in July but the Indian had to settle for a bronze when she lost to Michelle Li of Canada.
+There was a moment inside the sweltering cauldron of the Chinnaswamy Stadium all those years ago, on April 18, 2008 to be precise, when the still-nebulous Indian Premier League (IPL) acquired a wonderfully original and totally preposterous life of its own.
+Like most epoch-defining moments, it wasn’t exactly part of the script.
-=2014: Shuttlers: Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu =
+It was just two overs into the Royal Challengers Bangalore chase, but the hosts already seemed in disarray at 9/1. They had begun the innings looking bereft of hope, having been numbed into submission by Brendon McCullum’s unexpected and, at that time, unbelievable assault on their bowlers.
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=SCALING-NEW-FRONTIERS-31122014030010 ''The Times of India''], Dec 31 2014
+The young, pacy Ashok Dinda steamed in to bowl for the Kolkata Knight Riders, and promptly got Virat Kohli to chop a short, wide one on to his stumps. The Chinnaswamy exploded.
-The fabulous feats of Indian shuttlers made 2014 the breakout year for Indian badminton. But no one could match the achievement of Kidambi Srikanth. Defying all predictions, the 21-year-old won the China Open Super Series, beating multiple World and Olympic champion Lin Dan in the final. He finished the year ranked No. 4 in the world. After a barren 2013, Saina Nehwal made an impressive comeback this year. She thrashed World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain to clinch the Australian Super Series and then grabbed the China Open, beating the Chinese on way to the final. PV Sindhu bagged bronze in Glasgow and helped the Indian team claim its first-ever Asiad and Uber Cup bronze.
+The dismissal should have been greeted with stunned silence. Instead, up in the aisles, a prancing KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan discovered to his amazement that the whole stadium was dancing along with him, roaring its approval. Dinda was fist pumping at the crowd, which would continue its carnival merriment for the rest of the game.
-=2015=
+That night, Bengaluru didn’t seem to care that their own home team, packed to the gills with Test stalwarts, had unravelled before their eyes.
-==Garaga, Rankireddy win Badminton Asia Championships boys doubles==
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Jayaram-retains-Dutch-Open-title-12102015025070 ''The Times of India''], October 12, 2015
-The budding doubles duo of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy clinched boys doubles gold in the Badminton Asia Championships in Kudus, Indonesia Jayaram outclassed Raul Must of Indonesia in straight games 21-12, 21-18.
+A trend was set. This wasn’t about team loyalties anymore. It wasn’t about fan favourites either, but something totally alien to sporting leagues, a kind of collective joie de vivre that would propel the IPL to unprecedented heights and reshape the game’s dynamics, both within the field and beyond it.
-Under-17 boys Krishna and Satwik, who train at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy , trounced Jun Hau Leong and Fong Hau Sim of Malaysia 21-16, 21-15 in straight games. Such was the domina tion of these Hyderabadi shuttlers that they did not even lose a single game in the entire tournament. Not only that, they were not even forced to save a game point. In 2014, KrishnaSatwik claimed bronze at this Continental meet.
+In that first season, crowds across the country’s giant stadiums revelled as the sheer audacity of it all hit home. Indian cricket was shedding its garb of tradition in full public glare, demolishing national-team boundaries and embracing an insatiable appetite for change.
-==October 2015: Srikanth climbs to fifth in rankings; Saina is second==
+This was cricket’s version of hip-hop, a deep cultural revolution, not some transient, silly hit-and-giggle gimmick. The IPL wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan thing but a stable entity which would usher in democratic norms in a hierarchical cricketing order. It would redraw the bounds of the financially possible.
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=INDIA-FILE-Srikanth-climbs-to-fifth-in-rankings-30102015034050 ''The Times of India''], Oct 30 2015
-'''Srikanth climbs to fifth in rankings; Saina is second'''
+Players would be auctioned off, permanently altering their non-monetary valuations in the eyes of coaches. Cricketing mercenaries would be born. And like most revolutions, the IPL would acquire a dark side.
-Top Indian male shutler Kidambi Srikanth climbed up place to fifth, while Saina Nehwal remained static on No. 2 in the atest Badminton World Federa ion (BWF) rankings released on Thursday . Srikanth gained a spot n the men's singles ranking.
+That first match was a dream launch. McCullum’s extraordinary 73-ball 158, then the highest T20 score, contained 13 sixes and 10 fours, including, at one point, a scoop over fine leg for six off Zaheer Khan. That innings was an early pointer to the format’s fundamental redrawing of balance between bat and ball.
-==Manu-Sumeeth bag GP title in Mexico==
+What was remarkable was that this wasn’t just a plonk-your-front-foot-andhit-through-the-line type of pitch. RCB’s batting order, comprising Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Kohli and Jacques Kallis, were used to ‘proper’ cricket and ‘proper’ responses to given situations. They lost by 140 runs.
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Manu-Sumeeth-pair-bags-maiden-GP-title-in-22122015026035 ''The Times of India''] Dec 22 2015
+That first IPL evening was also the first time the IPL made conventional batting seem uncool. In fact, the first IPL edition included all the pointers of things to come. Shane Warne used strong backroom support, tactical nous, swagger and positivity to scythe through opponents, laying the marker for modern T20’s constant craving for data analysis.
+Old warhorses like Adam Gilchrist and Sanath Jayasuriya showed that their withering frames were still suitable for belting boundaries. Since then, the IPL has been a league of veterans as much as youngsters, in spite of heightened fitness levels and fielders hunting in packs while flirting with boundary ropes.
-Manne Ratnakar
+Innovative shots, broadened bats and quick fixes by hapless bowlers, the first IPL had it all. It also had something that wouldn’t be seen again: the presence of Pakistani cricketers. Virender Sehwag became the first to declare that IPL performances should count towards national selection. Brett Lee said, “If we look back in 10 years’ time, this tournament is going to be a massive landmark.”
-Hyderabad
+By 2014, the IPL was ranked sixth in terms of eyeballs among global sporting leagues. By 2015, each IPL edition was contributing around $160 million to the GDP. By 2017, Star India would be buying the broadcast rights for $2.55 billion. By 2018, 1,112 players would register for the auction and the franchises would spend Rs 600 crore to build their teams. Just before the coronavirus pandemic struck, Duff and Phelps calculated that the IPL brand valuation had soared 13.5% to Rs 47,500 cr.
-Ending a five-year drought, the fast rising doubles combination of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy claimed their maiden Grand Prix crown with a 22-20, 21-18 victory over BodinIssara and NipitphonPuangpuapech of Thailand in the Mexico Open final on Sunday .
+It seemed nothing, not even the 2013 match-fixing scandal which led to the banning of two teams, could make a dent in the IPL’s soaring graph. Nothing, that is, until the coronavirus.
-The duo, who trains at the Pullela Gopichand Academy here, faced a stiff resistance in the first game as the Thais saved four game points from 1620 before the Indians claimed it. In the second, the Indians got off to a brisk start and maintained a healthy lead over their rivals right throughout.
+While it’s a given that sporting leagues are not immune to global economic shocks, sporting activity has been hit hardest by the social-distancing norms this pandemic necessitates.
-After Olympians Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas won the Bitburger Open in 2010, this is the best ever performance by an Indian men's doubles team. “This is a great win for both of us.We've worked really hard and this is the result of our hard work. We would like to thank our coach Pullela Gopichand, doubles coach Kim Tan Her and BAI officials for supporting us. Many thanks to our parents, it's because of their prayers and blessings we are here,“ Manu told TOI from Mexico City on Monday .
-The players, who have been consistent this year, were close to clinching their first GP title twice before. They missed out winning the titles in US Grand Prix in June and Dutch Open in October despite dishing out some inspired performances in the initial rounds. “It turned out to be a good year for us. And finishing off with a title is amazing. We started confidently . It was a bit tricky in the final, it was all about speed and tactics,“Sumeeth said.
-=2016=
+How long will it be till we can flock without fear to stadiums like we used to? Will future IPL games be live streamed from empty stadiums, neutering the league of its emotive appeal? What will the IPL look like in 2022, when the sponsorship rights may be up for grabs again?
-==2016: Asia Championship==
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Shuttlers-lose-in-Asia-Cship-semis-21022016028036 ''The Times of India''], Feb 21 2016
-Manne Ratnakar
+Worryingly, is the age of the megabuck sporting league over? According to some estimates, the IPL and its peripheral industries could see a hit of Rs 10,000 crore. There has been no pandemic insurance by either broadcaster or board. The revenue model involves selling properties, to broadcasters, sponsors, franchises... what happens when that model is rendered obsolete? What happens when there are no gate receipts, no corporate boxes?
-'''Shuttlers lose in Asia C'ship semis'''
+The IPL has always been shaped by significant external events, like India’s 2007 World T20 win which made the concept viable. Now, too, it’s time to look towards other global sporting leagues, and see how they cope.
+To survive in a post-pandemic world, the IPL must innovate again.
-HS Prannoy , saviour of the hosts for the last two days, could not repeat the magic as his team bowed out of the tie much before his arrival, losing 1-3 to Indonesia in the semifinals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.
+==The greatest players, 2008-19==
-With this loss Indian men bagged the bronze medal, their first in last three decades.
-Though Kidambi Srikanth gave a solid start to his team, the hosts lost the next three ties and crashed out of the tournament. After winning the first game without much difficulty against in form Tommy Sugiarto, Srikanth was unlucky to lose the closely-fought second game. However, the top ranked Indian shifted gears in the decider and played an attacking game to oust Tommy 21-14, 23-25, 21-9.
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F04%2F18&entity=Ar01414&sk=5D2D28DA&mode=text  IPL’s Greatest XI, April 18, 2020: ''The Times of India'']
-Doubles pair of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy proved no match for Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan 21-11, 2110. In the second singles, world No.25 Ajay Jayaram tried hard before going down to Anthony Ginting 15-21, 20-22.
+IPL 2020 has been postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus. But what is the greatest XI from the 12 seasons played so far? TOI pores over the statistics and rummages through the memories to come up with the team to beat every other team…
-==2016: Uber Cup==
+Shane Watson (RR, CSK): IPL’s Duracel man. Two-time MVP (2008, 2013). Biggame hunter (MoM, 2018 final). Pips David Warner, 3-time Orange Capper.
-===Women===
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Ruthvika-steals-the-show-as-Indian-women-enter-20052016034034 ''The Times of India''], May 20, 2016
-'''Quarterfinals ''' When the top gun, misfired youngster RuthvikaShivani came to the rescue with a stupendous display to assure her team of a bronze with a 3-1 victory against Thailand in the Uber Cup quarterfinals on Thursday.
+M 134, R 3575, SR 139.53, 6s 177, W 92, Ave 29.15, ER 7.93
-This will be only the second medal for India at this prestigious team event. Indian women had won bronze at the last edition.
+Chris Gayle (RCB, KXIP): Punisher. Pleasure-provider. Unstoppable sixmachine (326). Nobody comes close.
-For a long time, Saina Nehwal had carried Indian hopes. But the off-colour Hyderabadi faltered on the day to give India a poor start. PV Sindhu, however, stepped up and put the campaign back on rails with a dominant 21-18, 21-7 victory against Busanan Ongbumrungphan.
+M 125, R 4484, Ave 41.13, SR 151.02, 6s 326
-JwalaGutta and Ashwini Ponnappa made it 2-1for with a 21-19, 21-12 win against PuttitaSupajirakul and SapsireeTaerattanachai.
+Virat Kohli (RCB): IPL’s all-time highest scorer (5,412). Master of risk-free, highpressing cricket. Has smashed 191 sixes nonetheless.
+M 177, R 5412, Ave 37.84, SR 131.61, 6s 190
-Ruthvika then proved her mettle. No one expected her to get past a tough opponent like NitchaonJindapol, the world No.25 who has been giving top shuttlers a tough time. She had even defeated PV Sindhu in January this year.Ruthvika came up with a stunning show and registered a 21-18, 21-16 victory . Leading 20-10, Ruthvika conceded eight points before winning the first game at 21-18.
+AB de Villiers (DD, RCB): Virtuoso crowd-pleaser who demonstrates the outer limits of innovation in T20. When he’s in the mood, even a yorker travels beyond the ropes.
-=2017=
+M 154, R 4395, Ave 39.95, SR 151.23, 6s 212
-[[File: Badminton Jan to June 2017a.jpg|Badminton Jan to June 2017 |frame|500px]]
-==The best players==
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F25&entity=Ar03915&sk=350FF6B5&mode=text  TOISA 2018 NOMINEES: BADMINTON, January 25, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+MS Dhoni (CSK, RPS): Captain of the team. Ice cool as leader, and at the death. Barring Chacha Chowdhary, nobody calculates a target as precisely as him.
-''KIDAMBI SRIKANTH (World No. 3 )''
+M 190, R 4432, Ave 42.20, SR 137.85, 6s 209, Ct 94, St 38
-Building on the promise shown during his run to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Srikanth made it large last year. He won four Superseries titles in 2017, the most ever by an Indian, and moved to No. 2 in the BWF men’s singles rankings. Srikanth’s first title was the Indonesia Open, where he beat Japan’s
+Andre Russell (DD, KKR): The enforcer. Possesses several gears; partial to the fifth. IPL’s highest strike rate: 186. Hustler with the ball. Two time MVP.
+M 64, R 1400, SR 186.42, 6s 120, W 55, Ave 27.96, ER 8.88
-''PV SINDHU (World No. 3)''
+Dwayne Bravo (CSK): Master of deception, especially at death. Flies like a bird, prowls like a panther. Can win games with bat too.
-After claiming a breakthrough silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sindhu lived up to her billing as the queen of Indian badminton this year by winning two Superseries titles, a silver medal at the Badminton World Championships and another at the BWF World Superseries Finals. Her first Superseries win came in April, when she beat Olympic champion Carolina Marin 21-19, 21-16 to win the India Open for the first time. Days later, she rose to a careerhigh No 2 in the BWF women’s singles rankings. After claiming a silver medal at the Badminton World Championships, only India’s second ever, Sindhu went on to win her second Superseries in October Kazumasa Sakai 21-11, 21-19, and a week later he vanquished the world and Olympic champion Chen Long in straight games 22-20, 21-16 to claim the Australia Open. Later, Srikanth became the second Indian after Prakash Padukone to win the Denmark Open and then created history by claiming the French Open. In addition, Srikanth also reached the final of the Singapore Open.
+M 134, R 1483, SR 128.28, 6s 61, W 147, Ave 24.61, ER 8.39
-when she became the first Indian to win the Korea Open. Her other title was the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold. Other close finishes came in the final of the National Badminton Championship and the Hong Kong Superseries, where she was runner-up both times.
+Sunil Narine (KKR): Inscrutable offbreak bowler. Among the meanest and most consistent. Also has the second highest batting strike rate in IPL history (168). Two-time MVP too.
+M 110, W 122, Ave 23.31, ER 6.67
-''SAINA NEHWAL (World No. 10)''
+Rashid Khan (SRH): IPL’s stingiest (ER 6.55). Match-winning leg-break bowler. Loves a challenge. Generally wins it.
-A successful, injuryfree year for the 2012 London Olympics medalist. Saina won a Grand Prix Gold, a bronze at the World Championships and her third national title. Won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix - her 23rd title overall. Won a bronze medal at the Badminton World Championships having reached her recordbreaking seventh consecutive quarterfinal. Beat Olympic gold medal winner and two-time world champion Carolina Marin 22-20, 21-18 in round one of the Denmark Open.
+M 46, W 55, Ave 21.69, ER 6.55
+Lasith Malinga (MI): That slinging action. That mop of hair. That sound of stumps crashing. IPL’s highest wicket-taker ever. Key figure in MI .
-''HS PRANNOY (World No. 10)''
+M 122, W 170, Ave 19.80, ER 7.14
-His most successful year ever, Prannoy won a Grand Prix Gold, reached the semifinals of two Super Series and won the national title for the first time. Claimed his third Grand Prix Gold title by beating compatriot Parupalli Kashyap 21-15, 20-22, 21-12 in the final of the US Open.
+Jasprit Bumrah (MI): New master of unplayable yorkers. Player of the Match in 2019 final. His best is yet to come.
-Reached the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open Super Series and the French Open. Became the first Indian to beat the big four of world badminton: Taufik Hidayat (2013), Lin Dan (2015), Chong Wei (twice in 2017) and Chen Long (2017). Achieved a career-best position of No. 10.
+M 77, W 82, Ave 26.60, ER 7.55
+th man: Pollard (MI): All-purpose star
-''B SAI PRANEETH (World No. 16)''
+Coach: Stephen Fleming (CSK): With MS Dhoni as captain, he built the IPL’s most consistent team .
-Having never made it past the quarters of a Super Series of a Grand Prix Gold tournament, Sai beat Kidambi Srikanth in the final of the Singapore Open. In this tournament, he also beat Denmark’s Emil Holst, world No. 23 Qiao Bin, eighth seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk and Korea’s Lee Dong Keun to meet Srikanth in the first all-Indian Super Series final. Won his second title of the year in June, beating Indonesia’s Christie Jonatan 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 to clinch the $120,000 Thailand Open. Runnerup at the Syed Modi Grand Prix.
-==A watershed year==
+==The most memorable matches, 2008-19==
-[http://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2017%2F12%2F28&entity=ar02400&ts=20171228005013&uq=20171213034334&mode=text  Action Replay 2017: BADMINTON, December 28, 2017: ''The Times of India'']
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F04%2F18&entity=Ar01409&sk=DEFF1ADE&mode=text  —Compiled by Hindol Basu, April 18, 2020: ''The Times of India'']
+''' RAJASTHAN’S INCREDIBLE RUN '''
-''2017 Was A Watershed Year For Indian Badminton As Players Broke New Ground, Writes'' '''M Ratnakar'''
-If Saina Nehwal’s hat-trick of titles in 2010 was the catalyst which propelled Indian badminton to a different plane, 2017 has proved to be a watershed year for the sport as Kidambi Srikanth led the boys’ victory parade with four Super Series titles in a calendar year. Since 2010, the sport has witnessed a spiralling success rate every year. The Olympic medal came in 2012 with Saina’s bronze and a podium finish at the World Championships became a regular feature thereafter.
+Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals, not the most fancied bunch at the beginning of the tournament, scripted a fairytale win to stretch the bounds of the possible in the very first IPL in 2008. Of course, the tone had been set in the very first game on April 18, with KKR’s Brendon McCullum smashing an incredible ton.
-Sindhu’s Olympic silver at the 2016 Olympic Games catapulted the game to new heights of popularity.
+''' SLAP AND TEARS '''
-However, 2017 has seen greater performances from the Indian shuttlers as 13 major titles have been won by seven different players, apart from PV Sindhu’s silver and Saina’s bronze at the World Championships. Sindhu’s one hour 50-minute marathon against Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the Worlds final will go down in history as an epic encounter.
+That image from 2008 of temperamental fast bowler Sreesanth crying after being slapped by Harbhajan Singh, while his Kings XI Punjab teammate VRV Singh consoled him, will stay etched in our minds. Harbhajan was suspended for the season. Sreesanth confessed later he had been heckling his senior India teammate.
-Never in the past had so many Indian players figured among the winners’ circle. Until 2017, the success stories have been confined to Saina, Sindhu and Srikanth but this year ‘so-called fringe players’ like SAI Praneeth, Sameer Verma, HS Prannoy and even doubles pair of Pranaav Chopra and Sikki Reddy have ensured that the Indian flag flutters with pride at various international events. For a change the boys have leapt past the girls and cornered more glory in 2017. Sindhu won two Super Series titles —India Open and Korea Open — and capped the year with a silver at the year-end Finals in Dubai.
+''' FOREIGN SHORES '''
-But the year belonged to Srikanth and Co, who have virtually dominated the men’s singles with élan. The Indian boys were everywhere in 2017, winning titles, stunning champions and dominating the men’s singles category. Sameer Verma started it by trumping SAI Praneeth at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold final in January. Thereafter, SAI Praneeth took charge by pocketing his first Super Series at the Singapore Open in April. Interestingly, here too, Praneeth’s opponent was none other than Srikanth.
+The second season coincided with the general elections and the government refused to commit security personnel. Showcasing its financial might, the IPL was moved out of India, to South Africa, by then commissioner Lalit Modi.
-Praneeth also clinched the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold in June. A fortnight later Srikanth triumphed in the Indonesia Open, the richest Premier event of the year. The 24-year-old went on to clinch back-toback titles, a first in his career, by emerging victorious at the Australian Open Super Series the very next week.
+''' THE MONGOOSE BAT '''
-While Indian fans were busy celebrating the unexpected success of their boys, experts have observed a fascinating trend behind these stupendous performances. The Hyderabad boys have been assisting each other in the victories as if they have learnt the art of ‘hunting in packs’.
+Australia’s Matthew Hayden unveiled his ‘Mongoose Bat’ in 2010, clobbering bowlers with what looked like a cross between a club and a baseball bat. The Mongoose had two distinguishing features: the handle was as long as the blade and the splice, which normal bats have in the blade, was built into the handle to guarantee a clean hitting surface. Needless to say, it was a hit.
-At the Indonesian Open, HS Prannoy had stunned Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei and Olympic champion Chen Long to clear the path for his training partner Srikanth. Later, Prannoy said that he took tips from seasoned campaigner Parupalli Kashyap on how to beat the Chinese superstar. Prannoy lost to Kazumasa Sakai in the semifinals but passed on some key information to Srikanth, who defeated the Japanese shuttler in the final.
+''' GAYLESTORM '''
-Even at the Denmark Open in October, Prannoy helped Srikanth by ousting Lee Chong Wei in the second round itself. With easier opponents to negotiate at the latter stages, Srikanth claimed his third Super Series title by defeating Korean veteran Lee Hyun Il in the final. The next week at the French Open, Prannoy ousted Lee Hyun in the first round before going down to Srikanth in a keenly-contested semifinal. By claiming top honours in Paris, Srikanth became the fifth shuttler in badminton history to win four Super Series titles in a calendar year. Incidentally, these were also Srikanth’s second back-to-back titles.
+‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle upped the ante in Bangalore against Pune Warriors on April 23, 2013, scoring an unbelievable 175 off just 66 balls, the highest T20 individual score. Gayle hit 13 boundaries and an incredible 17 maximums.
