The first edition of IPL was very mysterious as we did not have a single clue that how mammoth this tournament will become in the next ten years. The popularity it received from the first match was massive.

The concept of a tournament in which 8 teams were there and each team was comprised of both national and international players. The teams were supposed to play a home and an away match against every other team. Almost all the teams got popular due to its association with celebrity figures.

Though the concept was established in the year 2007 but the mega event was kicked off 18 April 2008 and the auctions for the same were conducted on 20 February 2008 in which Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the most expensive player of the season by winning the highest bid of US $ 1.5 million.

The first match was between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings and the KKR fans&nbsp;went gaga when they watched a New Zealand star player hitting runs in the directions for their favourite team.

Yes, it was Brendon McCullum who scored 158 off 73 balls and registered&nbsp;the first century in&nbsp;IPL history.&nbsp;That particular knock is one of the most remembered innings played in IPL till now.

Watch&nbsp;the video here:&nbsp;

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Kolkata had an amazing start in 2008 IPL but they failed to continue the momentum and the tournament concluded with Rajasthan Royals as the champions. Yusuf Pathan named the player of the match and Shane Watson declared as the player of the tournament for inspiring his team to victory.

Also watch Top 10 scorers in IPL history:

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From Dhoni to Kohli, here&#39;s a list of all the leading run-scorers in IPL. Number 1 rank might surprise you (Zee News Network)
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Brendon McCullum scored 158 off 73 balls in the inaugural match and registered the first century in IPL history

The first edition of IPL was very mysterious as we did not have a single clue that how mammoth this tournament will become in the next ten years. The popularity it received from the first match was massive. The concept of a tournament in which 8 teams were there and each team was comprised of both national and international players. The teams were supposed to play a home and an away match against every other team. Almost all the teams got popular due to its association with celebrity figures. Though the concept was established in the year 2007 but the mega event was kicked off 18 April 2008 and the auctions for the same were conducted on 20 February 2008 in which Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the most expensive player of the season by winning the highest bid of US $ 1.5 million. The first match was between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings and the KKR fans went gaga when they watched a New Zealand star player hitting runs in the directions for their favourite team. Yes, it was Brendon McCullum who scored 158 off 73 balls and registered the first century in IPL history. That particular knock is one of the most remembered innings played in IPL till now. Watch the video here: × Kolkata had an amazing start in 2008 IPL but they failed to continue the momentum and the tournament concluded with Rajasthan Royals as the champions. Yusuf Pathan named the player of the match and Shane Watson declared as the player of the tournament for inspiring his team to victory. Also watch Top 10 scorers in IPL history: From Dhoni to Kohli, here's a list of all the leading run-scorers in IPL. Number 1 rank might surprise you (Zee News Network) ×

Throwback to first and most remembered century in IPL history

Former Kolkata Knightriders skipper Gautam Gambhir, 36, was today appointed as the captain of rival Delhi Daredevils team in the Indian Premier League(IPL) due to begin next month.

Gambhir who led Kolkata Knight&nbsp;Riders(KKR) to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 was brought over by his former team Delhi Daredevils for 2.8 crore during the latest auction.

A Delhi player, Gambhir played for his home state in the first few IPL season before being brought over an appointed captain of Shah Rukh Khan-led Kolkata Knightriders.

However, KKR did not bid for Gambhir in the latest auction allowing Delhi to lap him up even though he was KKR&#39;s leading run-getter in the IPL. 
&nbsp;

A Delhi player, Gambhir played for his home state in the first few IPL season

Former Kolkata Knightriders skipper Gautam Gambhir, 36, was today appointed as the captain of rival Delhi Daredevils team in the Indian Premier League(IPL) due to begin next month. Gambhir who led Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 was brought over by his former team Delhi Daredevils for 2.8 crore during the latest auction. A Delhi player, Gambhir played for his home state in the first few IPL season before being brought over an appointed captain of Shah Rukh Khan-led Kolkata Knightriders. However, KKR did not bid for Gambhir in the latest auction allowing Delhi to lap him up even though he was KKR's leading run-getter in the IPL.

IPL: Gautam Gambhir appointed Delhi Daredevils captain

Venkatesh Prasad was today appointed bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming Indian Premier League, barely a couple of days after the former India medium pacer resigned as the chief of the junior national selection panel.

With the season 11 of the tournament around the corner, Kings XI Punjab announced their support staff.

&quot;Venkatesh Prasad, former right-arm medium-fast bowler and ex-chairman of the junior national selection committee (BCCI) comes on board as the teams bowling coach,&quot; Kings XI Punjab said in a statement.

Former Australia player Brad Hodge came in on board as the team&#39;s head coach for the next three seasons.

Aggregating more than 7000 runs in this format of the game, Hodge is sure to shake things up for Kings XI Punjab and will lead the team forward under the guidance of team mentor Virender Sehwag.

Hodge said, &quot;The team we&#39;ve managed to get together is absolutely phenomenal. Each member of our coaching staff brings bundles of experience and insight that will help us reach the perfection we strive for here at Kings XI. It&#39;s a truly exciting prospect.&quot;

Delhi player Mithun Manhas is back with the squad as an assistant coach and joining him are Nishant Thakur, Shyamal Vallabhjee and Nishanta Bordoloi who will serve as the franchise&#39;s strength and conditioning coach, technical coach and fielding coach respectively.

Sehwag said &quot;We are glad to have a foreign coach join the team this year along with Venkatesh. I hope the team benefits hugely from their collective experiences.&quot;

Prasad&#39;s resignation comes less than a month after India lifted their fourth title at the Under-19 World Cup.

Prasad, who has worked as the head of the junior national selection committee for 30 months, of late shared a cold relationship with the BCCI mandarins.

&nbsp;

Venkatesh Prasad was today appointed bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming Indian Premier League

Venkatesh Prasad was today appointed bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming Indian Premier League, barely a couple of days after the former India medium pacer resigned as the chief of the junior national selection panel. With the season 11 of the tournament around the corner, Kings XI Punjab announced their support staff. "Venkatesh Prasad, former right-arm medium-fast bowler and ex-chairman of the junior national selection committee (BCCI) comes on board as the teams bowling coach," Kings XI Punjab said in a statement. Former Australia player Brad Hodge came in on board as the team's head coach for the next three seasons. Aggregating more than 7000 runs in this format of the game, Hodge is sure to shake things up for Kings XI Punjab and will lead the team forward under the guidance of team mentor Virender Sehwag. Hodge said, "The team we've managed to get together is absolutely phenomenal. Each member of our coaching staff brings bundles of experience and insight that will help us reach the perfection we strive for here at Kings XI. It's a truly exciting prospect." Delhi player Mithun Manhas is back with the squad as an assistant coach and joining him are Nishant Thakur, Shyamal Vallabhjee and Nishanta Bordoloi who will serve as the franchise's strength and conditioning coach, technical coach and fielding coach respectively. Sehwag said "We are glad to have a foreign coach join the team this year along with Venkatesh. I hope the team benefits hugely from their collective experiences." Prasad's resignation comes less than a month after India lifted their fourth title at the Under-19 World Cup. Prasad, who has worked as the head of the junior national selection committee for 30 months, of late shared a cold relationship with the BCCI mandarins.

Venkatesh Prasad appointed as bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab

Wicketkeeper-batsman, Dinesh Karthik has been appointed as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders for the upcoming 11th edition of Indian Premier League.

He was purchased by KKR at an amount of INR 7.4 Cr. and was one of the expensive buys of the team. Robin Uthappa has been named as the vice-captain.

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Drumrolls! ???? 
Experienced wicket-keeper batsman, <a href="https://twitter.com/DineshKarthik?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DineshKarthik</a> will lead the men in Purple and Gold for VIVO <a href="https://twitter.com/IPL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IPL</a> 2018. ????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KorboLorboJeetbo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KorboLorboJeetbo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KKRKaCaptainKaun?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KKRKaCaptainKaun</a> <a href="https://t.co/558Nkgpj9F">pic.twitter.com/558Nkgpj9F</a>
&mdash; KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) <a href="https://twitter.com/KKRiders/status/970148536355471360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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KKR gave a shocker when they did not retain their star performer Gautam Gambhir, who led the team to great heights in all its previous seasons but preferred two West Indies players, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Gambhir then was taken by Delhi Daredevils in the auction as the Delhi&#39;s skipper.

On receiving the honour Dinesh Kartik said, &quot;Its a massive opportunity for me personally, I am very very happy, really excited because its a massive franchise to got this honour and rolled to be the captain of this team.&quot;

&quot;Its a very young side, there are few very interesting talents from India U-19 we have picked up,&quot; he said about the team.

He further added, &quot;I am looking forward to meeting them, interacting with them and getting the best out of them.&quot;

Watch his reaction here:

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Here&#39;s a message for all <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KnightRiders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KnightRiders</a> from our Captain, <a href="https://twitter.com/DineshKarthik?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DineshKarthik</a> ????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KorboLorboJeetbo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KorboLorboJeetbo</a> <a href="https://t.co/MNAvDM4tHp">pic.twitter.com/MNAvDM4tHp</a>
&mdash; KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) <a href="https://twitter.com/KKRiders/status/970164597658304512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Earlier, Karthik had played for Gujarat Lions, Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has an aggregate of 2903 runs at a strike rate of 125.94 in his IPL career of 152 matches.

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???? <a href="https://twitter.com/SGanguly99?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SGanguly99</a> talks about the expectations from the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Knight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Knight</a> who&#39;ll be in charge to lead the troops. 
 
&lsquo;Watch the unveiling of the next KKR captain, only on <a href="https://twitter.com/StarSportsIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StarSportsIndia</a> at 9 AM today.&#39; ????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KorboLorboJeetbo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KorboLorboJeetbo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPL2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPL2018</a> <a href="https://t.co/0CEuVy9Jci">pic.twitter.com/0CEuVy9Jci</a>
&mdash; KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) <a href="https://twitter.com/KKRiders/status/970121182681821184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Robin Uthappa has been named as the vice-captain

Wicketkeeper-batsman, Dinesh Karthik has been appointed as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders for the upcoming 11th edition of Indian Premier League. He was purchased by KKR at an amount of INR 7.4 Cr. and was one of the expensive buys of the team. Robin Uthappa has been named as the vice-captain. Drumrolls! ???? Experienced wicket-keeper batsman, @DineshKarthik will lead the men in Purple and Gold for VIVO @IPL 2018. ????#KorboLorboJeetbo #KKRKaCaptainKaun pic.twitter.com/558Nkgpj9F — KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 4, 2018 × KKR gave a shocker when they did not retain their star performer Gautam Gambhir, who led the team to great heights in all its previous seasons but preferred two West Indies players, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Gambhir then was taken by Delhi Daredevils in the auction as the Delhi's skipper. On receiving the honour Dinesh Kartik said, "Its a massive opportunity for me personally, I am very very happy, really excited because its a massive franchise to got this honour and rolled to be the captain of this team." "Its a very young side, there are few very interesting talents from India U-19 we have picked up," he said about the team. He further added, "I am looking forward to meeting them, interacting with them and getting the best out of them." Watch his reaction here: Here's a message for all #KnightRiders from our Captain, @DineshKarthik ????#KorboLorboJeetbo pic.twitter.com/MNAvDM4tHp — KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 4, 2018 × Earlier, Karthik had played for Gujarat Lions, Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has an aggregate of 2903 runs at a strike rate of 125.94 in his IPL career of 152 matches. ???? @SGanguly99 talks about the expectations from the #Knight who'll be in charge to lead the troops. ‘Watch the unveiling of the next KKR captain, only on @StarSportsIndia at 9 AM today.' ????#KorboLorboJeetbo #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/0CEuVy9Jci — KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 4, 2018 ×

Dinesh Karthik to lead Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018

One of the most successful domestic coaches from India in recent times, Sanath Kumar, has raised a pertinent issue recently. He is rather perturbed as to why the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises are so adamant on hiring foreign coaches and disregard the Indian talent available in great numbers.

&quot;I worked with so many foreign coaches during my time in RCB. Starting from Martin Crowe, Ray Jennings to Eric Simmons. I didn&#39;t find anybody great. They were all very average (as coaches). I at least found their communication with players to be very poor&quot;. Sanath was quoted as saying on a sports website.

55-year-old Sanath has had a successful stint in guiding relatively weaker teams in the Indian domestic scene and has recently coached Andhra to the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. And his points do make sense. There seems to be a perception in the IPL that foreign coaches will provide more dividends than the Indian ones. Other T20 leagues around the world do not suffer from this bias. The Big Bash League (BBL) has a majority of Australian support staff, The Natwest T20 (England) has primarily Englishmen in their coaching unit and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) also utilizes their local talent. It is only the IPL which seems to be gung-ho on hiring foreign coaches.&nbsp;

&quot;I strongly feel that some of our trainers, physios and other support staff are at par with all those overseas recruits. I feel we have an addiction to white skin,&quot; said Sanath. &nbsp;

The IPL is a tournament that runs for only two months and almost all franchises have local Indian talent. With foreign coaches, firstly communicating can be a big issue. The language barrier can be detrimental in setting up an IPL team and that is where foreign coaches do struggle. Also, Indian coaches will understand the local pool better and can help in picking out young players from different parts of the country. Furthermore, Indian coaches will have a better understanding of the conditions of the pitches to be played in the tournament.&nbsp;

Foreign coaches come in for a few weeks and hardly get a chance to acclimatise with the conditions and bond with the players. Moreover, except for the known international stars in the team, they do not know who the local players are and what are their strengths and weaknesses to utilise them judiciously. &nbsp;

And lest one forget, the whole point of the IPL was to promote Indian talent. If such a prestigious tournament from the country is unable to give exposure to Indian coaches in the IPL, then it does not reflect well on them. Hiring local Indian coaches can also help in brooding future prospective coaching staff for the national team and can go a long way in helping bolster the brand of IPL. However, most franchises these days are obsessed with the idea of hiring a posse of foreign coaches for their team, regardless of how effective they really are.&nbsp;

It appears that IPL franchises follow the perception that foreign coaches are better and are hell-bent on acquiring them. But we have seen time and again with the national Indian team that how this can backfire. In fact, today both the U-19 and senior Indian teams have Indian coaches, which are doing remarkably well under them.

The one thing that perhaps goes against Indian coaches is professionalism or the lack of it. Even Sanath Kumar agrees that most local Indian coaches are not as professional and have lesser ego problems than their foreign counterparts.

Regardless, the IPL franchises should seriously consider hiring more Indian coaches in their teams. After all, this is an Indian league. And while winning is important, one should not just go blindly by perception and ignore the great talent reserve of Indian coaches in the country. 
&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The whole point of the IPL was to promote Indian talent. The IPL franchises should seriously consider hiring more Indian coaches in their teams.

One of the most successful domestic coaches from India in recent times, Sanath Kumar, has raised a pertinent issue recently. He is rather perturbed as to why the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises are so adamant on hiring foreign coaches and disregard the Indian talent available in great numbers. "I worked with so many foreign coaches during my time in RCB. Starting from Martin Crowe, Ray Jennings to Eric Simmons. I didn't find anybody great. They were all very average (as coaches). I at least found their communication with players to be very poor". Sanath was quoted as saying on a sports website. 55-year-old Sanath has had a successful stint in guiding relatively weaker teams in the Indian domestic scene and has recently coached Andhra to the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. And his points do make sense. There seems to be a perception in the IPL that foreign coaches will provide more dividends than the Indian ones. Other T20 leagues around the world do not suffer from this bias. The Big Bash League (BBL) has a majority of Australian support staff, The Natwest T20 (England) has primarily Englishmen in their coaching unit and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) also utilizes their local talent. It is only the IPL which seems to be gung-ho on hiring foreign coaches. "I strongly feel that some of our trainers, physios and other support staff are at par with all those overseas recruits. I feel we have an addiction to white skin," said Sanath. The IPL is a tournament that runs for only two months and almost all franchises have local Indian talent. With foreign coaches, firstly communicating can be a big issue. The language barrier can be detrimental in setting up an IPL team and that is where foreign coaches do struggle. Also, Indian coaches will understand the local pool better and can help in picking out young players from different parts of the country. Furthermore, Indian coaches will have a better understanding of the conditions of the pitches to be played in the tournament. Foreign coaches come in for a few weeks and hardly get a chance to acclimatise with the conditions and bond with the players. Moreover, except for the known international stars in the team, they do not know who the local players are and what are their strengths and weaknesses to utilise them judiciously. And lest one forget, the whole point of the IPL was to promote Indian talent. If such a prestigious tournament from the country is unable to give exposure to Indian coaches in the IPL, then it does not reflect well on them. Hiring local Indian coaches can also help in brooding future prospective coaching staff for the national team and can go a long way in helping bolster the brand of IPL. However, most franchises these days are obsessed with the idea of hiring a posse of foreign coaches for their team, regardless of how effective they really are. It appears that IPL franchises follow the perception that foreign coaches are better and are hell-bent on acquiring them. But we have seen time and again with the national Indian team that how this can backfire. In fact, today both the U-19 and senior Indian teams have Indian coaches, which are doing remarkably well under them. The one thing that perhaps goes against Indian coaches is professionalism or the lack of it. Even Sanath Kumar agrees that most local Indian coaches are not as professional and have lesser ego problems than their foreign counterparts. Regardless, the IPL franchises should seriously consider hiring more Indian coaches in their teams. After all, this is an Indian league. And while winning is important, one should not just go blindly by perception and ignore the great talent reserve of Indian coaches in the country. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Why IPL franchises are adamant about hiring foreign rather than Indian coaches

Shane Warne returned to his former IPL team, not as a bowler, obviously but as a mentor. He was probably the reason when Rajasthan won the IPL trophy in 2008.

Recently, he had revealed that he will return to the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/ipl-2018-all-teams-and-their-squad-list-653">upcoming edition of IPL</a>.

The last time he played for Rajasthan Royals was 2011. Now, he set to return as the team&#39;s mentor.

Rajasthan Royals, who will be playing the IPL this season after serving a two-year ban, announced the &#39;homecoming&#39; of the 48-year-old.

In a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/ipl-auction-2018-funny-tweets-and-memes-flood-internet-30956">recent tweet</a>, he said, &quot;Very excited to be joining the @rajasthanroyals in this years #IPL as team mentor!&quot;

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Very excited to be joining the <a href="https://twitter.com/rajasthanroyals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rajasthanroyals</a> in this years <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPL</a> as team mentor ! <a href="https://t.co/WdrzDAIDZl">https://t.co/WdrzDAIDZl</a>
&mdash; Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneWarne/status/963309279921848320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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A message from our First Royal, <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneWarne?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShaneWarne</a> for all the Royal fans out there!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HallaBol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HallaBol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AbBajegaDanka?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AbBajegaDanka</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheReturnOfTheFirstRoyal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheReturnOfTheFirstRoyal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPL2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPL2018</a> <a href="https://t.co/rrrgeXmFbF">pic.twitter.com/rrrgeXmFbF</a>
&mdash; Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) <a href="https://twitter.com/rajasthanroyals/status/963326773248192513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&quot;I am very happy and excited to be back with the Rajasthan Royals who I believe hold a very special place in my cricketing journey.

I am overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on me by the franchise and the fans,&quot; said Warne.

&quot;We have a strong, young and energetic bunch of boys and I am looking forward to work with them,&quot; he added.

Warne will be joined by another Royals old hand in former Mumbai batsman Zubin Bharucha as Head of Cricket.

Royals co-owner Manoj Badale was thrilled at Warne&#39;s return.

&quot;He is a legend of the game and what he has achieved in Rajasthan Royals is unmatchable,&quot; said Badale.

&quot;Bringing back Shane Warne is also a way of giving back to our fans who have stood by us in trying times. As we are looking to build a strong team that can be in contention for the title, we believe Warne is the right person to mentor the Rajasthan Royals,&quot; he added.

Rajasthan Royals welcomed him and shared a video of his beautiful journey.

