Rahul Johri appointed BCCI CEO

© Agencies

Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Wednesday (April 20) that Rahul Johri has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Johri was last serving as Discovery Networks Asia Pacific's Executive Vice-President and General Manager for South Asia and had stepped down from the position earlier this year. He will take on his new role starting June 1, 2016 onwards, reporting to the Honorary Secretary BCCI and will be based at the board's Mumbai office. 

Johri brings with him immense experience and knowledge on board and will be responsible for the smooth functioning of operations, stakeholder management and building robust strategies for further promoting the sport. He will be the first person to hold such a position in BCCI.

Commenting on the appointment, BCCI President, Shashank Manohar, said, "We are pleased to have Rahul with us and are sure his vast experience and knowledge will benefit the board. His vision, guidance and support will contribute towards the successful working of the BCCI."

BCCI Secretary, Anurag Thakur said, "We welcome Rahul aboard and wish him luck for his new role at BCCI. In the past one year, BCCI has undertaken various initiatives aimed towards transforming the working of BCCI in order to make the functioning more robust. This endeavor is another initiative of the board aimed in the same direction and will mark as one more milestone towards strengthening the professional working of the BCCI."

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Rahul Johri, said, "I am honored at the opportunity to serve millions of Indian cricket fans. It will be my utmost endeavor to contribute to the Indian cricket. I am thankful to the President and Honorary Secretary of the BCCI for bestowing such faith in me. I look forward to everyone's support to fulfill this tremendous responsibility."

With over 20 plus years of experience in the media industry, he was last associated with Discovery Networks for 15 years and for the past eight years was leading South Asia operations.

Rohit, Pollard guide Mumbai Indians to first home win

Rohit Sharma's 62 helped Mumbai to their second win of the season © AFP

A fine knock of 62 by Rohit Sharma, along with good contributions from Kieron Pollard (39*), Ambati Rayudu (31) and Jos Buttler (28) helped Mumbai Indians register their first victory at home in the 2016 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a total of 170 for 7, which proved to be insufficient as Rohit and Co. put on a solid batting display, helping Mumbai to a six-wicket win on Wednesday (April 20).

The chase did not start on the right note for Mumbai Indians as the opening partnership, for the fourth time in five games, did not go beyond single digit. Debutant Kane Richardson picked up a wicket off his first ball in the IPL when Parthiv Patel got a thick edge that ballooned to point where de Villiers juggled before holding on to the ball. 

It was not as quick a start as Mumbai would have hoped for. Runs came via overthrows and thick edges as the batsmen were living dangerously. However, the batsmen did make sure to capitalise on the loose deliveries and showed some clever wrist work as they gave the team some much-needed impetus. Aaron's 19-run over, in which he was hit for a six and two fours, gave Mumbai the thrust they needed in the chase as the hosts crossed 50 by the end of the powerplay, following which the second-wicket pair raised a half-century stand off 35 deliveries.

Shane Watson and Iqbal Abdulla bowled a couple of tight overs, but the Mumbai batsmen managed to ease the pressure when Rayudu scored two boundaries in succession off Harshal Patel, who was having an expensive outing. Royal Challengers needed to break the partnership and they managed to do that when Rayudu hit an Abdulla delivery straight to Richardson at deep mid-wicket to depart for 31, ending a stand worth 76 runs. Rohit then brought up his fifty off 38 balls and took Mumbai past 100 with a six off Abdulla in the 13th over. Rohit scored another four off the left-arm spinner, but his outing came to an end in the same over when he mistimed one to give de Villiers a catch at long-off.

Mumbai needed 56 off the last six overs and they managed to bring down the equation to 43 off 30 balls thanks to Pollard and Buttler, who took the attack to Watson in the 15th over. Buttler then scored two back-to-back sixes off Abdulla, but in his attempt to find a third in as many deliveries, the English batsman handed a catch to Watson at short third-man. The wicket did little to trouble Mumbai's march towards the target as Pollard blasted two consecutive sixes off Richardson in the 17th over to bring it down to 14 off 18. It was all over in the 18th over when Pollard smashed a six and two fours to help Mumbai win with two overs to spare.