-It is no secret that the dexterous efforts of Pullela Gopichand is behind their success and the newfound vigour. All these players hail from his academy and have been with him since their childhood.
+''' THE DARK UNDERBELLY '''
-About five years back, when Saina and Sindhu were making all the headlines, Gopichand had predicted that the boys too will replicate the girls’ success stories soon. But very few took him seriously at that time. However, once Srikanth burst on the scene with a sensational mauling of Lin Dan in the China Open finals in 2014, people began to notice that the boys were coming to the party.
+A spot-fixing scandal rocked the league in 2013 when the Delhi police arrested three Rajasthan Royals cricketers, including Sreesanth. Soon after, Mumbai Police arrested film actor Vindu Dara Singh and CSK’s former team principal Gurunath Meiyappan for alleged betting, cheating and links with bookies. RR team co-owner Raj Kundra too was found to have placed bets on his team. The Supreme Court appointed a committee to probe the affair. Eventually, CSK and RR were banned for two years. The order, which came in 2015, meant the two teams missed the 2016 and 2017 IPL editions.
-The coach, who is building Indian badminton brick-by-brick, has immense faith in the abilities of his players and is always confident about breaching the difficult barriers. “In my playing days many used to tell us that we can never reach the level of the Chinese. But I always believed that if we have the facilities in place we can achieve a lot. I am only putting a system in place and I am not surprised with these results,” Gopichand said.
+''' MUMBAI’S COMEBACK '''
-Gopichand changed the landscape of badminton but the Dronacharya awardee is yearning for more. He has a few budding shuttlers who are aspiring to follow the footsteps of their illustrious seniors.
+In 2015, Mumbai Indians lost five out of their first six games, but the team never stopped believing in its abilities. In a dream comeback, they went on to win nine of their remaining 10 matches to lift the title for the second time.
-But despite these fabulous feats, the bigger trophies like Olympic gold, World Championships crown and All England are missing from the cupboard.The only way the forthcoming years can beat the success of 2017 is if the shuttlers bring these elusive trophies home.
+''' VIRAT, ABD RUN RIOT '''
-===The main stars===
+The 2016 IPL season will always be known for the amazing batsmanship by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. RCB needed to win four matches in a row to qualify for the playoffs. Kohli and De Villiers recorded a partnership of 229 runs (best in the IPL) against Gujarat Lions to set the ball rolling. Kohli smacked 109 off 55 balls, while De Villiers scored a unbeaten 129 off 52 balls. This was the first time two batsmen scored centuries in an IPL innings.
-[http://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2017%2F12%2F28&entity=ar02404&ts=20171228005013&uq=20171213034334&mode=text  M Ratnakar, Smashing success: India ruled the courts, December 28, 2017: ''The Times of India'']
+''' KOHLI’S FINE FORM '''
-It wasn’t just all about Srikanth and Sindhu. Prannoy and Praneeth made heads turn too
+Kohli almost single-handedly guided his team to the title clash in 2016. With 973 runs in 16 games at 81.08, he was the highest scorer. No other batsman has been able to score as many runs in a single season.
-—M Ratnakar
+''' ‘MANKADING’ CONTROVERSY '''
-'''KIDAMBI SRIKANTH'''
+In 2019, Ravichandran Ashwin, captaining Kings XI Punjab, ran out Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler at the non-striker’s end without giving him any prior warning. That ‘Mankading’, as the dismissal is known, cleaved the cricketing world in two and sparked off heated debate on the spirit of the game. Though this is a legally permissible dismissal, the issue is yet to be satisfactorily resolved.
-Popularising the whiplash smash and reinventing the aggressive style of badminton, Kidambi Srikanth made 2017 the best ever for Indian men. Of the seven Super Series titles India won, Srikanth bagged four. In the first quarter of the year, Srikanth did not do much as was he was recovering from his injuries. But in April he struck form. He lost to Sai Praneeth in the Singapore Super Series final and went on to win back-to-back Super Series titles in Indonesia and Australia. Though he had a disappointing World Championships, he was on a roll in October, once again claiming back-to-back titles in Denmark and France. With these amazing triumphs, Srikanth became only the fifth shuttler in the world to wear four Super Series crowns in a calendar year.
+''' ‘CAPTAIN COOL’ LOSES HIS COOL '''
-'''SAINA NEHWAL'''
+The usually unflappable MS Dhoni lost his composure in a match against RR last year, walking out on to the pitch after just having been dismissed, and lashing out at the umpires over a no-ball confusion. It just wasn’t cricket from one of the game’s great role models.
-Even though she did not win many titles, Saina Nehwal still made her presence felt in 2017. The seasoned campaigner won only one title — the Malaysia Masters — in the last 12 months apart from the bronze at the Worlds, her second successive medal at BWF’s biggest event. However, her crowning glory was the straight-game victory over PV Sindhu in the National Championship final. The ace shuttler, who returned to the Gopichand camp in August after a three-year hiatus, will be keen to win a few more titles with the help of the Dronacharya awardee.
+''' BLOODIED BUT NOT OUT bb
-'''SAI PRANEETH'''
+Shane Watson’s knock for CSK in the 2019 IPL final against Mumbai Indians was one for the ages. He batted through the pain barrier and a bloodied left knee. His 59-ball 80 nearly saw CSK pull off a 150-run chase against MI. Watson needed six stitches after the game.
-The supremely talented shuttler lived up to the expectations with two major titles. He started the year by reaching the final of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold tournament. But the biggest victory of his career came in April when he beat title favourite Srikanth in the final to win the Singapore Open Super Series. He also won the Thailand Grand Prix Gold title in June.
+[[Category:Cinema-TV-Pop|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Cricket|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:India|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Law,Constitution,Judiciary|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
-'''HS PRANNOY'''
+=Indian Premier League: The economics of =
+[[File:ipl.jpg|frame|500px]]
+[[File: crick salary.jpg|2016: Salary of retained players; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=02_01_2016_019_003_011&type=P&artUrl=VIRAT-TOP-OF-THE-IPL-PILE-02012016019003&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''] Jan 02 2016|frame|500px]]
-If there was one shuttler who lady luck did not oblige this year, it has to be HS Prannoy. The Kerala shuttler, who is regarded as one of the most deadliest attackers on the circuit, could have won at least two Super Series titles this year. He beat the best in the world, but fortune deserted him at crucial moments. Though he stunned Olympic champ Chen Long and Malaysian great World No.1 Lee Chong Wei, he failed to convert such major victories into titles. However, he helped his friend Srikanth by mowing down these tough nuts. He ended the year with a dominant victory against Srikanth in the National badminton final.
+==Advertising revenues==
+Multi Screen Media (MSM), the official broadcaster of Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought on board a total of eight sponsors for the sixth edition of the Twenty20 tournament, which would help it rake in Rs 200 crore more over last year, after lowering its ad rates by 10-15%. Three more sponsors are expected to join over the next two weeks.
-==June: The rise of Srikanth, Praneeth, Prannoy==
+The presenting sponsors — PepsiCo and Vodafone — have shelled out around Rs 40-60 crore each while the associate sponsors, which include Tata Photon, Karbonn tablets, Godrej, Samsung Mobiles, Panasonic and Usha Appliances, have paid around Rs 25-30 crore each for being seen on the channel during the tournament.
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=RISE-OF-THE-SHUTTLE-MEN-27062017024015  Manne Ratnakar, June 27, 2017: The Times of India]
+MSM is looking to earn Rs 950 crore as advertising revenue from IPL-6, up 27% from Rs 750 crore it garnered last year, a senior executive from the company told TOI.
-Having played second fiddle to Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu for long, India's male shuttlers, led by K Srikanth, have suddenly created big buzz with several stunning international triumphs recently. TOI looks at the phenomenon...
+This will be the first time that the IPL will have three feeds — the regular one on SET max, while Sony Six will broadcast a Hindi feed along with an HD one.
-`Hunting in packs' is the new mantra in Indian men's badminton. The exploits of Kidambi Srikanth, Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy have catapulted Indian badminton to a new high as a group of Indian men have begun dominating men's singles as never before.
+Some of the other sponsors likely to be signed on soon for the tournament, which starts on April 3, are Cadbury and Havells — both have had a long-term association with the IPL. This year, MSM has two presenting sponsors and is expected to close nine associate sponsors, up from only five which it managed last year. The channel has also struck large deals with Coca-Cola, Parle Agro, Marico, Berger Paints and Airtel, besides others, filling 70% of its inventory.
-Led by Srikanth, they have achieved a rare Super Series hat-trick besides notching up title wins in four of the last five big international tournaments.While Srikanth won the Indonesia and Australia Open Super Series titles, Sai bagged the Singapore Super Series and Thailand Grand Prix Gold crowns.
-The support cast too has played a key role in the number of titles won by the Indians. Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap may not have won titles but they had helped their friends by clear ing their path. In Jakarta, Prannoy knocked out the legendary Lee Chong Wei and Olympic champion Chen Long, thereby letting Srikanth negotiate an easier opponent in the final.
+“Last year, we had increased the ad rates but could not sell the entire inventory. Our strategy to reduce rates has worked very well and we have seen the interest levels go up. Advertisers from all sectors are on board this year, signaling a revival in sentiments,” said Rohit Gupta, president, MSM.
-In Australia, Kashyap shut out Indonesia Open finalist Kazumasa Sakai at the qualifying stage itself.
+During 2012, a 10-second ad spot during the IPL had a price tag of Rs 4.5-5.5 lakh, making it a highly premium property. However, reduction in rates has made it far more affordable, said media planners who buy TV airtime for advertisers. “If TV ratings had to fall, it had to fall last year. Now they have stabilized. It is definitely value for money at this rate and with lesser risk,” said Ajit Varghese, MD (South Asia), Maxus, which has bought airtime for telecom major Vodafone.
-The sterling performance of the Indian boys in the last two months have made them one of the most feared gang of shuttlers in the world arena. Interestingly, most of them are in the 22-24 years age group, making them bright prospects for marquee international events which are coming up -like the Olympic and World Championships.
+The IPL reached 170 million eyeballs and clocked an average rating of around 3.27 last year, according to TAM Media Research. MSM’s Gupta said he is expecting the reach to further grow this season. “If there is a big product launch or a new ad campaign, this is a large platform which is a must for any brand. It is a property which is targeted at male audiences, so it works well for brands which directly communicate with this audience group,” said Basabdutta Chowdhury, CEO of Platinum Media, a division of media buying group Madison. This year, soft drink giants PepsiCo is the new title sponsor of the IPL, having paid Rs 396 crore for the next five seasons.
-What makes the scenario even more heartening is that besides these four, there are other talented shuttlers like Ajay Jayaram, Sameer Verma and Sourabh Verma who have been keeping the Indian flag flying.
-Undoubtedly, this is the best phase ever in men's singles for India. Earlier, success in this sphere was limited to Prakash Padukone (All England title in 1980) and Pullela Gopichand (All England title in 2001).
-After the two major titles _ which were separated by more than two decades _ the best feats were Kashyap win ning the Commonwealth Games Gold and Srikanth clinching the China Open Super Series Premier in 2014. Srikanth added the Indian Open Super Series crown in 2015 while the likes of Jayaram and Sai Praneeth claimed Grand Prix Gold titles. But the major push came in last two months.
+[[Category:Cinema-TV-Pop|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
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+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
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+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:India|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
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+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
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-Gone are the days when Indians struggled to clear the qualifying stage and breaking into the top-50 was celebrated as a major feat. Our men are in the elite league now. It has taken years of hard work, sweat, sacrifice and a lot of planning to bring about this transformation. A lot of credit for this turn around has to go to National coach Gopichand.
+=Coaches in IPL=
+==As in Nov==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F11%2F29&entity=Ar02700&sk=512B7DDB&mode=text  Asheem Mukerji, Nov 30, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
-As a player, he faced a series of difficulties, got injured often, found no proper system but still achieved success.Once his career ended, he was determined to build a system. “There was never a dearth of talent in our country .Even during my time we had extremely talented players like Chetan Anand, Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhatt, Nikhil Kanetkar. But what I realised was that all were crafty but lacked fitness, strength, speed and endurance. To get these things we needed to create a group of people around a player. In our days we never had a proper coaching system, no concept of having a physio, nothing like that. These are the basic necessities and thankfully we have created them now,“ Gopichand said.
+''' COACHES IN IPL '''
-Gopichand also realised that the thought process of Indian shuttlers needed to change. “I always used to think different from others. In those days we were told to pick and play small tournaments, win some and improve the rankings. I thought it was wrong. So, I started making Saina (Nehwal) play in Super Series events. We need to believe in ourselves, think big and do what it requires to reach there,“ Gopi said.
+Rajasthan Royals I Indian coaches: 1 (Batting coach: Amol Muzumdar); Foreign coaches: 2 (Head coach: Andrew McDonald-Aus, Fast bowling coach: Steffan Jones-Eng)
-Though Gopi achieved success with the girls _ Saina and PV Sindhu _ it took a while for him to replicate it in men's singles. “Success in women was achieved fast because I got two strong girls in Saina and Sindhu. But it took time for me to build that strength and fitness in men. Another area I succeeded in was converting the success at the junior level to senior stage. I also got an excellent support staff,“ Gopi said.
+Kings XI Punjab I Indian coaches: 1 (Head coach: Anil Kumble); Foreign coaches: 2 (Fast bowling coach: Courtney Walsh-WI, Batting coach: Geaorge Bailey-Aus)
-India have as many as six men in the top-35 of world rankings at present. It's a promising position and if the players keep improving, India can become a global power.
+Delhi Capitals I Indian coaches: 0; Foreign coaches: 3 (Head Coach: Ricky Ponting-Aus, Fast bowling coach: James Hopes-Aus, Spin coach: Samuel Badree-WI)
-With the longevity of shuttlers increasing due to modern training methods, Srikanth & Co will be around for at least another five years during which time they can take Indian badminton to a higher plane. With talented youngsters like Lakshya Sen and Siril Verma waiting in the wings, the future seems to hold exciting prospects for India.
+Kolkata Knight Riders I Indian coaches: 0 Foreign coaches: 3 (Head coach: Brendon McCullum-NZ, Chief mentor: David Hussey-Aus, Bowling coach: Kyle Mills-NZ)
-==June: The male stars==
+Mumbai Indians I Indian Coaches: 1 (Robin Singh); Foreign coaches: 2 (Head coach: Mahela Jayawardene-SL, Bowling coach: Shane Bond-NZ)
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=THE-SHINING-BRIGADE-27062017024026  Jun 27 2017: The Times of India]
+Chennai Super Kings I Indian coaches: 0 Foreign coaches: 3 (Head coach: Stephen Fleming-NZ, Batting coach: Mike Hussey-Aus, Bowling Consultant: Eric Simmons-SA)
-'''KIDAMBI SRIKANTH (24, ranking 11)'''
-The form man of world badminton right now, Srikanth has risen fast to become the poster boy of men's badminton in India. He is expected to be ranked around 5 in the world when the fresh list is announced on Thursday.
+Sunrisers Hyderabad I Indian coaches: 0; Foreign coaches: 1 (Head coach: Trevor Bayliss-Eng)
+Royal Challengers Bangalore I Indian coaches: 0; Foreign coaches: 2 (Head coach: Simon Katich-Aus, Bowling coach: Adam Griffith-Aus)
-'''PARUPALLI KASHYAP (30, ranking 116)'''
+[[Category:Cinema-TV-Pop|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
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+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
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+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
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+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
-He has been the guiding light to all the men's singles shuttlers. His victories at the international level, particularly the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold, gave confidence to others like Srikanth, Prannoy and Sai Praneeth. He was also the first Indian man to reach the Olympic quarterfinals. Kashyap has been fighting injuries in the last two years but is now back on court.
+=Controversies: 2008-16=
+[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/ipl/Controversies-that-have-rocked-IPL/listshow/51820860.cms ''The Times of India''], December 3, 2016
+[[File: Controversies associated with Indian Premier Leage, 2008-2016.jpg| Controversies associated with Indian Premier Leage, 2008-2016; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=14_04_2016_029_017_002&type=P&artUrl=INDIAN-PROBLEM-LEAGUE-14042016029017&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], April 14, 2016|frame|500px]]
-'''HS PRANNOY (24, ranking 21)'''
+.
+: Maharashtra asked to shift IPL matches
-HS Prannoy, who trains at the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, has always been regarded as a very talented shuttler. His big break was the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold title last year.He also created a splash by stunning Olympic gold medallist Cheng Long and silver medallist Lee Chong Wei at the recently Indonesia Open.
-'''AJAY JAYARAM (29, ranking 15)'''
+Bombay High Court asks IPL to shift 13 matches out of Maharashtra due to severe drought in the state.
-Till recently, Ajay Jayaram was the top-ranked Indian men's singles shuttler. Unlucky to miss the London Olympics berth by a whisker, Jayaram won the Dutch Open Grand Prix Gold twice -2014 and 2015. He missed a Dutch hat-trick when he lost in the final last year. Jayaram, who trains under Tom John, also reached the finals of the Korea Open Super Series in 2015.
+.
+: CSK and RR suspended
-'''SAI PRANEETH (24, ranking 16)'''
-His Singapore Open triumph made him only the second Indian after Srikanth to clinch a Super Series title. He made it two titles in a row by claiming the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold as well. The crafty player is expected to pose a major threat to the top shuttlers in the world.
+Supreme Court suspends CSK and RR for two years. Two new teams, Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions, are introduced. Rajasthan Royals’ leggie Pravin Tambe alleges that his Mumbai teammate Hiken Shah had approached him to fix a few games.
-'''SAMEER VERMA (22, ranking 32)'''
+.
+: IPL 7 conducted under Gavaskar’s supervision
-The younger of the Verma brothers, Sameer's best show so far was reaching the final of the Hong Kong Open Super Series in November 2016. The 22-year-old is a hard-working shuttler who defeated Sai Praneeth to win the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title in January this year. His elder brother, Sourabh Verma, who is 24, is ranked 35th in the world and is yet another player to watch out for.
-==August: World Championship, Glasgow==
+The first half of IPL-7 is moved out of India to the UAE due to polls, and by SC orders the event is conducted under ex-captain Sunil Gavaskar. The shifting of the final from Mumbai to Bangalore too causes a furore.
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=SINDHU-GOES-DOWN-FIGHTING-IN-THRILLING-WORLD-FINAL-28082017001052  Aug 28 2017: The Times of India]
-In a first, two Indians finished on the podium. Sindhu -who had earlier won bronze medals at the 2013 and 2014 World Championships -won the silver and Saina a bronze.
+.
+: Betting allegations hit CSK & RR
-==September: Five Indian men in top-20==
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=INDIAFILES-Five-Indian-men-shuttlers-in-top-20-29092017027032   Five Indian men shuttlers in top-20, Sep 29 2017:: The Times of India]
+Delhi Police arrest three Rajasthan Royals players — S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan — on charges of spot-fixing. The scandal overwhelms the IPL when Mumbai police haul up BCCI president N Srinivasan’s son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings’ team principal Gurunath Meiyappan on charges of alleged betting. The Rajasthan Royals face further trouble when Delhi Police level same charges against co-owner and Raj Kundra. Following intervention by the Supreme Court, Srinivasan is eventually eased out after a long-drawn battle.
-Five Indians find themselves in the top-20 of the BWF men's singles rankings with H S Prannoy being the biggest gainer after his quarterfinal showing at the Japan Open. Prannoy has jumped four places to be world no 15 while Kidambi Srikanth, who too lost in the quarterfinals in Japan, remains the highest-ranked Indian male player at eighth. Ajay Jayaram remains at the 20th spot while B Sai Praneeth too has not moved from his position of 17th. Sameer Verma has gained a couple of places to the 19th.
+.
+: Shah Rukh Khan banned from Wankhede Stadium premises
-==November: Sindhu, Srikanth both world’s No. 2==
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Double-joy-Sindhu-and-Srikanth-ranked-No-2-07112017023030  Manne Ratnakar, Double joy: Sindhu and Srikanth ranked No. 2, November 7, 2017: The Times of India]
+A sting operation exposes cricketers willing to bowl no-balls or indulge in under-hand dealings with franchises, leading the BCCI to ban Mohnish Mishra, Shalabh Srivastava, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali. I t leads to an uproar in Parliament to stop IPL. A heated on-field argument between opposition players Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir also makes for ugly viewing. Then, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan is banned from the Wankhede Stadium premises after a scuffle with a Mumbai Cricket Association official. To top it all, RCB cricketer Luke Pomersbach is arrested on charges of molesting an American and assaulting her boyfriend.
-''The rise and rise of the Indian shuttlers has been awe inspiring.''
+.
+: Sunanda Pushkar’s ‘sweat equity’ in Kochi
-Four Super Series title triumphs catapulted Kidambi Srikanth to world No.2. It's a new high for Indian badminton as two shuttlers are currently ranked No.2 in the world, a feat accomplished for the first time.While PV Sindhu reached there a few weeks back, Srikanth joined her.
-Until 2016, the script involved the success stories of Saina Nehwal and Sindhu. Saina's title-winning spree made it look difficult for others to emulate her till Sindhu started winning medals on a bigger stage. Inspired by the girls, the boys took charge in 2017 and collected more than half a dozen titles.
+Just before IPL 3, the governing council brings in two new teams, Sahara Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers, only for Modi to tweet about shady shareholding patterns and reveal Sunanda Pushkar’s ‘sweat equity’ in the Kochi set-up. The controversy forces Pushkar’s husband, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, to resign. Modi too is forced out.