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This one&#39;s for you Warnie!!! 
The First Royal ???? <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneWarne?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShaneWarne</a> returns home. Let&rsquo;s get the season started... ???????? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HallaBol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HallaBol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AbBajegaDanka?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AbBajegaDanka</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheReturnOfTheFirstRoyal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheReturnOfTheFirstRoyal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPL2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPL2018</a> <a href="https://t.co/RuVN4cwb5O">pic.twitter.com/RuVN4cwb5O</a>
&mdash; Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) <a href="https://twitter.com/rajasthanroyals/status/963319178936557568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Royals spent big in the recent IPL auction, buying troubled England all-rounder Ben Stokes for a whopping Rs 12.5 crore and India pacer Jaydev Unadkat for Rs 11.5 crore.

Australian captain Steve Smith and India batsman Ajinkya Rahane are the other big names in the team.

&nbsp;

Rajasthan Royals will be playing the upcoming edition of IPL after serving a two-year ban

Shane Warne returned to his former IPL team, not as a bowler, obviously but as a mentor. He was probably the reason when Rajasthan won the IPL trophy in 2008. Recently, he had revealed that he will return to the upcoming edition of IPL. The last time he played for Rajasthan Royals was 2011. Now, he set to return as the team's mentor. Rajasthan Royals, who will be playing the IPL this season after serving a two-year ban, announced the 'homecoming' of the 48-year-old. In a recent tweet, he said, "Very excited to be joining the @rajasthanroyals in this years #IPL as team mentor!" Very excited to be joining the @rajasthanroyals in this years #IPL as team mentor ! https://t.co/WdrzDAIDZl — Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) February 13, 2018 × A message from our First Royal, @ShaneWarne for all the Royal fans out there!#HallaBol #AbBajegaDanka #TheReturnOfTheFirstRoyal #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/rrrgeXmFbF — Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) February 13, 2018 × "I am very happy and excited to be back with the Rajasthan Royals who I believe hold a very special place in my cricketing journey. I am overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on me by the franchise and the fans," said Warne. "We have a strong, young and energetic bunch of boys and I am looking forward to work with them," he added. Warne will be joined by another Royals old hand in former Mumbai batsman Zubin Bharucha as Head of Cricket. Royals co-owner Manoj Badale was thrilled at Warne's return. "He is a legend of the game and what he has achieved in Rajasthan Royals is unmatchable," said Badale. "Bringing back Shane Warne is also a way of giving back to our fans who have stood by us in trying times. As we are looking to build a strong team that can be in contention for the title, we believe Warne is the right person to mentor the Rajasthan Royals," he added. Rajasthan Royals welcomed him and shared a video of his beautiful journey. This one's for you Warnie!!! The First Royal ???? @ShaneWarne returns home. Let’s get the season started... ???????? #HallaBol #AbBajegaDanka #TheReturnOfTheFirstRoyal #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/RuVN4cwb5O — Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) February 13, 2018 × Royals spent big in the recent IPL auction, buying troubled England all-rounder Ben Stokes for a whopping Rs 12.5 crore and India pacer Jaydev Unadkat for Rs 11.5 crore. Australian captain Steve Smith and India batsman Ajinkya Rahane are the other big names in the team.

IPL: Shane Warne marks royal return as Rajasthan's mentor

The IPL 2018 auction will take place in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28 where a total of 578 players will go under the hammer.

A fierce bidding war is expected as Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav and openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay will be on the franchises&rsquo; radar.

The list also includes the overseas players, including Glenn Maxwell, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Rashid Khan and Eoin Morgan.&nbsp;

In the 10th season, Mumbai Indians led by Rohit Sharma defeated Pune to lift the IPL trophy for the third time.

The 11th season of the much-awaited Indian Premier League will begin on 6th April 2018. &nbsp;

The opening ceremony of the tournament will take place on April 6 in Mumbai while the first match of the new season will be played at the same venue on April 7.

He further informed that the tournament will continue until May 27 with Mumbai once again hosting the final match.

Here is the complete list of players and their base price.

Base Price ₹2,00,00,000

Batsman 
KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Colin Ingram

Bowler&nbsp; 
Josh Hazlewood, Rashid Khan Arman, Karn Sharma, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, Mitchell Johnson, Liam Plunkett, Pat Cummins

Wicket Keeper 
Quinton De Kock, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa

All-Rounder 
James Faulkner, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Angelo Mathews, David Willey, Corey Anderson, Kedar Jadhav

==========

Base Price ₹1,50,00,000

Batsman 
Aaron Finch, Jason Roy, Hashim Amla, Evin Lewis, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Michael Klinger, Lendl Simmons, David Miller

Bowler&nbsp; 
Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Kyle Abbott, Kuldeep Singh Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma, Nathan Lyon, Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Mark Wood, Jaydev Unadkat

Wicket Keeper 
Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Peter Handscomb

All-Rounder 
Moises Henriques, Ravi Bopara, Jason Holder, Moeen Ali, M.S. Washington Sundar

==========

Base Price ₹1,00,00,000

Batsman 
Manish Pandey, Dwayne Smith, Alex Hales

Bowler&nbsp; 
Tymal Mills, Andrew Tye, Mohammed Siraj, Adam Zampa, Mohammad Shami, Dale Steyn, Mustafizur Rahman, Samuel Badree, Imran Tahir, Tim Southee, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Piyush Chawla

Wicket Keeper 
Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, Sanju Samson, Sam Billings &nbsp;&nbsp;

All-Rounder 
Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Ben Cutting, Jean-Paul Duminy, Shane Watson, Chris Jordan, Tom Curran

==========

Base Price ₹75,00,000

Batsman 
Martin Guptill, Darren Bravo, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ross Taylor, Usman Khawaja &nbsp;&nbsp;

Bowler&nbsp; 
Peter Siddle, Jerome Taylor, Lockie Ferguson, Morne Morkel, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Narendra Thakur, Adam Milne, Marchant De Lange &nbsp;&nbsp;

Wicket Keeper 
Naman Ojha, Johnson Charles, Luke Ronchi &nbsp; &nbsp;

All-Rounder 
Darren Sammy, Colin De Grandhomme, Yusuf Pathan, Adil Rashid, Joe Denly, Samit Patel, Wayne Parnell

==========

Base Price ₹50,00,000

Batsman 
Reeza Hendricks, Mandeep Hardev Singh, Anton Devcich, Upul Tharanga, Karun Nair, Billy Stanlake, Joe Burns, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, Tamim Khan, Aiden Markram, Faiz Fazal, Abhinav Mukund, Venugopal Rao, Dean Elgar, Najibullah Zadran &nbsp;&nbsp;

Bowler&nbsp; 
Ben Laughlin, Ronsford Beaton, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sandeep Sharma, Gulbadin Naib, Ish Sodhi, Duanne Olivier, Michael Beer, Sachithra Senanayaka, Dawlat Zadran, Aaron Phangiso, Beuran Hendricks, Lakshan Sandakan, Aravind Sreenath, Barinder Singh Sran, Sean Abbott, Ben Wheeler, Kesrick Williams, Lungisani Ngidi, Ashoke Dinda, Praveen Kumar, Mujeeb Zadran, Pragyan Ojha, Jhye Richardson, Rahul Sharma, Joel Paris, Varun Aaron, Parvinder Awana, Munaf Patel, Scott Boland, Dushmantha Chameera, Shannon Gabriel, Akila Dhananjaya, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Paterson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Seth Rance, Fawad Ahmed, Tabrez Shamsi, Neil Wagner, Shapoor Zadran, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sheldon Cottrell, Matt Henry, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Manpreet Gony, Pankaj Singh, Sudeep Tyagi &nbsp;&nbsp;

Wicket Keeper 
Glenn Phillips, Denesh Ramdin, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Janith Perera, Nicolas Pooran, Alex Carey, Chadwick Walton, Tom Latham, M Shahzad Mohammadi, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Ambati Rayudu &nbsp;&nbsp;

All-Rounder 
Gurkeerat Singh Mann, John Hastings, Sikandar Butt, Graeme Cremer, Rishi Dhawan, Solomon Mire, Ryan McLaren, Parveez Rasool, Shabbir Rahaman, Vernon Philander, Abul Raju, Paul Stirling, Malcolm Waller, Dilshan Munaweera, Thisara Perera, Pawan Negi, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ashton Agar, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah Zarmatai, Dwaine Pretorius, David Wiese, Asela Gunarathna, Dhananjaya Silva, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jonathan Carter, Rovman Powell, Mitchell Santner, Jayant Yadav, Irfan Pathan, Marlon Samuels, Andre Fletcher, Stuart Binny, Hilton Cartwright, Dasun Shanka, Dawid Malan, Farhaan Behardien, Jon-Jon Trevor Smuts, Ashley Nurse, Scott Kuggeleijn, Robbie Frylinck, Wiaan Mulder, Colin Munro, Vaughn Van Jaarsveld, Rayad Emrit, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Isuru Udana

==========

Base Price ₹40,00,000

Batsman 
Tom Cooper

Bowler&nbsp; 
Thomas Helm, Mitchell Swepson, Shahbaz Nadeem, T Natarajan &nbsp;&nbsp;

Wicket Keeper 
Ishan Kishan

All-Rounder 
Rajat Bhatia, Kevon Cooper, Vijay Shankar, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Michael Neser, Jofra Archer

==========

Base Price ₹30,00,000

Batsman 
Suryakumar Yadav, Christiaan Jonker, Vishnu Solanki, Alex Ross, Daniel Hughes &nbsp;&nbsp;

Bowler&nbsp; 
Iqbal Abdullah, Siddarth Kaul, Anureet Singh, Pradeep Sangwan, Basil Thampi, Gurvinder Singh, Aniket Choudhary, Ankit Singh Rajpoot &nbsp; &nbsp;

Wicket Keeper 
Ben McDermott &nbsp;

All-Rounder 
Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Roshon Primus &nbsp;&nbsp;

==========

Base Price ₹20,00,000

Batsman 
Manprit Juneja, Mayank Siddana, Armaan Jaffer, Shivam Chauhan, Sachin Baby, Prithvi Shaw, Ankeet Bawane, Siddhesh Dinesh Lad, Apoorv Vijay Wankhade, Virat Singh, Marcus Harris, Ricky Bhui, Rassie Van der Dussen, Rajesh Bishnoi Sr, Paras Dogra, D.B Ravi Teja, Paul Valthaty, Amandeep Khare, Rinku Singh, Tanmay Agarwal, Ankit Lamba, Sarthak Ranjan, Priyank Panchal, Pratham Singh, Ishank Jaggi, Manjot Kalra, Anmolpreet Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sharad Lumba, Shubham Singh Rohilla, Himanshu Rana, Akshath Reddy, R Samarth, Mohammed Asaduddin, Abhinav Manohar, Rohan Marwaha, Rajat Patidar, Yash Sehrawat, Ravi Chauhan, Samit Gohil, Ramandeep Singh, Abhijeet Tomar, Jiwanjot Singh Chauhan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Chirag Gandhi, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Manan Vohra, Mayank Agarwal, Unmukt Chand &nbsp; &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Bowler&nbsp; 
Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Nidheesh M D Dinesan, Junior Dala, Karan Thakur, Anurag Verma, Lizaad Williams, Tanveer Ulhaq, Kushang Patel, Shelly Shaurya, A. Aswin Crist, Aaron Summers, Royston Dias, Kartik Tyagi, Tejas Singh Baroka, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Rahul Shukla, Bhargav Bhatt, Shadab Jakati, Sarabjit Ladda, Pravin Tambe, Ben Dwarshuis, Ajit Chahal, Deepak Chaudhary, Pradeep Dadhe, Domnic Joseph Muthuswamy, Babasafi Pathan, Monu Singh, Pradeep Thippeswamy, Kuldip Yadav, Krishnappa Gowtham, K.C. Cariappa, Mihir Hirwani, Akshay Wakhare, Manjeetkumar Chaudhary, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Iqbal Meriwala, Navdeep Saini, Vikas Tokas, Yuvraj Chudasama, Rahul Chahar, Ronit More, Veer Pratap Singh, Varun Khanna, Pawan Suyal, Sandeep Warrier, J Suchith, Ashish Hooda, R. Sai Kishore, Rahil S Shah, Harmeet Singh, Ishwar Chaudhary, Parikshit Valsangkar, Avesh Khan, Amit Mishra, Cheepurupalli Stephen, Rajwinder Singh, Shubek Gill, Vinay Choudhary, Mayank Markande, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Ankit Soni, Lalit Yadav, Pardeep Sahu, Chama Milind, Umar Nazir Mir, Yarra Raj, Oshane Thomas, Athisayaraj V, Zeeshan Ansari, Siddharth Desai, Jiyas K, Alexandar Rama Doss, Nathu Singh, M. Ashwin, Shivil Kaushik, Baltej Dhanda, Armaan Jain, Mohsin Khan, Mukesh Kumar Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Rishi Arothe, Asif K M, Ravi Kiran Majeti, Ishan Porel, Aditya Thakare, Sandeep Lamichhane, Subodh Bhati, Mohan Prasath, Abhishek Sakuja, Javed Khan, Ashok Sandhu, Tushar Deshpande, Sayan Ghosh, Jaskaran Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajneesh Gurbani &nbsp;

Wicket Keeper

Ankush Bains, C.M. Gautam, Aditya Tare, N Jagadeesan, Nikhil Shankar Naik, Smit Patel, K.B Arun Karthik, Kona Srikar Bharat, Shreevats Goswami, Mahesh Rawat, Gitansh Khera, Jitesh Sharma, Vishnu Vinod, Sheldon Jackson, Kedar Devdhar, Prashant Chopra, Anuj Rawat, Harvik Desai, Anmol Malhotra, Dhruv Raval, Rohith Ravikumar, Mohammad Nazim Siddiqui, Mayank Sidhu, Sandeep Kumar Tomar, Sadiq Hassan Kirmani, Jaskaranvir Singh Sohi, Abhishek Gupta, Hamza Tariq, Rahul Yadav, Kyle Mayers &nbsp; &nbsp;

All-Rounder

Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Jaydev Shah, Shashank Singh, Manzoor Dar, Aman Khan, Diwesh Pathania, Shamss Mulani, Salman Nizar, Dafedar, Khizar Anwar, Mandeep Singh, Shubham Ranjane, Sidhant Dobal, Vinod Kumar C.V., Thomas Kaber, Midhun S, Akhil Arvind Herwadkar, Shamar Springer, Ashok Menaria, Jack Wildermuth, Odean Smith, Yogesh Nagar, Milind Kumar, Shubham Agrawal, Akshdeep Nath, Yomahesh Kumar, Vivek Singh, Mohammed Bilal, Arun Chaprana, Rajat Paliwal, Abhimanyu Rana, Sarang Rawat, Fabid, Farook Ahmed, Arjun Sharma, Shreyas Gopal, Akash Sudan, Sandeep Bavanaka, Karan Kaila, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Gaurav Gambir, Ankit Kaushik, Patrick Kruger, Sohraab Dhaliwal, Aditya Sarvate, Amish Sidhu, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Vignesh Moorthy, Arjun Nair, Kanishk Seth, Shivam Dubey, Hanuma Vihari, Puneet Datey, Ninad Rathva, Siddhant Sharma, Mrinank Singh, Manan Sharma, Chintan Gaja, Amit Mishra, Jalaj Saxena, Bipul Sharma, Shreekant Wagh, Syed, Mehdi Hasan, Harshal Patel, Sumit Ruikar, Ashish Reddy, Kuldeep Hooda, Shaurya Sanandia, Vaibhav Rawal, Pankaj Jaswal, Anustup Majumdar, Dhruv Shorey, Kshitiz Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Himmat Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Chris Green, Ryan Ninan, Rohan Prem, Rahul Tewatia, Puneed Datey, R. Sanjay Yadav, Imtiaz Ahmed, Atit Sheth, Dinesh Salunkhe, Pavan Deshpande, Shivam Sharma, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Indrajith Baba, Jatin Saxena, Shivam Mavi, Sagar Trivedi, Amit Verma, Akash Parkar, Nitish Rana, Anukul Roy, Akash Bhandari, Pratyush Singh, Ankit Sharma, Anirudha Ashok Joshi, Saurabh Kumar, Praveen Dubey, Kunal Chandela, Aamir Gani, Pulkit Narang, Riyan Parag, Karanveer Singh, Sumeet Verma, Cameron Gannon, Akshay Karnewar, Tajinder Dhillon, Govinda Poddar, Rajesh Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Antony Dhas, Kishore Pramod Kamath, Nikhil Gangta, Jay Gokul Bista, Sumanth Bodapati, Mahipal Lomror, Deepak Punia, Mayank Dagar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Darcy Short, Baba Aparajith, Abhishek Sharma, Milind Tandon.

&nbsp;

The opening ceremony of the tournament will take place on April 6 in Mumbai while the first match of the new season will be played at the same venue on April 7

