Indian Premier League Ushers Cricket Into New Era

The world's leading cricketers will put aside national allegiances for six weeks from today as the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition starts a new era where teams are owned by billionaires and businesses.
The 59-game event, which attracted about $2 billion in franchise fees, television rights and sponsorship, is the latest leap for cricket's 20-overs-per-side format that's proved a hit with fans and sponsors less than 5 years after its inception.
It's the first International Cricket Council-sanctioned competition to feature privately owned teams rather than those representing national or local cricket associations. Franchise owners, including billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya and Bollywood movie star Shah Rukh Khan, together paid more than $700 million for eight teams.
``The new model is starting and we are crossing our fingers,'' Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said in an interview in Bangalore. ``We are going through a system such as football in Europe and baseball in the U.S. where it is a big sport and huge money is involved.''
Sony Entertainment Television India Ltd. and Singapore- based World Sport Group paid $918 million to secure television rights for the next 10 years. DLF Ltd., India's biggest developer, will pay $50 million over five years for the title sponsorship.
Record Contracts
Players were also contracted for record sums. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's one-day captain, and Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds attracted million-dollar bids in the March 20 auction.
Because of international commitments, some contracted players won't be available for the first two weeks, while others will miss the last four weeks. Players contracted to England's national team will miss the entire tournament because of domestic commitments.
India's Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, both former national team captains, led opposing sides tonight when the Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Bangalore Royal Challengers by 140 runs in the opening game. Organizers said the 55,000- capacity M Chinnaswamy Stadium was sold out.
Ganguly's squad includes Australia captain Ricky Ponting and West Indies skipper Chris Gayle. Bangalore has Wisden Cricketer of the Year Jacques Kallis and his South Africa teammate Mark Boucher on its roster.
Different Countries
Getting players from different countries to gel will be crucial to teams' chances of success, Dravid said.
``It's a collection of people who have not played together a lot,'' he said at a news conference. ``So it's going to be a bit of learning along the way.''
The Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers, who boast the hard- hitting talents of Symonds, former Australia wicketkeeper- batsman Adam Gilchrist and Pakistan's Shahid Afridi, are the 4-1 favorites to win the inaugural title ahead of the Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Mohali-based Kings XI Punjab.
The winner of the June 1 final will pick up $1.2 million in prize money.
While the other major forms of cricket last a whole day or as much as five days, Twenty20 contests finish inside three hours.
``A three-hour game will ideally be suited for the promotion of the game,'' former Indian batsman Brijesh Patel, who runs a cricket academy in Bangalore, said in an interview. ``It will also appeal to other nations who want to take up cricket.''
The event will run for 44 days starting with a home-and- away league, from which the top four teams advance to the semifinals.
Each franchise is allowed a maximum of eight non-Indian players, though only four overseas internationals can feature in the starting lineup. All teams must contain 4 Indian players under the age of 22.
``This is just the beginning,'' Kolkata coach John Buchanan, who guided Australia to World Cup wins in 2003 and 2007, told reporters. ``I believe all three versions of the game can coexist, but I think this particular form of the game has the potential to take off round the world.''