-Srikanth may even become No.1 very soon.
+.
+: IPL 2 shifted to South Africa
-The efforts of coach Pullela Gopichand are responsible for the badminton revolution in the country . But the Dronacharya insisted that the success story is a culmination of a lot of things. “It is a culmination of a lot of things. Each and everybody's contribution is very important. Be it the Sports Authority of India (SAI), government, sponsors, coaches and also senior players like Saina and Kashyap,“ Gopichand said.
-Saina and Kashyap made others believe that success at highest level could be achieved.
+Then home minister P Chidambaram refuses to provide security for IPL 2 because of general elections, leading then-IPL commissioner Lalit Modi to shift the entire tournament to South Africa.
-==November: Prannoy, Saina win national titles==
+.
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Sizzling-Saina-surprises-Sindhu-09112017027001 Suhas Nayse, Sizzling Saina surprises Sindhu, November 9, 2017: The Times of India]
+: Harbhajan slaps Sreesanth.
-[[File: Achievements, Men's singles, Women's singles, Men's doubles, Women's doubles, Mixed doubles, 2017.jpg|Achievements, Men's singles, Women's singles, Men's doubles, Women's doubles, Mixed doubles, 2017 <br/> From: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Sizzling-Saina-surprises-Sindhu-09112017027001 Suhas Nayse, Sizzling Saina surprises Sindhu, November 9, 2017: The Times of India]|frame|500px]]
-[[File: Women's singles final and Men's singles final, some facts, 2017.jpg|Women's singles final and Men's singles final, some facts, 2017 <br/> From: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=09_11_2017_035_014_001&type=P&artUrl=SAINA-BEATS-P-V-SINDHU-PRANNOY-STUNS-SRIKANTH-09112017035014&eid=31808  November 9, 2017: The Times of India]|frame|500px]]
+Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh slaps India teammate S Sreesanth in Mohali and is banned, creating a furore.
-'''See also:'''
+==Spot fixing case: 2013==
+[[File: Some details, Players involved in IPL-spot fixing.jpg|Some details: Players involved in IPL-spot fixing; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=26_07_2015_001_043_012&type=P&artUrl=Watertight-fixing-case-full-of-holes-Sree-Chandila-26072015001043&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], July 25, 2015|frame|500px]]
-''Achievements, Men's singles, Women's singles, Men's doubles, Women's doubles, Mixed doubles, 2017''
+[[File: A timeline, spot-fixing in IPL, May 2013-July 2015.jpg| A timeline: Spot-fixing in IPL, May 2013-July 2015; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=26_07_2015_021_037_002&type=P&artUrl=SPOT-FIXING-TIMELINE-HOW-THE-CASE-AGAINST-RR-26072015021037&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], July 25, 2015|frame|500px]]
-''Women's singles final and Men's singles final, some facts, 2017''
+''See the graphics''
+Players involved in IPL-spot fixing
-'''Back With Coach Gopi, Nehwal Claims Third National Title; Prannoy Shocks Srikanth For Maiden Crown'''
+and
-Form and rankings went for a toss as Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy stunned hot favourites PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth to emerge champions in the 82nd Senior National Badminton Championship.
+A timeline: Spot-fixing in IPL, May 2013-July 2015
+==Dhoni on the suspension of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIM%2F2019%2F03%2F22&entity=Ar01800&sk=98D30305&mode=text    ‘WHAT WAS THE PLAYERS’ MISTAKE?’| But Captain Dhoni Admits CSK Erred During 2013 Fixing Saga| March 2019 | PTI]
-The packed stadium with around ten thousand spectators at the Divisional Sports Complex witnessed some spectacular badminton from the country's premier shuttlers which kept them on the edge of their seats till the last point of the week-long tournament.
-The dream summit clash between Saina and Sindhu lived up to expectations with both the players slugging it out for each point resulting in long and pulsating rallies.
+In July 2015, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended from the cash-rich league for two years for betting activities by their key officials Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra during the 2013 season.
-Saina, seeded second, proved a point or two to her detractors by upsetting top seed Sindhu 21-17, 27-25 in 54 minutes to clinch her third title. The 27-year-old thus maintained her perfect record in the Nationals with three titles in as many appearances.
+While Dhoni agreed that then BCCI chief N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Meiyappan was part of the team setup, he said, in what capacity, is open to debate.
-Incidentally , she marked her comeback to the Nationals after a gap of almost ten years with the crown. As a teenager, she had triumphed at Goa in 2008 where she had defended the title she had won for the first time at Patna in 2007.
+“Initially, when Guru’s name came up, (we knew) he was part of the team, all said and done. But in what capacity, that is debatable. Was he the owner, the team principal, the motivator... what exactly was he?
-Saina was fully fired up while taking on Sindhu as she made swift movements to jump to a comfortable lead in the first game. Besides excellent court coverage, the world No. 11 executed several bodyline smashes which Sindhu found too hot to handle. Sindhu reduced the deficit in the end but could not stop Saina pocketing the first game at 21-17.
+“I don’t know if anyone from the franchise introduced Guru to us as the owner... we all knew him as the son-in-law.”
-Stunned by the reversal, Sindhu bounced back gallantly in the second game. Although the scores were al most equal at the start, Sindhu surged ahead by three points and looked set to restore the parity.
+What mistake did the players make, asked Mahendra Singh Dhoni, opening up on a phase of life made “most difficult and depressing” by the 2013 IPL fixing scandal. Dhoni broke his silence in a docudrama aptly titled Roar of the Lion, which focuses on the scandal that rocked Indian cricket and the ensuing fairy tale comeback by Chennai Super Kings following a two-year suspension for its management’s role in spot-fixing.
-However, Saina was in no mood to let it go. She fought back like a true fighter and saved a couple of game points to stop Sindhu. Sindhu too was equally determined to take the match into the decider. After six deuces, Saina finally managed to convert her sixth match point.
+Dhoni, who led the CSK to three IPL titles, said they knew a “harsh punishment” was on the cards.
-At 26-25, both the players were engaged in another long rally , keeping the entire crowd breathless. After around twenty strokes, Sindhu fai led to return one of Saina's sharp half-shashes and hit the shuttle in the net as Saina punched the air in jubilation.
+“We did deserve the punishment but the only thing is the quantum of the punishment. Finally we got to know that CSK will be banned for two years. There was a mixed feeling that time. Because you take a lot of things personally and, as a captain, question what did the team do wrong,” Dhoni stated.
-Saina thanked her support staff and coach Pullela Gopichand for the turnaround in her fortunes. “I am surprised with the way I played today .I moved well and picked Sindhu's difficult shots. It was a great match and I am glad that I could finish it off in two games. I would like to thank all the support staff and Gopi Sir for working hard on me in the last couple of months,“ an elated Saina told TOI af ter the final.
+“Yes there was mistake from our side (the franchise) but were the players involved in this? What mistake did we, as players, do to go through all of that?”
-Earlier, the men's singles final bet ween Srikanth and Prannoy also saw a big upset. Second seeded Prannoy edged out top seed and world No. 2 Sri e kanth 21-15, 16-21, 21-7 in a battle which lasted 50 minutes. It was a special mo . ment for Prannoy as he had never won any National title in any age group.I Prannoy celebrated his first entry o into the final in style by overcoming e the stiff challenge from his regular practice partner. The Kerala youngs ter also avenged his defeat to Srikanth in the semifinal of the French Open Super Series a few days back.
+Recalling the torrid time when insinuations and allegations flew thick and fast, Dhoni said fixing a match requires the involvement of the majority of players.
-Ashwini Ponnappa bagged a double crown by claiming women's doubles and mixed doubles titles. Top seeds Ashwini and N Sikki Reddy stopped the giant-killing run of unseeded Maharashtra pair of Sanyogita Ghorpade and Prajakta Sawant in the women's doubles final.
+“They started showcasing in the media or social media as if the team was involved. Is it possible (in cricket)? Yes it is possible, anyone can do spot-fixing. Umpires can do that, batsmen can, bowlers can... but match-fixing needs the involvement of the majority of the players.”
-In the mixed doubles final, Ashwini teamed up with teenager Satiwik Sai Raj to annex the mixed doubles final. The new combination shocked top seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra-N Sikki Reddy 21-9, 20-22, 21-17.
+=The IPL numbers=
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=LIKE-A-ROW-BEFORE-A-BIG-FILMS-RELEASE-15072015034007 ''The Times of India'']
-==November: China Open: loses singles quarterfinal==
+==IPL broadcast rights==
-[http://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIM%2F2017%2F11%2F18&entity=Ar03014&sk=69090E06&mode=text  Suhas Nayse, Defending champ Sindhu stunned, November 18, 2017: ''The Times of India'']
+In 2008, the consortium of India's Sony Television network and the Singaporebased World Sports Group (WSG) had secured the rights of the IPL for ten years at a cost of more than $1 billion.As part of the deal, the consortium would pay the BCCI $908 million for the telecast rights and $108 million for the promotion of the tournament. However, in a reworked deal next year, BCCI signed a new deal with MSMPL (Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd) and World Sport Group (WSG) for Rs 8,200 crore with 80% of the amount to come from MSMPL. Later WSG exited the deal after a one-time payoff.
-Defending champion PV Sindhu found Chinese teenager Fangjie Gao too hot to handle and bowed out of the China Open Super Series Premier badminton in Fuzhou on Friday.
+==IPL title rights==
-Nineteen-year-old Gao shattered the hopes of Sindhu with a clinical 21-11, 21-10 win in a one-sided women’s singles quarterfinal. Throughout the 38-minute encounter, Sindhu never looked in control and was completely surprised by the qualifier ranked 89th in the world.
+DLF had bought the title rights of the IPL for five years in 2008 for Rs 200 crore.In 2013, Pepsi bid for the rights for the next five years and won it at Rs 396 crore.
+===2017-22: Vivo pays Rs 2,199 crore===
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Value-of-IPL-title-rights-surges-455-as-28062017001045  K ShriniwasRao, Value of IPL title rights surges 455% as Vivo shells out Rs 2,200cr, June 28, 2017: The Times of India]
-Aiming to defend the title, Sindhu’s bid was foiled by an inspired local girl, regarded as one of the most promising shuttlers in China after the era of three Wangs and Olympic champion Li Xuerui.
+[[File: Title Rights, Indian Premier League.jpg|Title Rights, Indian Premier League; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=28_06_2017_029_045_007&type=P&artUrl=Renewal-of-a-fruitful-IPL-relationship-28062017029045&eid=31808 June 28, 2017: The Times of India]|frame|500px]]
-==November: Lost in Hong kong Super Series==
+''See graphic, '' 'Title Rights, Indian Premier League'
-[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/badminton/pv-sindhu-loses-in-hong-kong-open-super-series-final/articleshow/61805193.cms  November 26, 2017: ''The Times of India'']
-PV Sindhu's gallant fight ended in agony as she suffered a second successive loss to world no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei at the summit clash of the $400,000 Hong Kong Super Series.
-Playing her fifth straight tournament, Sindhu, who had a 3-7 head-to-head record against Tai before the match, never lacked in fitness and fought throughout the match before going down 18-21 18-21 to the defending champion in a 44-minute women's singles final.
+Cricket administration may be going through turbulent times in India, but the game's fortunes continue to prosper in a manner that defies imagination .
-This is Sindhu's second loss in the four finals that she reached this season. She had lost to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara at the World Championship final, while clinched two titles at India and Korea this year.
+Chinese mobile-maker Vivo retained the Indian Premier League (IPL) title rights for the next five years at Rs 2,199 crore, a 455% increase over the previous contract. Vivo had taken over the rights from PepsiCo from the 2015 season onwards after the latter expressed its inability to continue with its Rs 396 crore deal for five years. Pepsi had bought the title rights from the 2013 season onwards after IPL's first-ever title rights deal worth Rs 200 crore for five years  signed in 2008 with real estate company DLF  ended post the 2012 season.
-In the opening game which lasted 21 minutes, Tai moved to a 3-0 lead early on before Sindhu made a good judgement at the baseline to log the first points. However, Tai unleashed her wide repertoire of strokes and varied the pace well to lead 7 -2.
-Sindhu then started to dominate the rallies by using her deep clears and drew the Taiwanese close to the net. She used her reach to catch the shuttle early and placed it in difficult positions to narrow the deficit to 6-7.
+Breaking it down on a per year basis, the value of IPL's title rights has soared from Rs 40 crore annually (Rs 200 crore from 2008-2012) to Rs 79.2 crore (Rs 396 crore for 2013-2017)  to Rs 439.8 crore (Rs 2199 crore for 2018-2022). Or, to put it another way, the value doubled after the first five years of IPL and shot up another five times in the following five years.Vivo's competitor and another major Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Oppo, bid Rs 1430 crore  Rs 769 crore less than what Vivo brought to the table. Oppo had beaten Vivo in March this year when it went on to grab the jersey rights of the Indian cricket team  men, women, seniors and juniors  for Rs 1,079 crore, a four-fold increase over the previous deal with Star India. Interestingly, Vivo and Oppo are owned by the same Chinese company -BBK Electronics -which also owns the OnePlus mobile brand.
-A deceptive net return gave Tai a point. The Taiwanese then produced a smash on the deep backhand corner of Sindhu and moved to 10-7. Sindhu unleashed a body smash to perfection before Tai's flat straight return bamboozled the Indian.
+“We received an overwhelming response for the title sponsorship rights and we are glad to have Vivo back on board. It is a renewal of a fruitful relationship with the brand that will extend for the next five years,“ BCCI's acti n g s e c re t a r y A m i t ab h Choudhary said.
-At the break, the Taiwan had a three point advantage.
+Chinese mobile companies, which dominate the phone industry across the world outside of giants Apple and Samsung's considerable clout, have clearly found cricket to be the ideal platform to showcase their wares. Market sources credit the `invasion' to the incomparable popularity of cricket in the country, one that can be equated with football in Europe and baseball in the Americas merely for the eyeballs it manages to generate.
-After the breather ,Tai committed a couple of unforced errors at both the flanks, while Sindhu came up with a backhand return near the net to reduce the margin to 10-13 but Tai quickly recovered to extend her domination to 16-13.
+=Valuation of the IPL=
+==2014-19==
+[[File: The valuation of the IPL (2014-19) and its franchises (2019).jpg|The valuation of the IPL (2014-19) and its franchises (2019) <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F03%2F04&entity=Ar02700&sk=B0C28AE8&mode=text  K. Shriniwas Rao, March 4, 2020: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Sindhu tried to anticipate her deceptive rival and put Tai in awkward positions a few times, but she hit long or at the net to allow the Taiwanese lead 18-14.
+'''See graphic''':
-A gritty Sindhu, however, kept breathing down her neck and soon clawed back at 18-18.
-During the next rally, the string of the Sindhu's racquet broke and Tai unleashed a smash which left the Indian frustrated. Tai produced another smash on Sindhu backhand to move to game point. She then grabbed the opening game after winning a video referral when her shuttle landed on the line.
+'' The valuation of the IPL (2014-19) and its franchises (2019) ''
-In the second game, Sindhu was left to deal with some indecision due to the sidewise drift which gave early advantage to Tai but the gritty Indian levelled the score at 4-4 with a superb return at her rival's forehand.
+[[Category:Cinema-TV-Pop|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Cricket|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:India|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Law,Constitution,Judiciary|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
-The duo moved to 7-7 before Tai hit wide and lost a referral too.
+=IPL jinxed for team owners?=
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=IPL-star-crossed-Team-owners-hit-by-bad-17072015001032 ''The Times of India''], Jul 17 2015
+[[File: Some notable IPL team owners.jpg|Some notable IPL team owners; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=IPL-star-crossed-Team-owners-hit-by-bad-17072015001032 ''The Times of India''], July 17, 2015|frame|500px]]
-Sindhu produced a overhead backhand flick, a deceptive return at the forecourt and another smash to move to 10-7 before entering the lemon break with a two-point advantage when Tai found the net.
+K ShriniwasRao
-However, Tai dominated the proceedings after the interval, despite a fighting Sindhu trying to snap at her heels.
-The Indian lost a referral and then failed to retrieve a shot at the forecourt as Tai led 12-11.
+A leading Mumbai businessman, once interested in buying an Indian Premier League franchise today wants nothing to do with the glamorous cricket league. He believes IPL is bringing bad luck to team owners.
+Dramatic as it may sound, a quick look at where the owners have landed up post their IPL buys tends to lend credence to this expression of superstition. The businessman was insistent: “Vijay Mallya, Subrata Roy , Venkattram Reddy , the Maran brothers, even Lalit Modi -just look where they are.Isn't it eerie?“ As facts go, the businessman isn't off the mark. Subrata Roy is in jail, Reddy was ar rested, Mallya is in trouble with the authorities, Maranowned Sun TV is having prob lems with the home ministry over security clearances, Lalit Modi is wanted by ED, and Sunanda Pushkar is dead. Even love has gone missing from Ness Wadia and Pre ity Zinta's lives. And N Srinivasan has lost his prized BCCI president's chair.
-At 13-12, Sindhu was not allowed a video referral by the line judge and after that the match slipped away from the Indian even as Tai produced a stroke on Sindhu's forehand to perfection. With the Indian failing to finish the rallies, it allowed Tai to lead 17-12.
+Wait, not just Srinivasan.His son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, a mere cricket enthusiast according to his father-inlaw, has been pulled up by the Supreme Court for talking to bookmakers and banned for life from cricket. Ditto with another part owner, Raj Kundra of Rajasthan Royals.
-Another weak return by Sindhu and Tai was leading 18-12. The Indian produced a cross court smash to break the rhythm, but she again hit long. Tai faltered at the net and then miscued a lift from the front court. She then hit long as Sindhu conjured up hopes of a turn around, moving to 16-19.
+Those who have bucked the trend are movie star Shah Rukh Khan, India's biggest businessman Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita, and the Delhi franchisee GMR.
-However, a long rally ensued which ended with Sindhu's lift going long and Tai earned the match point at 20-16. Sindhu saved two match points before a perfect drop shot from Tai sealed the title for the Chinese Taipei shuttler.
+Heck, the league itself is now in massive trouble. The judgment delivered by the SC-appointed Justice Lodha committee has reduced the IPL to just six teams of which, again, some are in serious financial trouble.
-==2017, Dec. rankings==
+T Venkattram Reddy, the strapping boss of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, from Hyderabad, lost his team Deccan Chargers after cases of financial fraud with several banks began surfacing post 2011.
-[http://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2017%2F12%2F08&entity=Ar03116&sk=0E6FFC09&mode=text  Srikanth fourth in rankings, December 8, 2017: ''The Times of India'']
+And the owners who replaced the team in Hyderabad  Maran Brothers of Sun TV  are also struggling. Once the eyes and ears of former DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the Chennai media barons are no longer politically protected.Apart from the cloud over their TV channels, they have had to sell their airline SpiceJet back to the original promoter.
-Kidambi Srikanth improved a rung to be at the 4th position, while promising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen entered the World top 100 after jumping 19 places to reach the 89th spot in the latest BWF ranking.HS Prannoy and B Sai Praneeth were static at the 10th place and 17th spots respectively. In women’s singles, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal retained their third and 10th places respectively.
+Is this the reason why Parth Jindal of Bangalore-based JSW Group doesn't want to get into the IPL?
+=YEAR-WISE HISTORY=
+=2013-14=
+[[File: IPL 2013.jpg|IPL: 2013; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=15_07_2015_034_007_009&type=P&artUrl=LIKE-A-ROW-BEFORE-A-BIG-FILMS-RELEASE-15072015034007&eid=31808 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+[[File: IPL 2014-2015.jpg|IPL: 2014-2015; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=15_07_2015_034_007_009&type=P&artUrl=LIKE-A-ROW-BEFORE-A-BIG-FILMS-RELEASE-15072015034007&eid=31808 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+See graphics
+IPL: 2013
+IPL: 2014-2015
+=2016=
+[[File: The IPL auction of Feb 2016, the main buys.jpg| The IPL auction of Feb 2016: The main buys; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=07_02_2016_001_045_002&type=P&artUrl=Watson-top-buy-but-rookie-Indians-story-of-07022016001045&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], February 7, 2016|frame|500px]]
+[[File: IPL, 2016, some factual information.jpg|IPL, 2016, some facts; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=IPL-2016-FAST-FACTS-31052016027058 ''The Times of India''], May 31, 2016|frame|500px]]
+See graphics
+The IPL auction of Feb 2016: The main buys
+IPL, 2016, some facts
+=2017=
+==Players retained and offloaded==
+[[File: Players retained and released, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore.jpg|Players retained and released, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=IPL-2017-BIG-NAMES-OFFLOADED-BY-TEAMS-20122016024012 ''The Times of India''], December 20, 2016|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Players retained and released, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune supergiants.jpg|Players retained and released, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune supergiants; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=IPL-2017-BIG-NAMES-OFFLOADED-BY-TEAMS-20122016024012 ''The Times of India''], December 20, 2016|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Players retained and released, Gujarat Lions and Kings Xi Punjab.jpg|Players retained and released, Gujarat Lions and Kings Xi Punjab; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=IPL-2017-BIG-NAMES-OFFLOADED-BY-TEAMS-20122016024012 ''The Times of India''], December 20, 2016|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Players retained and released, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians.jpg|Players retained and released, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=IPL-2017-BIG-NAMES-OFFLOADED-BY-TEAMS-20122016024012 ''The Times of India''], December 20, 2016|frame|500px]]
+[[File: The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time India XI.jpg|The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time India XI; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=20_04_2017_022_015_001&type=P&artUrl=LEAGUE-OF-CHAMPIONS-THE-GREATEST-IPL-TEAMS-OF-20042017022015&eid=31808 The Times of India], April 20, 2017 |frame|500px]]
