CORPORATE BOXES, A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS FOR INDIAN STADIUMS AND INDUSTRIALISTS

The Corporate industry has always had a lot of say in every walk of life. Utilizing the power of money, the corporate owners extend their patronage and sponsorship to sports that are considered to be potential sources for through- the- line advertisement.

With India being a rapidly emerging world economy, the corporate culture in the country is gaining roots quickly. With over a billion people, India has great potential for business development. Some leading Industrial tycoons of the world hail from India as well.

Since half a decade, a new trend, ‘cricket under corporate’, has been on the rise in India. All the ace industrial groups have owned cricket, thanks to the Indian Premier League (IPL).

At the start of every League season, different players and teams are auctioned and purchased often by wealthy industrialists.

The IPL has now given birth to a new trend that is ‘corporate boxes in cricket stadiums during matches’.

Some top Indian cricket stadiums like Eden Gardens and Wankhede Stadium have developed boxes comprising 10 to 12 seats. These boxes are erected at the forefront of stadiums.

Before the start of any game, some ace industrialists bid for boxes and purchase them. During the game, these boxes are used to entertain clients and business partners with wine and dine.

During the ongoing IPL season, the cost of a box is roughly estimated at $ 1.25 million.

The just concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 also witnessed many such activities especially in the Semi-Final and Final games.

Some Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan and some big industrialists like Mukesh Ambani were included among the top box buyers. Some banks and multi-national companies also invested in the luxury.

Eying more lucrative opportunities, the stadiums are redesigning and increasing the number of boxes to provide comfort and facilities to the buyers. Eden Gardens has increased the number of corporate boxes from 12 to 32 and Wankhede stadium contains 57 boxes currently.

The boxes are equipped with all modern facilities of dining, seating, entertainment, fun and much more. They are prepared with great care and furnished with great symmetry.

The stadiums sell their boxes for heavy amounts and for long periods of contract. Recently, the Mohali stadium has sold each of its boxes for seven million rupees for a period of 10 years. The Wankhede sold its 57 boxes for 55 million rupees on a 10-year contract.

The format of the IPL has been designed in a way to perk up the box business. Every league franchise is entitled to play most of its tournament games at its home ground. Thus the franchise owners purchase more and more boxes to attract support and display their power.

During the matches of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan’s team, the cost of a box raises up to 200, 000 rupees.

A spokesperson of the KKR, Joy Bhattacharya, says, “We are getting a great response for these corporate boxes.” An official of the Rajasthan Royals claims that the boxes are an important source of revenue and benefit their business as well.

The Delhi Daredevils’ marketing manager, P. Phaneendra, tells, “While there is no way to definitely know what is discussed inside the corporate boxes, we know people do talk beyond cricket, sometimes it is business.”

Thus the corporate boxes provide fruitful business opportunities to both the stadium owners and the box buying industrialists.

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BCCI OFFICIALS PRESENT INDIAN PM WITH ICC WORLD CUP 2011 SOUVENIR

Officials from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and presented him with an autographed cricket bat bearing signatures of all the members of India's ICC World Cup 2011 winning squad.

The officials included, BCCI President Shashank Manohar, Secretary N Srinivasan and Vice President Rajiv Shukla. They presented a cricket bat autographed by the national cricket team to the PM in the meeting held in New Delhi.

According to sources, this is the BCCI’s first official meeting with the Indian PM after India’s glorious win in the coveted tournament. During the meeting with the PM, the BCCI officials expressed their desire to improve other sports of the country as well. They discussed different plans and strategies with the Manmohan Singh for building new sports arenas and stadiums for different sports in India. The officials also requested the PM to help the board with financial support and assistance.

The vice-president of the BCCI Rajiv Shukla stated, “It was a courtesy meeting with the Prime Minister and we gifted him with a bat signed by all the members of the World Cup winning team.”