The IPL 2018 auction will take place in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28 where a total of 578 players will go under the hammer. A fierce bidding war is expected as Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav and openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay will be on the franchises’ radar. The list also includes the overseas players, including Glenn Maxwell, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Rashid Khan and Eoin Morgan. In the 10th season, Mumbai Indians led by Rohit Sharma defeated Pune to lift the IPL trophy for the third time. The 11th season of the much-awaited Indian Premier League will begin on 6th April 2018. The opening ceremony of the tournament will take place on April 6 in Mumbai while the first match of the new season will be played at the same venue on April 7. He further informed that the tournament will continue until May 27 with Mumbai once again hosting the final match. Here is the complete list of players and their base price. Base Price ₹2,00,00,000 Batsman KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Colin Ingram Bowler Josh Hazlewood, Rashid Khan Arman, Karn Sharma, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, Mitchell Johnson, Liam Plunkett, Pat Cummins Wicket Keeper Quinton De Kock, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa All-Rounder James Faulkner, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Angelo Mathews, David Willey, Corey Anderson, Kedar Jadhav ========== Base Price ₹1,50,00,000 Batsman Aaron Finch, Jason Roy, Hashim Amla, Evin Lewis, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Michael Klinger, Lendl Simmons, David Miller Bowler Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Kyle Abbott, Kuldeep Singh Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma, Nathan Lyon, Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Mark Wood, Jaydev Unadkat Wicket Keeper Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Peter Handscomb All-Rounder Moises Henriques, Ravi Bopara, Jason Holder, Moeen Ali, M.S. Washington Sundar ========== Base Price ₹1,00,00,000 Batsman Manish Pandey, Dwayne Smith, Alex Hales Bowler Tymal Mills, Andrew Tye, Mohammed Siraj, Adam Zampa, Mohammad Shami, Dale Steyn, Mustafizur Rahman, Samuel Badree, Imran Tahir, Tim Southee, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Piyush Chawla Wicket Keeper Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, Sanju Samson, Sam Billings All-Rounder Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Ben Cutting, Jean-Paul Duminy, Shane Watson, Chris Jordan, Tom Curran ========== Base Price ₹75,00,000 Batsman Martin Guptill, Darren Bravo, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ross Taylor, Usman Khawaja Bowler Peter Siddle, Jerome Taylor, Lockie Ferguson, Morne Morkel, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Narendra Thakur, Adam Milne, Marchant De Lange Wicket Keeper Naman Ojha, Johnson Charles, Luke Ronchi All-Rounder Darren Sammy, Colin De Grandhomme, Yusuf Pathan, Adil Rashid, Joe Denly, Samit Patel, Wayne Parnell ========== Base Price ₹50,00,000 Batsman Reeza Hendricks, Mandeep Hardev Singh, Anton Devcich, Upul Tharanga, Karun Nair, Billy Stanlake, Joe Burns, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, Tamim Khan, Aiden Markram, Faiz Fazal, Abhinav Mukund, Venugopal Rao, Dean Elgar, Najibullah Zadran Bowler Ben Laughlin, Ronsford Beaton, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sandeep Sharma, Gulbadin Naib, Ish Sodhi, Duanne Olivier, Michael Beer, Sachithra Senanayaka, Dawlat Zadran, Aaron Phangiso, Beuran Hendricks, Lakshan Sandakan, Aravind Sreenath, Barinder Singh Sran, Sean Abbott, Ben Wheeler, Kesrick Williams, Lungisani Ngidi, Ashoke Dinda, Praveen Kumar, Mujeeb Zadran, Pragyan Ojha, Jhye Richardson, Rahul Sharma, Joel Paris, Varun Aaron, Parvinder Awana, Munaf Patel, Scott Boland, Dushmantha Chameera, Shannon Gabriel, Akila Dhananjaya, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Paterson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Seth Rance, Fawad Ahmed, Tabrez Shamsi, Neil Wagner, Shapoor Zadran, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sheldon Cottrell, Matt Henry, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Manpreet Gony, Pankaj Singh, Sudeep Tyagi Wicket Keeper Glenn Phillips, Denesh Ramdin, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Janith Perera, Nicolas Pooran, Alex Carey, Chadwick Walton, Tom Latham, M Shahzad Mohammadi, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Ambati Rayudu All-Rounder Gurkeerat Singh Mann, John Hastings, Sikandar Butt, Graeme Cremer, Rishi Dhawan, Solomon Mire, Ryan McLaren, Parveez Rasool, Shabbir Rahaman, Vernon Philander, Abul Raju, Paul Stirling, Malcolm Waller, Dilshan Munaweera, Thisara Perera, Pawan Negi, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ashton Agar, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah Zarmatai, Dwaine Pretorius, David Wiese, Asela Gunarathna, Dhananjaya Silva, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jonathan Carter, Rovman Powell, Mitchell Santner, Jayant Yadav, Irfan Pathan, Marlon Samuels, Andre Fletcher, Stuart Binny, Hilton Cartwright, Dasun Shanka, Dawid Malan, Farhaan Behardien, Jon-Jon Trevor Smuts, Ashley Nurse, Scott Kuggeleijn, Robbie Frylinck, Wiaan Mulder, Colin Munro, Vaughn Van Jaarsveld, Rayad Emrit, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Isuru Udana ========== Base Price ₹40,00,000 Batsman Tom Cooper Bowler Thomas Helm, Mitchell Swepson, Shahbaz Nadeem, T Natarajan Wicket Keeper Ishan Kishan All-Rounder Rajat Bhatia, Kevon Cooper, Vijay Shankar, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Michael Neser, Jofra Archer ========== Base Price ₹30,00,000 Batsman Suryakumar Yadav, Christiaan Jonker, Vishnu Solanki, Alex Ross, Daniel Hughes Bowler Iqbal Abdullah, Siddarth Kaul, Anureet Singh, Pradeep Sangwan, Basil Thampi, Gurvinder Singh, Aniket Choudhary, Ankit Singh Rajpoot Wicket Keeper Ben McDermott All-Rounder Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Roshon Primus ========== Base Price ₹20,00,000 Batsman Manprit Juneja, Mayank Siddana, Armaan Jaffer, Shivam Chauhan, Sachin Baby, Prithvi Shaw, Ankeet Bawane, Siddhesh Dinesh Lad, Apoorv Vijay Wankhade, Virat Singh, Marcus Harris, Ricky Bhui, Rassie Van der Dussen, Rajesh Bishnoi Sr, Paras Dogra, D.B Ravi Teja, Paul Valthaty, Amandeep Khare, Rinku Singh, Tanmay Agarwal, Ankit Lamba, Sarthak Ranjan, Priyank Panchal, Pratham Singh, Ishank Jaggi, Manjot Kalra, Anmolpreet Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sharad Lumba, Shubham Singh Rohilla, Himanshu Rana, Akshath Reddy, R Samarth, Mohammed Asaduddin, Abhinav Manohar, Rohan Marwaha, Rajat Patidar, Yash Sehrawat, Ravi Chauhan, Samit Gohil, Ramandeep Singh, Abhijeet Tomar, Jiwanjot Singh Chauhan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Chirag Gandhi, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Manan Vohra, Mayank Agarwal, Unmukt Chand Bowler Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Nidheesh M D Dinesan, Junior Dala, Karan Thakur, Anurag Verma, Lizaad Williams, Tanveer Ulhaq, Kushang Patel, Shelly Shaurya, A. Aswin Crist, Aaron Summers, Royston Dias, Kartik Tyagi, Tejas Singh Baroka, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Rahul Shukla, Bhargav Bhatt, Shadab Jakati, Sarabjit Ladda, Pravin Tambe, Ben Dwarshuis, Ajit Chahal, Deepak Chaudhary, Pradeep Dadhe, Domnic Joseph Muthuswamy, Babasafi Pathan, Monu Singh, Pradeep Thippeswamy, Kuldip Yadav, Krishnappa Gowtham, K.C. Cariappa, Mihir Hirwani, Akshay Wakhare, Manjeetkumar Chaudhary, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Iqbal Meriwala, Navdeep Saini, Vikas Tokas, Yuvraj Chudasama, Rahul Chahar, Ronit More, Veer Pratap Singh, Varun Khanna, Pawan Suyal, Sandeep Warrier, J Suchith, Ashish Hooda, R. Sai Kishore, Rahil S Shah, Harmeet Singh, Ishwar Chaudhary, Parikshit Valsangkar, Avesh Khan, Amit Mishra, Cheepurupalli Stephen, Rajwinder Singh, Shubek Gill, Vinay Choudhary, Mayank Markande, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Ankit Soni, Lalit Yadav, Pardeep Sahu, Chama Milind, Umar Nazir Mir, Yarra Raj, Oshane Thomas, Athisayaraj V, Zeeshan Ansari, Siddharth Desai, Jiyas K, Alexandar Rama Doss, Nathu Singh, M. Ashwin, Shivil Kaushik, Baltej Dhanda, Armaan Jain, Mohsin Khan, Mukesh Kumar Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Rishi Arothe, Asif K M, Ravi Kiran Majeti, Ishan Porel, Aditya Thakare, Sandeep Lamichhane, Subodh Bhati, Mohan Prasath, Abhishek Sakuja, Javed Khan, Ashok Sandhu, Tushar Deshpande, Sayan Ghosh, Jaskaran Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajneesh Gurbani Wicket Keeper Ankush Bains, C.M. Gautam, Aditya Tare, N Jagadeesan, Nikhil Shankar Naik, Smit Patel, K.B Arun Karthik, Kona Srikar Bharat, Shreevats Goswami, Mahesh Rawat, Gitansh Khera, Jitesh Sharma, Vishnu Vinod, Sheldon Jackson, Kedar Devdhar, Prashant Chopra, Anuj Rawat, Harvik Desai, Anmol Malhotra, Dhruv Raval, Rohith Ravikumar, Mohammad Nazim Siddiqui, Mayank Sidhu, Sandeep Kumar Tomar, Sadiq Hassan Kirmani, Jaskaranvir Singh Sohi, Abhishek Gupta, Hamza Tariq, Rahul Yadav, Kyle Mayers All-Rounder Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Jaydev Shah, Shashank Singh, Manzoor Dar, Aman Khan, Diwesh Pathania, Shamss Mulani, Salman Nizar, Dafedar, Khizar Anwar, Mandeep Singh, Shubham Ranjane, Sidhant Dobal, Vinod Kumar C.V., Thomas Kaber, Midhun S, Akhil Arvind Herwadkar, Shamar Springer, Ashok Menaria, Jack Wildermuth, Odean Smith, Yogesh Nagar, Milind Kumar, Shubham Agrawal, Akshdeep Nath, Yomahesh Kumar, Vivek Singh, Mohammed Bilal, Arun Chaprana, Rajat Paliwal, Abhimanyu Rana, Sarang Rawat, Fabid, Farook Ahmed, Arjun Sharma, Shreyas Gopal, Akash Sudan, Sandeep Bavanaka, Karan Kaila, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Gaurav Gambir, Ankit Kaushik, Patrick Kruger, Sohraab Dhaliwal, Aditya Sarvate, Amish Sidhu, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Vignesh Moorthy, Arjun Nair, Kanishk Seth, Shivam Dubey, Hanuma Vihari, Puneet Datey, Ninad Rathva, Siddhant Sharma, Mrinank Singh, Manan Sharma, Chintan Gaja, Amit Mishra, Jalaj Saxena, Bipul Sharma, Shreekant Wagh, Syed, Mehdi Hasan, Harshal Patel, Sumit Ruikar, Ashish Reddy, Kuldeep Hooda, Shaurya Sanandia, Vaibhav Rawal, Pankaj Jaswal, Anustup Majumdar, Dhruv Shorey, Kshitiz Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Himmat Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Chris Green, Ryan Ninan, Rohan Prem, Rahul Tewatia, Puneed Datey, R. Sanjay Yadav, Imtiaz Ahmed, Atit Sheth, Dinesh Salunkhe, Pavan Deshpande, Shivam Sharma, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Indrajith Baba, Jatin Saxena, Shivam Mavi, Sagar Trivedi, Amit Verma, Akash Parkar, Nitish Rana, Anukul Roy, Akash Bhandari, Pratyush Singh, Ankit Sharma, Anirudha Ashok Joshi, Saurabh Kumar, Praveen Dubey, Kunal Chandela, Aamir Gani, Pulkit Narang, Riyan Parag, Karanveer Singh, Sumeet Verma, Cameron Gannon, Akshay Karnewar, Tajinder Dhillon, Govinda Poddar, Rajesh Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Antony Dhas, Kishore Pramod Kamath, Nikhil Gangta, Jay Gokul Bista, Sumanth Bodapati, Mahipal Lomror, Deepak Punia, Mayank Dagar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Darcy Short, Baba Aparajith, Abhishek Sharma, Milind Tandon.

IPL auction: Complete players' list and their base price

By: Khalid Bashir Shah

Meet Manzoor Ahmad Dar from Jammu and Kashmir, a 24-year-old batting all-rounder, from the Sumbal Sonawari village has made his way on the Indian Premier auction list.&nbsp;

The Indian Premier League auction which will be held on 27th and 28th January in Bengaluru. Manzoor is hoping his selection into an IPL team will pave way for the dream of his lifetime, which is wearing the blue jersey of Indian International cricket team.&nbsp;

Manzoor is a man of many talents - a weightlifter, kabbadi player, wood artist and a security guard - but has always had a passion for cricket, his coach and selectors swear by his raw talent and ability to hit balls out of the biggest grounds.&nbsp;

The 24-year-old is the sole bread earner in his family. He is the oldest of the five siblings and worked hard to make ends meet.

He is the first professional sportsperson of the Sonawari village of Kashmir.&nbsp;In the year 2010, he joined cricket club and started playing professional cricket.

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Manzoor Ahmad Dar (Zee News Network)
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Manzoor earned about Rs 3000 from his night job Owing to the poor financial condition, Manzoor&rsquo;s friend would handover the salary to him and his total earnings for the month came up to a mere Rs 6000.&nbsp;

Now, Manzoor is all set to touch the stars. If selected for an IPL team, he would not just get a chance to play alongside the best cricket talent of the world but also come on the radar of international cricket.

&nbsp;

He is the first professional sportsperson of the Sonawari village of Kashmir

By: Khalid Bashir Shah Meet Manzoor Ahmad Dar from Jammu and Kashmir, a 24-year-old batting all-rounder, from the Sumbal Sonawari village has made his way on the Indian Premier auction list. The Indian Premier League auction which will be held on 27th and 28th January in Bengaluru. Manzoor is hoping his selection into an IPL team will pave way for the dream of his lifetime, which is wearing the blue jersey of Indian International cricket team. Manzoor is a man of many talents - a weightlifter, kabbadi player, wood artist and a security guard - but has always had a passion for cricket, his coach and selectors swear by his raw talent and ability to hit balls out of the biggest grounds. The 24-year-old is the sole bread earner in his family. He is the oldest of the five siblings and worked hard to make ends meet. He is the first professional sportsperson of the Sonawari village of Kashmir. In the year 2010, he joined cricket club and started playing professional cricket. Manzoor Ahmad Dar (Zee News Network) × Manzoor earned about Rs 3000 from his night job Owing to the poor financial condition, Manzoor’s friend would handover the salary to him and his total earnings for the month came up to a mere Rs 6000. Now, Manzoor is all set to touch the stars. If selected for an IPL team, he would not just get a chance to play alongside the best cricket talent of the world but also come on the radar of international cricket.

Meet Manzoor Ahmad Dar, J&K star cricketer eyeing IPL 2018 contract

The IPL 2018 auction will take place in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28 where a total of 578 players will go under the hammer with 282 overseas players.

The 11th edition of IPL will see many new faces and also the flow of money has increased but some old champions are still the favourites.

There are 16 players awarded marquee status and those are: Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Benjamin Stokes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Christopher Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Ajinkya Rahane, Dwayne Bravo, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Kane Williamson, Faf Du Plessis, Joe Root, Shakib Al Hasan and Yuvraj Singh.

Ben Stokes was the most expensive bid in the last edition of IPL and even&nbsp;this year, he is eying big money.

Though Glenn Maxwell&nbsp;was axed from Australia&#39;s squad&nbsp;for the&nbsp;one-day international (ODI) series against England but he is definitely among most favourites.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/iplauction-complete-players-list-and-their-base-price-30869">Also</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/iplauction-complete-players-list-and-their-base-price-30869"> see the complete list of players and their base price.</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/virat-become-most-expensive-player-in-ipl-history-kkr-ignored-gambhir-28570">Virat most expensive player in IPL history, KKR ignore Gambhir</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/ipl-retention-csk-returns-with-dhoni-rcb-retains-virat-28564">IPL retention: CSK returns with Dhoni, RCB retains Virat</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/meet-manzoor-ahmad-dar-jk-star-cricketer-eyeing-ipl-2018-contract-30773">Meet Manzoor Ahmad Dar, J&amp;K star cricketer eyeing IPL 2018 contract</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/ahead-of-ipl-xi-auction-joe-root-pulls-out-of-englands-t20-tri-series-30465">Ahead of IPL XI auction, Joe Root pulls out of England&#39;s T20 tri-series</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/ipl-2018-ms-dhoni-suresh-raina-retained-by-chennai-super-kings-28424">IPL 2018: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina retained by Chennai Super Kings</a>

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Some familiar names, some new names on our radar. We, the <a href="https://twitter.com/SunRisers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SunRisers</a> have arrived in Bangalore for what promises to be the most interesting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OrangeArmy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OrangeArmy</a> <a href="https://t.co/lwKjNNgJff">pic.twitter.com/lwKjNNgJff</a>
&mdash; VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) <a href="https://twitter.com/VVSLaxman281/status/956852935220064256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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On the basis of a table draw this is how the 8 teams are seated at the VIVO <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> <a href="https://t.co/UDiG0oS6tS">pic.twitter.com/UDiG0oS6tS</a>
&mdash; IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IPL/status/956920393507389441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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List of marquee players with their base price

A fierce bidding war is expected as Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Ajinkya Rahane&nbsp;will be on the franchises&rsquo; radar.

Glenn Maxwell&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;All-Rounder&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹2,00,00,000 
Benjamin Stokes&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;All-Rounder&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ₹2,00,00,000 
Yuvraj Singh&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; All-Rounder&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ₹2,00,00,000 
Mitchell Starc&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Bowler&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹2,00,00,000 
Ravichandran Ashwin&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;All-Rounder&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹2,00,00,000 
Shikhar Dhawan&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Batsman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ₹2,00,00,000 
Christopher Gayle&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Batsman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹2,00,00,000 
Kieron Pollard&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;All-Rounder&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ₹2,00,00,000 
Ajinkya Rahane&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Batsman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹2,00,00,000 
Dwayne Bravo&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;All-Rounder&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;₹2,00,00,000 
Gautam Gambhir&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Batsman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ₹2,00,00,000 
Harbhajan Singh&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bowler&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹2,00,00,000 
Kane Williamson&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Batsman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ₹1,50,00,000 
Faf Du Plessis&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Batsman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹1,50,00,000 
Joe Root&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Batsman&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹1,50,00,000 
Shakib Al Hasan&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;All-Rounder&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;₹1,00,00,000

&nbsp;

A fierce bidding war is expected as Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane will be on the franchises’ radar

The IPL 2018 auction will take place in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28 where a total of 578 players will go under the hammer with 282 overseas players. The 11th edition of IPL will see many new faces and also the flow of money has increased but some old champions are still the favourites. There are 16 players awarded marquee status and those are: Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Benjamin Stokes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Christopher Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Ajinkya Rahane, Dwayne Bravo, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Kane Williamson, Faf Du Plessis, Joe Root, Shakib Al Hasan and Yuvraj Singh. Ben Stokes was the most expensive bid in the last edition of IPL and even this year, he is eying big money. Though Glenn Maxwell was axed from Australia's squad for the one-day international (ODI) series against England but he is definitely among most favourites. Also see the complete list of players and their base price. Virat most expensive player in IPL history, KKR ignore Gambhir IPL retention: CSK returns with Dhoni, RCB retains Virat Meet Manzoor Ahmad Dar, J&K star cricketer eyeing IPL 2018 contract Ahead of IPL XI auction, Joe Root pulls out of England's T20 tri-series IPL 2018: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina retained by Chennai Super Kings Some familiar names, some new names on our radar. We, the @SunRisers have arrived in Bangalore for what promises to be the most interesting #IPLAuction #OrangeArmy pic.twitter.com/lwKjNNgJff — VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 26, 2018 × On the basis of a table draw this is how the 8 teams are seated at the VIVO #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/UDiG0oS6tS — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) January 26, 2018 × List of marquee players with their base price A fierce bidding war is expected as Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Ajinkya Rahane will be on the franchises’ radar. Glenn Maxwell All-Rounder ₹2,00,00,000 Benjamin Stokes All-Rounder ₹2,00,00,000 Yuvraj Singh All-Rounder ₹2,00,00,000 Mitchell Starc Bowler ₹2,00,00,000 Ravichandran Ashwin All-Rounder ₹2,00,00,000 Shikhar Dhawan Batsman ₹2,00,00,000 Christopher Gayle Batsman ₹2,00,00,000 Kieron Pollard All-Rounder ₹2,00,00,000 Ajinkya Rahane Batsman ₹2,00,00,000 Dwayne Bravo All-Rounder ₹2,00,00,000 Gautam Gambhir Batsman ₹2,00,00,000 Harbhajan Singh Bowler ₹2,00,00,000 Kane Williamson Batsman ₹1,50,00,000 Faf Du Plessis Batsman ₹1,50,00,000 Joe Root Batsman ₹1,50,00,000 Shakib Al Hasan All-Rounder ₹1,00,00,000

IPL auction 2018: All eyes on marquee players

Sandeep Lamichhane is the first player from Nepal to play in the XIth edition of Indian Premier League which will start from&nbsp;April 6 in Mumbai while the first match of the new season will be played at the same venue on April 7.

Sandeep Lamichhane hails from a very small district named Syangja in Nepal which is 200 km to the west of Kathmandu.&nbsp;

He is very serious about cricket. He moved to many cities to get better opportunities and also to improve his game.

Sandeep Lamichhane today became the first cricketer from Nepal to land an IPL contract when he was picked by Delhi Daredevils.

This 17-year-old kid has played U-19 for Nepal Cricket Team and his bowling style is leg break googly.&nbsp;The leg-spinner rose to prominence with a successful outing at the 2016 U-19 World Cup where he guided Nepal to a creditable eighth place.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/live-ipl-auction-2018-30948">For live&nbsp;updates on IPL auction, click here</a>

He hogged the limelight by becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 scalps in six innings at an average of 17 and an economy of 4.67.

Sandeep had scalped five wickets in two warm-up games and was also part of Nepal&#39;s first match against New Zealand, which they won by 32 runs.

&quot;I grew up in Syangja and then moved to Chitwan, which is my hometown now,&quot; he told ESPNcricinfo.

&quot;I moved to Chitwan three years ago because of parents and better cricket opportunities. I started playing at nine. My father and older brother supported me as they are both fond of cricket,&quot; he added.