+[[File: The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time international players XI.jpg|The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time international players XI; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=20_04_2017_022_015_001&type=P&artUrl=LEAGUE-OF-CHAMPIONS-THE-GREATEST-IPL-TEAMS-OF-20042017022015&eid=31808 The Times of India], April 20, 2017 |frame|500px]]
+[[File: The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time international players XI 2.jpg|The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time international players XI; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=20_04_2017_022_015_001&type=P&artUrl=LEAGUE-OF-CHAMPIONS-THE-GREATEST-IPL-TEAMS-OF-20042017022015&eid=31808 The Times of India], April 20, 2017|frame|500px]]
+See graphics,
+Players retained and released, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore
+Players retained and released, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune supergiants
+Players retained and released, Gujarat Lions and Kings Xi Punjab
+Players retained and released, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians
+The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time India XI
+The greatest IPL players of all time (till April 2017), All-time international players XI
+==The 2017 auctions==
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=TOP-10-BUYS-IPL-USHERS-IN-ENGLISH-SUMMER-21022017025030  Manuja Veerappa, Feb 21 2017: The Times of India]
+'''Stokes Sets League Record As Highest-Paid Foreign Player; Mills, Woakes Too Cash In'''
+England's cricketers dominated proceedings and extracted the maximum from franchises as aspirants went under the hammer in the 10th edition of the IPL auction. Leading the pack was allrounder Ben Stokes, 25, who became the most expensive overseas IPL player when he was snapped up by Pune for Rs. 14.50 crore.
+Stokes' teammate Tymal Mills was the next big gainer at Rs 12 crore. Starting off at a base price of Rs 50 lakh, the left-arm pacer saw aggressive bidding from Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB, looking to fill the void left by Mitchell Starc, splurged on the 24-year-old, a T20 specialist who is expected to be available through the league.
+Another English player to come at a hefty price was all-rounder Chris Woakes, who went to Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 4.2 crore while his T20 skipper Eoin Morgan (Rs 2 crore) found a buyer in Punjab.
+Although the teams had 354 players to choose from, only 160 came into the main auction. While the dominance of the England players was expected, the eye-popping figures was surprising since most of them would be available only during the league stage.
+The other big foreign buys were Kagiso Rabada (SA, Delhi Daredevils, Rs 5 cr), Trent Boult (NZ, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rs 5 cr), Pat Cummins (Aus, Delhi Daredevils, Rs 4.5 cr) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (Aus, KKR, Rs 3.5cr).
+It was a windfall for domestic cricketers too, led by all-rounder Karn Sharma. The top pick in 2014 (Rs 3.8 crore) emerged the highest paid Indian this time with Mumbai Indians spending Rs 3.2 crore on him. He was followed by Tamil Nadu pacer T Natarajan (Rs 3 crore, Kings XI Punjab). Off the maximum 77 players, including 29 overseas who could be picked, 66 players found teams on the day, 27 of them being foreign cricketers. Pune looked like they had an expensive shopping list and spent Rs 17.2 crore off the Rs 17.5 crore in their kitty on buying nine cricketers.
+In contrast, Gujarat Lions barely loosened their purse strings, spending a mere Rs 3.85 crore off the Rs 14.35 crore they had. But they still managed to take home 11 players with Jason Roy (England) at Rs 1 crore being their most expensive purchase.
+In a first, two Afghans and one UAE player Chirag Suri will be handed their maiden IPL contracts. It is the only instance of Associate players being picked after Ryan ten Doeschate of Holland.
+Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad welcomed the Afghans -Rashid Khan Arman and Mohammed Nabi. Arman, the 18-year-old leggie who made his international debut in 2015, went for a jaw-dropping Rs 4 crore (base price: 50 lakh) with the VVS Laxman-mentored SRH winning the bidding war with Mumbai Indians. All-rounder Nabi, on the other hand, had to settle for his base price of Rs 30 lakh. Suri, went to Gujarat for his base price of Rs 10 lakh.
+Prior to Stokes going under the hammer, the proceedings at the auction resembled the lull before a storm. Even before auctioneer Richard Madley could finish announcing Stokes' name, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians raised the paddle.
+While RCB pulled out at the Rs 4-crore mark, Delhi Daredevils jumped into the fray at Rs 4.20 crore and dropped out soon after. Mumbai, who came into the auction with a purse Rs. 11.555 crore, stretched themselves until Rs 10 crore.
+===The surprise omissions of Feb 2017===
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=SURPRISE-MISSES-21022017025042  Feb 21 2017, The Times of India]
+'''NO TAKERS FOR TAHIR, ISHANT SHARMA'''
+ISHANT SHARMA He is the highest-ranked bowler in ODIs and T20s, but South African spinner Imran Tahir failed to find buyers at Monday's auction. Tahir has 29 wickets in three IPL seasons since 2014 and had formed a lethal combination with Amit Mishra for Delhi Daredevils last season. Also missing the IPL bus were India pacer Ishant Sharma, Windies all-rounder
+Jason Holder and Aussies Brad Haddin and Nathan Lyon.
+'''LIST OF ESTABLISHED NAMES WHICH WERE IGNORED:'''
+Ishant Sharma (2cr), Jason Holder (1.5cr), Brad Haddin (1.5cr), Nathan Lyon (1.5cr), Jonny Bairstow (1.5cr), Kyle Abbott (1.5cr), Alex Hales (1cr), Marlon Samuels (1cr), Ross Taylor (50L), Irfan Pathan (50L), Brad Hogg (50L), Mitchell Santner (50L), Imran Tahir (50L), Ish Sodhi (30L).In brackets: Base price
+===The surprise omissions of Feb 2017/ 2===
+The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys
+[[File: The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys 1.jpg|The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=21_02_2017_025_030_010&type=P&artUrl=TOP-10-BUYS-IPL-USHERS-IN-ENGLISH-SUMMER-21022017025030&eid=31808 The Times of India]|frame|500px]]
+[[File: The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys 2.jpg|The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=21_02_2017_025_030_010&type=P&artUrl=TOP-10-BUYS-IPL-USHERS-IN-ENGLISH-SUMMER-21022017025030&eid=31808 The Times of India]|frame|500px]]
+[[File: How the teams stack up after the Feb 2017 auction.jpg| How the teams stack up after the Feb 2017 auction; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=NUMBER-CRUNCHING-21022017025050 The Times of India], Feb 21, 2017|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Unknown Indian players who made it big at the Feb 2017 auctions.jpg|Unknown Indian players who made it big at the Feb 2017 auctions; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=UNKNOWN-INDIAN-HITS-21022017025053 The Times of India], Feb 21, 2017|frame|500px]]
+'''See graphics'''
+The IPL auction of Feb 2017, The main buys (1 and 2)
+How the teams stack up after the Feb 2017 auction
+Unknown Indian players who made it big at the Feb 2017 auctions
+==2017/ IPL- 10==
+[[File: The highlights of IPL- 10, 2017.jpg| The highlights of IPL- 10, 2017 ; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=22_05_2017_001_059_002&type=P&artUrl=MUMBAI-PULL-OFF-SUPER-WIN-LIFT-IPL-TROPHY-22052017001059&eid=31808 The Times of India], May 22, 2017|frame|500px]]
+''' See graphic. ''' The highlights of IPL- 10, 2017
+===Did high player salaries result in success?===
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=MONEY-ALONE-CANT-WIN-YOU-GAMES-23052017019017  Manuja Veerappa, May 23, 2017:  The Times of India]
+'''See graphic'''
+[[File:Crorepatis, how they fared, IPL-10, 2017.jpg|Crorepatis, how they fared, IPL-10, 2017; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=MONEY-ALONE-CANT-WIN-YOU-GAMES-23052017019017 The Times of India], May 23, 2017, Manuja Veerappa|frame|500px]]
+'''IPL-10: Some Investments Went Down The Drain Although A Few Teams Used Their Big Buys Well'''
+If Tymal Mills' IPL performance is measured by his bid price, then each of the five wickets he claimed for Royal Challengers Bangalore came with a mindboggling tag of Rs 2.40 crore! The England pacer, who at Rs 12 crore was the second costliest player at IPL-10, did not do anything extraordinary in the five appearances he made for his franchise.
+A T20 specialist, Mills was among the 21 players who hit pay dirt after being picked for a crore or more at the auction held in February . While Ben Stokes (Rising Pune Supergiant) was the costliest at Rs 14.5 crore, others like M Ashwin (Delhi Daredevils), Dan Christian (Rising Pune Supergiant) and Pawan Negi (RCB) earned Rs 1 crore each at the auction.While a few justified their price tags, some disappointed, while the others returned home after being benched through the season.
+Stokes and Christian were Pune's main picks at the auction and wise ones at that.Stokes was at the heart of Pune's campaign in the 12 matches he played before joining the England team. Electric and quick as a fielder, the all-rounder claimed 12 wickets at an average of 26.33 and scored 316 runs including an unbeaten century (103 n.o.). His presence in the Pune dressing room turned out to be invaluable for the team. Likewise, Christian with 11 wickets from 13 matches didn't do badly either.
+Apart from Pune, the teams for whom investment in crorepati players turned out to be profitable were Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
+The pace trio of Trent Boult (Rs 5cr), Chris Woakes (Rs 4.2cr) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (Rs 3.5cr) was Kolkata's top buys of the season.While Boult wasn't in peak form, Woakes turned out to be the bowling trump card for Kolkata, picking up 17 wickets in 13 matches.Coulter-Nile too fared well with 15 wickets from eight outings including his three-for in the Eliminator against Hyderabad.
+Afghan spinner Rashid Khan and pacer M Siraj didn't disappoint Hyderabad. A Rs 2-crore investment in veteran Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson proved to be a game-changer for Mumbai, who were also rewarded for their faith in Karn Sharma (Rs 3.2cr), who saw them through to the final with his tidy bowling. In contrast, Karnataka's spin bowler K Gowtham, who created a buzz after attracting a Rs 2-crore bid, didn't get to play even a game for Mumbai.
 =2018=
-== BWF World Tour==
+==The auction==
-=== Saina loses to Tzu Ying in QF===
+'''See graphics''':
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F27&entity=Ar03320&sk=A7C55700&mode=text  October 27, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+''Some facts about the teams and players in IPL, January 2018 (Day 1 and day 2)''
+''Top buys for IPL, January 2018 (Day 1 and day 2)''
+[[File: Some facts about the teams and players in IPL, January 2018.jpg|Some facts about the teams and players in IPL, January 2018 (Day 1 and day 2) <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F29&entity=Ar02302&sk=6AF1DD5C&mode=text  Manuja Veerappa, January 2018:  ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Olympic medallist Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal’s impressive run at the French Open ended with yet another loss to World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying, this time at the quarterfinals of the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament here on Friday.
+[[File: Top buys for IPL, January 2018 (both days).jpg|Top buys for IPL, January 2018 (Day 1 and day 2) <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F29&entity=Ar02302&sk=6AF1DD5C&mode=text  Manuja Veerappa, January 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Saina looked in good touch initially but couldn’t match the pace of Tzu Ying later on to squander four game points and lose the opening game. She was no match to her rival in the second and eventually went down 20-22, 11-21 in the quarterfinals here.
+===The main deals/ 1===
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F28&entity=Ar02719&sk=050F05AF&mode=text Manuja Veerappa, Stokes leads IPL crorepati club,  January 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-It was Saina’s 12th straight defeat to the Chinese Taipei shuttler, who showed incredible temperament and determination to seal the contest after being 9-16 and 16-20 down in the opening game. Tzu Ying now has an overwhelming 14-5 head-to-head record against Saina.
+[[File: Big names that went unsold, 2018.jpg|Big names that went unsold, 2018 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F28&entity=Ar02719&sk=050F05AF&mode=text Manuja Veerappa, Stokes leads IPL crorepati club,  January 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Earlier, PV Sindhu advanced to the quarterfinals with a straight-game win over Japan’s Sayaka Sato but B Sai Praneeth crashed out in men’s singles on Thursday night. Sindhu, seeded third, dished out a compact game to outwit Sayaka 21-17, 21-16 in a second round match on Thursday to set up a clash with seventh seeded Chinese He Bingjiao.
+'''See graphic''':
-However, Praneeth was no match for Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, going down 16-21, 14-21 in a men’s singles match.
+''Big names that went unsold, 2018''
-The men’s doubles pairs of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy too put up a good show, progressing to the quarterfinals with straight game wins.
-==China Open World Tour==
+'''Englishman Rakes In Rs 12.5 Crore; Jackpot For Rahul & Pandey Too'''
-=== Srikanth advances; Prannoy bows out===
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F09%2F20&entity=Ar02720&sk=850D6959&mode=text  Suhas Nayse, Satwiksairaj-Ashwini Pair Moves Up, September 21, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+Many Indian Premier League dreams took flight and a few were crushed as a virtual conveyor belt of 110 established stars and littleknown players went under the hammer on Saturday, the opening day of the two-day IPL mega auction.
-A day after Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy knocked out world No. 13 Chinese Taipei pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa stunned world No. 12 pair of Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith of England in the China Open World Tour Super 1000 tournament in Changzhou.
+Like last year, England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who went for Rs. 14.5 crore in 2017, hit paydirt as Rajasthan Royals snapped him up for a whopping Rs 12.5 crore, making him the most expensive buy of the day and most likely of the auction. A pending case against him made no difference to the Englishman’s market value as Chennai Super Kings made the first charge followed by Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders before Rajasthan Royals jumped into the bidding war at the Rs 12-crore mark.
-Reigning national mixed doubles champions Satwiksairaj and Ashwini overcame a mid-match slump to edge out Commonwealth Games silver medallists Ellis and Smith 21-13, 20-22, 21-17.
+Asked about the availability of Stokes, Ranjit Barthakur, chairman and CEO of Royals, said, “As far as we are concerned, the ECB has cleared him for auction; he’s legally available, therefore we’ve bid for him. He’s a very important part. We’re trying to build the team and an all-rounder is absolutely important.”
-Kidambi Srikanth overcame a late fightback from Rasmus Gemke to post a 21-9, 21-19 win in the men’s singles first round. In a first match between the two players, seventh seed Srikanth ousted Denmark’s Gemke, ranked 23 in the world, with brilliant display.
+Stokes was followed by KL Rahul and Manish Pandey. The batting talents from Karnataka commanded a mind-boggling Rs 11 crore each which Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad paid with glee. Mitchell Starc (KKR, Rs 9.40cr), Rashid Khan (SRH; Rs 9cr) and R Ashwin (KXIP; Rs. 7.60cr) were the top bowlers to earn the mega bucks.
-The 2014 champion will now lock horns with Suppanyu Avihingsanon of Thailand for a spot in the quarters. The Thai player is world No. 28 and Srikanth has a perfect 2-0 record against him. But they havent’s faced each other since 2013 Malaysia GP Gold.
+'''UNCAPPED PLAYERS CALL THE SHOTS'''
-Srikanth’s practice partner HS Prannoy failed to clear the first round hurdle. The national champion lost to eighth seed Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong 16-21, 12-21.
+As many as 40 uncapped cricketers from India and abroad were paraded. Of them, 19 hit the jackpot, with the price soaring beyond the Rs 1-crore mark. Krunal Pandya (base price Rs 40 lakh) was the biggest gainer among them, taking home a cool Rs 8.8 cr from his home team Mumbai Indians who exercised the RTM privilege even as teams like Bangalore, Royals and Hyderabad engaged in a bidding war for the all-rounder. Even as RCB sealed the deal, Mumbai owners pulled out the RTM card.
-In a big upset, Gao Fangjie of China upset world No. 1 and top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-16 in 37 minutes.
+Jofra Archer, the 22-year-old medium-pacer from West Indies was the other big gainer on the day as Royals snapped him up for Rs 7.20 crore. Another overseas uncapped crorepati was D’Arcy Short, the 27-year-old lefthanded batsman-spinner from Australia also going to Royals. Both players have had a golden run at the ongoing Australian Big Bash League.
-INDIAN RESULTS (Round 1) Men’s singles: 7-Kidambi Srikanth bt Rasmus Gemke (Denmark) 21-9, 21-19; HS Prannoy lost to 8-Ng Ka Long Angus (Hong Kong) 16-21, 12-21; Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty lost to Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (Malaysia) 19-21, 20-22; Women’s doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa-N Sikki Reddy lost to Kim So Yeong-Kong Hee Yong (Korea) 10-21, 18-21; Mixed doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa bt Marcus Ellis-Lauren Smith (England) 21-13, 20-22, 21-17.
+U-19 stars Kamlesh Nagarkoti (Rs 3.2 crore), Shubman Gill (Rs. 1.8 cr), Prithvi Shaw (Rs. 1.2 cr) too joined the elite crorepati club.
-===Sindhu, Srikanth reach quarters===
+'''SOME STARS GET COLD SHOULDER'''
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F09%2F21&entity=Ar02509&sk=BF30956D&mode=text  Suhas Nayse, September 21, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+Franchises went mostly on current form and youth rather than reputation and experience. The price tags of some of the old warhorses is a case in point. Yuvraj Singh, who was the highest-paid player of 2014 and 2015, went for his base price of Rs 2 cr to Kings XI Punjab, while Chennai, who went for tried and tested players, were the sole bidders for Harbhajan Singh (Rs 2 cr). The franchises were not overenthusiastic when Gautam Gambhir’s name was called out and Delhi Daredevils welcomed him back for Rs 2.80 crore (base price Rs 2 crore).
-PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth survived scares against their respective opponents — both from Thailand — to reach the quarterfinals of the China Open in Changzhou on Thursday.
+'''GAYLE GOES UNSOLD'''
-Third seed Sindhu rallied against Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-23, 21-13, 21-18 in a marathon match which lasted for an hour and nine minutes. Sindhu went in as the favourite, with a 8-0 head-tohead record against the 22-year-old. However, Busanan came up with a much-improved display to test the Indian.
+Meanwhile, explosive West Indies batsman Chris Gayle found no takers. Even RCB didn’t look interested.
-In the men’s singles second round, Srikanth came from a match-point down to pip Suppanyu Avihingsanon 21-12, 15-21, 24-22 in 63 minutes.
+====Highlights====
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F28&entity=Ar00519&sk=01001983&mode=text  January 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-After promising a lot in the last couple of days, India’s doubles campaign came to an end in the pre-quarters.
+[[File: 10 things to know about IPL auction, 2018.jpg|10 things to know about IPL auction, 2018 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F28&entity=Ar00519&sk=01001983&mode=text  January 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa lost 14-21, 11-21against top seeds Siwei Zheng and Huang Yaqiong of China. Pranav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy also could not get the better of sixth seeds Christinna Pedersen and Mathias Christiansen of Denmark and lost in straight games. In the men’s doubles, Mannu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy were overwhelmed by Chen Hung Ling and Wang Chi-Lin 9-21, 10-21.
+'''See graphic''':
-===Sindhu, Srikanth lose in quarters===
+''10 things to know about IPL auction, 2018''
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F09%2F22&entity=Ar03012&sk=C28E9324&mode=text  Suhas Nayse, September 22, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+====Players sold/ 1====
+[[File: Players sold, day 1, (IPL auction, 2018).jpg|Players sold, day 1, (IPL auction, 2018) <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F28&entity=Ar02720&sk=7A6FAF60&mode=text January 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Indian challenge in China Open Badminton tournament came to an end with the defeats of PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth at Changzhou on Friday. Third seed Sindhu went down fighting against Chen Yufei of China 11-21, 21-11, 15-21 in 52 minutes. The fifth seed Chinese shattered the hopes of the Indian with a commanding performance.
+'''See graphic''':
-The 2016 champion Sindhu had a psychological advantage going into the match against the local girl as she was leading 4-2 in terms of head-to-head record. Sindhu had also won the last two encounters against the Chinese but on Friday she failed to extend her dominance and crashed out.
+''Players sold, day 1, (IPL auction, 2018)''
-In the deciding third game, Yufei established an early lead and maintained it till the end. The only survivor in the men’s singles Srikanth also bowed out. The seventh seed found third seed Kento Momota too hot to handle and lost 9-21, 11-21 in 28 minutes.
+===The main deals/ 2===
+[[File: IPL auction (day 2, 2018), some brief facts.jpg|IPL auction (day 2, 2018), some brief facts <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F29&entity=Ar00130&sk=0DAE681B&mode=text  January 29, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-The in-form Japanese made the light work of former world No. 1 and stormed into the semifinals in style. The last week champion at the Japan Open look set to pocket yet another title in the dream season. With this crushing win, Momota now improved his career record against Srikanth to 8-3. It was second quarterfinal defeat for Srikanth in as many weeks.
+'''See graphic''':
-Indian coach Amrish Shinde was disappointed with the result but admitted that Sindhu fought gallantly.
+''IPL auction (day 2, 2018), some brief facts''
-===Sindhu, Srikanth ousted in QF===
+===Most expensive uncapped players===
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F11%2F10&entity=Ar02105&sk=16D0D5EF&mode=text  November 10, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F28&entity=Ar02723&sk=B79E634B&mode=text  January 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth were ousted from the China Open World Tour Super 750 on Friday after losing their singles quarterfinals matches here. While Sindhu yet again struggled to go past China's He Bingjiao in women's singles, Srikanth fell in straight-games to world number 3 Chou Tien Chen in the men's singles event. Third seeded Sindhu lost 17-21 21-17 15-21 to the eighth-seeded Chinese. It was Indian shuttler’s third loss to Bingjiao, who had defeated her at the Indonesia Open and French Open in July and October this year.
+'''MOST EXPENSIVE UNCAPPED PLAYERS'''
-Later Srikanth paid the price for being too erratic as he lost 14-21, 14-21 in 35 minutes to Chen, who has been in good form this season with three titles from five final appearances.
+Krunal Pandya (Rs 8.8 cr, MI – RTM; Base price Rs 40 lakh), Jofra Archer (Rs 7.2 cr, RR; BP Rs 40 lakh), Ishan Kishan (Rs 6.2 cr, MI; BP: Rs 40 lakh), D’Arcy Short (Rs 4 cr, RR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Deepak Hooda (Rs 3.6 cr, SRH – RTM; BP: Rs 40 lakh), Siddharth Kaul (Rs 3.8 cr, SRH; BP: Rs 30 lakh), Nitish Rana (Rs 3.4 cr, KKR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Rahul Tripathi (Rs 3.4 cr, RR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Kamlesh Nagarkoti (Rs 3.2 cr, KKR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Vijay Shankar (Rs 3.2 cr, DD; BP: Rs 40 lakh), Suryakumar Yadav (Rs 3.2 cr, MI; BP: Rs 30 lakh), Ankit Rajpoot (Rs 3 cr, KXIP; BP:Rs 30 lakh), Navdeep Saini (Rs 3 cr, RCB; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Khaleel Ahmed (Rs 3 cr, SRH; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Rahul Tewatia (Rs 3 cr, DD; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Shubman Gill (Rs 1.8 cr, KKR; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Prithvi Shaw (Rs 1.2 cr, DD; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Manan Vohra (Rs 1.1 cr, RCB; BP: Rs 20 lakh), Mayank Agarwal (Rs 1 cr, KXIP; BP: Rs 20 lakh).