Indian President Pratibha Patil witnessed the final of the ICC World Cup 2011 between India and Sri Lanka along with Sri Lanka President, Mahinda Rajapaksa. She then invited the victorious India team to a tea party the next day in Mumbai and took group photos with the successful Men in Blue.

The BCCI members also conveyed their heartiest gratitude to the PM for visiting Mohali to watch the Indo-Pak semi-final played on March 30, 2011.

They also expressed their appreciation for Dr. Manmohan for inviting the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gilani to India to watch the Indo-Pak semi-final with him. They said that this would be helpful in building friendly relations between the two countries.

Pak-India cricket ties, which were hampered after the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killed 164 people, seem to be back on track after the two countries played each other in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2011 in Mohali. Both the leaders vowed to resume cricketing ties between the countries and saw the sport as a means to normalise relations between the neighbours.

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Khawaja Hussain Sayed blames PCB for degradation of cricket in Pakistan

Pakistan historian, Khawaja Hussain Sayed believes that the current and past PCB managements should be held accountable for the decaying state of cricket in the country. Pakistan cricket has suffered the brunt of wrong decisions made by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“Twenty years ago, nobody can criticise Pakistan team in Sharjah but the present management brought the Pakistan team at a stage where they are only on receiving ends,” Khawaja Hussain Sayed claimed, before prophesying that cricket will suffer the fate of hockey if effective policies were not enforced.

He was disappointed at Pakistan’s defeat against India in the ICC World Cup 2011 and condemned the government for bestowing honour upon the players after such a crucial loss.

India stormed into the World Cup finals after handing Pakistan a 29-run defeat in the semi-final clash at Mohali.

“PCB and government honouring players despite the semi-final loss against arch-rivals India which is a very shameful thing while the players are busy in minting money and left country’s interest behind,” he criticized.

Meanwhile, cricket analyst Chaudhary Javed Elahi claimed that Pakistan team can never forget the honour they received from Sri Lanka during the World Cup 2011. He was grateful to the Sri Lankan government and nation for their hospitable treatment towards the Men in Green.

He urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to organize a reception dinner in honour of the Sri Lankan Consul General to return the favour.

According to Javed Elahi, a change of faces in the cricket board will not prove advantageous for the squad’s performance. A revolutionized system is however, imperative for the betterment of players and development of the sport.

Javed Elahi criticized Shahid Afridi as the skipper of the Pakistan team, saying that he lacks the leadership abilities. Rendering him an incapable captain, Javed added that Afridi cannot make timely on-field decisions when the situation of the match changes.

He concluded that the Pakistan cricket fans want to see the game back in Pakistan, urging PCB management to chalk out important strategies and take crucial steps to improve the state of cricket in Pakistan.

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FLAWED BATTING ORDER COST PAKISTAN SEMI FINAL GAME AGAINST INDIA IMRAN KHAN

Pakistan's former World Cup winning captain, Imran Khan, blamed the national team to have a flawed batting order for its 29-run defeat against arch-rivals India in the semi-final of the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011.

"I kept on saying that you need to send your best batsmen at the top so that they can save wickets”, said Khan while talking to the media on the sidelines of a function arranged to honour Elite panel umpire, Aleem Dar. Dar was one of the officials in the high-pressure World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka.

“When you preserve your wickets, the pressure transfers to the fielding side and if you have couple of hard hitters in the team, you can always score quick runs in the final overs", he further added.

The cricketer-turned-politician said that the same strategy was followed by the team in the knockout matches during 1987 and 1992 editions of the World Cup.

The former cricket star of Pakistan admitted that losing to the Men in Blue, led by Dhoni, in the semis still hurts and it is hard to accept the loss. Imran reckoned that Afridi and his men crumbled under pressure.

Imran Khan said that the Cornered Tigers were outstanding throughout the mega event prior to collapsing under the pressure of the semi-final. The former Pakistani cricket captain said that he was not expecting that the team would come under pressure.