&quot;I used to watch videos of Shane Warne and my coach helped me become a leg-break bowler. I&#39;m also following Adil Rashid these days but Shane Warne forever,&quot; he said.

He had received an invitation from former Australian captain Michael Clarke to represent the Sydney-based club Wester Suburbs. He was also trained at Clarke&#39;s cricket academy in Sydney during the course of his season-long stay in Australia.

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1 year completed ✅ Mate <a href="https://twitter.com/MClarke23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MClarke23</a> Still the memories are fresh and alive. Thanks for the opportunity you gave me to play in Australia ???????????????????? <a href="https://t.co/s8MIBmvBIo">pic.twitter.com/s8MIBmvBIo</a>
&mdash; Sandeep Lamichhane (@IamSandeep25) <a href="https://twitter.com/IamSandeep25/status/910478114064617472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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In the XI edition of IPL auction, Delhi Daredevils has bought Sandeep for&nbsp; Rs. 20 lakhs. With this, he became the first player from Nepal to play in IPL.

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You&#39;ve already made history, <a href="https://twitter.com/IamSandeep25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IamSandeep25</a>. Here&#39;s to more with the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DDSquad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DDSquad</a>! ????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DilDilli?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DilDilli</a> <a href="https://t.co/POHrvrHWgm">pic.twitter.com/POHrvrHWgm</a>
&mdash; Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) <a href="https://twitter.com/DelhiDaredevils/status/957521326821933057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

The leg-spinner rose to prominence with a successful outing at the 2016 U-19 World Cup where he guided Nepal to a creditable eighth place

Sandeep Lamichhane is the first player from Nepal to play in the XIth edition of Indian Premier League which will start from April 6 in Mumbai while the first match of the new season will be played at the same venue on April 7. Sandeep Lamichhane hails from a very small district named Syangja in Nepal which is 200 km to the west of Kathmandu. He is very serious about cricket. He moved to many cities to get better opportunities and also to improve his game. Sandeep Lamichhane today became the first cricketer from Nepal to land an IPL contract when he was picked by Delhi Daredevils. This 17-year-old kid has played U-19 for Nepal Cricket Team and his bowling style is leg break googly. The leg-spinner rose to prominence with a successful outing at the 2016 U-19 World Cup where he guided Nepal to a creditable eighth place. For live updates on IPL auction, click here He hogged the limelight by becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 scalps in six innings at an average of 17 and an economy of 4.67. Sandeep had scalped five wickets in two warm-up games and was also part of Nepal's first match against New Zealand, which they won by 32 runs. "I grew up in Syangja and then moved to Chitwan, which is my hometown now," he told ESPNcricinfo. "I moved to Chitwan three years ago because of parents and better cricket opportunities. I started playing at nine. My father and older brother supported me as they are both fond of cricket," he added. "I used to watch videos of Shane Warne and my coach helped me become a leg-break bowler. I'm also following Adil Rashid these days but Shane Warne forever," he said. He had received an invitation from former Australian captain Michael Clarke to represent the Sydney-based club Wester Suburbs. He was also trained at Clarke's cricket academy in Sydney during the course of his season-long stay in Australia. 1 year completed ✅ Mate @MClarke23 Still the memories are fresh and alive. Thanks for the opportunity you gave me to play in Australia ???????????????????? pic.twitter.com/s8MIBmvBIo — Sandeep Lamichhane (@IamSandeep25) September 20, 2017 × In the XI edition of IPL auction, Delhi Daredevils has bought Sandeep for Rs. 20 lakhs. With this, he became the first player from Nepal to play in IPL. You've already made history, @IamSandeep25. Here's to more with the #DDSquad! ????#IPLAuction #DilDilli pic.twitter.com/POHrvrHWgm — Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) January 28, 2018 ×

Sandeep Lamichhane, first Nepali to play in IPL for Delhi Daredevils

Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla frustrated India with an unbeaten 64-run stand, taking South Africa to 69 for one at lunch on a pitch that appears to have become less threatening in the third and final Test here.

The hosts need another 172 runs to win.

At the break, Amla was batting on 27 runs (61 balls, 4 fours) while Elgar was unbeaten on 29 runs (100 balls, 3 fours).

This was after play was delayed due to heavy morning rains in Johannesburg. The team arrived on schedule at the Wanderers but had to wait for better conditions for play to resume.

The umpires&nbsp;Aleem Dar and Ian Gould&nbsp;had two inspections at 10 am and 10.30 am (local time). After the second inspection, they were happy enough to allow play to resume 30 minutes later. 
Finally the game began at 11 am local time, with all three sessions rescheduled, after an hour&#39;s delay. The morning session was 90 minutes long.

Starting from their overnight score of 17/1, South Africa made steady progress. Jasprit Bumrah (0-20) completed his over from last evening, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0-20) and Mohammed Shami (1-15) started off proceedings properly.

Elgar encountered a couple hairy moments once again, against Bumrah in particular, but settled down shortly enough. He shrugged off whatever happened last evening and looked more confident as the session went on.

At the other end, Amla looked ever solid. He left the ball well and looked to score whenever the opportunity presented itself.

India gave away too many quick runs early on in the session, not helped by uneven bounce as they conceded 9 extras in the first hour of play. But later they tightened up the scoring.

Bumrah and Shami were guilty of getting carried away and bowling a tad shorter, even if they didn?t concede too many runs. They didn?t hit the length enough, where the uneven bounce truly lies on this pitch, and didn?t really attack the batsmen enough.

Kumar and Ishant Sharma (0-10) managed to keep things quiet though, even as Amla and Elgar built their gritty partnership.

South Africa crossed 50 in the 22nd over, while their 50 -partnership came off 125 balls. They made good use of heavy roller in the morning, which might have sedated the pitch somewhat. 
To their discredit, India didn?t even create a single half-chance for getting a breakthrough this morning.

On day one, India were bowled out for 187 runs in their first innings after opting to bat. Virat Kohli (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (50) scored contrasting fifties while Kagiso Rabada finished with 3-39.

On day two, Jasprit Bumrah (5-54) picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket as South Africa were bowled out for 194 in their first innings. Hashim Amla scored 61.

On day three, brave knocks from Virat Kohli (41) and Ajinkya Rahane (48) carried India to 247 in their second innings before play was halted early on account of dangerous pitch.

South Africa have already won the three-match series with a 2-0 lead after winning the first Test in Cape Town by 72 runs and the second Test in Centurion by 135 runs.

Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla frustrated India with an unbeaten 64-run stand, taking South Africa to 69 for one at lunch on a pitch that appears to have become less threatening in the third and final Test here. The hosts need another 172 runs to win. At the break, Amla was batting on 27 runs (61 balls, 4 fours) while Elgar was unbeaten on 29 runs (100 balls, 3 fours). This was after play was delayed due to heavy morning rains in Johannesburg. The team arrived on schedule at the Wanderers but had to wait for better conditions for play to resume. The umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould had two inspections at 10 am and 10.30 am (local time). After the second inspection, they were happy enough to allow play to resume 30 minutes later. Finally the game began at 11 am local time, with all three sessions rescheduled, after an hour's delay. The morning session was 90 minutes long. Starting from their overnight score of 17/1, South Africa made steady progress. Jasprit Bumrah (0-20) completed his over from last evening, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0-20) and Mohammed Shami (1-15) started off proceedings properly. Elgar encountered a couple hairy moments once again, against Bumrah in particular, but settled down shortly enough. He shrugged off whatever happened last evening and looked more confident as the session went on. At the other end, Amla looked ever solid. He left the ball well and looked to score whenever the opportunity presented itself. India gave away too many quick runs early on in the session, not helped by uneven bounce as they conceded 9 extras in the first hour of play. But later they tightened up the scoring. Bumrah and Shami were guilty of getting carried away and bowling a tad shorter, even if they didn?t concede too many runs. They didn?t hit the length enough, where the uneven bounce truly lies on this pitch, and didn?t really attack the batsmen enough. Kumar and Ishant Sharma (0-10) managed to keep things quiet though, even as Amla and Elgar built their gritty partnership. South Africa crossed 50 in the 22nd over, while their 50 -partnership came off 125 balls. They made good use of heavy roller in the morning, which might have sedated the pitch somewhat. To their discredit, India didn?t even create a single half-chance for getting a breakthrough this morning. On day one, India were bowled out for 187 runs in their first innings after opting to bat. Virat Kohli (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (50) scored contrasting fifties while Kagiso Rabada finished with 3-39. On day two, Jasprit Bumrah (5-54) picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket as South Africa were bowled out for 194 in their first innings. Hashim Amla scored 61. On day three, brave knocks from Virat Kohli (41) and Ajinkya Rahane (48) carried India to 247 in their second innings before play was halted early on account of dangerous pitch. South Africa have already won the three-match series with a 2-0 lead after winning the first Test in Cape Town by 72 runs and the second Test in Centurion by 135 runs.

Elgar-Amla overcome pitch troubles to take South Africa to 69/1 at lunch

The Indian Premiere League (IPL) auctions 2018 will perhaps be the biggest one the tournament has seen in a long time. In fact, only the inaugural auction back in 2008 had generated this much curiosity and anticipation in the fans, media and the players alike.

&nbsp;

The two-day event is to be held in Bangalore on the 27th and 28th of January and will see a total of a whopping 578 players, including 16 Marquee players, going under the hammer for the eight franchises. Among the list of players, there are 244 capped players (62 from India), 332 uncapped players (34 from overseas), and two players from Associate countries.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

It will be interesting to see how things unwrap in the auction. Only a handful of players have been retained by the eight franchises and for the first time in a long time, players like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Ben Stokes, Gautam Gambhir, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, and Harbhajan Singh, will be back under the hammer. The media, public and player interest in this auction would hence be immense.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Another exciting feature of this auction is that almost all the teams will be going in with a clean slate. The chance for rebuilding a completely new unit with fresh faces will add a different edge to the auction as it will be fascinating to observe how the various teams shape up after the end of the two-day event.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Perhaps the most talked about teams in the 2018 IPL auction would be Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Returning to the league after serving their two-year bans, both Chennai and Rajasthan would be the centre of all eyes as the two franchises command a great fan following and have been champions in the past. While Chennai has retained MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Ravindra Jadeja, Rajasthan has only retained Steve Smith. So it will be intriguing to see how both these franchises go about their business in the upcoming auction.

&nbsp;

This time around, uncapped Indian players will also be in much demand. In fact, with time the franchises have become very prudent in acquiring players in the auction and these days they tend to go more for local payers who will provide better results at minimal costs rather than spending a large sum on a single player with a big name. With a plethora of uncapped Indian players in the list, expect a bidding war for names like Krunal Pandya (Base Price 40 lakh), Indian U-19 captain, Prithvi Shaw (Base Price 20 lakh), Basil Thampi (Base Price 30 lakh), Nitish Rana (Base Price 20 lakh), Mayank Agarwal (Base Price 20 lakh), Rahul Tripathi (Base Price 20 lakh), and Rajneesh Gurbani (Base Price 20 lakh).&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The overseas players have always dominated the IPL auctions and things will not be much different this time either. Flourishing T20 leagues all over the world have produced a lot of new and exciting talents and along with the known heavyweights, the tug-of-war for the overseas players in the forthcoming auction is likely to be immense.&nbsp; Players like Chris Lynn, Ben Stokes, Colin Munro, Kagiso Rabada, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Brendon McCullum, Rashid Khan, Evin Lewis and Dwayne Bravo, are likely to be the ones that would cause a stir this auction.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

There is no denying that the IPL auction of 2018 will generate enormous interest. It is after a long time that a tinge of freshness and zing has been added to this usually monotonous affair. And cricket enthusiasts would relish this opportunity. After all, this may well serve as the perfect appetizer for the main event that commences in April.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

Players like Chris Lynn, Ben Stokes, Colin Munro, Kagiso Rabada , Glenn Maxwell, Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Brendon McCullum, Rashid Khan, Evin Lewis and Dwayne Bravo, are likely to be the ones that would cause a stir this auction.

The Indian Premiere League (IPL) auctions 2018 will perhaps be the biggest one the tournament has seen in a long time. In fact, only the inaugural auction back in 2008 had generated this much curiosity and anticipation in the fans, media and the players alike. The two-day event is to be held in Bangalore on the 27th and 28th of January and will see a total of a whopping 578 players, including 16 Marquee players, going under the hammer for the eight franchises. Among the list of players, there are 244 capped players (62 from India), 332 uncapped players (34 from overseas), and two players from Associate countries. It will be interesting to see how things unwrap in the auction. Only a handful of players have been retained by the eight franchises and for the first time in a long time, players like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Ben Stokes, Gautam Gambhir, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, and Harbhajan Singh, will be back under the hammer. The media, public and player interest in this auction would hence be immense. Another exciting feature of this auction is that almost all the teams will be going in with a clean slate. The chance for rebuilding a completely new unit with fresh faces will add a different edge to the auction as it will be fascinating to observe how the various teams shape up after the end of the two-day event. Perhaps the most talked about teams in the 2018 IPL auction would be Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Returning to the league after serving their two-year bans, both Chennai and Rajasthan would be the centre of all eyes as the two franchises command a great fan following and have been champions in the past. While Chennai has retained MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Ravindra Jadeja, Rajasthan has only retained Steve Smith. So it will be intriguing to see how both these franchises go about their business in the upcoming auction. This time around, uncapped Indian players will also be in much demand. In fact, with time the franchises have become very prudent in acquiring players in the auction and these days they tend to go more for local payers who will provide better results at minimal costs rather than spending a large sum on a single player with a big name. With a plethora of uncapped Indian players in the list, expect a bidding war for names like Krunal Pandya (Base Price 40 lakh), Indian U-19 captain, Prithvi Shaw (Base Price 20 lakh), Basil Thampi (Base Price 30 lakh), Nitish Rana (Base Price 20 lakh), Mayank Agarwal (Base Price 20 lakh), Rahul Tripathi (Base Price 20 lakh), and Rajneesh Gurbani (Base Price 20 lakh). The overseas players have always dominated the IPL auctions and things will not be much different this time either. Flourishing T20 leagues all over the world have produced a lot of new and exciting talents and along with the known heavyweights, the tug-of-war for the overseas players in the forthcoming auction is likely to be immense. Players like Chris Lynn, Ben Stokes, Colin Munro, Kagiso Rabada, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Brendon McCullum, Rashid Khan, Evin Lewis and Dwayne Bravo, are likely to be the ones that would cause a stir this auction. There is no denying that the IPL auction of 2018 will generate enormous interest. It is after a long time that a tinge of freshness and zing has been added to this usually monotonous affair. And cricket enthusiasts would relish this opportunity. After all, this may well serve as the perfect appetizer for the main event that commences in April. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: What can we expect from the IPL Auction 2018?

India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid is confident that it won&#39;t just be &quot;one memory&quot; that would define this talented bunch of cricketers as a bigger and more challenging journey awaits them.

&quot;It&#39;s a memory they&#39;ll cherish for a long time and hopefully it&#39;s not a memory that defines them and they will have a lot more bigger and better memories as they go on ahead in their careers,&quot; coach Dravid said after India&#39;s fourth ICC U-19 World Cup title.

Dravid spoke about the effort that the entire batch put on for the last 14 month, which bore fruit.

&quot;I am really proud of the boys, proud of the effort that they have put in and proud of the support staff as well. I think the effort we have put in over the last 14 months have been sensational. They really deserved this, couldn&#39;t be really happier and proud for this bunch of boys,&quot; the legendary batsman said.

He was always aware that the since this was an U-19 team, the spotlight will always be on him but as usual he was magnanimous in praising the entire support staff comprising of fielding coach Abhay Sharma, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey to name a few.

&quot;Coaching this team, I tend to get a lot of attention, but it is really about the quality of support staff that we have had, there have been seven or eight of us, who have been together for the last 14 months. The effort they put in was incredible,&quot; he said.

&quot;I am proud to be a part of their (support staff) team and see it as that. We try and do what&#39;s best for the kids and hopefully they can put in the performances on the field and they have certainly done that in this tournament.&quot;

On cloud nine after lifting the trophy, India skipper Prithvi Shaw also credited the team, support staff and singled out Dravid for special mention.

&quot;Can&#39;t express what I&#39;m feeling right now, really proud. All credit to our support staff for really supporting us for the last two years. Rahul sir himself is a legend, &#39;The Wall&#39; as we all know him.

&quot;Full credit to our coaching staff. When you have two guys (Dravid and Paras Mhambrey), who have played international cricket, it gives you great insights,&quot; Shaw said about their coach. 
He was all praise for centurion Manjot Kalra.

&quot;It was a crucial hundred from Manjot. (Shubman) Gill was batting so well before he got out. Both our pacers -- Kamlesh (Nagarkoti) and Shivam Mavi, have been executing things so well through the tournament. It&#39;s been wonderful playing matches here.&quot;

Despite losing the final, Australian skipper Jason Sangha said he was proud of his team for the way they performed throughout the tournament.

&quot;Don&#39;t know what to say at the moment. Proud of the guys to get this far in the tournament. Best thing about today was guys tried to grind it. As a captain, you can&#39;t complain when everyone&#39;s giving 110 per cent,&quot; Sangha said. 
Sangha, however, admitted that they were completely outplayed by India in the final.

&quot;Full credit to India. They played very well. Best of luck for the guys for the IPL. Good for their supporters who came out today.&quot;

Shubman Gill, who was adjudged the Man of the Tournament for his 372 runs, said: &quot;I am really proud of my team. We were fortunate enough to have Rahul sir as our coach. He was just telling me to express my game and keep it on the ground.

&quot;Had a good time here. It&#39;s been very exciting for me. Hope to do well in IPL also.&quot;

Kalra was awarded the Man of the Match after he blasted an unbeaten 101 off 102 balls to steer India to a eight-wicket win.

He said: &quot;Great feeling. Enjoyed a lot. Conditions were very good. It was a flat wicket to bat on. In the team, it&#39;s been a great environment.&quot;

Left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma, who took six wickets in the series, said: &quot;Obviously, we have dreamt of this from last year. We had few plans and we stuck to it. It&#39;s always grateful to be part of this team. I can&#39;t explain the feeling. We&#39;ll celebrate this night - best night of our lives.&quot;

His teammate Riyan Parag described it as an amazing feeling to come up trumps in a tough match.

&quot;It&#39;s just amazing. I was thinking I wouldn&#39;t bat and I proved myself right. Just wanted Manjot to get to his century. I thought it&#39;d be a tough match. It was tough, but we made it look easy. It (pitch) was good for batsmen as well as the bowlers,&quot; he said.

India seamer Ishan Porel praised the bowlers for putting up a great effort in the tournament.

&quot;I&#39;m feeling on top of the world. Credit goes to support staff and team. A competitive effort. Got lots of messages from India. I can only say that our bowlers have been fantastic all through the tournament. It&#39;s a team effort,&quot; he said.