Earlier, the Royal Challengers, who were asked to bat first, made as many as six changes for the game. Travis Head and Richardson made their IPL debuts while KL Rahul, Aaron, Abdulla and Stuart Binny were the other inclusions. For Mumbai, Pollard, who had recovered from a bout of food poisoning, replaced Martin Guptill. Right from the start of the innings, Mumbai's opening bowlers meant business. While Kohli was beaten all ends up by Tim Southee, who was moving the ball both ways, Mitchell McClenaghan started with a bouncer that struck Rahul on the helmet. Southee swung the ball well while his New Zealand pace-bowling colleague kept things on the shorter side and troubled the batsmen with his pace and bounce. It took until the 15th ball of the innings for Royal Challengers to find their first boundary when Kohli clipped a Southee delivery over the infield to the backward square-leg fence. 

Rahul got his first four via a top-edge off Southee, that travelled to the third-man fence. However, he was pretty much in control of the shots when he deposited a McClenaghan delivery off the back-foot over the cover fence for the first maximum, and followed it up by guiding a short one over the keeper's head for a six and then beat the short fine-leg for another four. McClenaghan though, had the last laugh as he got Rahul (23) to nick one to Harbhajan Singh at first slip.

Things were looking ominous for Mumbai Indians when Kohli and de Villiers continued from where they left off in the previous game, dealing in regular hits to the fence to bring up a half-century stand off 35 balls, the third fifty-plus partnership for the pair in as many games. However, they could not make it three century stands on the trot as Kohli, looking to power a Krunal Pandya delivery over the fence in the 11th over, found Southee at long-off to depart for a 30-ball 33. If Krunal's joy was palpable after Kohli's dismissal, it reached its crescendo when he had de Villiers (29) out stumped in the same over.

Debutant Head had a nervous start, playing and missing thrice off Southee, who finished his spell wicket-less for 25 runs. The responsibility rested on Shane Watson to guide his team towards a good total, but he fell cheaply, edging a Bumrah delivery to Parthiv to give the bowler his first wicket. Krunal's attempt to do a Malinga went horribly wrong as he conceded five wides, but he managed to finish with figures of 2-27. 

Head and Sarfaraz provided the much-needed acceleration to Royal Challengers' innings as they put on a half-century stand off 30 deliveries and took the total past the 150-mark in the penultimate over. From 123 for 4 after 16 overs, Head and Sarfaraz scored 38 runs in the next three overs, which included an 18-run over from McClenaghan. However, the fifth-wicket stand, worth 63 off 34, came to an end in the final over when Head was run out for 37 off 24. Sarfaraz, who managed a maximum off Bumrah in the last over, got out for 28 while Binny was on his way back soon after. Richardson, who took a single off the final delivery, ensured that Bumrah did not pick up a hat-trick as Royal Challengers finished with what seemed like a competitive total.

Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 170/7 in 20 overs (Travis Head 37, Virat Kohli 33; Jasprit Bumrah 3-31, Krunal Pandya 2-27) lost to Mumbai Indians 171/4 in 18 overs (Rohit Sharma 62, Kieron Pollard 39*; Iqbal Abdulla 3-40) by 6 wickets.

Harsha Bhogle hopes cricketers' complaints did not lead to IPL ouster

"I tell every young cricketer who cares to listen that we will never agree on everything but I will always desire that they do well," Bhogle wrote on his Facebook page © Getty

Harsha Bhogle, the cricket commentator who was recently removed from the Indian Premier League (IPL) commentary panel, remains in the dark about the reason behind his expulsion and hopes it didn't arise out of complaints from cricketers regarding what he says on air.

According to reports, Bhogle was excluded from the IPL commentary team after some senior Indian cricketers complained to a board official following a recent ICC World Twenty20, 2016 game.

"I still don't know why I am not doing the IPL. I haven't been told. I can accept the fact that people don't like me. But I genuinely hope it isn't because cricketers have complained about what I have to say," Bhogle wrote on his Facebook page.