-Earlier, the left-handed Bingjiao controlled the rallies by executing her strokes perfectly and used her deft touch to outwit Sindhu. The Indian frittered away a 8-3 advantage early on to lose the opening game but made a roaring comeback in the second before losing the decider after a late charge.
+===Lesser known players selected in 2018===
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F29&entity=Ar02302&sk=6AF1DD5C&mode=text  Manuja Veerappa, RR Break Bank For Pacer, Shell Out ₹11.5Cr To Make Him Costliest Indian, January 29, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-Sindhu had started well to take a 4-1 lead early on before moving to 8-3 but Bingjiao managed to claw back at 9-9. Sindhu made it to 17-18 before Bingjiao pocketed the opening game. In the second game, Sindhu turned the tables as she moved to 6-5 and then grabbed a 11-7 lead. In the decider, Bingjiao was more sure-footed than Sindhu as she executed her plan well to take a 11-6 advantage at the interval. The Chinese managed to eke out a 15-8 lead before Sindhu produced a late charge to claw back to 15-16. But Bingjiao didn’t give any chance to the Indian after that as she reeled off the remaining points to cement her place in the semifinals.
+Auction in IPL- team, players bought and amount spent
-== Commonwealth Games==
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F04%2F16&entity=Ar02101&sk=1E251F31&mode=text  Biju BabuCyriac, Displaying Her Trademark Grit, A Resurgent Nehwal Downs Sindhu For A Famous Triumph, April 16, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-[[File: Saina Nehwal beats PV Sindhu 21-18, 23-21, at the  Commonwealth Games, 2018.jpg|Saina Nehwal beats PV Sindhu 21-18, 23-21, at the  Commonwealth Games, 2018 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F04%2F16&entity=Ar02101&sk=1E251F31&mode=text  Biju BabuCyriac, Displaying Her Trademark Grit, A Resurgent Nehwal Downs Sindhu For A Famous Triumph, April 16, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+About an hour-and-a-half into the second day of the IPL auction, the money left with the franchises started to decrease with capped pacers commanding a good price. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals — the teams with the biggest purse — had one pacer on their ‘mustbuy’ list and the latter had the last laugh.
-One is the pathbreaker in the sport in India. The other, the opponent, is the new sensation. And when the two clashed in the final of women’s badminton at the Commonwealth Games here, spectators the world over got nearly an hour of exhilarating edge-ofthe-seat action. Former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal gave a master-class of attacking badminton to win India’s 26th gold, beating teammate and Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu on the final day at the Games here on Sunday.
+It turned out to be a blockbuster Sunday for left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat as he went for a mind boggling ₹ 11.5 crore, making him the second most expensive player of this season behind IPL teammate Ben Stokes (₹12.5 crore).
-It was one of India’s bestever showing in a Games abroad — 26 gold, 20 silver and 20 bronze, across nine disciplines. And fittingly, India’s final gold came from the pioneering shuttler Saina, who beat Sindhu in 21-18, 23-21 in the final. The 56-minute blockbuster got the fans on the edge of their seats at the Carrara Sports Arena as the two of the world’s best players traded rallies — the best being a 64-stroke heart-stopper in the second game — and fought tooth and nail for each point.
+Starting off at a base price of ₹ 1.5 crore, it was common knowledge that the 26-yearold will be among the hot picks given his T20 credentials which includes 24 wickets last season, Chennai Super Kings were the first to bid for him and Kings XI Punjab jumped in immediately. Rajasthan Royals, who were mute spectators until the bid crossed the ₹11-crore mark, upped the ante and made the winning bid for the Saurashtra bowler, who last season went to Rising Pune Supergiants for his base price of ₹30 lakh.
+As the auction drew to a close, 169 of the 581 players found a team with a total of ₹431.7 crore spent on them. This included 56 overseas players from across nine countries.
+Earlier, Kings XI Punjab fought it out with Chennai for Australian pacer Andrew Tye before bagging him for ₹7.2 crore. After an intense paddle war between Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals, Karnataka spinner and a handy bat K Gowtham went to Royals for an impressive ₹6.2 crore.
-It was a clash of contrasting styles. Saina, who opened the proceedings, took a 6-4 lead in the first game forcing the point with a superb crosscourt drop after dictating terms in a long rally. Soon she was stretching her lead to 12-6 but an agitated Sindhu pulled the next three points back to narrow the gap to 9-12.
+AFGHANS HIT JACKPOT
-Saina, appearing more agile now after having shed some weight during her preparations for Gold Coast, then forced an error from Sindhu at the net but the lanky Hyderabadi returned the compliment to stay in the hunt at 11-16. Even as Sindhu tried to wriggle out of the corner, Saina moved ahead to 20-14 and set up six game points. Sindhu now found a different gear to race up with her experienced teammate saving four game points, but Saina was only waiting for her chance and pulled the trigger smashing the winner to an open court to take the first game at 21-18.
+Over the weekend, four players from Afghanistan generated a lot of buzz. After Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi returned to Sunrisers Hyderabad, 16-year-old Mujeeb Zadran and Zahir Khan went to Punjab and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
-The start of the second game saw Saina drifting a bit and Sindhu did the needful to stretch her lead to 9-6 following a 39-stroke rally which Saina netted. A mix of Sindhu’s class and Saina’s errors helped her pull away to 15-10, but the latter was in no mood to let the momentum shift. She came up with series of powerful smashes that Sindhu couldn’t return.
+Mujeeb, who hails from Khost, a town 250km from Kabul, shot into the limelight last year when he picked up four wickets on debut against Ireland. The offie, often referred to as a mystery spinner, started with a base price of ₹50 lakh and Punjab and Delhi Daredevils immediately engaged in intense bidding. Delhi dropped out at ₹3.80 crore and Punjab sealed the deal at ₹4 crore. Mujeeb’s compatriot Zahir, went for ₹ 60 lakh from a base price of ₹20 lakh.
-At 14-15, Saina appeared to have the match under control, but Sindhu, who recovered from a minor injury, was in no mood to go down without a fight as she ran up to an 18-14 lead and then took it to 19-16. But Saina was not to let her attacking ways go and won a draining 64-shot rally, it lasted all of 68 seconds, before going level at 19-19.
+INVESTMENT IN FUTURE
-Sindhu then served on game point but it was soon 20-20. Next it was Sindhu’s turn to save a match point but it was all over soon with Saina smashing away to victory getting past of the best of retrievals from Sindhu. It was an epic clash and in the end, her experience and a seemingly newfound ability from Saina came to fore announcing that a change of guard at the top will still take some time.
+With an eye on the future, the franchisees picked a total of seven India U-19 players, of whom four were bought on the second day. Speed gun Shivam Mavi went for ₹ 3 crore to Kolkata Knight Riders while big hitters Abhishek Sharma and Manjot Kalra were both snapped up by Delhi Daredevils for ₹55 lakh and ₹20 lakh respectively. Left-arm spinner Anukul Roy headed to the Mumbai Indians camp for ₹20 lakh.
-'''Srikanth ends second best'''
+A FIRST FOR NEPAL CRICKET
-World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth was forced to settle for silver after losing a riveting match in the men’s singles final to Malaysian Lee Chong Wei 21-19, 14-21, 14-21.
+Nepal’s spin bowler Sandeep Lamichhane became the first player from Nepal to bag an IPL contract when Delhi got him on board for ₹20 lakh. The 17-year-old is highly rated by former Australian skipper Michael Clarke, who mentored him during a league in Hong Kong.
-Chong Wei raced to a 5-0 lead in the opener but Srikanth, who beat the Malaysian in the team event here, caught up with the 36-year-old three-time Olympic silver medalist at 7-7. The next seven points saw an array of superb strokes from both the players. The two were again level at 15-15, 17-17 and 19-19 but Srikanth kept his nose in front finding vacant spots on the court. In the end, it was Srikanth who took the game at 21-19.
+GAYLE GETS THIRD TIME LUCKY
-The second game, which saw a 42-stroke rally, began in the same fashion with both the players going for the deceptive angles and net flicks in addition to the power hitting. It was all even till the break at 11 but Chong Wei soon opened up a lead. The Malaysian opened up a big lead again in the third as Srikanth got buried under his errors. Chong Wei was up 7-1 in no time and from then on Srikanth had a hard time catching up.
+West Indies big-hitter Chris Gayle, a marquee player who went unsold on the opening day and in the second session of the second day, emerged lucky the third time when Punjab successfully bid for him at his ₹ 2-crore base price. Likewise, Murali Vijay too was brought in the first round of the accelerated process by Chennai Super Kings at his base price (₹ 2 crore). Another current international Parthiv Patel (₹ 1.70 cr) headed to Royal Challengers Bangalore as did Mitchell Johnson (₹ 2 crore, KKR) and Tim Southee (₹1crore, RCB). Among the big names who failed to attract any bidders were Dale Steyn, Eoin Morgan, Martin Guptill, Joe Root, Nathan Lyon and Tymal Mills, who was the second most expensive player last season at ₹ 12 crore.
-==Denmark Open BWF Tour Super 750==
+===The youngest, the oldest, average age===
-===Saina beats Tunjung, enters final; Srikanth loses to Momota===
+[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/ipl-2018-are-veterans-still-worth-the-gamble/articleshow/63637384.cms  Partha Bhaduri, April 6, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F21&entity=Ar02518&sk=BE64F40C&mode=text  Manne Ratnakar, October 21, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+[[File: Youngest and oldest players in each IPL team, April 2018.jpg|Youngest and oldest players in each IPL team, April 2018 <br/> From: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/ipl-2018-are-veterans-still-worth-the-gamble/articleshow/63637384.cms  Partha Bhaduri, April 6, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Saina Nehwal was one step away from winning her first major title in two years at the Denmark Open in Odense. However, Kidambi Srikanth was dethroned in the semifinal by world champion Kento Momota of Japan 16-21, 12-21. Momota was at his retrieving best in the semifinal. Saina steamrolled reigning junior world champion Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 21-11, 21-12 in just 30 minutes to book a final berth against Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.
+[[File: Average age of players in IPL 2018.jpg|Average age of players in IPL 2018 <br/> From: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/ipl-2018-are-veterans-still-worth-the-gamble/articleshow/63637384.cms  Partha Bhaduri, April 6, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Saina told Badminton Europe that she is happy to be in a final after a long gap. "I feel great to be playing finals. After the surgery I have not been getting my rhythm. But after the Asian Games, I started playing well and moving well. Even at the Korea Open I lost a very close match against Okuhara. She went on to win that tournament. I had to be patient and here I am playing the finals. Belief makes a lot of difference," Saina said, adding that semifinal is not as easy as the scoreline suggests.
-"It's not easy to play someone who plays so many tricky shots. It was tough but I was able to pick those shots. I moved well and my shots were much more sharper."
+'''HIGHLIGHTS'''
-Incidentally, this was Saina's first Super Series final in two years after she won the Australian Open. The 28-yearold, who was in full flow against Japanese shuttlers Akane Yamaguchi in second round and Nozomi Okuhara in the quarters, was at her best against Mariska on Saturday.
+IPL has also welcomed those simply hoping to revive sagging mid-career fortunes with a booster shot of cricketing glory
-The world No.19 Indonesian, who has never beaten a top ranked player so far, proved no match for the Indian. Saina toyed with Mariska.
+In 2016, the average age of the top-10 was 29.10. Three players were above 30, and one was below 25
-Women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy went down to top seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan 14-21, 12-21.
+Last season the average age of the top-10 grew again to 30.30, with seven batsmen above 30 in the list
-===Saina beats Yamaguchi for first time in 4 years ===
+Worried about age spots? An IPL treatment may be just what you need. We’re not talking about the intense pulsed light cosmetic procedure so common in the beauty industry, but the glowing cricketing equivalent, the Indian Premier League. Since its inception in the nascent days of T20 strategizing, the league has been a haven for those seeking to smoothen the wrinkles of a post-retirement life. IPL has also welcomed those simply hoping to revive sagging mid-career fortunes with a booster shot of cricketing glory. Even at the auctions, reputation has tended to precede both skills and promise in the expense stakes.
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F19&entity=Ar02613&sk=94D968AC&mode=text  Manne Ratnakar, Saina ends the jinx, October 19, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+This time around, the trend seems to have been bucked at the auctions, either because of a large number of available cricketers in the twilight of their careers or a more deliberate move from franchises to bank on fresh legs.
-''Beats Yamaguchi For First Time In 4 Years To Enter QF''
+Some like CSK, though, have remained firmly in favour of veterans. Their logic is a proven one: the T20 game is a short one, so those high on skill and experience but low on youthful energy won’t be caught out in a hurry. They can, instead, shave off the years when it comes to performance.
-Saina Nehwal was at her fluent best as she outclassed world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-15, 21-17 to move into the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament in Odense on Thursday.
+CSK seem to have done their homework on the batting front. For the past three IPL seasons, the average age of the top 10 batting performers has been rising slowly and steadily. In 2015, the average age of the top-10 was 28.50, with Chris Gayle being the oldest at 35 (at that time) and Ajinkya Rahane being the youngest then at 26, which means all 10 batsmen were above 25. Four were above 30.
-This was Saina’s first victory over the Japanese in four years. The last time Saina triumphed against Yamaguchi was in the China Open back in 2014.
+In 2016, the average age of the top-10 grew to 29.10, although only three were above 30, and one was below 25 (Quinton de Kock, 23 at the time). This was because of a large concentration of cricketers in the 27-34 age group, when a batsmen is in his prime.
-Sameer Verma also continued his good run and joined Saina in the quarterfinals along with the women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy. Extending his giant-killing run, Verma, who ousted world No.2 in the first round, accounted for Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie in the second. Verma registered a hard fought 23-21, 6-21, 22-20 victory against the Indonesian in the one hour-10 minute encounter. Verma will now square up against the winner of the match between Kidambi Srikanth and Lin Dan of China.
+Last season the average age of the top-10 grew again to 30.30, with seven batsmen above 30 in the list. The oldest was Gautam Gambhir at 35, the youngest Rahul Tripathi at 26. This doesn’t mean, though, that seniority is a guarantee of success and the other franchises have erred in banking on youth. A similar peek into the top-10 bowlers reveals the average age has been shrinking, from 28.80 in 2015 to 26.60 in 2017.
-Unseeded pair of Ashwini and Sikki knocked out seventh seeded south Koreans Lee So Hee and Shing Seung Chan in three games 18-21, 22-20, 21-18.
+Interestingly, the average age of the worst batting performers too has been rising steadily. The top-10 worst batting performers (taking into consideration batting positions No. 1 to 6 only, minimum 11 innings) had an average age of 30.4 last season, up from 28.7 in 2016. That means banking on senior players is often a gamble. So what’s an IPL team management to do when picking a side?
-Earlier, Saina eased past Yamaguchi in just 36 minutes. This is Saina’s first victory against Yamaguchi since November 2014. The Indian ace lost to the Japanese shuttler six consecutive times before the Denmark meeting. A relieved Saina, who was struggling in major BWF events, told Badminton Europe that she was happy to break the jinx against Yamaguchi.
+For one, picking younger bowlers is the way to go. The days of the Nehras, Hoggs and Tambes may be over. On the batting front, there is an important difference in the ‘best and ‘worst’ sets: the ‘worst of ’ batting lists tend to be thinner on performers of pedigree, meaning who have also excelled with the bat at international level in ODI or Test cricket over time.
-===Saina loses to Tai in the final===
+The highest, fittest achievers are more adept at stretching peak performance well into their 30s. So if you’re picking seniors, picking the ones with the best international records may be the way to go.
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F22&entity=Ar02405&sk=D387627F&mode=text  Manne Ratnakar, Saina fails to solve Tai puzzle yet again, October 22, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+This time at the auction, many franchises displayed a tendency to pick younger domestic performers, the likes of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Rahul Tripathi and Ishan Kishan, to name just three. That means they have spent less on some proven but ageing players. This may have saved owners money, but until it translates into winning performances, their furrowed brows may not smoothen soon.
-Saina Nehwal did her best, came back strongly but couldn’t find a way to get past Tai Tzu Ying in the final of the Denmark Open BWF Tour Super 750 tournament in Odense on Sunday.
+==IPL business model==
-Once again, the world No.1 from Chinese Taipei arguably proved the most difficult opponent of Saina’s career. Though Saina won a game, raising hopes of a fine come-from-behind victory, Tai still reigned supreme at 21-13, 13-21, 21-6.
+IPL runs on a Central and Local pool of sponsorships for revenues. Broadcasters, tournament sponsors, title rights holders and bid monies form the central pool. Gate money, in-stadia advertising, franchise sponsors and merchandising make for the Local Pool. The Central Pool revenue is shared by all eight franchises on a percentage basis. The franchise has to fend for itself where Local Pool is concerned.
-Tai became the first shuttler from Taipei to clinch the Denmark Open title. Though she has won almost all the Super Series titles, Denmark always proved a roadblock for her. On Sunday, despite a little bother provided by Saina, that record was set right.
+==Future==
-In her element right from the first point, Tai repeatedly changed her tactics to quell a determined Saina, who fought ferociously for most part of the final.
+The players from Royals and CSK franchise cannot be bought by or absorbed in any other franchise. Each team has a limit of 26 players and a fixed purse. For CSK and RR players to participate in IPL, the BCCI will have to float a tender for two fresh teams. There is no restriction if CSK and RR want to sell their franchises ahead of the coming season, after BCCI clearance. A full-fledged auction of all players is now scheduled after the 2016 edition of IPL.Both Royals and CSK have 26 players each and so do most other franchises. CSK has one-year contracts with most of its cricketers, who can go back into the auction pool but other franchises will have to off-load players to be able to buy them. With Kochi Tuskers winning their arbitration with BCCI, they're free to participate in IPL. Some players can be included in the Kochi franchise if they agree to play the tournament. However, one new franchise will still have to be auctioned. If Kochi Tuskers are unwilling to play, BCCI will have to auction two new franchises. IPL broadcast rights are up for a resale in 2017.
-Her crafty net game, loaded with a lot of disguise and accurate on-the-line smashes earned her easy points as it came coupled with her effortless retrieving ability. Tai was already leading 11-5 at the break.
+==The finals (graphic)==
+[[File: The results of the IPL finals, 2018- CSK beat SRH; CSK’s performance in the finals, 2008-2018.jpg|The results of the IPL finals, 2018- CSK beat SRH; CSK’s performance in the finals, 2008-2018 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F05%2F28&entity=Ar00315&sk=5969B9ED&mode=text  May 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Saina upped the ante and played some brilliant smashes but Tai did well to protect the big lead she had gained.
+'''See graphic''':
-In the second game, Saina pushed the shuttle back and hardly allowed Tai to come near the net. The ploy worked as Tai's returns looked weak giving the Indian an upperhand. Saina took an 8-3 lead and maintained that control throughout the game. Despite losing the second game, Tai realised where she was going wrong. Towards the end, she had begun returning sharply packing the bird with a lot of pace. This is her 11th straight loss against Tai since 2013. But the silver lining for the Indian was that she had managed to extend the tie to three games for the first time in three years. The last time Saina won a game against Tai was in December 2015.
+''The results of the IPL finals, 2018: CSK beat SRH <br/> CSK’s performance in the finals, 2008-2018''
-'''Momota triumphs'''
+==The best batsmen, bowlers IPL 2018==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F05%2F28&entity=Ar01902&sk=0914FDE1&mode=text  Gaurav Gupta, Veteran Aussie Pulverises SRH With Blazing Century As Chennai Canter To Title, May 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-Japan’s Kento Momota won the men’s singles title with a 22-20, 16-21, 21-15 victory against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the final.
+[[File: The best batsmen, bowlers of IPL 2018.jpg|The best batsmen, bowlers of IPL 2018 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F05%2F28&entity=Ar01902&sk=0914FDE1&mode=text  Gaurav Gupta, Veteran Aussie Pulverises SRH With Blazing Century As Chennai Canter To Title, May 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-=== Sameer stuns Shi in major upset===
+“Teams win games, but finals are won by individuals,” MS Dhoni had quipped on the eve of the IPL final between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. His words proved prophetic as Shane Watson smashed the highest-ever score in an IPL final to seal the 2018 crown for CSK.
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F18&entity=Ar03014&sk=B236CCD0&mode=text  Manne Ratnakar, Sameer stuns Shi in major upset; Marin crashes out, October 18, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+Watson pulverized the Sunrisers bowlers during his breathtaking, unbeaten 117 (57b, 11x4, 8x6) to turn the summit clash into a ridiculously one-sided affair at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night.
-Sameer Verma caused one of the major upsets of the tournament when he knocked out world No.2 Shi Yuqi of China 21-17, 21-18 in the first round of the Denmark Open BWF Tour Super 750 in Odense, late on Tuesday.
+The Aussie’s blazing century, his second of the tournament, completed a fairytale return to the IPL for CSK, who clinched their third title after being banned for two years.
-The world No.23 Indian took just 44 minutes to oust Yuqi. Verma will now take on world No.13 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, who defeated Wong Wing Ki Vincent of Hong Kong 17-21, 21-18, 21-13. Verma enjoys a 1-0 win-loss record against Christie.