India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid is confident that it won't just be 'one memory' that would define this talented bunch of cricketers as a bigger and more challenging journey awaits them

India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid is confident that it won't just be "one memory" that would define this talented bunch of cricketers as a bigger and more challenging journey awaits them. "It's a memory they'll cherish for a long time and hopefully it's not a memory that defines them and they will have a lot more bigger and better memories as they go on ahead in their careers," coach Dravid said after India's fourth ICC U-19 World Cup title. Dravid spoke about the effort that the entire batch put on for the last 14 month, which bore fruit. "I am really proud of the boys, proud of the effort that they have put in and proud of the support staff as well. I think the effort we have put in over the last 14 months have been sensational. They really deserved this, couldn't be really happier and proud for this bunch of boys," the legendary batsman said. He was always aware that the since this was an U-19 team, the spotlight will always be on him but as usual he was magnanimous in praising the entire support staff comprising of fielding coach Abhay Sharma, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey to name a few. "Coaching this team, I tend to get a lot of attention, but it is really about the quality of support staff that we have had, there have been seven or eight of us, who have been together for the last 14 months. The effort they put in was incredible," he said. "I am proud to be a part of their (support staff) team and see it as that. We try and do what's best for the kids and hopefully they can put in the performances on the field and they have certainly done that in this tournament." On cloud nine after lifting the trophy, India skipper Prithvi Shaw also credited the team, support staff and singled out Dravid for special mention. "Can't express what I'm feeling right now, really proud. All credit to our support staff for really supporting us for the last two years. Rahul sir himself is a legend, 'The Wall' as we all know him. "Full credit to our coaching staff. When you have two guys (Dravid and Paras Mhambrey), who have played international cricket, it gives you great insights," Shaw said about their coach. He was all praise for centurion Manjot Kalra. "It was a crucial hundred from Manjot. (Shubman) Gill was batting so well before he got out. Both our pacers -- Kamlesh (Nagarkoti) and Shivam Mavi, have been executing things so well through the tournament. It's been wonderful playing matches here." Despite losing the final, Australian skipper Jason Sangha said he was proud of his team for the way they performed throughout the tournament. "Don't know what to say at the moment. Proud of the guys to get this far in the tournament. Best thing about today was guys tried to grind it. As a captain, you can't complain when everyone's giving 110 per cent," Sangha said. Sangha, however, admitted that they were completely outplayed by India in the final. "Full credit to India. They played very well. Best of luck for the guys for the IPL. Good for their supporters who came out today." Shubman Gill, who was adjudged the Man of the Tournament for his 372 runs, said: "I am really proud of my team. We were fortunate enough to have Rahul sir as our coach. He was just telling me to express my game and keep it on the ground. "Had a good time here. It's been very exciting for me. Hope to do well in IPL also." Kalra was awarded the Man of the Match after he blasted an unbeaten 101 off 102 balls to steer India to a eight-wicket win. He said: "Great feeling. Enjoyed a lot. Conditions were very good. It was a flat wicket to bat on. In the team, it's been a great environment." Left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma, who took six wickets in the series, said: "Obviously, we have dreamt of this from last year. We had few plans and we stuck to it. It's always grateful to be part of this team. I can't explain the feeling. We'll celebrate this night - best night of our lives." His teammate Riyan Parag described it as an amazing feeling to come up trumps in a tough match. "It's just amazing. I was thinking I wouldn't bat and I proved myself right. Just wanted Manjot to get to his century. I thought it'd be a tough match. It was tough, but we made it look easy. It (pitch) was good for batsmen as well as the bowlers," he said. India seamer Ishan Porel praised the bowlers for putting up a great effort in the tournament. "I'm feeling on top of the world. Credit goes to support staff and team. A competitive effort. Got lots of messages from India. I can only say that our bowlers have been fantastic all through the tournament. It's a team effort," he said.

This won't just be a memory that defines them: Rahul Dravid on U-19 World Cup glory

Altogether a new journey has started for Manzoor Ahmad Dar. A young talent from&nbsp;Jammu and Kashmir went under the hammer and was sold to Kings XI Punjab on the second day of IPL 2018 auction for his base price, INR 20 lakhs.

Punjab has pooled in few very big deals in the auction, for example, R Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle and KL Rahul.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/ipl-2018-all-teams-and-their-squad-list-653">IPL 2018: All teams and their squad list</a>

Manzoor was taken by&nbsp;Kings XI in the third round of auction. This&nbsp;contract has given new hopes to this Kashmiri kid, as he aspires to play for Indian International cricket team.

Now, Manzoor is all set to touch the stars, with his entry in IPL he will be sharing the dressing room with some world class players like&nbsp;Chris Gayle and David Miller and he would not just get a chance to play alongside the best cricket talent of the world but also come on the radar of international cricket.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Our final buy for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> is Manzoor Dar who has been bought for 20 lakhs! Welcome to the team! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi</a>
&mdash; Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) <a href="https://twitter.com/lionsdenkxip/status/957563959929798656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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24-year-old batting all-rounder hails from the Sumbal Sonawari village.

Manzoor is a man of many talents - a weightlifter, kabbadi player, wood artist and a security guard - but has always had a passion for cricket, his coach and selectors swear by his raw talent and ability to hit balls out of the biggest grounds.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pictures-top-10-buys-in-ipl-auction-655">In pictures: Top 10 buys in IPL auction</a>

The 24-year-old is the sole bread earner in his family. He is the oldest of the five siblings and worked hard to make ends meet.

He is the first professional sportsperson of the Sonawari village of Kashmir. In the year 2010, he joined cricket club and started playing professional cricket.

Manzoor earned about Rs 3000 from his night job Owing to the poor financial condition, Manzoor&rsquo;s friend would handover the salary to him and his total earnings for the month came up to a mere Rs 6000.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Manzoor Ahmad Dar went under the hammer and was sold to Kings XI Punjab in the IPL 2018 auction for his base price, INR 20 lakhs

Altogether a new journey has started for Manzoor Ahmad Dar. A young talent from Jammu and Kashmir went under the hammer and was sold to Kings XI Punjab on the second day of IPL 2018 auction for his base price, INR 20 lakhs. Punjab has pooled in few very big deals in the auction, for example, R Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. IPL 2018: All teams and their squad list Manzoor was taken by Kings XI in the third round of auction. This contract has given new hopes to this Kashmiri kid, as he aspires to play for Indian International cricket team. Now, Manzoor is all set to touch the stars, with his entry in IPL he will be sharing the dressing room with some world class players like Chris Gayle and David Miller and he would not just get a chance to play alongside the best cricket talent of the world but also come on the radar of international cricket. Our final buy for the #IPLAuction is Manzoor Dar who has been bought for 20 lakhs! Welcome to the team! #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi — Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) January 28, 2018 × 24-year-old batting all-rounder hails from the Sumbal Sonawari village. Manzoor is a man of many talents - a weightlifter, kabbadi player, wood artist and a security guard - but has always had a passion for cricket, his coach and selectors swear by his raw talent and ability to hit balls out of the biggest grounds. In pictures: Top 10 buys in IPL auction The 24-year-old is the sole bread earner in his family. He is the oldest of the five siblings and worked hard to make ends meet. He is the first professional sportsperson of the Sonawari village of Kashmir. In the year 2010, he joined cricket club and started playing professional cricket. Manzoor earned about Rs 3000 from his night job Owing to the poor financial condition, Manzoor’s friend would handover the salary to him and his total earnings for the month came up to a mere Rs 6000.

Watch: Manzoor Dar's family and friends celebrate in Kashmir, as he grabs IPL deal

India test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will warm up for India&#39;s Test series in England by playing county cricket as Yorkshire has signed him for his second stint with the club.

Recently, Pujara had registered for the 11th edition of IPL. His base price was ₹75,00,000 but remained unsold.

The 30-year-old, who played for Yorkshire in 2015, will share overseas duties with New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, giving the county three of the world`s top six test batsmen -- England captain Joe Root being the other -- on their staff.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/ipl-2018-all-teams-and-their-squad-list-653">IPL 2018: All teams and their squad list</a>

Pujara is returning to Yorkshire for his second stint with the club after turning out during 2015, a County Championship winning year.

Despite a deal for the Rajkot-born right-hander being struck several weeks ago, the club&#39;s announcement has been purposely delayed until after the Indian Premier League auction.

During that time, the BCCI has scheduled a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, from June 14-18, and Pujara is set to depart for his home country after the Royal London 50-Over clash at Lancashire.

Yorkshire is hoping Pujara will return in time for an away trip to Hampshire, in the Specsavers County Championship, on June 20. The club also said that Pujara may stay on after India&#39;s five-match Test tour of England between August 1 and September 11.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pictures-top-10-buys-in-ipl-auction-655">In pictures: Top 10 buys in IPL auction</a>

&quot;I&#39;m really excited to be able to have the opportunity to represent Yorkshire once again,&quot; Pujara said.

&quot;It&#39;s always nice to be able to come over here and play some County Cricket and I&#39;m just as excited as I was last time to represent the Club. I love the passion the people of Yorkshire have for the game and they made me feel very welcome.

I know quite a few of the players, so I&#39;ll just try to play my natural game and score plenty of runs for the Club,&quot; Pujara said.

&quot;It&#39;s an honour for me to play for the same county as Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar and each time I&#39;ve played county cricket it has improved me as a player. That&#39;s the plan again in 2018.

I just want to score as many runs as possible for Yorkshire and soak up as much as I can from the whole experience.&quot;

Pujara, who delivered a record-breaking 12th double century of his 12-year career towards the end of 2017, averages 56.68 in first-class cricket.

His County Championship record stands at 816 runs with three fifties and as many hundred.&nbsp;

One of each came in Yorkshire colours in the early stages of the Club?s second successive Championship winning year.

&nbsp;

Pujara is returning to Yorkshire for his second stint with the club after turning out during 2015, a County Championship winning year

India test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will warm up for India's Test series in England by playing county cricket as Yorkshire has signed him for his second stint with the club. Recently, Pujara had registered for the 11th edition of IPL. His base price was ₹75,00,000 but remained unsold. The 30-year-old, who played for Yorkshire in 2015, will share overseas duties with New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, giving the county three of the world`s top six test batsmen -- England captain Joe Root being the other -- on their staff. IPL 2018: All teams and their squad list Pujara is returning to Yorkshire for his second stint with the club after turning out during 2015, a County Championship winning year. Despite a deal for the Rajkot-born right-hander being struck several weeks ago, the club's announcement has been purposely delayed until after the Indian Premier League auction. During that time, the BCCI has scheduled a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, from June 14-18, and Pujara is set to depart for his home country after the Royal London 50-Over clash at Lancashire. Yorkshire is hoping Pujara will return in time for an away trip to Hampshire, in the Specsavers County Championship, on June 20. The club also said that Pujara may stay on after India's five-match Test tour of England between August 1 and September 11. In pictures: Top 10 buys in IPL auction "I'm really excited to be able to have the opportunity to represent Yorkshire once again," Pujara said. "It's always nice to be able to come over here and play some County Cricket and I'm just as excited as I was last time to represent the Club. I love the passion the people of Yorkshire have for the game and they made me feel very welcome. I know quite a few of the players, so I'll just try to play my natural game and score plenty of runs for the Club," Pujara said. "It's an honour for me to play for the same county as Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar and each time I've played county cricket it has improved me as a player. That's the plan again in 2018. I just want to score as many runs as possible for Yorkshire and soak up as much as I can from the whole experience." Pujara, who delivered a record-breaking 12th double century of his 12-year career towards the end of 2017, averages 56.68 in first-class cricket. His County Championship record stands at 816 runs with three fifties and as many hundred. One of each came in Yorkshire colours in the early stages of the Club?s second successive Championship winning year.

Unsold in IPL, Cheteshwar Pujara to play for Yorkshire in English County cricket

The Indian Premier League (IPL) players&#39; auction is back. The famous auctioneer Richard Madley again called the names of the cricketers and the eight franchises went into a furious bidding war in Bengaluru.

As many as 578 cricketers went under the hammer, which includes 360 Indian cricketers (62 capped and 298 uncapped) and 218 foreigners (182 capped, 34 uncapped and two from associate nations).

Eight teams- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Superkings (CSK), Rajasthan Royals, (RR), Delhi Daredevils (DD), Kings XI Punjab (KXIIP), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SH) took part in the auction.&nbsp;

Here are the social media reactions pouring&nbsp;from users:&nbsp;

Preity Zinta&#39;s fast bidding became the spotlight of most of the jokes and memes.

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Ladkiyon ko shopping ka shock hota hai. Preity full on shopping ke mood mein hain. Har cheez khareedni hai
&mdash; Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) <a href="https://twitter.com/virendersehwag/status/957125564292218880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Sources : Preity Zinta to bid for the Trophy as well.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; Manya (@CSKian716) <a href="https://twitter.com/CSKian716/status/957141264234831873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Preity Zinta after buying kl rahul <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iplauction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iplauction</a> <a href="https://t.co/TZ3RF9Y67Z">pic.twitter.com/TZ3RF9Y67Z</a>
&mdash; Manish ???????? (@Man_isssh) <a href="https://twitter.com/Man_isssh/status/957137388555329536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Auctioneer: Next player for auction is..... 
Preity Zinta: 3 Crore 
Auctioneer: Ma&#39;am, player ka naam toh bolne do<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; PhD in Bakchodi (@Atheist_Krishna) <a href="https://twitter.com/Atheist_Krishna/status/957144723998752768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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three of india&#39;s under 19 boys are crorepatis now - parthiv, shubham and now nagrakoti <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) <a href="https://twitter.com/gauravkalra75/status/957214998987554818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Shakib Al Hasan sold for Rs 2 crores thereby doubling the GDP of Bangladesh...<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; The-Lying-Lama (@KyaUkhaadLega) <a href="https://twitter.com/KyaUkhaadLega/status/957124302662377472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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RCB is awaiting their loan approval from SBI <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction2018</a>
&mdash; InGenious (@Bees_Kut) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bees_Kut/status/957130759969505280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Key players of CSK. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> <a href="https://t.co/oaIRxF9yeD">pic.twitter.com/oaIRxF9yeD</a>
&mdash; Sunil- The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) <a href="https://twitter.com/1sInto2s/status/957152695030202368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Stuart Binny in allrounders. 
 
HOW? 
 
Drinks + snacks.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuctions?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuctions</a>
&mdash; Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/BoredCricket/status/957152124822945793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Faulkner should go unsold. IPL should maintain a minimum standard <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; Cricket bakchod (@AllTimeBakchod) <a href="https://twitter.com/AllTimeBakchod/status/957150174001819648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Chris Lynn sold for 9.4 crores ! Wow ! that&rsquo;s a lot of money to stay injured pretty much throughout your career ????????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; The-Lying-Lama (@KyaUkhaadLega) <a href="https://twitter.com/KyaUkhaadLega/status/957145433922355200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Jayadev Unadkat will be laughing all the way to the bank this year! RR picks him up 11.5C! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/summeriscoming?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#summeriscoming</a>
&mdash; Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChennaiIPL/status/957487419149844480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Bangladesh GDP got another 2.2 corer from India. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; Chetansinh Gohil (@chetangohil28) <a href="https://twitter.com/chetangohil28/status/957180216245288960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Age of the players bought by <a href="https://twitter.com/ChennaiIPL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChennaiIPL</a> today: 
 
Harbhajan - 37 
Watson - 36 
Bravo - 34 
Du Plessis - 33 
Jadhav - 32 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CSK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CSK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhistlePodu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhistlePodu</a> ???????????? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPL2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPL2018</a> <a href="https://t.co/mZRvWNVA26">pic.twitter.com/mZRvWNVA26</a>
&mdash; LoGaN (@itzhari24) <a href="https://twitter.com/itzhari24/status/957171228946526208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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That moment TN man <a href="https://twitter.com/ashwinravi99?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ashwinravi99</a> moved to Punjab and Punjab man <a href="https://twitter.com/harbhajan_singh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@harbhajan_singh</a> moved to TN ???????? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; Pavithran Subbiah (@pavi_subbiah) <a href="https://twitter.com/pavi_subbiah/status/957124196701691905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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If u want to know the meaning of pay cut, ask Gambhir &amp; Yuvraj <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> 
 
Gambhir - 14 cr to 2.8 cr - SOLD to Delhi 
 
Yuvraj - 16 cr to 2 cr - SOLD to Punjab
&mdash; Ankit Chaudhary (@entrepreneur987) <a href="https://twitter.com/entrepreneur987/status/957132345630515203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Preity Zinta today <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> <a href="https://t.co/26tblVPQoh">pic.twitter.com/26tblVPQoh</a>
&mdash; BR7 (@RevanthBR7) <a href="https://twitter.com/RevanthBR7/status/957137975623774210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Fastest in the world 
 
1. Bugatti 
2. Ussain bolt 
3. Preity zinda buying players.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> 
????????
&mdash; Yaman khandelwal???????? (@khandelwalyaman) <a href="https://twitter.com/khandelwalyaman/status/957147286852681728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Age of the players bought by CSK today: 
 
Harbhajan - 37 
Watson - 36 
Bravo - 34 
Du Plessis - 33 
Jadhav - 32<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a>
&mdash; Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeerviBharath/status/957169074068340737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

This year, on the opening day itself, there were as many as 13 uncapped Indians who were bought for Rs 3 crore or more

The Indian Premier League (IPL) players' auction is back. The famous auctioneer Richard Madley again called the names of the cricketers and the eight franchises went into a furious bidding war in Bengaluru. As many as 578 cricketers went under the hammer, which includes 360 Indian cricketers (62 capped and 298 uncapped) and 218 foreigners (182 capped, 34 uncapped and two from associate nations). Eight teams- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Superkings (CSK), Rajasthan Royals, (RR), Delhi Daredevils (DD), Kings XI Punjab (KXIIP), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SH) took part in the auction. Here are the social media reactions pouring from users: Preity Zinta's fast bidding became the spotlight of most of the jokes and memes. Ladkiyon ko shopping ka shock hota hai. Preity full on shopping ke mood mein hain. Har cheez khareedni hai — Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) January 27, 2018 × Sources : Preity Zinta to bid for the Trophy as well.#IPLAuction — Manya (@CSKian716) January 27, 2018 × Preity Zinta after buying kl rahul #iplauction pic.twitter.com/TZ3RF9Y67Z — Manish ???????? (@Man_isssh) January 27, 2018 × Auctioneer: Next player for auction is..... Preity Zinta: 3 Crore Auctioneer: Ma'am, player ka naam toh bolne do#IPLAuction — PhD in Bakchodi (@Atheist_Krishna) January 27, 2018 × three of india's under 19 boys are crorepatis now - parthiv, shubham and now nagrakoti #IPLAuction — Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) January 27, 2018 × Shakib Al Hasan sold for Rs 2 crores thereby doubling the GDP of Bangladesh...#IPLAuction — The-Lying-Lama (@KyaUkhaadLega) January 27, 2018 × RCB is awaiting their loan approval from SBI #IPLAuction2018 — InGenious (@Bees_Kut) January 27, 2018 × Key players of CSK. #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/oaIRxF9yeD — Sunil- The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) January 27, 2018 × Stuart Binny in allrounders. HOW? Drinks + snacks.#IPLAuctions — Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) January 27, 2018 × Faulkner should go unsold. IPL should maintain a minimum standard #IPLAuction — Cricket bakchod (@AllTimeBakchod) January 27, 2018 × Chris Lynn sold for 9.4 crores ! Wow ! that’s a lot of money to stay injured pretty much throughout your career ????????#IPLAuction — The-Lying-Lama (@KyaUkhaadLega) January 27, 2018 × Jayadev Unadkat will be laughing all the way to the bank this year! RR picks him up 11.5C! #summeriscoming — Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) January 28, 2018 × Bangladesh GDP got another 2.2 corer from India. #IPLAuction — Chetansinh Gohil (@chetangohil28) January 27, 2018 × Age of the players bought by @ChennaiIPL today: Harbhajan - 37 Watson - 36 Bravo - 34 Du Plessis - 33 Jadhav - 32 #CSK #WhistlePodu ???????????? #IPLAuction #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/mZRvWNVA26 — LoGaN (@itzhari24) January 27, 2018 × That moment TN man @ashwinravi99 moved to Punjab and Punjab man @harbhajan_singh moved to TN ???????? #IPLAuction — Pavithran Subbiah (@pavi_subbiah) January 27, 2018 × If u want to know the meaning of pay cut, ask Gambhir & Yuvraj #IPLAuction Gambhir - 14 cr to 2.8 cr - SOLD to Delhi Yuvraj - 16 cr to 2 cr - SOLD to Punjab — Ankit Chaudhary (@entrepreneur987) January 27, 2018 × Preity Zinta today #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/26tblVPQoh — BR7 (@RevanthBR7) January 27, 2018 × Fastest in the world 1. Bugatti 2. Ussain bolt 3. Preity zinda buying players.#IPLAuction ???????? — Yaman khandelwal???????? (@khandelwalyaman) January 27, 2018 × Age of the players bought by CSK today: Harbhajan - 37 Watson - 36 Bravo - 34 Du Plessis - 33 Jadhav - 32#IPLAuction — Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) January 27, 2018 ×

IPL auction 2018: Funny tweets and memes flood internet

Registration of players for VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) closed on Friday, January 12, 2018, and over&nbsp;1000 players registered themselves.

