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The two teams that ended up last in the second season of the Indian Premier League earlier this year Mumbai Indians and Knight Riders have been the first to take initiatives for Season 3 of the event.
While the Knight Riders are all set to bring in 45-year-old Englishman Richard Pybus as coach, the Mumbai Indians have settled in on former Indian allrounder Robin Singh.
The Knight Riders , who had shortlisted a host of coaches during a fortnight-long screening process last month to replace John Buchanan, will be making the announcement on Friday.
Pybus impressive CV includes coaching the Pakistan team (1999 World Cup) and South Africas domestic team Titans. The Cricket South Africas coach of 2009, had guided the Titans to their domestic Twenty20 title last year before quitting the post three months ago.
Another Englishman , Dermott Reeve, too had been shortlisted but Pybus T20 successes tilted the scales, according to a team source.
While Knight Riders have rung in critical changes, the Mumbai Indians have added new personnel while retaining the old order.
According to team sources, Robin Singh, the former Deccan Chargers coach, won the confidence of Mumbai Indians owners after a positive input from Sachin Tendulkar. Former Mumbai allrounder Meanwhile, Paras Mhambrey has been drafted in as his deputy.
With Shaun Pollock too agreeing to continue with the mentors role, the Mumbai outfits coaching staff is almost finalised. Jonty Rhodes continues as the fielding coach.

India Will Miss Explosive Batsmans Spinning Skills Too

Another subdued practice session, another day of eerie silence. Team India is still coping with the unexpected loss of Yuvraj Singh and rejigging the middle order is on top of their list of priorities. However, with the Pakistan clash looming, the absence of Yuvrajs big-hitting talents could prove easier to tide over than his recently-developed skills as a part-time slow bowler.

yuvraj singh

Kevin Pietersens pie-chucker took two hat-tricks during the second edition of the Indian Premier League on South African soil and has bowled 194 overs in 56 games in the last two years. It is in the past year, though, that his bowling skills have gone up a notch as he bagged 12 wickets at 30.91. In the past 17 ODIs, he has even bowled his full quota of 10 overs twice, both away from home, at Christchurch and at Colombo, where he finished with a three-wicket haul against New Zealand at 3.10.
In Hamilton this year, he bowled nine overs in the fourth ODI at an economy rate of 4.44, picking up one wicket. Yuvrajs loopy tweakers have enabled MS Dhoni to play one specialist spinner in Harbhajan Singh more often than not and that luxury would have come in handy on a dry surface like at the Supersport Park in Centurion , where India play two crucial league games against Pakistan and Australia.
Now, either Yusuf Pathan or Suresh Raina will have to step up, with the only other part-time option being replacement Virat Kohli, who is expected to arrive only on Friday morning.
While Dhoni finds his hands tied on this fifth-bowler dilemma, there will be discussions aplenty on how to plug the yawning gap in the middle order. Dhoni might have to step up to the plate and return to his aggressive ways, but then who will play finisher as skillfully as the skipper has in the recent past Sachin Tendulkar too might have to attempt to play steadfastly throughout. Gambhir is back as opener but with Yuvrajs match-winning presence unavailable in the latter stages, will Dravid be under more pressure to up the ante
In the context of the upcoming Pakistan game, too, Yuvrajs absence acquires relevance. He was man of the series in Indias last full series against Pakistan. Besides , during the memorable 2003 World Cup game at Centurion, in a match made memorable by Sachin Tendulkars 98, Yuvraj had scored a crucial, unbeaten 50 as India successfully chased 273. The ground will miss his presence in this reprise of that big clash.
Incidentally, the batsmen is expected to stay back in South Africa for a while and has been advised rest.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has compensated two Indian Premier League franchisees Team Rajasthan and Team Chennai with a sum of Rs 22 crore each, as compensation for the cancellation of the Champions League Twenty20, which got cancelled last year due to the 26/11 attack in Mumbai.
As a part of the compensation package, we have decided to compensate these teams because the Champions League got cancelled last year, IPL chairman Lalit Modi told TOI on Monday.
Incidentally, the other six teams Victoria and Western Australia (Australia), Titans and Dolphin (South Africa), Middlesex (England) and Sialkot Stallions (Pakistan ) were supposed to take part in the competition are yet to get any financial succour from their respective national boards.

