Shane Warne and ex-fiancee Elizabeth Hurley in Los Angeles

Let’s just be friends: Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley shared a warm embrace in front of the crowd at the Cricket All-Star tournament in Los Angeles on Saturday. Photo: Shane Warne/Instagram

The old adage of "let's just be friends" seems to be working out just fine for Shane Warne and his ex-fiancee 

Elizabeth Hurley.

The retired cricketer and the actress shared a warm embrace in front of the crowd at the Cricket All-Star tournament in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The 50-year-old The Royals star headed out onto the pitch at Dodger Stadium after Warne's Warriors were victorious.

Champions League T20 set to begin today

Johannesburg: CLT20 would begin today with much fan fare. Champions League T20 2010 schedule and latest update are available via ESPNStar.com.

There are 10 teams participating in this mega event. Though, hype has been created by the promoters through media, but spectators here don’t appear as eager, as of now, as they were when the IPL came here last year.


The promoters are leaving no stone unturned to shore up the TRP ratings for the multi-million dollar event, but it seems, there is huge impact of the latest match fixing scandal at Lord’s.



If we talk about the ticket sales, promoters are still enthusiastic. In Durban there is a big Indian community, so it’s being expected that they would be participating.


Cricket South Africa officials have claimed that Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth have local teams, so sales have been fine there. But, the only venue that’s slightly sluggish is Pretoria.
 
As Matthew Hayden said: Cricket is a 'runaway train' - impossible to clean completely

I want to clear my name Said Shashi Tharoor

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha for the first time since his resignation from the Union council of ministers, ousted minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor said that he had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to order an inquiry into the allegations against him in connection with the Kochi IPL franchise. 

"I have done nothing improper, unethical and much less illegal .... I have requested the Prime Minister to investigate thoroughly the charges against me,” he said. 

“It is important to me that my name is cleared, which has been besmirched,” Tharoor said, as he had lived a life of probity throughout his career abroad. 

"I have no desire to be an embarrassment to the government," he added. Tharoor said his resignation would strengthen the hands of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to go deeper into the relevant issues 

Tharoor also said he was deeply wounded by the malicious and fanciful charges. "I am new to Indian politics, but I have a long record in public service and have an unblemished record," he added. 

Tharoor also played the Kerala card while presenting his defense in Parliament, "I have returned to India after a long international career. I am proud to represent Kerala," said the former minister. 

The ousted minister, however, did not directly rebut the charges leveled against him by IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. 

The former minister of state said it was a privilege to have served the government and the Congress party under the leadership of Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. 

A minister can give a statement within seven days of his resignation after advance notice to the House. Tharoor met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is the leader of the House in Lok Sabha, on Monday to express his wish to speak. 

Tharoor quit on Sunday night after the Congress leadership concluded that his involvement in IPL Kochi controversy made his continuation untenable. 

According to sources, the leadership vetted Tharoor's statement. The government is focussed on the finance bill and is keen that Parliament is not disrupted in the coming week when the guillotine on the demand for grants comes up and is to be followed by the discussion on finance bill. 

Congress leaders wanted to be careful that the minister should not say anything in his bid to claim innocence which may ruffle feathers in the Opposition camp or reignite the blockade which, in fact, played a role in fasttracking the decision on Tharoor. The BJP and others had blocked the House on Friday and threatened to block proceedings again to press for his resignation which made the government anxious. 

Amid the IPL controversy where Tharoor was charged with helping close friend Sunanda Pushkar to secure "sweat equity" with the Kochi franchise, he was allowed to make a statement in Lok Sabha on Friday. An agitated Opposition did not let him speak and he had to table his statement. He had claimed complete innocence, saying he had nothing to do with Pushkar's "sweat equity".

I have done nothing illegal, says Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said in the Lok Sabha that he wants all the charges levelled against him investigated and hoped that his name will be cleared.