+When he took 10 balls to get off the mark, little did one realize that Wason would explode in such a fashion that CSK would gallop home with as many as nine balls and eight wickets still intact. Chasing 179, the 37-year-old chose to be cautious at the start as he played out Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first over for a maiden.
-Seventh seed Kidambi Srikanth eased into the second round with a 21-16, 21-10 victory against Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus of Denmark. Srikanth will face multiple world and Olympic champion Lin Dan of China in the second round. Though Lin Dan has a 3-1 career record against Srikanth, the former world No.1 has been struggling in the last few months.
+After taking his time to get his eye in, Watson tore into one of the best attacks of the tournament with his devastating blade.
-The other Indian in men’s singles, Sai Praneeth will take the court late on Wednesday. Women’s singles also witnessed another major upset as reigning world and Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain suffered a 19-21, 21-14, 19-21 shock defeat to local girl and world No. 20 Mia Blichfeldt. Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy was the only Indian doubles team to clear the first round.
+Sandep Sharma won’t forget the mauling that he received in the 13th over from Watson in a hurry. Ball after ball, the young medium-pacer ran in, trying the slower, knuckle delivery outside off stump, which normally ties up a batsman in knots in T20 cricket. However, on Sunday night, those deliveries landed deep into the stands behind long on, thrice in succession.
-===Srikanth beats Lin Dan===
+Between this six-hitting spree, Watson carted the youngster, who was consoled by his captain Kane Williamson, for two fours too, in an over which cost the Sunrisers 27 runs, and reduced the remaining part of the chase to a canter. To add to the Sunrisers’ woes, pacer Siddharth Kaul endured a horrible night as well, going for 43 for three overs, even as the experienced Watson negated the Rashid threat too.
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F20&entity=Ar02204&sk=DF11AD1C&mode=text  October 20, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+Watson found an able ally in Suresh Raina (32), as the pair added 117 in 57 balls for the second wicket, after Faf du Plessis was dismissed early.
-Kidambi Srikanth defeated the legendary Lin Dan for the second time in his career to set up an all-Indian quarterfinal against Sameer Verma at the Denmark Open here. World number six Srikanth bounced back to beat the world number 14 from China 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the second round clash played.
+Earlier, Sunrisers picked up pace in the second half of their innings to post a competitive 178 for six.
-Dan, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion, is not the player he used to be but is still a force to reckon with. It was a fifth meeting between Srikanth and Dan and the Chinese great won the last time they played, in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Srikanth had famously scored his maiden win over Dan to win the 2014 China Open.
+Put in by Dhoni, the Sunrisers were initially pegged back by good spells from seamers Lungi Ngidi and Deepak Chahar. Ngidi even bowled a maiden in his first spell.
-After a tough match against the Chinese, Srikanth will have to play fellow Indian Verma in the quarterfinals to be held later on Friday. World number 23 Verma had beaten 2018 Asian Games gold medallist, Jonathan Christie of Indonesia, in his second round match.
+SRH suffered an initial setback when ‘keeper-bat Shreevats Goswami, who replaced an injured Wriddhiman Saha, was run out by Karn Sharma while going for a needless second run.
-==French Open BWF==
+That blow meant skipper Kane Williamson was in the middle by the second over. Together with Shikhar Dhawan (26, 25b, 2x4, 1x6), Williamson (47, 36b, 5x4, 2x6) stablized the innings. After Dhawan was castled by Ravindra Jadeja, middle-order batsmen Shakib Al Hasan (23, Yusuf Pathan (45 not out) and Carlos Brathwaite (21) all chipped in as SRH collected 105 from the last 10 overs.
-===Sindhu, Srikanth exit ===
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F28&entity=Ar02807&sk=F85B0CCE&mode=text  Sindhu, Srikanth exit French Open, October 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+The trio’s effort helped SRH get over the setback of losing Williamson, who was stumped while giving the charge to a Karn delivery which spun away far outside the off stump. Though he couldn’t complete what would’ve been his ninth fifty in the 2018 IPL, Williamson joined a rare club of batsmen who’ve completed 700 runs in a season.
-PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out in the quarterfinals of the French Open after suffering straight-game defeats in their respective matches as India’s campaign ended in the singles events at the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament. Third seed Sindhu looked a pale shadow of herself as she lost 13-21, 16-21 in 40 minutes against seventh seed He Bingjiao of China.
+==The best performers/ first 30 games ==
+[[File: IPL 11 (2018)- The best performers of the first 30 games.jpg|IPL 11 (2018)- The best performers of the first 30 games <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F05%2F02&entity=Ar00524&sk=E85E35EE&mode=text  Dhananjay Mahapatra, SC’s switch hit: Won’t force one-state, one-vote on BCCI, May 2, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-It was Sindhu’s second consecutive loss at the hands of the Chinese shuttler this year after her straight-game defeat in Indonesia Open in July. By virtue of this win, Bingjiao extended her head-to-head record to 7-5 against the Indian.
+'''See graphic''':
-To make matters worse for India, fifth seed Srikanth gave a good account of himself but eventually lost steam against top seed Kento Momota of Japan. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Sen suffered a straight-game loss to world no 1 pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in the semifinals.
+''IPL 11 (2018)- The best performers of the first 30 games''
+==November: Extension, retention and dropping of players==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F11%2F16&entity=Ar02501&sk=DACF3839&mode=text  Saibal Bose, Unadkat dropped over ‘high auction-price pressure’, November 16, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-'''Ayhika wins silver, Anthony-Sanil clinches bronze in Belgium Open TT'''
+[[File: Nov 2018- The extension, retention and dropping of players by IPL franchises.jpg|November 2018- The extension, retention and dropping of players by IPL franchises <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F11%2F16&entity=Ar02501&sk=DACF3839&mode=text  Saibal Bose, Unadkat dropped over ‘high auction-price pressure’, November 16, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-New Delhi: Ayhika Mukherjee settled for a silver medal after going down 1-3 to Korea’s Youjin Kim in the final of the ITTF Challenge Belgium Open in the under-21 women’s singles category. Anthony Amalraj and Sanil Shetty too fought their way into the medals’ bracket, bagging a bronze in the men’s doubles. Ayhika put up a brave fight in the summit clash but Kim proved to be a tough nut to crack in the end. In the semifinals, Ayhika had defeated Hong Kong’s Chengzhu Zhu 3-1 to enter the finals.
+Rajasthan Royals continue to surprise. After having snapped up medium-pacer Jaydev Unadkat for Rs 11.3 crore, the highest for an Indian in the IPL auctions held early this year, the Jaipur-based franchise dropped another bombshell by releasing him. The reason for the decision was apparently the player’s high auction price.
-In men’s doubles, Amalraj-Shetty started slowly, losing a tight opening game 10-12 to the Belgian pair of Olav Kosolosky and Laurens Devos. They had a tough second game too which they eventually managed to win 15-13. There was no stopping them thereafter.
+“When reviewing Jaydev’s contributions to the team, we felt there was too much pressure on him to deliver vis-a-vis his auction price and hence we thought it would be better to release him,” Royals head of cricket Zubin Bharucha told TOI.
+Unadkat had failed to deliver to expectations in the last edition of the IPL, having taken just 11 wickets in 15 matches, with the economy rate was a shade below 10. Royals owner Manoj Badale had told TOI after the auctions that the idea was to plan their strategy around an Indian strike bowler and Unadkat fitted the bill.
-'''Sethuraman holds Anand'''
+“We want to go into the next auction with a free mind,” a Royals official told TOI. Jaipur is scheduled to host the auctions in the third week of December. Royals also released another much talked-about player, South Africa’s big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen. Australian batsman D’Arcy Short and veteran medium-pacer Ben Laughlin were also released.
-Isle of Man: Grandmaster S P Sethuraman played out an easy draw as white against five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand in the seventh round of Isle of Man International Chess tournament here on Saturday. Both Anand and Sethuraman inched themselves up to five points out of a possible seven and shared the joint eighth spot. Michael Adams of England took advantage of this draw-melee to join the six overnight leaders on 5.5 points defeating erstwhile joint leader Abhijeet Gupta.
+'''DAREDEVILS RELEASE GAMBHIR'''
+Delhi Daredevils expectedly released Gautam Gambhir, who stepped down as the team’s in the middle of the 2018 season after a poor run of form. Apart from Gambhir, Delhi also released Jason Roy, Junior Dala, Liam Plunkett, Mohammed Shami, Sayan Ghosh, Daniel Christian, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Naman Ojha. The retained Delhi players include captain Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Amit Mishra and teen sensation Prithvi Shaw.
-'''Greco Roman wrestlers out of Worlds'''
-Budapest: India’s campaign at the World Championship ended with Greco Roman wrestlers on the final day of the competitions, here on Saturday. Of three grapplers in action, only Hardeep managed to win a bout when he downed Morocco’s Choucri Atafi 8-4 in the 1/16 in the 97kg category. Later he lost his 1/8 bout 1-4 to Laokratis Kesidis from Greece.
+'''SUNRISERS RETAIN WARNER, LET GO OF BRATHWAITE, SAHA'''
-===Srikanth, Saina in QF===
+Sunrisers Hyderabad retained David Warner — who missed the 2018 season following the ball-tampering scandal — while releasing nine players, including West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite.
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F26&entity=Ar03312&sk=412B622C&mode=text  Srikanth & Saina in French QF, October 26, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+SRH retained 17 players. England’s Alex Hales and all-rounder Chris Jordan too were dumped by franchise. Among Indians, the notable player to be released was Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. Earlier, Sunrisers had traded opener Shikhar Dhawan for Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nazeem and Vijay Shankar with Daredevils.
-Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth and India ace Saina Nehwal made their way to the quarterfinals of the USD 750,000 French Open BWF World Tour Super 750 here Thursday. Srikanth showed great determination to outwit Korea’s world no 25 Lee Dong Keun 12-21, 21-16, 21-18 in a secondround clash that clocked an hour and 13 minutes. The Indian had lost twice to the 27-year-old Korean in the past two meetings.
-Saina, who had reached the finals at Denmark Open last week, continued her good run by outwitting former World champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 10-21, 21-14, 21-17 in another exciting contest.
+'''KINGS RELEASE AXAR, YUVI, FINCH'''
-==Hong Kong Open==
+India’s 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh, left-arm spinner Axar Patel and Australia’s current limitedovers skipper Aaron Finch were among 11 players released by Kings XI Punjab. A pale shadow of his once explosive self, the 36-year-old Yuvraj managed just 65 runs at an abysmal average of 10.83 in eight games. With 134 runs in 10 games@16.75, the usually consistent Finch too didn’t find runs. Others who have been released are Ben Dwarshuis, former India pacers Mohit Sharma and Barinder Sran, batsman Manoj Tiwary, Kashmir’s Manzoor Dar, Akshdeep Nath and Mayank Dagar. Kings XI finished seventh out of eight teams last year.
-===Srikanth, Sameer enter quarter-finals===
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F11%2F16&entity=Ar02805&sk=BFA3A426&mode=text  November 16, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-Former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma sailed into the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open while PV Sindhu was shown the door in Kowloon.
+'''MUMBAI DROP CUMMINS, MUSTAFIZUR AND DUMINY'''
-In a see-saw battle which went down to the wire, Srikanth defeated compatriot HS Prannoy 18-21, 30-29, 21-18 while Sameer got a walkover against Chen Long of China. After winning a exhausting second game in which the lead changed hands a number of times, Srikanth secured a seven-point lead (11-4) in the third game. But Prannoy clawed back and caught up with Srikanth at 16-16. Thereafter, Srikanth won the big points to clinch the contest.
+The Mumbai Indians on Thursday released South African batsman Jean-Paul Duminy, seamers Pat Cummins (Australia) and Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) and Sri Lankan spinner Akila Dananjaya, while retaining 18 players. Cummins was bought by MI for Rs 5.4 crore, but was ruled out before the start of the last IPL due to injury. There were reports that Cricket Australia (CA) pulled him out due to fear of a burnout or injury during the tournament.
-In the quarters, Srikanth will square up against the winner of the tie between Kenta Nishimoto of Japan and Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand. Sameer will face qualifier Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong. Sindhu lost to former world No.2 Ji Hyun Sung of Korea 24-26, 20-22 in a close match.
+Mustafizur Rahman was purchased for Rs 2.2 crore, but played only seven matches last season, taking as many wickets. The left-arm paceman was with Sunrisers Hyderabad previously. Duminy was bought for Rs 1 crore, but played just six matches, in which he managed only 36 runs. MI have also released six domestic players — Saurabh Tiwary, Pradeep Sangwan, Sharad Lumba, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, UP pacer Mohsin Khan and Kerala’s MD Nidheesh.
+The Mumbai franchise’s list of 10 released players includes one capped, five uncapped and four international players.
-'''Lakshya in pre-quarters'''
+=2019=
+==The main deals at the auction==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F12%2F19&entity=Ar03000&sk=7F3F2465&mode=text  Saibal Bose, December 19, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
-Lakshya Sen and two Indian doubles pairs made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF World Junior Championship in Markham, Canada, on Wednesday.
+[[File:  Indian Premier League, 2019- The main deals at the auction.jpg| Indian Premier League, 2019- The main deals at the auction <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F12%2F19&entity=Ar03000&sk=7F3F2465&mode=text  Saibal Bose, December 19, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Fourth seed Lakshya made short work of Giovanni Toti of Italy 21-7, 21-13. He will face ninth seed Chen Shiau Cheng of Chinese Taipei on Thursday.
-Men’s doubles duo of Srikrishna Sai Kumar Podile and Vishnu Vardhan Goud defeated Joel Hansson and Melker Z-Bexell of Sweden to move into the pre-quarterfinals.
+''RR Keep Medium-Pacer At Lower Price, Kings XI Add Mystery To Their Attack''
-In women’s doubles pair of Aditi Bhatt and Tanisha Crasto downed Dilmi Das and Anurangi Masakorala of Sri Lanka in straight games 22-20, 21-10.
+Rajasthan Royals continue to surprise. After releasing Jaydev Unadkat for being high priced, they bought him right back for Rs 8.40 crores, making him the joint costliest player at Tuesday’s auctions. Given that they had snapped up the left-arm medium-pacer for Rs 11.5 crores in February, Unadkat might be feeling robbed of Rs 3.1 crores.
-===Kidami Srikanth, Sameer Verma lose===
+There would be no mixed feelings for Varun Chakravarthy, the mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu, who matched Unadkat in money splurged on him. He hit the jackpot with Kings XI Punjab pocketing the 27-year old, who can bowl both leg-spin and offspin. It is said about Chakravarthy that he gets through his four overs before the rivals can unravel him. Staring at a base price of Rs 20 lakh, Chakravarthy went for 42 times that amount.
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F11%2F17&entity=Ar02611&sk=83B62C78&mode=text  Indian challenge ends in HK, November 17, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+England’s Sam Curran was called in rather late, but some of the franchises seemed to have held back their purse for him. The all-rounder, whose reputation has soared since his performance against India, caused a bidding war among Kings Xi Punjab, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Punjab added him to their roster for Rs 7.20 crore, making him the costliest overseas player on Tuesday.
-India’s challenge ended with Kidami Srikanth and Sameer Verma being knocked out of the Hong Kong Open BWF Super 500 event in Kowloon.
+Even though bowlers were mainly in focus, South African batsman Colin Ingram was laughing his way to the bank with Delhi Capitals buying him for Rs 6.4 crore.
-Fourth seed Srikanth went down to eighth seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 17-21, 13-21. This was Srikanth’s first loss against Nishimoto in four meetings. Later, Sameer Verma faltered against qualifier Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong 15-21, 21-19, 11-21. The only consolation for the shuttlers this year was Sindhu reaching the finals of three major events.
+Mumbai youngster Shivam Dube quite expectedly generated interest after smashing five sixes in one over recently. Royal Challengers Bangalore added him to the kitty for Rs 5 crore, the same price that Mohit Sharma (CSK), Axar Patel (DC) and Carlos Braithwaite earned. The Bengaluru side’s management, in fact, spoke of Dube’s sixes while justifying his high price.
-However, Sindhu qualified for the yearend event in China. But with only two more qualifying tournaments left — Syed Modi International and Scottish Open — Srikanth and Sameer are unlikely to make the cut. Only eight players qualify in each category and Srikanth is placed 14th spot and Sameer 12th. Sindhu is fifth in the qualifiers list.
+Kings XI threw up another stunner in outbidding Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians for 18-year-old wicketkeeper batsman Prabhsimran Singh (Rs 4.80 crore).
+Among the players currently playing for Team India, Mohammad Shami was the top pick at Rs 4.80 crore. Kings XI Punjab, on a rebuilding spree, will most likely use him as their strike bowler.
-'''Lakshya, doubles pair in quarters'''
+Golden oldies like Brendon McCullum got the royal ignore while Yuvraj Singh had to be brought back, Mumbai Indians buying him at base price of Rs 1 crore. In fact, all the highestrated spinners were left unsold. Clearly, the franchises were looking for surprise elements like Chakravarthy. “He is unknown and that is an advantage,” KXIP CEO Satish Menon explained. “It’s also the World Cup year and we don’t know whom we might lose. Varun is more of a backup to Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Zadran.”
-Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen and the men’s doubles pair of Srikrishna Sai Kumar Podile and Vishnu Vardhan Goud entered the quarterfinals of the BWF World Junior Championship in Canada.
+==Teams in the final==
+[[File: CSK vs. MI reached the final of IPL, 2019.jpg|CSK vs. MI reached the final of IPL, 2019 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F05%2F11&entity=Ar00305&sk=B5FA5609&mode=image  May 11, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Lakshya beat Chen Shiau Cheng of Chinese Taipei 15-21, 21-17, 21-14. Lakshya will face Malaysia’s Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin next. Srikrishna and Vishnu eased past Dwiki Rafian Restu and Bernadus Bagas Kusuma of Indonesia 21-11, 21-17. They will face tenth-seeded Koreans Tae Yang Shin and Chan Wang.
+See graphic, 'CSK vs. MI reached the final of IPL, 2019'
-==India Open: PV Sindhu, sixth loss in a final since Olympics==
+== MI win the title==
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F02%2F05&entity=Ar01913&sk=328EA05F&mode=text  Saumyajit Basu, Sindhu slips in the final, February 5, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F05%2F13&entity=Ar02115&sk=DA7AC4DA&mode=text  JAC Gladson, May 13, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
+[[File: The IPL final, 2019- Scoreboard .jpg|The IPL final, 2019- Scoreboard  <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F05%2F13&entity=Ar02115&sk=DA7AC4DA&mode=text  JAC Gladson, May 13, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-''Zhang Is The New Champion; Shi Yuqi Claims Men’s Crown''
+[[File: MI beat CSK in the final of IPL, 2019.jpg| MI beat CSK in the final of IPL, 2019 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F05%2F13&entity=Ar00305&sk=AF312A30&mode=image  May 13, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-In the end, a Chinese and an American of Chinese descent swept the honours on the final day.
+'''See graphics''':
-After Shi Yuqi won the men’s singles title to become the first Chinese to do so in the India Open, Beiwan Zhang taught PV Sindhu such a bitter lesson that she refused to attend the customary aftermatch press meet on Sunday evening. For Sindhu, it was her sixth loss in a final since her Olympic silver, to go with two title wins.
+'' The IPL final, 2019- Scoreboard ''
-Sindhu kept hopes alive till the very end but Zhang looked destined to write a beautiful story of her own. Having already scalped Saina Nehwal on Friday, she upstaged Sindhu 21-18, 11-21, 22-20 to win her first Tour title to fulfil a longcherished dream.
+'' MI beat CSK in the final of IPL, 2019 ''
-“I wanted to win a tour title this year,” the world No. 11 had said after her quarterfinal victory over Saina. That she could tilt the tightly-fought final game on Sunday her way, is something she would savour for long. “It is the best moment of my career,” the 27-old Zhang said after matching the world No. 4 point for point.
+A proven track record does no good if you’re not good on the day. Having made his point beautifully on the eve of the IPL 2019 final against Chennai Super Kings, Rohit Sharma and Co. were expected to not just merely turn up, but put in an impressive performance. And by converting their words into deeds, Mumbai Indians not only won their fourth title but their one-run win over Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday was the second such finish – they had defeated Pune Warriors by the same margin in 2017.
-“I used the smash more than usual to quell Sindhu, who seemed to be under a lot of pressure. She was playing in front of the home crowd. I had nothing to lose,” said a beaming Zhang, before rushing off to catch the earliest flight out.
+In Chennai, Mumbai had an opposition that’s weathered many a storm, but in not refusing to give up or give in, Mumbai are now in a league of their own with the skipper making it a penta – four titles with Mumbai and one with Deccan Chargers.
-While the fifth seeded Zhang pocketed $26,250 and 9200 ranking points for her effort, Sindhu had to be content with $13,300 and 7800 ranking points.
+As is their wont, Chennai turned the contest into a gripping finale and Rahul Chahar nearly cost them the game when he reprieved Shane Watson with the opener going great guns on 55. The Aussie smashed two overs for 20 runs each off Lasith Malinga (16th) and Krunal Pandya (18th) to negate all the good work Rahul Chahar had done by restricting Chennai to 72 for two at the halfway stage — they eventually had to rest content with 148/7.
-Unlike Zhang, Shi Yuqi used the smash with rare precision to undo Chou Tien’s challenge. What Lin Dan couldn’t achieve in his few attempts, Yuqi did it in his first. “I am not a big fan of Super Dan,” said the champion moments after he calmly decimated Chou Tien Chen 21-18, 21-14. Even trailing till 17 in the first game, the 21-year old Chinese never looked ill at ease. Armed with an intelligent all-court game programmed by anticipation, Yuqi even returned Chou Tien’s supposed winners, much to the frustration of the Chinese Taipei player. He clocked four points on the bounce to reach game point and logged home the first with a lot of confidence.