The auction&nbsp;is scheduled to take place on Jan 27-28, in Bengaluru.

&quot;The list that has been sent out to the eight IPL franchises has 281 capped players, 838 uncapped players, including 778 Indians and three players from the associate nations,&quot; as per a BCCI media release.

A fierce bidding war is expected to break out when Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, off-spinners R. Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav and openers KL Rahul and M. Vijay will go under the hammer.

The franchises will leave no stone unturned when Chris Gayle, Ben Stokes, Chris Lynn, Eoin Morgan and pacers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins come up for VIVO IPL Player Auction 2018.

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NEWS: Over 1000 players sign up VIVO IPL Player Auction 2018 
 
More details here - <a href="https://t.co/9FJEEBNNZK">https://t.co/9FJEEBNNZK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> <a href="https://t.co/8m1ElDuENd">pic.twitter.com/8m1ElDuENd</a>
&mdash; IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IPL/status/952036590703923200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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England&rsquo;s Test captain Joe Root has also thrown his hat into the ring and will be the new entrant to the world&rsquo;s most popular T20 league.

Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite, Evin Lewis and Jason Holder will add the Caribbean flavour to the league.

Lasith Malinga will lead Sri Lanka&rsquo;s entourage that includes Angelo Mathews, the exciting Niroshan Dickwella&nbsp;and Thisara Perera.

Showing his full range of strokes will be Glenn Maxwell, all-rounder Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, who bowled Mumbai Indians for their third title last season with his final over heroics.

Hashim Amla, who hit two centuries for Kings XI Punjab in the 10th season will be hoping for a high bid with compatriots Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada.

Kane Williamson, Colin Munro and Tom Latham from New Zealand will add their charm to the league.

India captain Virat Kohli will pick up the IPL&#39;s largest-ever salary -- $2.7 million -- in this year&#39;s tournament after his team Royal Challengers Bangalore retained the star player.

The country-wise breakdown of 282 overseas players:

Country&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;No. of players registered

Afghanistan &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;13

Australia &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; 58

Bangladesh &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;8

England&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;26

Ireland &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;2

New Zealand &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 30

Scotland&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1

South Africa&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;57

Sri Lanka &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 39

The USA&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 2

West Indies&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 39

Zimbabwe&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 7

&nbsp;

282 overseas players have registered for the 11th edition of Indian Premier League

Registration of players for VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) closed on Friday, January 12, 2018, and over 1000 players registered themselves. The auction is scheduled to take place on Jan 27-28, in Bengaluru. "The list that has been sent out to the eight IPL franchises has 281 capped players, 838 uncapped players, including 778 Indians and three players from the associate nations," as per a BCCI media release. A fierce bidding war is expected to break out when Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, off-spinners R. Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav and openers KL Rahul and M. Vijay will go under the hammer. The franchises will leave no stone unturned when Chris Gayle, Ben Stokes, Chris Lynn, Eoin Morgan and pacers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins come up for VIVO IPL Player Auction 2018. NEWS: Over 1000 players sign up VIVO IPL Player Auction 2018 More details here - https://t.co/9FJEEBNNZK #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/8m1ElDuENd — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) January 13, 2018 × England’s Test captain Joe Root has also thrown his hat into the ring and will be the new entrant to the world’s most popular T20 league. Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite, Evin Lewis and Jason Holder will add the Caribbean flavour to the league. Lasith Malinga will lead Sri Lanka’s entourage that includes Angelo Mathews, the exciting Niroshan Dickwella and Thisara Perera. Showing his full range of strokes will be Glenn Maxwell, all-rounder Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, who bowled Mumbai Indians for their third title last season with his final over heroics. Hashim Amla, who hit two centuries for Kings XI Punjab in the 10th season will be hoping for a high bid with compatriots Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada. Kane Williamson, Colin Munro and Tom Latham from New Zealand will add their charm to the league. India captain Virat Kohli will pick up the IPL's largest-ever salary -- $2.7 million -- in this year's tournament after his team Royal Challengers Bangalore retained the star player. The country-wise breakdown of 282 overseas players: Country No. of players registered Afghanistan 13 Australia 58 Bangladesh 8 England 26 Ireland 2 New Zealand 30 Scotland 1 South Africa 57 Sri Lanka 39 The USA 2 West Indies 39 Zimbabwe 7

England's Joe Root to debut in IPL 2018

The window for the franchises to retain players for the VIVO Indian Premier League 2018 season closed on January 4, 2018.

The franchises were eligible to secure up to 5 players by virtue of a combination of Player Retention (Pre-Player Auction) and Right to Match (RTM) (During the Player Auction).

Two-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, who are returning to the tournament after the two-year ban has retained MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja for IPL 2018. On the other hand, Rajasthan, which is also coming back after the ban has retained only one player, Steve Smith.

Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Banglore have retained Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers&nbsp;and Sarfaraz Khan.

David Warner and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar were retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Whereas, Mumbai Indians kept hold of skipper Rohit Sharma, allrounder Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah.

Kolkata Nightriders kept two West Indies players, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab looking forward to a complete revamp of the team by retaining only Axar Patel.

Delhi Daredevils trusted Chris Morris over&nbsp;Jean-Paul Duminy by looking at his current form. He was retained along with Rishab pant and Shreyas Iyer.&nbsp;Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting appointed&nbsp;as Delhi Daredevils&#39; head coach.

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will mark their return after 2-year ban in IPL 2018

The window for the franchises to retain players for the VIVO Indian Premier League 2018 season closed on January 4, 2018. The franchises were eligible to secure up to 5 players by virtue of a combination of Player Retention (Pre-Player Auction) and Right to Match (RTM) (During the Player Auction). Two-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, who are returning to the tournament after the two-year ban has retained MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja for IPL 2018. On the other hand, Rajasthan, which is also coming back after the ban has retained only one player, Steve Smith. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Banglore have retained Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan. David Warner and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar were retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Whereas, Mumbai Indians kept hold of skipper Rohit Sharma, allrounder Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Kolkata Nightriders kept two West Indies players, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab looking forward to a complete revamp of the team by retaining only Axar Patel. Delhi Daredevils trusted Chris Morris over Jean-Paul Duminy by looking at his current form. He was retained along with Rishab pant and Shreyas Iyer. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting appointed as Delhi Daredevils' head coach.

IPL retention: CSK returns with Dhoni, RCB retains Virat

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said that it has seized mutual funds valued at Rs 10.35 crore under the FEMA law of a company &quot;controlled&quot; by businessman and former IPL Chairman Chirayu Amin in the Panama Papers case.

The central probe agency said it seized mutual funds of Whitefield Chemtech Private Limited, &quot;which is controlled by Amin and his family&quot;, under section 37A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

The names of Amin and his family members, it said in a statement, had figured in the Panama Papers case with respect to their stakes/interests in the firm in the British Virgin Islands.

During the investigation, the agency said, it was noticed that Amin and his family members, through their company Whitefield Chemtech Pvt Ltd India, had &quot;invested an amount of $1.6 million for purchase of a 3BHK apartment in Campden Hill, UK. &quot;

&quot;For purchase of this property in the UK, the firm transferred an amount of $ 2.4 million to its subsidiary in Singapore in the form of overseas direct investment.

&quot;This amount was further transferred to its step-down subsidiaries in the UAE and British Virgin Island from where finally $ 1.6 million was used for purchase of this property,&quot; the ED said.

Section 37A of the FEMA stipulates that if certain foreign exchange, foreign security or immovable property is held outside India in violation of this law, the equivalent value of asset can be seized within India.

&quot;Accordingly, equivalent asset amounting to Rs 10.35 crore in the form of mutual funds were seized under Section 37A of FEMA, 1999,&quot; it said.

A spokesperson of the company said, &quot;The tax paid amount has been officially remitted through regular banking channels and duly reported to regulatory authorities.

We believe we are compliant with the regulations in this regard. The matter is not yet adjudicated. However, we are cooperating with the authorities to sort out the matter.&quot;

The agency is probing the Indians named in the Panama Papers, along with the Income Tax Department.

The Panama Papers, that surfaced last year, contained brief particulars of about 426 people, prima facie, Indians or persons of Indian origin.

The government had constituted a multi-agency group (MAG) of investigative agencies in April 2016 to probe these instances.

The MAG has so far submitted seven reports to the government.

Amin was chairman of Indian Premier League (IPL), an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament.&nbsp;

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said that it has seized mutual funds valued at Rs 10.35 crore under the FEMA law of a company "controlled" by businessman and former IPL Chairman Chirayu Amin in the Panama Papers case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said that it has seized mutual funds valued at Rs 10.35 crore under the FEMA law of a company "controlled" by businessman and former IPL Chairman Chirayu Amin in the Panama Papers case. The central probe agency said it seized mutual funds of Whitefield Chemtech Private Limited, "which is controlled by Amin and his family", under section 37A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The names of Amin and his family members, it said in a statement, had figured in the Panama Papers case with respect to their stakes/interests in the firm in the British Virgin Islands. During the investigation, the agency said, it was noticed that Amin and his family members, through their company Whitefield Chemtech Pvt Ltd India, had "invested an amount of $1.6 million for purchase of a 3BHK apartment in Campden Hill, UK. " "For purchase of this property in the UK, the firm transferred an amount of $ 2.4 million to its subsidiary in Singapore in the form of overseas direct investment. "This amount was further transferred to its step-down subsidiaries in the UAE and British Virgin Island from where finally $ 1.6 million was used for purchase of this property," the ED said. Section 37A of the FEMA stipulates that if certain foreign exchange, foreign security or immovable property is held outside India in violation of this law, the equivalent value of asset can be seized within India. "Accordingly, equivalent asset amounting to Rs 10.35 crore in the form of mutual funds were seized under Section 37A of FEMA, 1999," it said. A spokesperson of the company said, "The tax paid amount has been officially remitted through regular banking channels and duly reported to regulatory authorities. We believe we are compliant with the regulations in this regard. The matter is not yet adjudicated. However, we are cooperating with the authorities to sort out the matter." The agency is probing the Indians named in the Panama Papers, along with the Income Tax Department. The Panama Papers, that surfaced last year, contained brief particulars of about 426 people, prima facie, Indians or persons of Indian origin. The government had constituted a multi-agency group (MAG) of investigative agencies in April 2016 to probe these instances. The MAG has so far submitted seven reports to the government. Amin was chairman of Indian Premier League (IPL), an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Panama: ED seizes assets linked to former IPL chairman

Providing a long-pending solution to the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams to retain their big players, the governing council on Wednesday announced that the franchises can retain a maximum of five players by virtue of a combination of pre-auction retention and Right To Match (RTM) cards for the upcoming 2018 edition.

The five players secured can include any combination of retention and right-to-match cards with not more than three through either category.

The breakup of the five players retained will adhere to the maximum numbers of three-capped Indian players, maximum of two uncapped Indian players and two overseas players.&nbsp;

Divulging details on the new set norms, IPL Commissioner Rajeev Shukla said that out of 5, 3 can be retained and 2 can be taken under Right to Match or vice-versa, adding the salary cap of players and the base price of uncapped players has also been increased.

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IPL governing council decided all teams can avail facility of retaining 5 players &amp; Right to Match. Out of 5, 3 can be retained &amp; 2 can be taken under Right to Match or vice-versa. Increased salary cap of players &amp; base price of uncapped players: Rajeev Shukla, IPL Commissioner <a href="https://t.co/Wc0ohIpMKR">pic.twitter.com/Wc0ohIpMKR</a>
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The salary budget of all the IPL teams was hiked from Rs 66 crore to Rs 80 crore for the next year&#39;s auction, with the figure to rise to Rs 82 crore in 2019 and Rs 85 crore in 2020.

The governing council specified the retention criteria for the two suspended IPL franchises, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, saying the player pool for retention or RTM will be the players&#39; who played for them respectively in IPL 2015 and the ones who were part of Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) and Gujarat Lions (GL) squads in IPL 2017.

On being asked whether former Indian Cricket Team captain &nbsp;Mahendra Singh Dhoni will go to CSK again, Shukla said that,&quot;We can&#39;t say who will go where, it depends on the franchise and player.&quot;

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We can&#39;t say who will go where, it depends on the franchise and player.: Rajeev Shukla, IPL Commissioner on MS Dhoni going to Chennai Super Kings <a href="https://t.co/mHhW8iimhD">pic.twitter.com/mHhW8iimhD</a>
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&nbsp;

The franchises will be allowed to have a maximum of 25 players, from earlier 27, with a maximum of 8 overseas players in the squad.

The five players secured can include any combination of retention and right-to-match cards with not more than three through either category

Providing a long-pending solution to the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams to retain their big players, the governing council on Wednesday announced that the franchises can retain a maximum of five players by virtue of a combination of pre-auction retention and Right To Match (RTM) cards for the upcoming 2018 edition. The five players secured can include any combination of retention and right-to-match cards with not more than three through either category. The breakup of the five players retained will adhere to the maximum numbers of three-capped Indian players, maximum of two uncapped Indian players and two overseas players. Divulging details on the new set norms, IPL Commissioner Rajeev Shukla said that out of 5, 3 can be retained and 2 can be taken under Right to Match or vice-versa, adding the salary cap of players and the base price of uncapped players has also been increased. IPL governing council decided all teams can avail facility of retaining 5 players & Right to Match. Out of 5, 3 can be retained & 2 can be taken under Right to Match or vice-versa. Increased salary cap of players & base price of uncapped players: Rajeev Shukla, IPL Commissioner pic.twitter.com/Wc0ohIpMKR — ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2017 × The salary budget of all the IPL teams was hiked from Rs 66 crore to Rs 80 crore for the next year's auction, with the figure to rise to Rs 82 crore in 2019 and Rs 85 crore in 2020. The governing council specified the retention criteria for the two suspended IPL franchises, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, saying the player pool for retention or RTM will be the players' who played for them respectively in IPL 2015 and the ones who were part of Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) and Gujarat Lions (GL) squads in IPL 2017. On being asked whether former Indian Cricket Team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will go to CSK again, Shukla said that,"We can't say who will go where, it depends on the franchise and player." We can't say who will go where, it depends on the franchise and player.: Rajeev Shukla, IPL Commissioner on MS Dhoni going to Chennai Super Kings pic.twitter.com/mHhW8iimhD — ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2017 × The franchises will be allowed to have a maximum of 25 players, from earlier 27, with a maximum of 8 overseas players in the squad.

IPL franchises allowed to retain 5 players: Rajeev Shukla

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was slapped with a fine of Rs 52.24 crore on Wednesday.&nbsp;

The fine was imposed by Competition Commission for anti-competitive practices regarding IPL media rights.&nbsp;

The Commission issued a 44-page order. The order stated that the penalty of Rs 52.24 crore accounts to nearly 4.48 per cent of the Cricket board&#39;s relevant turnover in the last three financial years.&nbsp;

The average turnover of the BCCI for the past three financial years 2013-2016, is Rs 1,164.7 crore.&nbsp;

&quot;The assessment of the Commission clearly brings out that the impugned clause in the IPL (Indian Premier League) Media Rights Agreement has been pursued by BCCI consciously to protect the commercial interest of the bidders of broadcasting rights as well as the economic interest of BCCI,&quot; it said.

The watchdog had penalised the Cricket board with a fine of Rs 52.24 crore in 2013 as well.&nbsp;

(With inputs from PTI)

&nbsp;

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The fine was imposed by Competition Commission for anti-competitive practices regarding IPL media rights

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was slapped with a fine of Rs 52.24 crore on Wednesday. The fine was imposed by Competition Commission for anti-competitive practices regarding IPL media rights. The Commission issued a 44-page order. The order stated that the penalty of Rs 52.24 crore accounts to nearly 4.48 per cent of the Cricket board's relevant turnover in the last three financial years. The average turnover of the BCCI for the past three financial years 2013-2016, is Rs 1,164.7 crore. "The assessment of the Commission clearly brings out that the impugned clause in the IPL (Indian Premier League) Media Rights Agreement has been pursued by BCCI consciously to protect the commercial interest of the bidders of broadcasting rights as well as the economic interest of BCCI," it said. The watchdog had penalised the Cricket board with a fine of Rs 52.24 crore in 2013 as well. (With inputs from PTI)

Competition Commission penalises BCCI with 52 crore fine over IPL media rights

Twenty20&nbsp;leagues&nbsp;around the world have the potential to eclipse international cricket as the shortest format of the game continues to attract new fans, according to multi-team&nbsp;owner&nbsp;Preity&nbsp;Zinta.

The Bollywood actress and businesswoman co-owns the Indian Premier League (IPL) side, Kings XI, Punjab and has now expanded her cricket empire to include the Stellenbosch Kings in South Africa&#39;s newly-launched&nbsp;T20&nbsp;Global League.

The November 3-December 16 tournament is the latest on a growing circuit that already includes series in India, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Caribbean.

Zinta&nbsp;believes the growth of these&nbsp;leagues&nbsp;could surpass interest and investment in international cricket.

&quot;The way the format is and the way the&nbsp;leagues&nbsp;are structured, I think in the near&nbsp;future&nbsp;you are going to see league cricket take over,&quot;&nbsp;Zinta&nbsp;told reporters.

&quot;If you look at other sports like football, of course, the country sport is there and it is very important, but then it is the league sport that takes over at some point.&quot;

The IPL signed a record five-year TV deal worth $2.55 billion earlier this month, five times more per season than the initial 10-year deal.

Zinta&nbsp;sees this as a sign that the popularity of the format is drawing in non-traditional cricket fans and she expects this trend to continue across all&nbsp;leagues.

&quot;The&nbsp;T20&nbsp;format is a very adaptable format for the world,&quot; she said. &quot;My husband is American and is a baseball fan, but after five years of IPL, he is now a cricket fan also. It is a format that is very easily adaptable to different cultures.

&quot;When the IPL was starting in India, a lot of people said, &#39;why are you getting into it, it is already the number one sport in the country. It is so saturated, there is no growth, what is going to be different?&#39;.

&quot;But I said, &#39;it&#39;s the number one (sport), but I don&rsquo;t watch it, many women don&#39;t watch it, families don&#39;t watch it. Just the hard-core cricket fans watch it&#39;. We wanted one event that could have everything in it and everybody could watch.&quot;

She&nbsp;says&nbsp;shorter attention spans these days from fans makes&nbsp;T20&nbsp;cricket a favourite over five-day tests and the 50-over game.

&quot;Content has become hand-held. People have the appetite to watch a&nbsp;T20&nbsp;game because it is three hours, it&#39;s a lot of action and it&#39;s very athletic. It has evolved into cricket with a lot of entertainment value and speed.

&quot;But there are still a lot more fans we can capture. It is an experience (to be at a game). It is definitely going to catch on more and more, and it has definitely not yet reached where it should be.&quot;

Zinta&#39;s purchase of the&nbsp;T20&nbsp;Global League team follows that of two other IPL&nbsp;owners.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan, who possesses Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean, now owns Cape Town Knight Riders in South Africa.

India&#39;s GMR Group, who owns the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, have also bought South African side the Jo&#39;burg Giants.