"What disappoints me is that this team overall performed very well and reached the semi-finals when no one expected it to go this far”, said the 58-year-old. "But once they had got into the semi-final and knew it was going to be a high pressure match against India, the players should have been ready for the situation. Unfortunately they buckled under the pressure", he further added.

The former all-rounder ace is frustrated that the co-hosts were under immense pressure of playing in front of home crowd as well as their title favourites tag. He said that the whole batting line-up of India, except forVirender Sehwag, was under pressure and this led to quite a number of soft dismissals as well.

He said that pressure on the Indian team could be better judged from the fact that a world class performer like Sachin Tendulkar offered at least four chances to the opposition to send him back to the pavilion.

Khan further commented that the under pressure Men in Blue seemed to be all set for a defeat but Pakistani batsmen failed to absorb the pressure on themselves and collapsed. Imran said that once wickets started falling, the pressure started to mount on incoming batsmen and it became difficult for them to perform. The legendary all-rounder noted tactical mistakes in the game as well.

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So far so good for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League

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The ICC World Cup 2011 may be over, but it seems that cricket has just started in India. The fourth edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League kicked off soon after the Men in Blue were crowned the world champions and since then, the fans have witnessed some entertaining T20 cricket. The shortest version of the game is always fun to watch and it has been a treat for the Indian fans until now.

One of the better performing teams in this year’s IPL has been the Kings XI Punjab. The team didn’t get off to an ideal start to the season, losing the first match against the Pune Warriors (PWI). However, they bounced back strongly in their next couple of matches, winning against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Deccan Chargers (DC). They will next face the Rajasthan Royals (RR), at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on Thursday 21 April.

The best result for KXIP in IPL has been a semi-final finish in the inaugural season of the cash-rich tournament. However, the team was unable to live up to the expectations of their fans in the next two editions.

The leadership of the team has been handed over to former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist this time around. The veteran cricketer was the skipper of DC in the previous editions of the tournament and led his team to a title victory in the second season of IPL.

Gilchrist was expected to repeat the same performance, but this time for a different outfit. His team was defeated in the first match, as the batting failed miserably. The South African all-rounder, Ryan McLaren, was the only player to make an impression in the match, scoring an unbeaten 51 off 43 balls. His effort went in vain though, as the team was unable to defend 112 against the Yuvraj Singh led squad.

KXIP was under immense pressure, as their next match was against the defending champions CSK. The MS Dhoni led side scored a massive total of 188 runs after they were put into bat by Gilchrist.

Things looked grim for Punjab, but a special effort from opening batsman Paul Valthaty guided the team to an easy victory in the end. The flamboyant batsman scored an unbeaten 120 runs off just 63 balls with the help of 19 fours and two sixes. His effort stunned the strong opposition, as the target was chased with five more balls to spare.

Valthaty’s innings gave a lot of confidence to the team and they carried that into the next game against DC. Gilchrist and his men were yet again given a big target of 166 to chase, but the team reached it with effortless ease.

The opening partnership between KXIP’s captain and Valthaty was worth 136 runs in just 14 overs, which took the game away from Kumar Sangakkara and his men. The pair scored 61 and 75 runs in the innings, making things easier for their middle-order batsmen.

Although things have looked quite good for the Punjab's team, they need to sort out a few things before their next game. The middle-order of the team has appeared to be vulnerable and if a couple of early wickets fall in the innings, there will be immense pressure on the team.

Apart from the batting, the team will need to emphasis on their bowling department as well. KXIP has allowed their oppositions in all three matches to score runs quickly and if the trend continues, things will become difficult for them.

However, the winning momentum would have brought a lot of confidence in the team, which will make things easier for them in the upcoming matches.

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Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab

The batting gurus of Rajasthan Royals include Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Shane Watson and Johan Botha.

Rahul Dravid

Dravid, who has ruled the world of cricket for so many years, has a rock-solid defence with an extremely strong technique. With a combination of outstanding cricketing strokes all around the wicket, Dravid has the quality to rotate the strike well in the limited-over cricket. The Batsman has scored tons of runs in international cricket and his experience allows him to play well in every format of the game.