Speaking on his alleged role in the IPL Kochi franchise, Tharoor said that he resigned as the Minister of State for External Affairs from the Union Cabinet as he had "no desire to embarrass the government".

"My conscience is clear. I have done nothing illegal in the ongoing IPL controversy. It has been a great privilege to serve the Union Cabinet. I thank the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) and Sonia (Congress President Sonia Gandhi) for giving me the opportunity," says Tharoor.

"I am determined to do my best for India and the ideals that brought me here. I'm proud to represent Kerala's capital in the Lok Sabha," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram read from a prepared speech.

Admitting that he was new to politics Tharoor pointed out that had led a long public life. He also hoped that Parliament "will move on from here to deal with serious issues".

Tharoor was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet on Sunday following allegations over his involvement in the bidding for an IPL team.

The 54-year-old MP has been accused of helping his friend, businesswoman Sunanda Pushkar, in acquiring a stake in the Kochi IPL team. Pushkar, who received a sweat equity valued at Rs 70 crore in the IPL Kochi franchise, announced earlier in the day that she had resigned from Rendezvous Sports World, which is one of the stakeholders in IPL Kochi.

I am not resigning Said Lalit Modi

Despite pressure mounting from all quarters, Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi on Tuesday put up a brave front and said he was not stepping down from his post. 

"There is no chance of resigning. I will present all my facts at the Governing Council meeting," Modi told reporters at the airport after landing from Dubai.

Modi quizzed for 8hrs

Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi was questioned for as long as eight hours over the financial dealings and share holding patterns of the cricketing body as Income Tax officials left his Worli-based office early today. 

I-T officials visited IPL Head-Quarters at Wankhede Stadium as also Modi's office at Nirlon House in upmarket Worli, where they quizzed him from 7.15 pm to 3.20 am. 

Lalit Modi, speaking to reporters later, said the I-T officials were visiting several places in the city in a bid to find out details of the bidding process and when he came to know of it, he invited them over to his office. 

"They were given documentation details; they verified the documents and went through the entire process of bidding. We fully cooperated with them and provided them with all they required," the IPL Commissioner said. 

Asked about the longer duration of the questioning, he said, "The questioning was over in a few minutes, but it took them longer as they had to go through the documents." 

Modi said the officials saw the documents related to bidding by new franchisees owned by Sahara and Kochi consortium as well as those related to other IPL franchisees. 

"They were very much satisfied. We are a public body and if they have more queries, we will answer them," he said on whether I-T authorities sought more time to question him. 

The IPL chief rubbished media reports that his laptop was seized and unaccounted cash recovered from his office. "99 per cent of stories being put out by the media are untrue." 

According to I-T sources, the agency apart from probing the sources bankrolling the cash-flush league is looking into whether ill-gotten money staked away in tax havens like Mauritius has made its way into the IPL. 

Modi, the brain behind IPL, has been in the eye of a storm ever since he tweeted about Rs 70 crore Sweat Equity in Kochi franchise being held by Sunanda Pushkar, a friend of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor. 

It triggered speculations about Sunanda being a proxy for Tharoor in the Kochi consortium, a charge which the minister has vehemently denied. 

Raising questions about the propriety over a Union Minister having a proxy stake in an IPL franchise, the BJP and Left have demanded Tharoor's resignation.

IPL 2010 - Hayden Launches Mongoose Bat

Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden Thursday formally launched the evolutionary `Mongoose` bat that has a longer handle and smaller blade but a bigger sweet spot than the conventional cricket bat.

The burly southpaw demonstrated `power hitting` on the sidelines of a media conference here and endorsed the product, saying it had a faster bat speed besides power designed specifically for Twenty20 cricket.

The Mongoose bat, named after the animal known for its ferocity, is said to be a `ball crusher` and Hayden, known for his big-hitting, said: `Cricket has advanced and evolved over the years in terms of the way it is played and also the equipment. Initially, I was skeptical of the Mongoose bat, but after playing three balls and some adjustments, I quite liked it.