"I tell every young cricketer who cares to listen that we will never agree on everything but I will always desire that they do well; that I cannot stop them from scoring a run, or taking a wicket or holding a catch.

"Doing that is their job, telling the story of what they did, or didn't, is mine. Our paths will be strewn with admiration and disagreement. It is the nature of the job whether you are a university level cricketer or among the best there has been. And, for heaven's sake, my greatest criticism is that I don't do enough of it," he wrote.

It is also alleged that Bhogle was involved in a heated argument with an official at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur during his commentary stint at the World T20 last month, an event that could have been the reason behind his unceremonious axing.

Bhogle's axing was met with negative responses, with several cricket fans throwing their weight behind the 54-year-old, who has more than 3.5 million followers on Twitter, the social media platform.

Finch, Bravo guide Gujarat Lions to winning start

Aaron Finch smashed a 47-ball 74 in his side's successful chase © BCCI

Aaron Finch's quickfire half-century helped Indian Premier League debutants Gujarat Lions begin on a winning note as the Suresh Raina-led side beat Kings XI Punjab by 5 wickets in their tournament opener in Mohali on Monday (April 11). After Dwayne Bravo's career-best of 4 for 22, Finch hammered a 47-ball 74 and Dinesh Karthik finished unbeaten on 41 off 26 deliveries as the visitors chased down the 162-run target with 14 balls to spare.

Put in to bat, the opening partnership worth 78 between Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra set Punjab on course for a big total but Ravindra Jadeja took first two of the four wickets that fell in quick succession in the middle overs, to trigger the collapse that restricted the home side to 161. 

Praveen Kumar sent down a rather silent first over to start the proceedings. Vijay opened up with the first six of the game, over the midwicket fence, and a boundary through extra cover, off consecutive deliveries to end an otherwise disciplined over from Pradeep Sangwan. A beautifully-timed drive through the covers followed in the next over from Praveen, before Sangwan was hit for another couple, on either side of the wicket. 

Manan Vohra, who had been a mere spectator while Vijay was driving at will, came to the party soon after - welcoming James Faulkner into the attack with an elegant drive past the mid-off fielder. Bravo, fielding at deep mid wicket, grassed a tough chance despite putting in a full-length dive, when the batsman was on 8 and the home team on 35. The drop proved costly as the local hero went on to add 30 more runs to the Punjab total in 14 deliveries. 

Vijay brought up the first fifty-run partnership for Kings XI on their home ground since 2011 with a lofted drive in the long-off region and was fortunate to survive a stumping chance on the very next delivery, off the bowling of Sarabjit Ladda. Vohra, however, disturbed the leg spinner's figures with a six straight over the bowler's head and a pull to deep mid-wicket fence to pick 14 off his second over. 

Vohra did not even spare Jadeja, smacking him over the deep mid wicket fence for his second maximum, but the bowler had the last laugh. The dangerous-looking stand between the duo was brought to an end when wicketkeeper Karthik caught hold of the faint edge from Vohra's bat to end his 23-ball cameo worth 38. 

After a promising start, Vijay (42) fell in the following over from the Saurashtra spinner, the ball turning just enough to deceive the batsman and peg his middle stump back. 

Bravo tightened the screws further with twin strikes in the space of three deliveries. Two short of becoming the first man to snap up 300 wickets in Twenty20 cricket, Bravo knocked out the middle stumps of Kings XI's danger-duo, Glenn Maxwell (2) and captain David Miller (15), in the same over and celebrated the milestone with his customary 'Champion' dance.

From a comfortable position of 78 for no loss, the home team slipped to 102 for 4 at the end of the 12th over. The Wriddhiman Saha-Marcus Stoinis partnership helped the hosts overcome the dry spell and revive the innings. The duo added 55 in 45 deliveries to keep the scorecard ticking, with Stoinis particularly going after Faulkner who gave away 39 in his four overs. 