Dravid is considered to be one of the classiest batsman India has ever produced. Although, the veteran campaigner has a strike rate of under-43 in Test cricket, Dravid has the quality to convert his game according to the situation. With a strike rate of almost 120 in Twenty20 games, Dravid has scored 1288 runs in his 57 game.

Ross Taylor

The Kiwi is one of the most brutal batsmen in modern-day cricket. With an ability to destroy any bowling attack on his day, Taylor has emerged as a dangerous limited-over player. An aggressive middle-order batsman, Taylor is fully capable to take up the challenge against top-class bowlers. Taylor’s strongest scoring area is the leg-side where he hits mighty sixes. With his powerful hitting, the Kiwi can change the course of the game within few moments. However, he hasn't shown much of his class so far in the ongoing tournament.

One can remember his marvellous knock of 131 from just 124 balls in the ICC World Cup 2011 group match against Pakistan, where he single-handedly snatched the game away from the opposition. Having played 106 Twenty20 matches, the Kiwi batsman has scored 2687 runs at an awesome strike rate of almost 150.

Shane Watson

Watson is an experienced and talented Aussie all-rounder, who is known as the most devastating cricketer in the today’s cricket. His recent innings of 185 not out against Bangladesh is regarded as one of best innings of one-day history. With an outstanding command on multiple strokes, Watson does not allow bowlers to settle down and loves to take the charge from the very first ball of the innings.

After missing opening IPL matches due to the Australia-Bangladesh one-day series, Watson reached India with huge expectations. However, the batsman has not yet capitalized the situation, failing to make big scores in the previous two matches. A player of his calibre can turn the game anytime with his destructive batting. He has played 57 Twenty20 matches, scoring 1418 runs at a fabulous strike rate of almost 150.

Johan Botha

Although the Proteas all-rounder is known for his controlled spin bowling, he has improved his batting a great deal over the last few years. Botha’s cricketing career is an interesting case; he started playing cricket as a medium-pacer but then turned himself into an off-break bowler.

Botha showed a little glimpse of his batting talent by scoring a fantastic half-century in his first season IV game. In his 71 Twenty20 matches, Botha holds a strike rate of over 115. With his hard hitting low down the order, Botha will surely be one of Rajasthan’s players to watch out for.

Comparing the two batting line-ups, it is evident that both teams have experienced and skilled batsmen in their set-up.

The venue, Mohali Stadium, has a marvellous batting track. Thus, a high scoring match can be anticipated. With some quality batsmen in both teams, the show will definitely be entertaining. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see that how these batting masters use their expertise to take their side to the glory.

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Waqar Younis refuses to indulge in a war of words with Javed Miandad

Pakistan national cricket team head coach Waqar Younis, refused to get involved in a controversial war of words when media implored him for a reply to former captain Javed Miandad’s statement, regarding a poor bowling and fielding performance by the squad in the ICC World Cup 2011.
Waqar added that over the last year the cricket squad has relatively shown improvement, partly due to the hard work he has been putting in.
 “I don’t want to indulge in such things. I am doing my job on the field and during the last 12-14 months the team has shown improvement,” claimed Waqar.
Pakistan lost to India in the semi final clash by 29 runs, after scoring a tally of 231 runs against the target of 260 set by India at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, on March 30, 2011.
The bowling legend denied that the team lacks in the fielding department. However, Waqar pointed out the weaknesses of the batting line-up and suggested that the batsmen need to polish their skills with time.
“Our bowlers have been doing well and they did a nice job in the World Cup too. The question mark remains on our batting; after scoring 30-40 most of our batsmen throw away their wickets. And I think it is not due to any technical fault, rather they need some time to get matured in order to prolong their stay at the wicket,” he said.
Waqar Younis, who does not agree with the critics who are unhappy with the fielders, explained that the overall World Cup performance by the fielders was satisfactory, except for the semi final against India where they put up a shoddy show of dropping catches.
Citing the instance of the warm welcome the Pakistan team received on their arrival from the World Cup, Waqar said that the nation was satisfied by the squad’s performance despite their semi final defeat.
Regarding pace man Junaid Khan’s selection for the West Indies tour, the former captain hinted that the bowler may lead the pace attack in the upcoming series.  He said that Wahab Riaz usually is performs better with the old ball so he may be more suitable for the death overs.