In the ensuing third edition of Indian Premier League, Hayden, who represents Chennai Super Kings, along with compatriot Andrew Symonds (Deccan Chargers) and West Indian Dwayne Smith (Deccan Chargers), would be using the Mongoose bat, according to its creator Marcus Codrington Fernandez, Director, Mongoose Cricket Ltd.

Fernandez said the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) had declared the bat legal and permitted its use in India and worldwide.

The handle of the Mongoose bat is 43 per cent longer and the blade 33 per cent shorter than the conventional bat. `Since there is no splice, the sweet spot is increased by 120 per cent,` he said.

For the moment, 100 bats in two categories will be launched in India and all of them would be signed by Hayden, according to Fernandez. They are priced at between Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 23,000.

Hayden said the bat has good balance besides tremendous bat speed. `Twenty20 is about scoring runs quickly. I am sure the Mongoose bat is ideal for this format. 

`I am very excited by the potential of this bat and I feel just like Twenty20, it will also be accepted,` Hayden said while asserting the small size of the bat would not be a handicap in playing short-pitched balls or bouncers.

Fernandez hoped some of the top Indian players would also endorse his product. `But Indian cricketers are far too expensive, but provide a lot of value. I would love to have somebody like Sachin Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag use the Mongoose bat,` he said.

Live Streaming of IPL 2010 on YouTube

IPL Live

Live Streaming of IPL 2010 will be broadcast on YouTube this year. This is a good news for all the net-users who are also the fan of cricket that from today 12th March 2010, IPL 3 cricket series is going to start. This further adds that now the viewers also can watch IPL 3 series live on youtube. Youtube has a dedicated Indian Premier League Channel. IPL includescricket series of 43 days and sixty games.


Google is managing to telecast live cricket match (except in India where there is a 5 minute delay and for the U.S viewers who will be sleeping at that time- 2 hours delay) via webcast all over the world. In cricket, IPL version is most famous among the cricket fans and now Google’s is presenting it live through Youtube only for sake of sport’s fan.


To provide support to IPL 3 season and eight main advertisers, Google is administering a healthy version of mixture to both of them. It too involves some other advertisers like Great Britain, Southeast Asia and Australia. Google by the Youtube telecast thelive cricket match of IPL season 3 to offer live updates to near about two billion fans worldwide.


Today on 12th March first the inauguration ceremonies will take place and after that the Deccan Chargers will play the first match of this  IPL cricket series against Kolkata Knight Riders. We have already let you know about the IPL 2010 schedule. So don’t miss the chance to watch the full IPL series of cricket matches on Youtube.  If you want to see how the Youtube will broadcast the IPL season 3 live then click here to watch.

Read more: http://www.dailylatestnews.com/2010/03/11/catch-ipl-2010-live-streaming-on-youtube-06889#ixzz0hxhOKAOA

IPL 2010 Extra Innings From The Panel By MAX

IPL 2010: ‘Extraaa Innings’ by Max: Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin today, at the same time Max has come out with Extraaa Innings T20 for the game.


Arun Lal, Atul Wassan, Saba Karim, Anjum Chopra, Aakash Chopra, and Ayaz Memon would be taking the studio on fire. Not only this The expert panel at the studio will comprise Navjot Singh Sidhu also.


DLF IPL 2010 ‘Laut Aaya: The channel has come up with a song DLF IPL 2010 ‘Laut Aaya. Composed by musical duo Vishal-Shekhar and sung by Shekhar,


Laut Aaya is a melody that will be used to picture the opening montage of Extraaa Innings T20.

Abdul Razzaq the First Pakistani Player to gets contract with Deccan Chargers

After all the furore created over their exclusion, veteran all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has become the first Pakistani player to fetch an Indian Premier League contract this year, signing up with Deccan Chargers.

