Talking about IPL, meanwhile, hours before a meeting with Sahara group chairman Subrata Roy, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) was mulling some sops for the peeved Sahara group, which has withdrawn its sponsorship of the national team and also put IPL team Pune Warriors' plans on hold, reports the Times Of India.
To compensate Pune for the absence of ailing captain Yuvraj Singh, the BCCI is thinking of offering the franchise some fringe Indian cricketers through the February 6-17 transfer window. The board may even approach some other franchises to convince them to trade a few players with Pune Warriors, it is learnt. Besides this 'peace offering', Sahara can also buy any player they want from the unsold list, that too at base prices. If need be, the board is also willing to give them a full purse of $2 million or even more to make such purchases.
Meanwhile, Subrata Roy said that Pune Warriors will be part of the IPL this year. “I do not want to see the Pune players suffer because of the BCCI; there are many promising players in the team and they should not be deprived of a chance to impress the National selectors,” he said during a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode, adding that he had decided to continue with the IPL for the sake of the Pune team's supporters.
About Sahara's decision to back out of its sponsorship of the Indian cricket team, Roy said he was still ready to talk the matter out with the BCCI. “We are never rigid,” he said. “I will be able to say more about that after my meeting with BCCI officials in Chennai on Sunday.”
East Zone go into the Duleep Trophy final against Central with fresh hope and confidence. They are the only team not to have won the tournament andthere areexpectations the jinx may finally be broken this time, writes The Times Of India.
East have made the final five times but emerged second best on each occasion. The manner in which they overcame two strong rivals— West and North — on the way to the titleclash promises a better effort this time around. However, in Central Zone, East are up against a team which boasts a much better record. Given the way Central performed in the semifinal against South, the home team has a distinct edge when the five-day final gets underway at the Holkar stadium here on Sunday.