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GILCHRIST SUPPORTS BHARGAV BHATT

Skipper of Kings XI Punjab, Adam Gilchrist, has persisted Bhargav Bhatt will play against the Chennai Supper Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Mohali.

The left-arm spinner did not get a chance to bat and could not get a single over in a convincing loss to the Pune Warriors, but Gilchrist is confident about Bhatt against the defending Champions.

Gilchrist said that they had Bhatt in the team against Pune, but the situation and the number of runs they had did not permit him to dig up into the match. They are confident that he will be able to perform exceptionally well for them.

Asked whether Bhatt will be arranged in a restrained or wicket-taking role, Gilchrist persisted that the match conditions and circumstances will state how and when the young blood will be needed in the match.

"It goes hand-in-hand. If you are containing runs you are more likely to get wickets. But there will be times and conditions where a bowler will come on and the best way to stop runs is to take wickets", he added.

The Mohali-raised unit is arguably the slightest star studded franchise on the display across the T20 tournament, with Australian Gilchrist starring in a team that comprises of players such as Nathan Rimmington, Shaun Marsh, Piyush Chawala and Ryan McLaren.

"Our team is certainly not a star-studded line-up compared to some other teams around. That's not something that bothers me. We are going to come around, work hard and really play to our best to be in the competition", said the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman.

Gilchrist was suspicious about the Kings XI Punjab’s pace attack, which comprises of the Kiwis pacer Tim Southee and the Proteas fast bowler, Albie Morkel, who arranged the foundation splendidly for the Super Kings’ recent victory over Kolkata Night Riders.  

"There's no doubt bowlers in general have progressed as T20 has evolved. They have come out smarter and are able to execute their deliveries in a more accurate manner. There really shouldn't be too many times that you are bowled out in 20 overs. We are talking about batting plans and having wickets in hand", he concluded.

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AFRIDI VOWS NOT TO SPEAK ON INDO-PAK RELATIONS IN FUTURE

Flamboyant Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi, has vowed not to speak on the sensitive issue of Indo-Pak relations in the future, reiterating that there are some elements in Indian media, who are negative about ties between the two arch-rivals.

Afridi said that he is not against India, or Indian people insisting that he was misinterpreted by the media.

"I am not against India, or, Indian people or Hindus. They are Hindus living in Pakistan just like Muslims in India and since this is a very sensitive issue I have decided that from now on I will not speak on it", said Afridi while talking to a TV channel of Pakistan.

He stressed that there are negative elements, who do not want the two countries go ahead. He suggested that if the authorities from both sides want to move forward, they would have to change their mindset.

Afridi also hailed Indian skipper, MS Dhoni’s decision of coming up in the order and leading from the front in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka. The hard-hitting Boom Boom Afridi rued he should have batted up in the order.

Talking about the disappointing semi-final game against nemesis India, Afridi conceded that he made mistakes in the high-voltage game.

"I made mistakes in the World Cup particularly in the semi-final at Mohali”, admitted the all rounder, who finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 21 scalps, along with Zaheer Khan of India. “I should have gone up the order like Mahendra Singh Dhoni did against Sri Lanka in the final at Mumbai", he added further. 

Talking about his 21 World Cup wickets, Afridi said that it was a big honour for him and that he never expected to finish the esteemed tournament as the joint leading wicket-taker.

He said that the main goal he and the coach had was to ensure a clean and politics free dressing room atmosphere and reckoned that he have been successful in doing that.

Afridi thanked senior players such as, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, and, Kamran Akmal, for supporting him in the high profile tournament.

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