Zinta believes the growth of these leagues could surpass interest and investment in international cricket

Twenty20 leagues around the world have the potential to eclipse international cricket as the shortest format of the game continues to attract new fans, according to multi-team owner Preity Zinta. The Bollywood actress and businesswoman co-owns the Indian Premier League (IPL) side, Kings XI, Punjab and has now expanded her cricket empire to include the Stellenbosch Kings in South Africa's newly-launched T20 Global League. The November 3-December 16 tournament is the latest on a growing circuit that already includes series in India, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Caribbean. Zinta believes the growth of these leagues could surpass interest and investment in international cricket. "The way the format is and the way the leagues are structured, I think in the near future you are going to see league cricket take over," Zinta told reporters. "If you look at other sports like football, of course, the country sport is there and it is very important, but then it is the league sport that takes over at some point." The IPL signed a record five-year TV deal worth $2.55 billion earlier this month, five times more per season than the initial 10-year deal. Zinta sees this as a sign that the popularity of the format is drawing in non-traditional cricket fans and she expects this trend to continue across all leagues. "The T20 format is a very adaptable format for the world," she said. "My husband is American and is a baseball fan, but after five years of IPL, he is now a cricket fan also. It is a format that is very easily adaptable to different cultures. "When the IPL was starting in India, a lot of people said, 'why are you getting into it, it is already the number one sport in the country. It is so saturated, there is no growth, what is going to be different?'. "But I said, 'it's the number one (sport), but I don’t watch it, many women don't watch it, families don't watch it. Just the hard-core cricket fans watch it'. We wanted one event that could have everything in it and everybody could watch." She says shorter attention spans these days from fans makes T20 cricket a favourite over five-day tests and the 50-over game. "Content has become hand-held. People have the appetite to watch a T20 game because it is three hours, it's a lot of action and it's very athletic. It has evolved into cricket with a lot of entertainment value and speed. "But there are still a lot more fans we can capture. It is an experience (to be at a game). It is definitely going to catch on more and more, and it has definitely not yet reached where it should be." Zinta's purchase of the T20 Global League team follows that of two other IPL owners. Actor Shah Rukh Khan, who possesses Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean, now owns Cape Town Knight Riders in South Africa. India's GMR Group, who owns the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, have also bought South African side the Jo'burg Giants.

T20 leagues are the future, says Kings XI owner Preity Zinta

BCCI CEO Rahul Johri today listed names of companies who will take part in the Indian Premier League(IPL) auction of TV and digital rights for the Indian market.

Sony Pictures which currently holds the TV rights for India&#39;s mega cricket event has been listed along with Star India.

The contenders for digital rights named by BCCI include: Social network giant Facebook, Mukesh Ambani&#39;s JIO and Times Internet.

The bids have been invited in seven categories namely: Indian TV rights, Indian digital rights, US, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the rest of the world divided into broadcast and digital(Internet and mobile).

All rights will be for a period of five years. The auction is expected to earn a huge amount in excess of Rs 20,000 crore, according to media reports.

Sony Pictures which currently holds the TV rights for India's mega cricket event has been listed along with Star India.

BCCI CEO Rahul Johri today listed names of companies who will take part in the Indian Premier League(IPL) auction of TV and digital rights for the Indian market. Sony Pictures which currently holds the TV rights for India's mega cricket event has been listed along with Star India. The contenders for digital rights named by BCCI include: Social network giant Facebook, Mukesh Ambani's JIO and Times Internet. The bids have been invited in seven categories namely: Indian TV rights, Indian digital rights, US, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the rest of the world divided into broadcast and digital(Internet and mobile). All rights will be for a period of five years. The auction is expected to earn a huge amount in excess of Rs 20,000 crore, according to media reports.

IPL media rights: BCCI set to earn big bucks

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/cricket/ipl-media-rights-bcci-set-to-earn-big-bucks-19835">Star India has won the IPL media rights</a>&nbsp;-- broadcast and digital -- for the next five years (2018-2022) with a bid of Rs&nbsp;16,347.50 crores ($255 million).

Sony Pictures earlier held the TV rights for the mega cricket event for the last ten years.

Vivo has retained the title sponsorship for the next five years (2018-22). The Chinese company bid 2,199 crores for the title sponsorship which was 554% higher than its previous bid.

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Here are the final figures for IPL Media Rights for the period from 2018-2022. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLMediaRights?src=hash">#IPLMediaRights</a> <a href="https://t.co/2y1m0X4701">pic.twitter.com/2y1m0X4701</a>
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VIVO retains title sponsorship for IPL 2018-22. They bid Rs.2,199 Crores, 554% increase over the previous contract! <a href="https://t.co/6D7RXooTvB">pic.twitter.com/6D7RXooTvB</a>
&mdash; IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IPL/status/879603940572012544">June 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Sony Pictures earlier held the TV rights for the mega cricket event for the last ten years

Star India has won the IPL media rights -- broadcast and digital -- for the next five years (2018-2022) with a bid of Rs 16,347.50 crores ($255 million). Sony Pictures earlier held the TV rights for the mega cricket event for the last ten years. Vivo has retained the title sponsorship for the next five years (2018-22). The Chinese company bid 2,199 crores for the title sponsorship which was 554% higher than its previous bid. Here are the final figures for IPL Media Rights for the period from 2018-2022. #IPLMediaRights pic.twitter.com/2y1m0X4701 — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 4, 2017 × VIVO retains title sponsorship for IPL 2018-22. They bid Rs.2,199 Crores, 554% increase over the previous contract! pic.twitter.com/6D7RXooTvB — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) June 27, 2017 ×

IPL media rights auction: Star India wins TV, digital rights

India captain Mithali Raj said now was time to &quot;create the base&quot; of a female equivalent to the Indian Premier League after her side&#39;s hopes of Women&#39;s World Cup final glory were snatched away by England at Lord&#39;s.

Raj&#39;s side looked on course to lift the trophy for the first time at 191 for three, chasing 229 for victory, in Sunday&#39;s final at the &quot;home of cricket&quot;. But on the same Lord&#39;s ground where India&#39;s men had won an inaugural World Cup title back in 1983, they lost their last seven wickets for just 28 runs to be bowled out for 219 with eight balls to spare.

Anya Shrubsole did the damage with a late burst of five wickets for 11 runs in 19 deliveries. The pace bowler&#39;s match haul of six for 46 was also the best individual return in any Women&#39;s World Cup final.

Pressure got to India in the end, but the 34-year-old Raj, who later confirmed this has been her last World Cup appearance, said that would be less likely to happen if they had a tournament to match Australia&#39;s Twenty20 Women&#39;s Big Bash League or England&#39;s equivalent Super League.

&quot;Everybody was very nervous and I think that resulted in our defeat,&quot; Raj, the all-time leading run-scorer in women&#39;s one-day internationals told reporters.&nbsp;

England&#39;s women have been full-time professionals for some two years now, with Raj&#39;s side still on their way -- although the squad did receive bonus payments of 50 lakh Indian rupees (&pound;60,000) each for reaching the final from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

&nbsp;

&#39;Set the platform&#39;

&quot;These girls have really set the platform for the upcoming generations in India,&quot; said Raj. &nbsp;&quot;They&rsquo;ve opened up the channels for women&rsquo;s cricket and they should be really proud of themselves. I have seen the changes the girls have made.&nbsp;

&quot;Unlike 2005 (when Australia hammered India by 98 runs in the final at Centurion, South Africa), this went to the end.&quot;

India&#39;s collapse was sparked by Punam Raut&#39;s exit for 86, the top score of the final. Together with Harmanpreet Kaur, who made 51 after her astounding 171 not out in India&#39;s semi-final win over reigning champions Australia, the opener shared a third-wicket stand of 95.

&quot;We messed it up in the end. It was a very brave innings from Punam,&quot; said Raj. But the skipper said her side had established a solid foundation for women&#39;s cricket in India, the sport&#39;s financial superpower.

&quot;The response from the public is very positive,&quot; said Raj. &nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m sure the BCCI is very proud of the team.&nbsp;

&quot;When we lost to South Africa and Australia (in pool play), no one thought we would get to the final.&nbsp;

&quot;A team like that has come to the finals and given a good fight to the home team.

&quot;The WBBL has given exposure to the two girls who have played (Smriti Mandhana and Kaur).&nbsp;

&quot;If more girls participate in such leagues, it will give them experience and help them to improve their own game.&nbsp;

&quot;If you ask me, they should have (women&#39;s) IPL because now is the right time to create that base.&quot;

England, beaten by India in their opening pool match, also made plenty of mistakes in the error-strewn closing overs on the way to winning a fourth World Cup title and third in as many editions on home soil.

But in a year where former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, the driving force in establishing the inaugural Women&#39;s World Cup in 1973 -- which her side won -- died and on a match day where the bell to signal the start of play was rung by 105-year-old Eileen Ash, the oldest living former England women&#39;s international, the hosts held their nerve.

&quot;Cricket&#39;s a funny game, and pressure&#39;s a funny thing,&quot; said England captain Heather Knight after a win greeted with the sound of thousands of girls cheering in the stands of a capacity crowd rather than the polite applause usually associated with Lord&#39;s.

&quot;It&#39;s a World Cup final, we knew if we held our nerve we would be in with a chance but it did feel like it was slipping away at 190 for three.

&quot;But we fought like hell in this tournament and today was no different.&quot;

Raj hoped this classic finals showdown would 'create the base' of a female equivalent to the Indian Premier League

India captain Mithali Raj said now was time to "create the base" of a female equivalent to the Indian Premier League after her side's hopes of Women's World Cup final glory were snatched away by England at Lord's. Raj's side looked on course to lift the trophy for the first time at 191 for three, chasing 229 for victory, in Sunday's final at the "home of cricket". But on the same Lord's ground where India's men had won an inaugural World Cup title back in 1983, they lost their last seven wickets for just 28 runs to be bowled out for 219 with eight balls to spare. Anya Shrubsole did the damage with a late burst of five wickets for 11 runs in 19 deliveries. The pace bowler's match haul of six for 46 was also the best individual return in any Women's World Cup final. Pressure got to India in the end, but the 34-year-old Raj, who later confirmed this has been her last World Cup appearance, said that would be less likely to happen if they had a tournament to match Australia's Twenty20 Women's Big Bash League or England's equivalent Super League. "Everybody was very nervous and I think that resulted in our defeat," Raj, the all-time leading run-scorer in women's one-day internationals told reporters. England's women have been full-time professionals for some two years now, with Raj's side still on their way -- although the squad did receive bonus payments of 50 lakh Indian rupees (£60,000) each for reaching the final from the Board of Control for Cricket in India. 'Set the platform' "These girls have really set the platform for the upcoming generations in India," said Raj. "They’ve opened up the channels for women’s cricket and they should be really proud of themselves. I have seen the changes the girls have made. "Unlike 2005 (when Australia hammered India by 98 runs in the final at Centurion, South Africa), this went to the end." India's collapse was sparked by Punam Raut's exit for 86, the top score of the final. Together with Harmanpreet Kaur, who made 51 after her astounding 171 not out in India's semi-final win over reigning champions Australia, the opener shared a third-wicket stand of 95. "We messed it up in the end. It was a very brave innings from Punam," said Raj. But the skipper said her side had established a solid foundation for women's cricket in India, the sport's financial superpower. "The response from the public is very positive," said Raj. "I'm sure the BCCI is very proud of the team. "When we lost to South Africa and Australia (in pool play), no one thought we would get to the final. "A team like that has come to the finals and given a good fight to the home team. "The WBBL has given exposure to the two girls who have played (Smriti Mandhana and Kaur). "If more girls participate in such leagues, it will give them experience and help them to improve their own game. "If you ask me, they should have (women's) IPL because now is the right time to create that base." England, beaten by India in their opening pool match, also made plenty of mistakes in the error-strewn closing overs on the way to winning a fourth World Cup title and third in as many editions on home soil. But in a year where former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, the driving force in establishing the inaugural Women's World Cup in 1973 -- which her side won -- died and on a match day where the bell to signal the start of play was rung by 105-year-old Eileen Ash, the oldest living former England women's international, the hosts held their nerve. "Cricket's a funny game, and pressure's a funny thing," said England captain Heather Knight after a win greeted with the sound of thousands of girls cheering in the stands of a capacity crowd rather than the polite applause usually associated with Lord's. "It's a World Cup final, we knew if we held our nerve we would be in with a chance but it did feel like it was slipping away at 190 for three. "But we fought like hell in this tournament and today was no different."

India's Mithali Raj wants women's IPL after World Cup heartbreak

By Rustam Roy 
 
Mumbai Indian fans should be weary of one man in today&#39;s final - MS Dhoni, after all he is etched in their memory as the man who hit &nbsp;that &#39;super six&#39; in the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede against Sri Lanka. Mumbai coach Mahela Jayawardene who was at the receiving end on that day will also be a tad uncomfortable when the Ranchi star comes out to bat.

MS has always relished a final encounter be it the ICC T20, 50-over World Cup, Champions trophy but importantly in the context of the IPL - the former Indian captain has featured in most IPL finals - seven including this year&#39;s clash with Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma&#39;s men should be very afraid.

Dhoni has been quietly racking up the runs in this edition, focussing on returns-280 runs in 15 matches @ an average of 114. One of the great finishers of the game, he has hit more sixes than boundaries in this season -14 boundaries and 16 sixes, in fact he has hit more sixes compared to boundaries for the first time in this season- maybe the best of Dhoni is yet to come.

Rising Pune Supergiants have a huge psychological edge over Rohit Sharma&#39;s men having beaten them in the first qualifier easily by 20 runs and outclassed them at home &amp; away in this season. Dhoni left a few scars on the Mumbai bowlers in the first qualifier after he hit a quickfire 40 off 26 balls with five sixes in a crucial 73-run stand with Manoj Tiwary which tilted the game in Pune&#39;s favour on Tuesday.

Skipper Rohit Sharma and coach would have to sit down with Malinga, McClenaghan and Bumrah to devise a plan to stop the Dhoni onslaught, maybe introducing Harbhajan would be a good ploy. The trick is to get Dhoni early and not allow him to settle down because once he is able play himself in, the death overs become a nightmare for the opposition as Bumrah and McClenaghan found out to their &nbsp;horror at the Wankhede.

Pune Supergiants have all to play for in their debut appearance in the final as they will be dismantaled after the final match and just like Chennai Superkings who no longer exist but have left an indelible mark, Pune spearheaded by Dhoni power under Australian Steve Smith can outclass the star studded Mumbai Indians. 
 
(WION)

Rising Pune Supergiants have a huge psychological edge over Rohit Sharma's men having beaten them in the first qualifier

By Rustam Roy Mumbai Indian fans should be weary of one man in today's final - MS Dhoni, after all he is etched in their memory as the man who hit that 'super six' in the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede against Sri Lanka. Mumbai coach Mahela Jayawardene who was at the receiving end on that day will also be a tad uncomfortable when the Ranchi star comes out to bat. MS has always relished a final encounter be it the ICC T20, 50-over World Cup, Champions trophy but importantly in the context of the IPL - the former Indian captain has featured in most IPL finals - seven including this year's clash with Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma's men should be very afraid. Dhoni has been quietly racking up the runs in this edition, focussing on returns-280 runs in 15 matches @ an average of 114. One of the great finishers of the game, he has hit more sixes than boundaries in this season -14 boundaries and 16 sixes, in fact he has hit more sixes compared to boundaries for the first time in this season- maybe the best of Dhoni is yet to come. Rising Pune Supergiants have a huge psychological edge over Rohit Sharma's men having beaten them in the first qualifier easily by 20 runs and outclassed them at home & away in this season. Dhoni left a few scars on the Mumbai bowlers in the first qualifier after he hit a quickfire 40 off 26 balls with five sixes in a crucial 73-run stand with Manoj Tiwary which tilted the game in Pune's favour on Tuesday. Skipper Rohit Sharma and coach would have to sit down with Malinga, McClenaghan and Bumrah to devise a plan to stop the Dhoni onslaught, maybe introducing Harbhajan would be a good ploy. The trick is to get Dhoni early and not allow him to settle down because once he is able play himself in, the death overs become a nightmare for the opposition as Bumrah and McClenaghan found out to their horror at the Wankhede. Pune Supergiants have all to play for in their debut appearance in the final as they will be dismantaled after the final match and just like Chennai Superkings who no longer exist but have left an indelible mark, Pune spearheaded by Dhoni power under Australian Steve Smith can outclass the star studded Mumbai Indians. (WION)

IPL final preview: 'MS' - 'Mumbai slayer' can become King

Mumbai Indians were crowned the new IPL champions following their thrilling one-run win over Rising Pune Supergiant in the summit clash here tonight.

Rohit Sharma opted to bat after winning the toss but Mumbai batsmen failed to deliver while the Supergiant bowlers came out firing on all cylinders.

Krunal Pandya top-scored with a crucial 47-run knock while skipper Rohit contributed 24 runs to help Mumbai post 128 for eight. Jaydev Unadkat (2/19) and Adam Zampa (2/32) shared four wickets between them for Pune Supergiant.

Mumbai Indians surprisingly managed to defend the low total to capture their third IPL trophy with Pune Supergiant falling agonisingly short by one run.

Supergiant could manage 128 for six in 20 overs with Mitchell Johnson taking two wickets in the final over, in which Supergiant needed 11 runs.

Skipper Steve Smith scored 51 runs while Ajinkya Rahane came up with a 44-run knock in Pune chase.

Brief Scores:

Mumbai Indians: 129 for 8 in 20 overs. (Krunal Pandya 47, Rohit Shrama 24; J Unadkat 2/19) 
Rising Pune Supergiant: 128 for 6 in 20 overs.

(PTI)

Rohit Sharma opted to bat after winning the toss but Mumbai batsmen failed to deliver while the Supergiant bowlers came out firing on all cylinders

Mumbai Indians were crowned the new IPL champions following their thrilling one-run win over Rising Pune Supergiant in the summit clash here tonight. Rohit Sharma opted to bat after winning the toss but Mumbai batsmen failed to deliver while the Supergiant bowlers came out firing on all cylinders. Krunal Pandya top-scored with a crucial 47-run knock while skipper Rohit contributed 24 runs to help Mumbai post 128 for eight. Jaydev Unadkat (2/19) and Adam Zampa (2/32) shared four wickets between them for Pune Supergiant. Mumbai Indians surprisingly managed to defend the low total to capture their third IPL trophy with Pune Supergiant falling agonisingly short by one run. Supergiant could manage 128 for six in 20 overs with Mitchell Johnson taking two wickets in the final over, in which Supergiant needed 11 runs. Skipper Steve Smith scored 51 runs while Ajinkya Rahane came up with a 44-run knock in Pune chase. Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians: 129 for 8 in 20 overs. (Krunal Pandya 47, Rohit Shrama 24; J Unadkat 2/19) Rising Pune Supergiant: 128 for 6 in 20 overs. (PTI)

IPL final: Mumbai Indians beat Rising Pune Supergiant by one run

One can draw many similarities between Sunrisers Hyderabad&rsquo;s (SRH) Indian Premier League (IPL) campaigns in 2016 and 2017. They finished at No. 3 in the points table in both seasons. They had two bowlers in top five at identical spots by the end of season: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (first) and Mustafizur Rahman (fifth) in 2016, Bhuvneshwar (first) and Rashid Khan (fifth) in 2017. They had two batsmen in top five, again by the end of season: David Warner (second) and Shikhar Dhawan (fifth) in 2016, Warner (first) and Dhawan (third) in 2017.

Further, SRH found a new overseas bowling sensation in both seasons. If Mustafizur did the job for them last year, Rashid&rsquo;s googlies bamboozled the best of batsmen in the ongoing league. Bhuvneshwar, Warner and Dhawan were consistent just like the previous season. The team had a good time playing at home, in fact better than the last year. However, the similarities end here, as the team bowed out of the tournament after losing Eliminator on Wednesday against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the same side they had beaten in the same match last year before going on to win Qualifier 2 and eventually the final.

From here, the focus shifts from what went wrong to the things they did differently this year to the things that did not click for them and the reasons behind their unsuccessful campaign. Let us take a look at the possible reasons behind their failure, the positives out of this campaign as well as what lies in store.

Home bullies falter in away games

In IPL 2016, SRH had won 7 of their 10 away games, thus having a 70 per cent success rate playing away from home. Being good away from home was a hallmark of their success last year. However, it came down drastically this year, with the team winning just 25 per cent of its away games: 2 out of 8. Although SRH had a better home season from last year (6 wins this year as compared to 4 in IPL 2016), the poor away record in IPL 2017 was one of the key factors behind their failure.