Bravo, bowling the final over, added two more to his kitty to finish with personal best figures of 4 for 22 as he had both the set batsmen caught off successive deliveries to keep a check on the hosts' late flourish.

In contrast, Lions' chase did not get off to an ideal start as Sandeep Sharma, coming in after an injury layoff, had Brendon McCullum stumped off the final delivery of the first over. Sans McCullum's fireworks at the top, not many would have given Lions the chance, but Aaron Finch stepped up with a blazing knock of 74.

Finch's two half-century stands, with Raina and Karthik, helped tip the scales in their favour. The Australian opener - playing for sixth different franchise in the IPL - did most of the talking in boundaries, hitting nine of them before bringing up his fifty in the 8th over, while captain Raina chipped in with a typical nine-ball cameo worth 20 in their 51-run alliance. 

The Lions went past the 100-run mark when Finch took a couple off Sandeep Sharma at the start of the 11th over. The 65-run stand between the opener and Karthik was broken by the little-known Pradeep Sahu. A slower one from the rookie tricked the batsman, turned past his bat and Saha, behind the stumps, ensured they didn't let the opportunity slip. A visibly-disappointed Finch walked back after a match-defining 74 off 47 deliveries. 

The equation was down to 26 required off as many deliveries for Gujarat to embark on their IPL journey with a victory. Even as Karthik held one end, Jadeja (8) and IPL debutant Ishan Kishan (11) departed in quick succession to trigger panic in the visitors' camp. Karthik, however, held his nerves, smashed seven boundaries in his unbeaten 41 off 26 and steer his team home eventually.

Brief Scores: Kings XI Punjab 161/6 in 20 overs (Murali Vijay 42, Manan Vohra 38, Marcus Stoinis 33; Dwayne Bravo 4-22, Ravindra Jadeja 2-30) lost to Gujarat Lions 162/5 in 17.4 overs (Aaron Finch 74, Dinesh Karthik 41*; Sandeep Sharma 1-21) by 5 wickets

Yuvraj Singh's presence will be missed: Tom Moody

Tom Moody also brushed aside concerns over recent form of some of the key batsmen like Eoin Morgan and Kane Williamson © AFP

One reason that severely hampered Sunrisers Hyderabad's campaign in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was a shaky middle-order.
The franchise identified the problem and made some crucial buys in the player auction in February earlier this year. 

One of Hyderabad's major investment was to snap up Yuvraj Singh, who fetched INR 14 crore and 16 crore respectively in the previous two player auctions, for a relatively cut-price deal of INR 7 crore. Yuvraj, however, suffered an injury during the latter stages of the recently-concluded World T20 and will be out of action for two weeks in the IPL. While Tom Moody, the Sunrisers coach, bemoaned the Indian star's absence, he was quick to note that his swift recovery would be of paramount importance to the franchise. 

"Yuvi (Yuvraj) is a big loss. He's a match winner and he has proved that. He has played a lot of franchise cricket here. His presence will be missed but what's important is he recovers as quickly as possible. Within couple of weeks he'll be back into consideration but a lot will depend on his meetings with the specialists. We are hopeful it won't be too long," Moody said in a pre-match press conference in Bangalore on April 11 (Monday).

While they cope with Yuvraj's absence, Sunrisers will hope for David Warner, skipper of the side, to set the tone early in the season. Batting at No. 4 for Australia in the World T20, Warner managed just 38 runs in four games at an abysmal average of 9.50, but Moody is not worried about the pugnacious left-hander's form and hinted at slotting him back at the top of the order.

"The thing with Warner is, as he showed it with us two years ago, that he can bat anywhere. He was phenomenal in the way he batted at No. 4 for us in the campaign when we had half the games in the UAE.

"As we saw last year in our campaign, Warner is a destructive at the top of the order. You can ask any opening bowler in world cricket whether they'll be happy to see him at No. 1 or No. 4 and you'll get the answer that they'll rather see him coming in a bit later.

"The dilemma that Australians had was that they had four people who could open the batting and he was the easy one to shift. Whether he was the right one to shift, is the argument," Moody opined.