There is good and bad news for those rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) players who have decided to accept the BCCIs offer of amnesty. For starters, they will be allowed to play in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) from the 2010 season onwards if franchisees want them. But there is a rider: Players with no international experience have been bracketed into a pay scale which guarantees a minimum of Rs 8 lakh and a maximum of Rs 20 lakh ($18,000 to $45,000) only.
This decision was ratified by the BCCIs working committee on Thursday , after IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had announced earlier that ICL players were likely to be considered.
BCCI officials decided to settle on the idea of salary caps to send out a strong message that defections to rebel organisations would not be tolerated . However, an official suggested that in time, the caps could be removed for talented players. Of course, there are no salary caps for those international stars who had plied their trade in the ICL. Big names like Shane Bond, Abdur Razzaq, Daryl Tuffey and Lou Vincent can either sign a contract individually with IPL teams or take part in an auction.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Wednesday announced that pace spearhead Dale Steyn has been cleared of any doping violation by the Indian Premier League (IPL) authorities. There was a discrepancy in the result of a doping test during the IPL but the authorities are perfectly satisfied with the explanation that Dale has provided and they have confirmed that no offence has been committed, CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said in a statement. 

The Knight Riders team management has begun a hunt for a suitable coach in right earnest. Having sacked former Australian coach John Buchanan, KR is looking for someone who can turn around the fortunes of the team in the third season of the Indian Premier League which will begin on March 12, 2010.
The KR managers have been working overtime for the last one month and have finally shortlisted six coaches three foreigners and three Indians for a formal screening to be held at owner Shah Rukh Khans residence Mannat on August 22.
However, two of the three Indians invited Paras Mhambrey and Praveen Amre have declined the invitation, citing their present commitments .
Other then the two mentioned above, those in the shortlist are: Lalchand Rajput (India), John Wright (New Zealand), Richard Pybus (South Africa) and Duncan Fletcher (England ). TOI had first reported last month that Wright was in the KR scheme of things.
Invites have been sent to these coaches and they have been asked to make formal presentations alongwith a list of their ideas that can help KR emerge a strong contender, informed an official of the franchisee.
Mhambrey, former Mumbai and Bengal coach and currently coach of Baroda, said he did receive an invitation but wasnt sure of being there. I havent given it much thought as I am presently occupied with the Baroda Ranji team, Mhambrey told TOI on Wednesday.
Amre too toed a similar line. Now in Chennai with the Mumbai team for the Buchi Babu tourney, Amre, who is also IPL franchisee Mumbai Indians coach, informed KR that he wont be in Mumbai on August 22.
I have told them that I will not be in Mumbai on that day and hence cant attend the meeting. Besides I am coaching Mumbai Indians so how can I be available, wondered Amre.
Lalchand Rajput, who coached Mumbai Indians in the first edition of the IPL is presently in Scotland, but has given his nod and is expected to be back in time for the presentation.
The three foreigners have also confirmed their participation. Former India coach Wright is already in India and according to sources met SRK at his residence on Wednesday.

South African fast bowler Dale Steyn failed a drug test as a result of taking painkillers to recover from an injury during the second Indian Premier League, his cricket board said on Tuesday. Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola said Steyn was found to have morphine level slightly above the normal because of the painkillers he took and CSA has submitted a report in this regard to IPL authorities.
We are aware of the result and submitted a report immediately to the IPL on why this has happened, Majola said. There was a marginal increase in the presence of morphine in the sample and that was due to painkillers he took during that period. We are awaiting a reply from the IPL authorities , he told a website.
Steyn was out of action for most of the IPL in South Africa due to a thumb injury and played only three matches for Bangalore Royal Challengers. Mohammad Moosajee, South Africas team doctor and a member of CSAs medical committee, however, said Steyn would not face any action as it was not a drug violation but an adverse analytical finding.
This is not a doping violation as such but an adverse analytical finding, which is different, Moosajee said. Dale is known to have a history of chronic migraines and he suffered a thumb injury too during the IPL and he was on Myprodol, a painkiller that contains codeine , he said.
Codeine converts to morphine within the body and that led to the adverse finding. Dale had taken the painkiller on the day of the test and the morphine level in his sample was found to be slightly higher (1.1 to 1.3 microgram per ml) than the 1 microgram per ml that is permitted , Moosajee explained.
This is a matter between the IPL franchise and IPL but since Dale is also a CSA-contracted player, we were informed and we are now assisting in the process. We have sent a detailed report to the IPL and are awaiting a reply. We are confident that he will be cleared.