+When Watson finally fell with two deliveries to go for 80 (59b, 8x4, 6x4), Chennai still needed four. His 51-run partnership with Dwayne Bravo was not enough to see CSK cross the line with Lasith Malinga sounding the death knell by denying two runs off the last ball.
-In the second, however, Yuki didn’t let Chou Tien nose ahead. Consummately in control and using the smash only when absolutely sure of it being a winner, Yuki showed that his second singles title, after the French Open in 2016, was just a dawn of a shining day ahead. “He is sure to make the China’s Thomas Cup team,” said an official accompanying the China team.
+The start was just as exciting as the finish after the Mumbai skipper had no hesitation to bat first. But if Mumbai’s 149 for eight was a start-stop affair, Chennai had not reckoned with Mumbai’s bowling arsenal that slowly tilted the scales in their favour by choking runs in the middle.
-RESULTS (ALL FINALS) — Men's singles 4-Shi Yuqi bt 3-Chou Tien Chen 21-18, 21-14 ; Women's singles 5-Beiwen Zhang bt 1-PV Sindhu 21-18, 11-21, 22-20; Men's doubles: 1-Marcus Gideon/ Kevin Sanjaya bt 4-Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-14, 21-16; Women's doubles: 3-Greysia Polii/ Apriyani Rahayu bt 2-Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai 21-18, 21-15; Mixed doubles: 5-Mathias Christiansen/ Christinna Pedersen bt Praveen Jordan/ Melati Daeva Oktavianti 21-14, 21-15.
+Faf du Plessis was the initial aggressor, while Shane Watson took his time, but with Suresh Raina running out of luck, Ambati Rayudu coming a cropper and skipper MS Dhoni run-out going for a second on an overthrow, Mumbai cleverly wrested the initiative through Chahar’s excellent returns of one for 14, which included 13 dot balls and just one boundary.
-==Indonesia Open BWF==
+[[Category:Cinema-TV-Pop|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F07%2F07&entity=Ar03016&sk=F720CBF1&mode=text  Manne Ratnakar, Sindhu, Prannoy bow out as Indian challenge ends, July 7, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
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+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
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+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:India|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
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+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+=2020=
+==Mumbai Indians win fifth title==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F11%2F11&entity=Ar02521&sk=AE39F817&mode=text  Gaurav Gupta, November 11, 2020: ''The Times of India'']
-PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy bowed out in the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament in Jakarta. With the exit of these two shuttlers, the Indian challenge ended in the $1.25 million tournament. Sindhu lost to China’s He Bingjiao 21-14, 21-15 and Shi Yuqi defeated Prannoy 21-17, 21-18.
+[[File: Scoreboard, Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, IPL- 2020.jpg|Scoreboard, Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, IPL- 2020 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F11%2F11&entity=Ar02521&sk=AE39F817&mode=text  Gaurav Gupta, November 11, 2020: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Prannoy failed to win the big points towards the end of both games. At 18-18 in the second he committed unforced errors and surrendered the advantage to his Chinese rival. Sindhu failed to find her range even as Bingjiao controlled the game. The Indian kept pace with her rival till 10-10, thereafter it was Binjiao all the way. From 13-11, the Chinese girl raced ahead giving the Indian no chance to come back.
+[[File: Mumbai Indians' five IPL titles, 2013-2020.jpg|Mumbai Indians' five IPL titles, 2013-2020 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F11%2F11&entity=Ar02521&sk=AE39F817&mode=text  Gaurav Gupta, November 11, 2020: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-Not giving much lift to the bird, Binjiao restricted Sindhu from executing her trademark smashes or overhead drives. It was no different in the second game as Binjiao broke free from the 7th point to emerge victorious.
+Is he really injured? If this final was something of a ‘fitness test’ for Rohit Sharma, the star opener passed it with flying colours. Rested from the Indian team’s white-ball leg for the impending tour to Australia due to a rather mysterious hamstring injury which has caused big controversy, the Mumbaikar churned out a captain’s knock, cracking 68 (51b, 5x4, 4x6) to lead the Mumbai Indians to their fifth Indian Premier League title, as they downed the Delhi Capitals by five wickets in a onesided final in Dubai.
-== Japan Open BWF Tour Super 750==
+Unleashing his trademark front-foot pulls off the fast bowlers and smashing the spinners down the ground with characteristic ease, Rohit seemed intent on making a simple point he made when he returned from his injury to play for MI: ‘I’m fit and fine.’ He perished to a superb diving catch by substitute fielder Lalit Yadav at deep midwicket while trying to hook Anrich Nortje, but the job was done by then.
-=== Manu-Sumeeth beat Olympics silver medallists===
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F09%2F13&entity=Ar02714&sk=ED264DB3&mode=text  Manne Ratnakar, Stunning win for Manu-Sumeeth duo, September 13, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+Towards the end, MI suffered a couple of more hiccups when Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya went out cheaply but Ishan Kishan (33 not out, 19b, 3x4, 1x6) continued his fabulous form to take MI home.
-Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy stunned Rio Olympics silver medallists Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong 15-21, 23-21, 21-19 to make it to the pre-quarterfinals of the Japan Open BWF Tour Super 750 tournament in Tokyo.
+It was title No. 5 for ‘Captain Rohit,’ and his sixth as a player in the IPL. A decade back, MI had, for the only time, lost an IPL final while chasing against CSK, but this time, chasing just 157, they didn’t falter again, managing to defend the title successfully. It’s the first time that MI have won a crown in an even year. In what has been a magnificent campaign for them, MI came up with another dominant display in the final, beating the Capitals for the fourth time this season.
-The Indians saved a match point to beat the Malaysian in 54 minutes. Staring down the barrel at 19-20 in the second game, Manu-Sumeeth won two crucial points to force the decider. In the keenly-contested third game, the Indians trailed 17-19 but did well to seal the issue.
+Earlier, skipper Shreyas Iyer (65 not out, 50b, 6x4, 2x6) and Rishabh Pant (56 not out, 38b, 4x4, 2x6) struck form, digging the Capitals out from a deep hole when they had slipped to 22 for three by just the fourth over, but MI still managed to restrict them to 156 for seven.
-It was this killer instinct that was missing from this pair. At the Asian Games in Jakarta, the duo could have won a medal. Leading 20-18 in the third game, they lost to Chinese pair of Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen in the pre-quarterfinals.
+Showing commendable fightback, Iyer and Pant dug in to add 96 in 69 balls for the fourth wicket to bail their team out of crisis and breathe some life into the summit clash. However, pulling things back brilliantly, MI conceded merely 38 in the final five overs to gain the upper hand.
-“We are playing well now. We kept our nerves and supported each other. This victory will give us a lot of confidence for future,” Attri said. The world No. 28 Indians will face world No.18 Chinese pair of Qiang Tan and He Jiting in the second round. This would be the first meeting between the two teams.
+For the eight time in this IPL, Man of the Match Trent Boult provided a breakthrough in the first over for MI when he had Marcus Stoinis caught behind off the very first ball of the match, the first such instance in an IPL final. Boult struck again when Ajinkya Rahane was caught down the legside for just two in the third over.
-The junior men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and the women's outfit of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy lost their first round matches. While Satwik/Chirag lost to third-seeded Japanese Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda 12-21, 17-21, Ashwini-Sikki went down to South Korea’s Chang Ye Na and Jung Kyung Eun 17-21, 13-21.
+The Capitals suffered their biggest blow when talismanic batsman Shikhar Dhawan (15) missed a slog sweep off off-spinner Jayant Yadav to be castled for just 15. It’s not often that you see Dhawan mess up that stroke, but then whatever MI have touched this time has turned into gold.
-PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and the mixed doubles duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy will play their second round matches. Sindhu faces Chin’s Gao Fangjie.
+=2021=
+==The entire list==
+[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/ipl-2021-full-squad-lists-of-all-eight-teams/articleshow/81104041.cms  February 19, 2021: ''The Times of India'']
-=== Sameer wins Swiss, Kashyap Austrian Open===
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F02%2F26&entity=Ar02521&sk=B13E1DBD&mode=text  February 26, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+'''IPL 2021: Full squad, players list of all eight teams'''
-Sameer Verma won the first biggest title for India in 2018 by emerging triumphant in the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament in Basel on Sunday.
+NEW DELHI: Every year, the IPL Player Auction brings with it a lot of excitement and thrill. Franchisees splurge large sums of money to seal a deal, while some players fail to find a bidder.
-Though they reached the finals, neither Saina Nehwal (Indonesia Masters) nor PV Sindhu (India Open) could clinch the titles this season. But Sameer faced no such final blues as he notched up a fluent victory against former Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark 21-15, 21-13.
+In the IPL 2021 Player Auction, South African all-rounder Chris Morris made headlines by becoming IPL's most expensive buy of all time. Morris was fetched by Rajasthan Royals for a mammoth Rs. 16.25 crore. Meanwhile Krishnappa Gowtham became the highest uncapped Indian buy of all time. He was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 9.25 crore.
-The Pullela Gopichand Academy trainee needed just 36 minutes to ease past the former world No.2. Jorgensen, who won the World Championships bronze in 2015, was out of sorts as Sameer looked in full low. Sameer started with a 3-0 lead in the first game and the closest Jorgensen came was at 10-12. Sameer then produced a five-point burst to took the issue beyond the Dane.
+Here's the full squad list of all eight IPL teams after the squads for the 2021 edition were finalised:
-Sameer was even more dominant in the second game as he took off from 11-9 to 17-9 in one serve.
+'''DELHI CAPITALS '''
-A few hours earlier about 720 kilomtres away from Basil, Sameer’s senior pro Parupalli Kashyap clinched the Austrian Open.
+Shreyas Iyer (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings
-Ending a long title drought, Kashyap annexed the Austrian Open International Challenge title with a convincing victory against June Wei Cheam of Malaysia 23-21, 21-14. The 31-year-old, who was struggling to comeback after recurring injuries, was in complete control despite a tough first game.
+'''MUMBAI INDIANS'''
-Having enduring tough time ever since he won the Commonwealth Games men's singles gold at Glasgow in 2014, Kashyap is pleased with the victory.
+Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Anmolpreet Singh, Aditya Tare (wk), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar
-“For any player it is important to win titles, I’ve to get into a habit of winning titles,” Kashyap told ToI from Vienna. The seasoned campaigner is always hailed as the shuttler who make rapid strides before the younger lot led by Kidambi Srikanth began dominating men's singles.
+'''CHENNAI SUPER KINGS'''
-Kashyap always believes that he has several good years of badminton left in him. Even last year he reached the finals of US Open.
+Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan (wk), Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, R. Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Josh Hazlewood, KM Asif, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K. Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishanth
-The shuttler now wants to focus on getting some ranking points which would help him improve his ranking. “With this win I will get some points which will help to improve my ranking. I am playing some tournaments in Europe next month. So I hope to continue this winning form there as well. I’ve to keep improving myself,” he said.
+'''PUNJAB KINGS'''
-==Sindhu, Prannoy bow out; Srikanth enters quarterfinals==
+KL Rahul (c&wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Prabsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen , Saurabh Kumar
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F09%2F14&entity=Ar02602&sk=3BA73818&mode=text  September 14, 2018:  ''The Times of India'']
+'''KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS'''
-Fatigue caught up with India’s premier shuttler PV Sindhu as she was upstaged in straight games but Kidambi Srikanth entered quarterfinals of the $700,000 Japan Open here Thursday. Sindhu was beaten by China’s Gao Fangjie in the women’s singles second round, her first preliminary exit in almost a year. The Indian went down fighting 18-2119-21in 55 minutes to the world no 14 Chinese. She had lost in the opening round at the Denmark Open in October 2017.
+Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Rinku Singh, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Eoin Morgan (c), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun CV, Kuldeep Yadav, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi
-Former world no.1 Srikanth, however, didn’t break a sweat as he avenged his Asian Games loss to Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent with a clinical 21-15, 21-14 victory to enter the men’s singles quarterfinals. The seventhseeded Indian, who won a silver at the Commonwealth Games, will face Korea’s Lee Dong Keun next.
+'''SUNRISERS HYDERABAD'''
-However, it was curtains for the other Indian in the men’s draw, HS Prannoy, as he went down to giant-killer Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. The world no.10 Indonesian defeated formidable Japanese Kento Momota and Olympic champion Chen Long at the Asian Games.
+David Warner (c), Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Virat Singh, Mitchell Marsh, Jason Holder, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
-Sindhu, who has endured a hectic BWF season reaching five finals including three majors at CWG, World Championship and Asian Games, seemed mentally drained as errors crept into her game. The Indian put up a decent fight as she recovered from 2-8 down in the opening game but squandered a 17-14 lead.
+'''RAJASTHAN ROYALS'''
-==Syed Modi International==
+Sanju Samson (c&wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manan Vohra, Anuj Rawat, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, KC Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIBG%2F2018%2F11%2F26&entity=Ar02312&sk=2C5D1B4D&mode=text  Saina falters in final, Verma wears crown, November 26, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+'''ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE '''
-India's Sameer Verma won the men's singles crown at the Syed Modi International World Tour Super 300 badminton tournament, rallying well to defeat China's Lu Guangzu 16-21, 21-19, 21-14.
+Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Josh Philippe (wk), AB de Villiers (wk), Pavan Deshpande, Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Kane Richardson, Harshal Patel, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Christian, Suyash Prabhudessai, KS Bharat
-Sameer's win, which came in 70 minutes, was lone bright spot for India as the others who made the final rounds lost. Former
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+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
-champion Saina Nehwal failed to produce her best, losing in straight games to young Han Yue of China in a one-sided women's singles summit clash.
+==The auction==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F02%2F19&entity=Ar02208&sk=3377750F&mode=text  Prasad.RS, February 19, 2021: ''The Times of India'']
-Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also went down in straight games against second seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia to settle for the runners-up prize in the men's doubles competition.
+[[File: How the IPL franchises stack up, 2021.jpg|How the IPL franchises stack up, 2021 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F02%2F19&entity=Ar02208&sk=3377750F&mode=text  Prasad.RS, February 19, 2021: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-It was heartbreak for Saina, who lost to Han 18-21, 8-21 in a 34-minute final. Saina, who won a gold and a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, had ended second best at the Indonesia Masters in January and Denmark Open in October this year.
+[[File: IPL auction, history, as in February 2021- Morris becomes most expensive buy in IPL auction history.jpg|IPL auction, history, as in February 2021- Morris becomes most expensive buy in IPL auction history <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F02%2F19&entity=Ar00317&sk=0F36DDC1&mode=image  February 19, 2021: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-In the men's doubles, Satwik and Chirag squandered a 18-14 lead in the second game to lose 11-21, 20-22 to world No. 7 Alfian and Ardianto in a 38-minute match.
+PAY DAY FOR ALLROUNDERS
-Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy too had to settle for the silver medal in women's doubles, losing in straight games (15-21, 13-21) to Malaysia's Chow Mei Kuan and lee Meng Yean.
+RR Break Bank For Morris; Maxwell And Jamieson Fetch Big Money Too
-==Verma wins Dutch BWFTour Super 100 title==
+Chennai:
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F15&entity=Ar02018&sk=6B20F541&mode=text  Sourabh wins Dutch Open title, October 15, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+With millions flying around the room, you wouldn’t expect social media to go into overdrive over a Rs 50 lakh or a Rs 20 lakh buy.
+But then, while Cheteshwar Pujara is an emotional favourite of many after his heroics in Test cricket, Arjun Tendulkar’s inclusion in the IPL auction list had become a point of debate. So, when Pujara finally got an IPL team — Chennai Super Kings — after seven years, the entire auction room applauded the gesture. “It was a mark of respect for all that Pujara has done for India,” a CSK official told TOI.
-Sourabh Verma won the Dutch Open BWFTour Super 100 badminton tournament in Almere, Netherlands.
+Arjun, on the other hand, was the last pick of the day as Zaheer Khan quietly raised the baton to have team mentor Sachin Tendulkar’s son in the set-up after two T20 game for Mumbai.
-Verma defeated June Wei Cheam of Malaysia 21-19, 21-13 in the final. The unseeded Indian ousted top seed Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands in the semifinals on Saturday.
+But before that, a few familiar stories played out. South African allrounder Chris Morris, with 34 runs and 11 wickets from nine games in IPL-13 for Royal Challengers Bangalore, broke all records to become the highest-paid player of the IPL. Rajasthan Royals, looking to rebuild again, paid 16.25 cr, edging out Punjab Kings in a bidding war. Morris’ price tag went past the Rs 16 cr record that was paid by RCB for Yuvraj Singh in 2015.
-The 25-year-old shuttler, who trains at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, had won the Russia Open earlier this year. Dutch Open is Verma's third international title. In 2016 Verma won the Chinese Taipei Masters.
+“We spoke to Morris before the auction and did a medical review to see if he can last the season. He’s in a bubble now in South Africa and about to play the domestic competition. He will play an important role for us in all phases of the game. He can win us the game with the bat as well and the ball,” said Jake Lush McCrum, RR’s COO. But then, that’s the reason RCB paid Rs 10 cr last time for the 33-year-old, but without much reward.
-==World Junior Badminton Championship==
+The auction lived up its tag of being allrounders’ ticket to big money. New Zealand’s Kylie Jamieson was bought for Rs 15 crore by RCB. He had scored a couple of 40s against India in Test matches in 2020 and gave Virat Kohli & Co a difficult time with his pace and bounce. Kohli must have taken a note of that and with Kiwi Mike Hesson as the coach, the decision was made to bring him in.
-===India loses mixed event===
-[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F11%2F10&entity=Ar02105&sk=16D0D5EF&mode=text  November 10, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+There was another usual suspect — Glenn Maxwell — who went for Rs 14.25 crore without hitting a single six in the last edition of the IPL in UAE for Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab). But on paper, he is one who can contribute handsomely both with the bat and ball, and that’s what led to a bidding war between CSK and RCB. CSK, quite uncharacteristically went till Rs 14 cr mark for the player, but then gave up as Kohli’s franchise looked for “impact players”.
-'''Jr World Cup: India bow out in mixed event'''
+CSK, desperate for spin-bowling allrounders, made two smart buys in the form of Moeen Ali (Rs 7 cr) and K Gowtham (Rs 9.25 cr). Gowtham became the highest-paid Indian at the auction. “Moeen can be an opener option too while Gowtham will fill two vacant spots — Kedar Jadhav and Harbhajan Singh,” a source said.
-Markham (Canada): India went down fighting 1-3 to South Korea in the mixed team quarterfinals of the world junior badminton championships, despite Lakshya Sen's superb efforts here. Asian Junior champion, Lakshya lived up to expectations but the two losses in the doubles category virtually sealed India's fate and it was all over after the women singles defeat.
+Another big-money buy was Australian pacer Jhye Richardson by Punjab Kings for Rs 14 cr. They needed a pace-bowling partner for Mohammad Shami after releasing Sheldon Cortrell following a hammering by Rahul Tewatia in one of the games last season. “We knew there would be competition for Richardson but we have the team we required,” team owner Preity Zinta, who also acquired England opener Dawid Mallan for Rs 1.5 cr, said. Punjab also got Tamil Nadu batsman Shahrukh Khan (Rs 5.4 cr), who was extremely impressive in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
-==World Juniors: Bronze for Lakshya==
+The KKR table, which attracted eyeballs due to the presence of SRK’s son Aryan and Juhi Chawla’s daughter Jhanvi, brought Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan back in the team for Rs 3.25 cr along with veteran offie Harbhajan Singh for his base price of Rs 2 cr. MI, on the other hand, had Nathan Coulter Nile and Jimmy Neeham back as their medium-pace back-up for Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. SRH picked up Kedar Jadhav for Rs 2 cr late in the day to add some experience to their middle-order.
-Markham (Canada): Lakshya Sen settled for a bronze medal in the World Junior Badminton Championship after suffering a narrow defeat to top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the singles semifinals here. The 17-yearold from Almora lost 22-20, 16-21, 13-21 to Vitidsarn in a match that went on for an hour and 11 minutes on Saturday.
-=See also=
+Delhi Capitals, too, quietly brought Steve Smith into their line-up for a mere Rs 2.2 crore.
-Pages on individual stars like
-[[Kidambi Srikanth]],
+''' ‘Pujara a back-up for Raina’ '''
-[[Pullela Gopichand]],
+Pujara’s return to the IPL fold was celebrated by most but there were voices who felt the Test specialist would have been better off playing County instead of sitting on the reserve-bench of CSK for two months. But it’s understood that CSK had a plan in place to get Pujara in and it was not just about respect for the stalwart. “He is a back-up for Suresh Raina, who hasn’t played cricket in a while,” a source said.
-[[PV Sindhu]],
+The fact that Dhoni wants players who are used to taking pressure is another reason behind Pujara’s inclusion in the squad.
-[[Saina Nehwal]].
+[[Category:Cinema-TV-Pop|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Cricket|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:India|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Law,Constitution,Judiciary|I INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]
+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
+INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)]]