The former Australian also brushed aside concerns over recent form of some of the key batsmen like Eoin Morgan and Kane Williamson. "They are professionals, high class performers and we've worked very hard in the last few days. All of them are striking the ball well. This is a different campaign, different team, different opportunity and I'm sure all of them will thrive and have a successful campaign. 

Sunrisers begin their IPL 2016 campaign against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday (April 12).

Vijay Mallya acquired Barbados Trident for just 100 USD

"Running the team will cost about USD 2 million but the Barbados government is granting subsidies to the franchise," Mallya said.

Vijay Mallya, the troubled businessman, has claimed that he paid only USD 100 to acquire Barbados Tridents, a franchise in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Mallya, who owes his creditors an amount of INR 9000 crore following the shut-down of Kingfisher Airlines, left for London last month. Mallya bought the CPL team just days before he stepped down as chairman of United Spirits, and he subsequently had to relinquish his position in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise.

Speaking to PTI, Mallya explained how he and other shareholders bagged the ownership of Barbados Tridents for USD 100. "Everyone made a big drama about me acquiring the CPL team Barbados Tridents. It was an acquisition that was not made for any cash. The acquisition was made for just USD 100," he claimed.

However, Mallya also said the cost of running the franchise would be around USD 2 million. "By buying the team, me and the other shareholders assumed the obligation to participate in the tournament. Now participation in CPL costs money. So I went to the Barbados government saying I need your support. I met the Prime Minister and the government agreed to support but I paid USD 100 only to buy the team.

"Running the team will cost about USD 2 million but the Barbados government is granting subsidies to the franchise. People don't get it and jump to conclusions without knowing the facts. There is a cost of participation such as players salaries and franchise fee. So I worked out all the numbers, studied the model and went to government asking for help. They were keen to help me," Mallya added.

CPL teams can only generate revenue through ticket sales and sponsorship as there is no system of a central revenue, unlike the IPL.

Pumped up Johnson ready to fire

 

© BCCI

Since his retirement from international cricket in November 2015, Mitchell Johnsonhas played only one competitive match - a club game in Perth. Coming into theIndian Premier League (IPL) 2016, he lacks a match environment, a stage on which he hasn't bowled a lot in the last few months. However, going into his first high-quality game since retirement, his report card from the nets read well. Apart from his personal take of feeling fresh and hungry, his captain too is delighted at the way with which he has managed to trouble some batsmen. 

David Miller, Kings XI Punjab's skipper, has already given his verdict and is happy with how the Australian pacer is swinging the ball. A 'couple of swollen toes in the nets' courtesy Johnson has only pleased him further.

"I'm genuinely pumped to get back onto the field, and even training with my teammates this week gave me a rush I haven't felt in a while," Johnson wrote in his column for Fox Sports. "The good sign for me is I'm incredibly excited for the IPL to get underway now. That's certainly not how I was feeling this time last year when I was really flat and physically exhausted after a long summer that included a World Cup."

Johnson called it quits after suffering a few niggles and a loss of form, a period which saw Mitchell Starc take over the Australian lead pacer's role. However, having retired, Johnson joined a long list of players who continue to play in the IPL following international retirement. The questions were obvious - if the body is fit to play such high-intensity contests, is money the only reason for players to choose club cricket over representing the country? 

Johnson, however, brushed aside such doubts and said that money cannot be a motivating factor for him to continue playing. "A lot of people think the IPL is all about money but I can guarantee you it isn't," he pointed out. "I would find it really hard to be motivated if I was just playing for money - you have to actually have your heart in it. I know I do, and I can't wait to pull on that Kings XI uniform again."

Kings XI Punjab are set to begin their IPL 2016 campaign against Gujarat Lions at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on Monday (April 11). His experience will prove invaluable in a side that has numerous promising young Indian pacers. With Kyle Abbott being the only other foreign pacer in the squad, Johnson will have to play a key role if Kings XI Punjab have to better their form in 2014 (finalists) and go a step further to win their maiden IPL title.