Reliable sources close to the player said that Razzaq, a former recruit of the rebel Indian Cricket League, and Chargers had reached an agreement under which the Pakistani would play as a 'substitute' for West Indian pacer Fidel Edwards.

"The contract has been finalised and it should be announced soon," one source said.

Razzaq's selection could put an end to the bad blood created between the two countries after Pakistani cricketers were not bid for during the IPL players' auction.

Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi had appeared for the Chargers in the first IPL season in 2008.

Deccan Chargers top charts after heart-stopping clash

The heart pounded the chest relentlessly – from the time Anil Kumble bowled Adam Gilchrist to long after the entire Deccan Chargers dug out raced to the middle to celebrate a fairytale victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in DLF Indian Premier League final on Sunday. It was a night when the Deccan Chargers refused to be tamed the Bull Ring.

The heart sought to gloss over Herschelle Gibbs's effort – painstaking and scratchy for the most past – when Deccan Chargers batted first. He finished with 53 not out off 48 balls. But the mind reminded the heart that it was perhaps the single most significant batting effort on a sluggish track in the grand final. Deccan Chargers ended up with 143 for six in 20 overs.

The heart cringed a bit when the vastly experienced Andrew Symonds chatted up Royal Challengers Bangalore young opener Manish Pandey but it also knew that the teenager will have grown up considerably. Pandey, of course, heard more of Symonds and faced the attack less as had got to play but seven deliveries before being dismissed by Pragyan Ojha.

Ojha took a leaf out of Kumble's book, put his hand up for his team and finished with three for 28 to play the lead role in Deccan Chargers' spectacular defence of the low score. Of course there were others who made it work for the team that drew on the twin fuels of hunger and self-belief as they pursued their goal with single-mindedness.

Richard Harris starting the proceedings with a maiden over to Jacques Kallis; little-known Punjab fast medium bowler Harmeet Singh showing character under pressure and claiming two for 23; Andrew Symonds returning to scalp the dangerous Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli; RP Singh conjuring Kallis' dismissal and finishing with 4-0-16-1.

There was more. A spectacular catch by Harmeet Singh, who sprinted from long leg and lunged forward to get his hands under the skyer to dismiss a defiant Vinay Kumar in the 19th over. Gilchrist himself contributed with two wonderful stumping dismissals to curtain the innings of Roelof van der Merwe and Kohli.

The sum of such wonderful parts was beautiful. And the heart

Then again, it was hard for the heart not to reach to the gallant Anil Kumble. It is not often that a man does everything he could possibly do – bowl with the new ball and claim Adam Gilchrist, come back to pick up the wickets of Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma at critical junctures – and end up having to watch his team fall short by six runs.

Two teams that had finished eighth and seventh last season fought every inch and one had to run out winner at the end of a stunning game that climaxed a wonderful tournament. Believe me, the heart hasn't stop pounding through the writing of this piece; the words flowed even as a spectacular closing ceremony that followed such a breathtaking match.

IPL CRICKET CARTOON AND COMMENTS

The Fake IPL Player Identification

Well for all of you those who have not heard it and those of you who are following it.I thought it is really a subject to be spoken on my blog.There is this guy who terms him as FAKE IPL PLAYER is supposedly claiming to be one of the members of the Kolkata Knight Riders team and he is distributing every possible information on the players and team management in detail.He has gone to the extent of giving information on where the players have gone ,who have they hangout with or what where the fights and indifferences between them. As a matter of fact lot of information given by this guy has been claimed to be true which has caused chaos in the dressing room of the kolkata knight riders. He has stated them as duffers.. coz they zeroing on guyz who don’t even have an idea on what a blog is… instead of catching him.

Well whoever this guy is , he is has real cheek and the stuff .He has named each player and person he has commented on with a lot of wit. It actually took me some time to find out all the persons he had commented on and the background on which he has named them. I'm releasing the detail list of the players involved in the story of the fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com .. story and also would give you the reason for the origin of those names…

1) Kishen Kanaiyya refers to Ravi Shastri.