Badminton: India, Indian Premier League (IPL)

Revision as of 11:00, 25 June 2021

Contents

History

Established in 2008

2008: the beginnings

The results of the finals

Impact on cricket in India

Records

2008-18/ Captains, stars who dropped themselves from the team

An overview, 2008-19

The greatest players, 2008-19

The most memorable matches, 2008-19

Indian Premier League: The economics of

Advertising revenues

Coaches in IPL

As in Nov

Controversies: 2008-16

Spot fixing case: 2013

Dhoni on the suspension of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals

The IPL numbers

IPL broadcast rights

IPL title rights

2017-22: Vivo pays Rs 2,199 crore

Valuation of the IPL

2014-19

IPL jinxed for team owners?

YEAR-WISE HISTORY

2013-14

2016

2017

Players retained and offloaded

The 2017 auctions

The surprise omissions of Feb 2017

The surprise omissions of Feb 2017/ 2

2017/ IPL- 10

Did high player salaries result in success?

2018

The auction

The main deals/ 1

Highlights

Players sold/ 1

The main deals/ 2

Most expensive uncapped players

Lesser known players selected in 2018

The youngest, the oldest, average age

IPL business model

Future

The finals (graphic)

The best batsmen, bowlers IPL 2018

The best performers/ first 30 games

November: Extension, retention and dropping of players

2019

The main deals at the auction

Teams in the final

MI win the title

2020

Mumbai Indians win fifth title

2021

The entire list

The auction

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

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