The icon status of Indias most cher ished cricketers will soon come to an end. From 2010 onwards, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh, who enjoyed this special status the inaugural two seasons, will be like any oth er player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) In the original plan itself, icon status was only for two years. That time IPL was a new concept and we wanted to build a strong base for teams. But it is not mandatory to keep these players after the next season, IPL commis sioner Lalit Modi said here on Tuesday. They can be traded or other teams can bid for them in the fresh auctions after the 2010 season. They will not be icon players anymore, he added.
Abolishing the icons tag would mean that these players no more stand to earn 15% more than the highest-earning player from his fran chise. The fees will be at the discretion of the franchise. This was among the many decisions taken during the IPL governing council meet ing held in Mumbai on Tuesday.
It also decided to add four new venues the IPL tournament, Nagpur, Ahmedabad Dharamsala and Vishakapatnam, which will act as home venues for Mumbai Indians, Team Jaipur, Kings XI and Team Hyderabad re spectively. The franchisees can decide the num ber of matches at these venues. IPL season will be played from March 12-April 25, for which the schedule has already been charted out.
The opening match will be between Team Hyderabad and Knight Riders in Hyderabad while the total number of matches has been increased from 59 to 60, to include a third place play-off after the two semifinals. The schedule has been prepared eight months in advance to help franchisees and sponsors get ready in time for the event, Modi said.
The IPL has also brought a change in strategy (time-out ) breaks that were introduced in 2009. Instead of a seven-and-half minute break per innings (which equals to 15 minutes per game), there will now be two twoand-half minute breaks per innings (equaling to 10 minutes per game). The first break will be called by the bowling captain between the sixth and the tenth over while second by the batsman at the crease between the 11th and 15th over.The IPL has also decided to tweak the NOC rule a bit to deal with players not signing their board contracts in time and missing out on FTP commitments.

The Cricket Boards all-powerful Working Committee, which meets here on August 13, would decide whether former Indian Cricket League players can take part in the Indian Premier League to be held in March-April next year. The Working Committee will decide that, cricket board sources said when asked whether the IPLs Governing Council would take a decision on the matter. The players, who took advantage of the BCCIs one-time amnesty scheme and severed ties with the rebel league, have already been seen in action in other official domestic cricket after the ban on them was lifted by the Board. 

Western Australia batsman, Luke Pomersbach has been charged with assaulting a police officer while attempting to escape custody after a bizarre hit-and-run saga ended with the player being found hiding in sand dunes by a police dog. Pomersbach, who also plays with Indian Premier League team Kings XI Punjab, was suspended indefinitely by the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) after they were made aware of a serious traffic incident on Sunday.
Police allege Pomersbach had been driving while intoxicated and had crashed into the back of another car in western Perth.
He then fled the scene and crashed into a skip bin shortly after, Australian media reported. The 24-year-old then drove away, leaving a trail of oil to his nearby home, Australian Associated Press (AAP) quoted a police spokesman as saying.
He was spoken to by police and as he was being placed in the rear of a police sedan, he informed police that he did not want to accompany them and tried to leave, spokesman Greg Lambert told the agency. A struggle developed when police tried to restrain the man, during which a police officer was pushed back into a window of the house, causing it to break.
A witness told Australian television that police had been restrained in dealing with the cricketer.
The boys were very good. They were telling him he was in trouble, to get in the car, he was being arrested and he was just having none of that, the witness said.
Pomersbach then fled the scene but was later taken into custody after being tracked by a police dog and his handler in sand dunes near his house. The cricketer was also charged with failing to stop, failing to accompany police, driving with an alcohol level in excess of 0.08… obstructing police and escaping police custody, AAP said.
WACA said in a statement: The matter will be heard in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday. Until then, Luke has been suspended from all pre-season training commitments with the Warriors (Western Australia cricket club).