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DLF bags title sponsorship rights of IPL Twenty20
Both Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries Limited and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group are said to be eyeing the title sponsorship for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament floated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, sources close to the development confirmed on Friday.
RIL, owned by elder brother Mukesh Ambani, had acquired the Mumbai team last month for $111.9 million (about Rs 448 crore) for 10 years. Anil Ambani chose to stay away from the bids for the eight teams last month.
Bidding for the title sponsorship is due February 13 and is expected to attract a base price of Rs 23.6 crore for one year.
The Ambani brothers, who split their father's petrochemicals-to-telecommunications empire on June 18, 2005, had agreed not to enter each other's areas of business.
The agreement, however, does not cover new business areas such as cricket sponsorship.
The brothers' companies are currently in dispute over the supply and pricing of natural gas to ADAG plants from the RIL-owned Krishna-Godavari basin.
Both RIL and ADAG spokesmen declined to comment.
The rights, which offer enormous branding potential, will be given for the first five seasons of IPL. The winner of the title rights holds the first right of refusal for the next five years (the 6th to 10th seasons).
'As long as it doesn't interfere with me playing for England, then I'm all for the IPL. I won't jeopardise my England career for the IPL just yet, but the schedules have to be sorted because
the England players are the only ones missing out,' Pieterson told The Times newspaper.
DLF bags title sponsorship rights of IPL Twenty20
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'There are guys in our team who could be earning a lot of money. Chris Gayle [West Indies captain] texted me the other day to ask why I'm not playing and I said, 'I can't.' He just sent dollar signs in the next text message. I'm not being paid [extra] playing for Hampshire, while he'll be copping a hundred grand a game.'
English players are missing the IPL because the 45-day tournament, starting April 18, is clashing with England's home series against New Zealand. Players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Andrew Symonds will earn more than 500,000 pounds for six weeks' work during which 59 matches will be played.
BCCI will also issue tickets to the title sponsor and permit branding and promotional activities on tickets.
IPL will begin in April and will host 59 matches that will be played between eight teams.
Apart from RIL's ownership of the Mumbai team, the other team owners are GMR (Delhi), a Shah Rukh Khan consortium (Kolkata), the Emerging Media consortium (Jaipur), Preity Zinta (Mohali), Deccan Chronicle (Hyderabad), Vijay Mallya (Bangalore) and India Cement (Chennai).
Chandigarh: What does the highest test wicket-taker in the world Muthiah Murlitharan want when he bowls to Sri Lankan team mates Kumar Sangakkara and captain Mahela Jayawardene in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament?
"Try to take them in the first ball," is the prompt answer that Murlitharan gives with a grin and a hearty laugh.
"There will be no concession now," Murli added as he explained his preparations for his IPL team Chennai Super Kings for their first encounter scheduled Saturday against the Mohali IPL team, Kings XI Punjab.
What does the highest test wicket-taker in the world Muthiah Murlitharan want when he bowls to Sri Lankan team mates Kumar Sangakkara and captain Mahela Jayawardene in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament?
'Try to take them in the first ball,' is the prompt answer that Murlitharan gives with a grin and a hearty laugh.
'There will be no concession now,' Murli added as he explained his preparations for his IPL team Chennai Super Kings for their first encounter scheduled Saturday against the Mohali IPL team, Kings XI Punjab.
The Mohali team coach Tom Moody, who himself was the coach of the Sri Lankan national squad earlier, is eager to see the on-field contest as the Sri Lankans face one another.
'I am looking forward to seeing Jaya (Jayawardene) and Kumar (Sangakkara) play Murli. I want them to be hitting him out of the ground,' Moody said here.
Jayawardene and Sangakkara are in the Kings XI Punjab side led by Yuvraj Singh.
Players from the same national squad in respective countries will be facing one another in an international encounter in a big way in the inaugural IPL tournament starting Friday.
So when Brett Lee comes charging in to bowl at 'big-man' Mathew Hayden, there will be no concession either.
'I am excited about bowling to Mathew (Hayden). I will give my 100 percent to it,' Lee sounded a clear warning to his Australian counterpart.
For that matter, the much-hyped Mahendra Singh Dhoni versus Yuvraj Singh contest will see their off-field friendship take a backseat.
'There will be no let up. We will all compete to win. Whoever plays well will win,' Yuvraj said before his team Kings XI Punjab's first match against Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings here Saturday.
Mohali team coach Moody also does not want to restrict the temperamental S. Sreesanth on the field.
'He needs to stay aggressive. He is an entertainer and it should be like that. We will see if he crosses the line. But he needs to keep the aggression against all,' Moody said.
Despite the T20 format being heavily loaded in favour of batsmen, ace spinner Murli is not too worried.
'The Indian tracks support spinners a lot and I will take advantage of that. The South African tracks (in the T20 world cup last year) were flat and fast. This time, it is going to be different,' the ever-smiling Murli said.
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