2) Appam Chuthiya refers to Sreeshanth he comes from kerala where appam is the famous delicacy and fakeiplplayer is calling him bcoz of his attitude.

3) Pedophile Priest refers to Adam Gilchrist.

4) Kaan Moolo referes to Ajith Agarkar coz i think all of you would know,it’s for his enormous ears.

5) Big Sister refers to Shilpa Shetty coz she rose to fame using the big brother reality show.

6) Prince Charles of Patiala refers to Yuvraj Singh coz i think its anyone’s guess well he is from punjab and worshipped like a king there,probably one more reason the author likes him.

7) Lord Almighty refers to Sourav Ganguly , once again here the writer has shown his liking for ganguly so has raised him from the status of prince to lord himself.

8. Babli refers to Preity Zinta as she is ever refreshing and encouraging her team.

9) Calypso King refers to Chris Gayle as he is considered the king of Caribbean in the world of cricket.

10) Vinnie Dildo refers to Sharukh Khan coz as far as my research says it is due to his interefering or poking behaviour and also the atmost hate of this writer towards Shahrukh.

11) Havaii Chappal refers to Greg Chapel coz of his surname ‘Chapel’ —> ‘Chappal’ and havai as prefix to show how ‘local’ he is.

12) Junta Tormentor refers to Ajantha Mendis coz of his abnormal bowling action which has tormented batsmen around the world.

13) The Baja of Baroda refers to Anshuman Gaekwad coz he is from baroda is the simple guess i suppose.

14) Sandy Baddy babe refers to Mandira Bedi coz she is a female who has nothing like a babe but still is acting like one.

15) Little John refers to Ishant Sharma ,its just a paradox to refer.

16) John Wrong refers to John Wright, ,its just a paradox to refer.

17) Bangla Tiger refers Mashrafe Mortaza coz he is from Bangaldesh and ‘tiger’ coz the author likes him.

18) Sheikh of Tweak refers to Shane Warne.

19) Meera Bhai refers to Harbhajan Singh.

20) RDB refers to Randeep Bose.

21) Ram refers to VVS Laxman.

22) Chatterjee Kaaku refers to The Old Guy from the Ad posted by the KKR(Kolkata Knight Riders) Team where he says ‘Tum Bhi Jeetoge’.

23) Mr.Batlivala refers to liqour baron Mr Vijay Mallya

24) Phoren Babas refers to Brendon Mc Cullum and the coach John Buchanan

25) Shakespeare refers to Akash Chopra

26) Ganji Hanger refers to Sanjay Bangar

27) Big Mac refers to Mathew Hayden

28) Chintu Singh refers to Anureet Singh

29) Joker refers to The Nepali guy(Chang) who was Indian Idol host

30) Sheeghra Patan refers to Yousuf Pathan

31) Candy Nickle refers to Andy Biche

32) Gilli Danda refers to Ashok Dinda

33) Mangal Pandey refers to LR shuklabengal

34) Tiger refers to Ranadeb bose

35) Style Bhai spinner refers to Murali Kartik

36) Bookha Naan refers to coach Buchanan

Teams referred in the story :
Bevdaa Team refers Bangalore Royal Challengers coz its owned by the liquor giant vijay mallya.

Big Sister’s Team refers to Rajasthan Royals coz owned by shilpa shetty.

Bubblie’s Team refers to Punjab Kings XI coz owned by preity zinta.

Well guyz as soon as he comes out with other characters i would update it over here.So keep a regularly check this site for updates.

DISCLAIMER:ALL THESE ARE PURELY BASED ON THE STORY PUT UP AT FAKEIPLPLAYER.BLOGSPOT.COM AND THESE MIGHT BE FICTIOUS. THIS IS NOT TO HURT ANYBODY’S FEELING. THIS IS JUST A INFO TO CATCH UP WITH THE HOTTEST NEWS ON THE INTERNET.