Unsettled XI

Unlike last year, SRH could not find a stable playing XI till their final game. The fact that they made as many as four changes for the Eliminator from their previous game underlies the issue. The likes of Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Nabi did well in the limited chances they got. Giving them a longer run would probably have helped the franchise. But these players were shuffled far too often in order to find the right balance, which eventually never happened. Inconsistency in selection of playing XI, thus also hampered their prospects in IPL 2017.

Heavy reliance on a few individuals: One of the major reasons why SRH won the campaign last year was that they played as a single unit, with all players chipping in with vital contributions. This year, though, the team heavily relied on a couple of individuals in every department. Warner and Dhawan, just like last year, scored consistently. But barring them, none of them really stepped up. Yuvraj Singh was good in patches. Moises Henriques was good initially but lost his form as the tournament progressed. In-form Williamson was played in only half the games.

In bowling department as well, the story was not any different. Bhuvneshwar and Rashid excelled. Siddharth Kaul and Siraj did what they do best. But Ashish Nehra broke down once again, while an off-colour Mustafizur got just a solitary game. The dependency on a few individuals clearly hurt the side.

Lastly, luck

In the end, SRH would have been mighty disappointed with the way they bowed out of the tournament. Though they could only post a below-par 128 against KKR, a 20-over game would have given them a chance to defend it. They had enough firepower in their bowling arsenal to put up a fight, but a 6-over run chase was not fair to them. Had they been a little lucky yesterday night, a washed-out game would have put them into Qualifier 2.

Positives from IPL 2017

Rashid, Kaul, Siraj and Vijay Shankar were the biggest positives for SRH this season. However, it is unlikely if they remain a part of the squad next year with a high possibility of all the players going in the auction pool.

The road ahead

Even though SRH failed to cross the knockout hurdle, they played some good cricket overall. They have a solid group of players at their disposal and their aim next year should be to retain the core group. It is not going to be easy, with a fresh auction taking place for all the teams. But building the same team will be their top agenda next year.

Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan confirmed the same at the post-match press conference after Eliminator. &ldquo;We had a very good season and we played well. However, unfortunately you need to go out sometimes when you are in the knockouts. Therefore, unfortunately this year is not our year. We will make sure if we can build the same team next year, comeback and fight for the trophy,&rdquo; he said.

&ldquo;Our batsmen batted well, the bowlers, who were picked in the auction, did well as well. Therefore, we are satisfied with our players along with our performance as well. We also won eight matches or something, while we just lost five matches, along with this loss. We won it last year, and that is not going to happen every time. Every team tries hard. Therefore, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. We take it on the chin and say &lsquo;Ok, it&rsquo;s not our year&rsquo;. I also congratulate all the players who played really well for us,&rdquo; he added.

Given the performances SRH have put up over the last couple of seasons, there is no denying they will comeback harder next year and try even harder to win back the title.

(This story first appeared on cricketcountry.com)

Though SRH failed to cross the knockout hurdle, they played some good cricket overall

One can draw many similarities between Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) Indian Premier League (IPL) campaigns in 2016 and 2017. They finished at No. 3 in the points table in both seasons. They had two bowlers in top five at identical spots by the end of season: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (first) and Mustafizur Rahman (fifth) in 2016, Bhuvneshwar (first) and Rashid Khan (fifth) in 2017. They had two batsmen in top five, again by the end of season: David Warner (second) and Shikhar Dhawan (fifth) in 2016, Warner (first) and Dhawan (third) in 2017. Further, SRH found a new overseas bowling sensation in both seasons. If Mustafizur did the job for them last year, Rashid’s googlies bamboozled the best of batsmen in the ongoing league. Bhuvneshwar, Warner and Dhawan were consistent just like the previous season. The team had a good time playing at home, in fact better than the last year. However, the similarities end here, as the team bowed out of the tournament after losing Eliminator on Wednesday against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the same side they had beaten in the same match last year before going on to win Qualifier 2 and eventually the final. From here, the focus shifts from what went wrong to the things they did differently this year to the things that did not click for them and the reasons behind their unsuccessful campaign. Let us take a look at the possible reasons behind their failure, the positives out of this campaign as well as what lies in store. Home bullies falter in away games In IPL 2016, SRH had won 7 of their 10 away games, thus having a 70 per cent success rate playing away from home. Being good away from home was a hallmark of their success last year. However, it came down drastically this year, with the team winning just 25 per cent of its away games: 2 out of 8. Although SRH had a better home season from last year (6 wins this year as compared to 4 in IPL 2016), the poor away record in IPL 2017 was one of the key factors behind their failure. Unsettled XI Unlike last year, SRH could not find a stable playing XI till their final game. The fact that they made as many as four changes for the Eliminator from their previous game underlies the issue. The likes of Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Nabi did well in the limited chances they got. Giving them a longer run would probably have helped the franchise. But these players were shuffled far too often in order to find the right balance, which eventually never happened. Inconsistency in selection of playing XI, thus also hampered their prospects in IPL 2017. Heavy reliance on a few individuals: One of the major reasons why SRH won the campaign last year was that they played as a single unit, with all players chipping in with vital contributions. This year, though, the team heavily relied on a couple of individuals in every department. Warner and Dhawan, just like last year, scored consistently. But barring them, none of them really stepped up. Yuvraj Singh was good in patches. Moises Henriques was good initially but lost his form as the tournament progressed. In-form Williamson was played in only half the games. In bowling department as well, the story was not any different. Bhuvneshwar and Rashid excelled. Siddharth Kaul and Siraj did what they do best. But Ashish Nehra broke down once again, while an off-colour Mustafizur got just a solitary game. The dependency on a few individuals clearly hurt the side. Lastly, luck In the end, SRH would have been mighty disappointed with the way they bowed out of the tournament. Though they could only post a below-par 128 against KKR, a 20-over game would have given them a chance to defend it. They had enough firepower in their bowling arsenal to put up a fight, but a 6-over run chase was not fair to them. Had they been a little lucky yesterday night, a washed-out game would have put them into Qualifier 2. Positives from IPL 2017 Rashid, Kaul, Siraj and Vijay Shankar were the biggest positives for SRH this season. However, it is unlikely if they remain a part of the squad next year with a high possibility of all the players going in the auction pool. The road ahead Even though SRH failed to cross the knockout hurdle, they played some good cricket overall. They have a solid group of players at their disposal and their aim next year should be to retain the core group. It is not going to be easy, with a fresh auction taking place for all the teams. But building the same team will be their top agenda next year. Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan confirmed the same at the post-match press conference after Eliminator. “We had a very good season and we played well. However, unfortunately you need to go out sometimes when you are in the knockouts. Therefore, unfortunately this year is not our year. We will make sure if we can build the same team next year, comeback and fight for the trophy,” he said. “Our batsmen batted well, the bowlers, who were picked in the auction, did well as well. Therefore, we are satisfied with our players along with our performance as well. We also won eight matches or something, while we just lost five matches, along with this loss. We won it last year, and that is not going to happen every time. Every team tries hard. Therefore, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. We take it on the chin and say ‘Ok, it’s not our year’. I also congratulate all the players who played really well for us,” he added. Given the performances SRH have put up over the last couple of seasons, there is no denying they will comeback harder next year and try even harder to win back the title. (This story first appeared on cricketcountry.com)

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Unfortunate end to defending champions? inconsistent season

Mumbai Indians entered the final of the ongoing Indian Premier league (IPL) with a convincing six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders here tonight.

Opting to field after Rohit Sharma won the toss, Mumbai bowled out Kolkata for a paltry 107 in 18.5 overs, and then chased down the target with 33 balls to spare at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Leg-spinner Karn Sharma was the star performer with the ball for Mumbai, returning excellent figures of 4/16 - the joint best effort by a spinner in an IPL knockout game, while Jasprit Bumrah provided fine support to pick 3/7 in three overs.

Krunal Pandya showed maturity, finishing as Mumbai&#39;s top scorer with 45 off 30 balls, while Rohit contributed 26.

Earlier, KKR off were to a disastrous start and were reeling at 31 for five at one stage, with Sharma and Bumrah doing the bulk of damage.

A 56-run partnership ensued between Suryakumar Kumar (31) and Ishank Jaggi (28), before the Mumbai bowlers struck again.

(PTI)

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WION&#39;s sports editor Yash Jha talks about what to expect in the match as the two IPL giants clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium today. (WION)
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Opting to field after Rohit Sharma won the toss, Mumbai bowled out Kolkata for a paltry 107 in 18.5 overs

Mumbai Indians entered the final of the ongoing Indian Premier league (IPL) with a convincing six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders here tonight. Opting to field after Rohit Sharma won the toss, Mumbai bowled out Kolkata for a paltry 107 in 18.5 overs, and then chased down the target with 33 balls to spare at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Leg-spinner Karn Sharma was the star performer with the ball for Mumbai, returning excellent figures of 4/16 - the joint best effort by a spinner in an IPL knockout game, while Jasprit Bumrah provided fine support to pick 3/7 in three overs. Krunal Pandya showed maturity, finishing as Mumbai's top scorer with 45 off 30 balls, while Rohit contributed 26. Earlier, KKR off were to a disastrous start and were reeling at 31 for five at one stage, with Sharma and Bumrah doing the bulk of damage. A 56-run partnership ensued between Suryakumar Kumar (31) and Ishank Jaggi (28), before the Mumbai bowlers struck again. (PTI) WION's sports editor Yash Jha talks about what to expect in the match as the two IPL giants clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium today. (WION) ×

Mumbai Indians beat KKR by 6 wickets, enter IPL final

Kolkata Knight Riders&#39; Indian Premier League play-off fate hangs in balance after suffering a defeat against Mumbai Indians in their last round league match here today.

Chasing 174 to win, KKR were restricted to 164-8 by Mumbai Indians, who dished out a disciplined bowling effort at Eden Gardens here.

This is the sixth loss for KKR in the tournament. They are now placed at the third place with 18 points. Their fate now depends on the match between Kings XI Punjab (14) and Rising Pune Supergiants (16) tomorrow.

If Punjab wins tomorrow then three teams will be on 16 points and it will come down to the run-rate to decide the play-off line-up.

Mumbai, who are already through to the play-offs, consolidated their position at the top of the table with 20 points after their 10th victory.

Manish Pandey (33) was the top-scorer for KKR but the hosts lost too many wickets early in the innings to put pressure on the middle and lower-order.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians tested their bench with much aplomb as Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary slammed half- centuries to lift them to 173-5.

Making his debut for Mumbai Indians, Tiwary seized the opportunity with a glittering 43-ball 52 (9x4) while Rayudu who made a comeback after more than a month was Mumbai&#39;s top- scorer with a spectacular 63 from 37 balls (6x4, 3x6).

For KKR, Trent Boult (2/30) took two wickets, while Ankit Rajpoot (1/14) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/25) took one wicket each after skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl in the match which was delayed due to rain and thunderstorm.

(PTI)

Chasing 174 to win, KKR were restricted to 164-8 by Mumbai Indians, who dished out a disciplined bowling effort at Eden Gardens

Kolkata Knight Riders' Indian Premier League play-off fate hangs in balance after suffering a defeat against Mumbai Indians in their last round league match here today. Chasing 174 to win, KKR were restricted to 164-8 by Mumbai Indians, who dished out a disciplined bowling effort at Eden Gardens here. This is the sixth loss for KKR in the tournament. They are now placed at the third place with 18 points. Their fate now depends on the match between Kings XI Punjab (14) and Rising Pune Supergiants (16) tomorrow. If Punjab wins tomorrow then three teams will be on 16 points and it will come down to the run-rate to decide the play-off line-up. Mumbai, who are already through to the play-offs, consolidated their position at the top of the table with 20 points after their 10th victory. Manish Pandey (33) was the top-scorer for KKR but the hosts lost too many wickets early in the innings to put pressure on the middle and lower-order. Earlier, Mumbai Indians tested their bench with much aplomb as Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary slammed half- centuries to lift them to 173-5. Making his debut for Mumbai Indians, Tiwary seized the opportunity with a glittering 43-ball 52 (9x4) while Rayudu who made a comeback after more than a month was Mumbai's top- scorer with a spectacular 63 from 37 balls (6x4, 3x6). For KKR, Trent Boult (2/30) took two wickets, while Ankit Rajpoot (1/14) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/25) took one wicket each after skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl in the match which was delayed due to rain and thunderstorm. (PTI)

Kolkata Knight Riders suffer nine-run loss to Mumbai Indians

Delhi Daredevils defeated fancied Rising Pune Supergiant by seven runs here today, making the play-off race tougher for the visiting side in the Indian Premier League.

Pune, who came into the match winning seven out of their last eight matches, could only reach 161 for seven in reply to Delhi Daredevils&#39; 168 for eight after the hosts surprisingly decided to bat first at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Karun Nair starred with the bat for Delhi with 64 off 45 balls while a fighting 60 off 45 balls from Manoj Tiwary did not prove to be enough for Pune.

Needing an improbable 25 off the last over, Tiwary made things interesting with sixes off the first two balls before being bowled by Pat Cummins.

With the loss, Pune remain third in the points table and will have a must win tie against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.

Pune made a decent start to the chase despite losing their openers Ajnkya Rahane (0) and Rahul Tripathi (7) cheaply. Both were dismissed by Zaheer Khan, who turned back the clock with a delightful spell of swing bowling.

He bowled a beautiful inswinger the first ball of the innings, ripping through the defense of Rahane. A little later Tripathi could not execute a cut properly to be caught behind.

Pune captain Steven Smith (38 off 32)) then took charge of the proceedings with Tiwary at the other end. Smith punished Shahbaz Nadeem from the word go, smashing him for couple of fours and a six.

The duo was scoring at a brisk pace, taking Pune to 74 for two in nine overs. However, Smith was trapped in front of the stumps by Nadeem on the first ball after the break to spice up the contest.

Pune were left to score 77 runs off the last 48 balls with Ben Stokes and Tiwary in the middle. It did not turn out to be a straightforward chase despite Delhi&#39;s sloppiness on the field. Tiwary was dropped twice but still was not able to take his side home.

Earlier, Karun Nair struck his first half century of the season to help Daredevils set up a competitive total.

Nair (64 off 45) and Rishabh Pant (36 off 22) set the platform for Delhi before regular fall of wickets pushed them back.

Delhi, going against the trend, chose to bat after picking a side comprising eight Indians and three foreigners, becoming the second team to do so this season after Gujarat Lions.

However, it was another wobbly start for Delhi, who lost Sanju Samson and last match&#39;s hero Shreyas Iyer to be two for nine in the third over. Samson was out to a brilliant direct hit by Ben Stokes while Iyer tried to slash a back of length ball off Jaydev Unadkat only to edge it back to M S Dhoni.

Nair and Pant then got together and took the attack to the opposition. No boundaries were scored in the first three overs but they made up for that by smashing five fours and six in the next three.

Offie Washington Sundar was taken to the cleaners in his first over with Nair collecting two fours on the leg side before Pant hit a flat six over mid-wicket to get going.

Similar treatment was meted out to Pune&#39;s star all- rounder Stokes, who went for 13 in his opening over, courtesy three crisp hits from Nair.

Pant was not to be kept quiet at the other end and his stand out shot was the massive six over mid-wicket that almost landed on the dressing room balcony. Trying for another big one, Pant departed the next ball after being caught at long on off Adam Zampa, leaving Delhi at 83 for three in nine overs.

Marlon Samuels (27 of 21) supported Nair for a while with the highlight of his innings being the two consecutive sixes off pacer Shardul Thakur, who ended up leaking 35 runs in three overs.

Just when Delhi seemed set for a big score, Dhoni swung the momentum in Pune&#39;s favour with some outstanding glove work. Showing he was still one of the best in the business, Dhoni sent back Samuels with a one-hand catch on the jump before dismantling the stumps in a jiffy to remove Corey Anderson.

Nair had gone quiet while wickets well at the other end.

He got to first half century of the IPL with a single.

Pune bowlers did well to contain Delhi towards the end and were complemented well by the fielders. One such example was when Stokes showed great presence of mind at the deep midwicket boundary to complete the catch on his second attempt to dismiss Mohammed Shami.

(PTI)

Karun Nair starred with the bat for Delhi with 64 off 45 balls while a fighting 60 off 45 balls from Manoj Tiwary did not prove to be enough for Pune.

Delhi Daredevils defeated fancied Rising Pune Supergiant by seven runs here today, making the play-off race tougher for the visiting side in the Indian Premier League. Pune, who came into the match winning seven out of their last eight matches, could only reach 161 for seven in reply to Delhi Daredevils' 168 for eight after the hosts surprisingly decided to bat first at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Karun Nair starred with the bat for Delhi with 64 off 45 balls while a fighting 60 off 45 balls from Manoj Tiwary did not prove to be enough for Pune. Needing an improbable 25 off the last over, Tiwary made things interesting with sixes off the first two balls before being bowled by Pat Cummins. With the loss, Pune remain third in the points table and will have a must win tie against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday. Pune made a decent start to the chase despite losing their openers Ajnkya Rahane (0) and Rahul Tripathi (7) cheaply. Both were dismissed by Zaheer Khan, who turned back the clock with a delightful spell of swing bowling. He bowled a beautiful inswinger the first ball of the innings, ripping through the defense of Rahane. A little later Tripathi could not execute a cut properly to be caught behind. Pune captain Steven Smith (38 off 32)) then took charge of the proceedings with Tiwary at the other end. Smith punished Shahbaz Nadeem from the word go, smashing him for couple of fours and a six. The duo was scoring at a brisk pace, taking Pune to 74 for two in nine overs. However, Smith was trapped in front of the stumps by Nadeem on the first ball after the break to spice up the contest. Pune were left to score 77 runs off the last 48 balls with Ben Stokes and Tiwary in the middle. It did not turn out to be a straightforward chase despite Delhi's sloppiness on the field. Tiwary was dropped twice but still was not able to take his side home. Earlier, Karun Nair struck his first half century of the season to help Daredevils set up a competitive total. Nair (64 off 45) and Rishabh Pant (36 off 22) set the platform for Delhi before regular fall of wickets pushed them back. Delhi, going against the trend, chose to bat after picking a side comprising eight Indians and three foreigners, becoming the second team to do so this season after Gujarat Lions. However, it was another wobbly start for Delhi, who lost Sanju Samson and last match's hero Shreyas Iyer to be two for nine in the third over. Samson was out to a brilliant direct hit by Ben Stokes while Iyer tried to slash a back of length ball off Jaydev Unadkat only to edge it back to M S Dhoni. Nair and Pant then got together and took the attack to the opposition. No boundaries were scored in the first three overs but they made up for that by smashing five fours and six in the next three. Offie Washington Sundar was taken to the cleaners in his first over with Nair collecting two fours on the leg side before Pant hit a flat six over mid-wicket to get going. Similar treatment was meted out to Pune's star all- rounder Stokes, who went for 13 in his opening over, courtesy three crisp hits from Nair. Pant was not to be kept quiet at the other end and his stand out shot was the massive six over mid-wicket that almost landed on the dressing room balcony. Trying for another big one, Pant departed the next ball after being caught at long on off Adam Zampa, leaving Delhi at 83 for three in nine overs. Marlon Samuels (27 of 21) supported Nair for a while with the highlight of his innings being the two consecutive sixes off pacer Shardul Thakur, who ended up leaking 35 runs in three overs. Just when Delhi seemed set for a big score, Dhoni swung the momentum in Pune's favour with some outstanding glove work. Showing he was still one of the best in the business, Dhoni sent back Samuels with a one-hand catch on the jump before dismantling the stumps in a jiffy to remove Corey Anderson. Nair had gone quiet while wickets well at the other end. He got to first half century of the IPL with a single. Pune bowlers did well to contain Delhi towards the end and were complemented well by the fielders. One such example was when Stokes showed great presence of mind at the deep midwicket boundary to complete the catch on his second attempt to dismiss Mohammed Shami. (PTI)

Delhi Daredevils beat Rising Pune Supergiant by 7 runs

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