IPL giving Shah Rukh sleepless nights

What SRK is saying
The first day, when I heard this, I was really surprised that only 237 tickets had been sold at the counter," Khan told the Kolkata paper. "I am truly finding it difficult to accept this. I have never, till date, requested my fans to go and see my films. Never ever done it. I am a bit surprised as to why, despite keeping the ticket prices low, people are not showing any interest."
Khan said he is "very tired" by the IPL experience. "I never thought so many problems would crop up when I bought the Knight Riders. I was not prepared for these circumstances. A rosy picture, removed from reality, was painted to me," he said.
One element in that rosy picture was that the franchise owners would be allowed to stage various forms of entertainment at the venues, in order to woo the fans. Apparently even that has run into trouble -- apparently the Kolkata government, unlike governments of states hosting other franchises -- has refused to provide tax exemption.

Mumbai glams it up

Preity Zinta, Shah Rukh Khan and Akhay Kumar are all doing their bit to glam up their respective IPL teams.
But when it comes to Bollywood giving a glam push to cricket, all eyes were on Mumbai Indians – the team of the city where India’s entertainment mecca is and which is being backed by Mr Moneybags Mukesh Ambani. And the Mumbai team has not disappointed anybody. It is being represented by Hrithik Roshan, who will also shake a leg in its promotional video.
The star studded promotional video will feature many people from the industry, along with the cricketers of course. Says Anu Malek, who is composing the song, “I have composed the music for the team song. Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjawala, Udit Narayan and I have sung the song. Javed Akhtar saab has written the lyrics.” The video will feature all the 11 cricketers of the team, which means that you will see Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Shaun Pollock and the rest of the team sporting their uniforms and posing while Hrithik does what he is best at – dancing!
A bevy of others actors and actresses are also being roped in to give a further push to this song. “The lyrics of this song are young, spirited and sound like an anthem. The music has been composed in such a way that it feels like you are singing for the nation,” explains Javed Akhtar. It is rumoured that Ashutosh Gowariker, fresh from directing Jodhaa Akbar, will again helm this Hrithik song.

IPL goes high on Bollywood quotient

Say IPL and chances are you'll think just as much of Shah Rukh, Preity, Akshay and Hrithik as you will of Sourav, Yuvraj, Sehwag and Sachin. The Indian Premier League has some glamorous cricketers associated with it, and also some even more glamorous film stars as brand ambassadors. So it would seem the contest will be as much off the field as it is on it. Hrithik Roshan is the sixth film star to be associated with the IPL. So it would seem the IPL isn't just about cricket. A large component also has to do with India's other big love - films. But will the IPL survive this Bollywood hype to emerge as a cricket league with the game at its heart or will teams like the Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings remain in the shadows of their more famous owners? Shah Rukh Khan, who owns the Kolkata team, says "I can't sell the cricket, just the entertainment part of it. The cricket will have to sell itself." So while the stars off the field do their bit to market their teams, the stars on the field will have to work just as hard. But there are still three IPL teams that haven't yet jumped on to the Bollywood bandwagon - Hyderabad, Bangalore and Jaipur. While Hyderabad is likely to get Sania Mirza cheering for them as an unofficial brand ambassador, team Jaipur doesn't think it will hurt their cause at all. Shane Warne, the captain and coach of the Jaipur team, says "Shane Watson can play the guitar, he is composing a song. Some of the boys here are good-looking; they can have a career in Bollywood. But they need to play good cricket first." "To promote it is great but I am not sure how many film stars can play cricket or how many cricketers can be film stars either," Warne says. "So every one is good at something. It is great that many film stars are involved in IPL. I think that is fantastic for the game. If they can play cricket come and play, come down on the nets and bowl and bat with us."

Schedule

Group stage
18 April 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders
at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
19 April 2008 Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
19 April 2008 Delhi DareDevils vs Rajasthan Royals
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
20 April 2008 Mumbai Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
20 April 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
21 April 2008 Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
22 April 2008 Deccan Chargers vs Delhi DareDevils
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
23 April 2008 Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
24 April 2008 Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
25 April 2008 Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
26 April 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
26 April 2008 Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
27 April 2008 Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers
DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai
27 April 2008 Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi DareDevils
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
28 April 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Chennai Super Kings
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
29 April 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
30 April 2008 Delhi DareDevils vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
1 May 2008 Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
1 May 2008 Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
2 May 2008 Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi DareDevils
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
3 May 2008 Deccan Chargers vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
3 May 2008 Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
4 May 2008 Mumbai Indians vs Delhi DareDevils
DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai
4 May 2008 Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
5 May 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
6 May 2008 Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
7 May 2008 Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals
DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai
8 May 2008 Delhi DareDevils vs Chennai Super Kings
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
8 May 2008 Kolkata Knightriders vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
9 May 2008 Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
10 May 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
10 May 2008 Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
11 May 2008 Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
11 May 2008 Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi DareDevils
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
12 May 2008 Kings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
13 May 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi DareDevils
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
14 May 2008 Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai
14 May 2008 Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
15 May 2008 Delhi DareDevils vs Deccan Chargers
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
16 May 2008 Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders
DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai
17 May 2008 Delhi DareDevils vs Kings XI Punjab
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
17 May 2008 Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
18 May 2008 Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
18 May 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
19 May 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Delhi DareDevils
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
20 May 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
21 May 2008 Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
21 May 2008 Chennai Super Kings vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
22 May 2008 Delhi DareDevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
23 May 2008 Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
24 May 2008 Delhi DareDevils vs Mumbai Indians
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
24 May 2008 Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
25 May 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
25 May 2008 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
26 May 2008 Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
27 May 2008 Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
28 May 2008 Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

28 May 2008 Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals

Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

Semi-finals

30 May 2008 ------------vs-------------
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
31 May 2008 ------------vs -------------
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Final
1 June 2008 -----------vs--------------
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals is the franchise that will represent the city of Jaipur in the Indian Premier League. The team will be led and coached by Shane Warne. There is no Icon Player for the team. It is the only IPL team to have a foreign captain and playing coach. The team's mascot is a lion named Moochu Singh . The team anthem, 'Halla Bol', has been sung by Ila Arun. Leicestershire spinner Jeremy Snape has signed with the Rajasthan Royals as high-performace coach.

COACH:SHANE WARNE

Shane Warne(captain)

Mohhamad Kaif

Graeme Smith

Yonis Khan

Kamran Akmal

Yusuf Pathan

Munaf Patel

Justin Langer

Morne Morkel

Dmitry Mascarenhas

Shane Watson

Sohail Tanvir

Ravindra Jadeja

Taruwar Kohli

Pankaj Singh

Anup

Dinesh Salunkh

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings is the Chennai franchise for the Indian Premier League. The team will be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the highest-paid IPL Player, and coached by Kepler Wessels. There is no Icon Player for the team.

COACH:KEPER VESSELS
Mahender Singh Dhoni (captain)
Mutthia Murlaitharan
Jacob Oram
Allbe Morkel
Mathew Hayden
Parthiv Patel
Joginder Sharma
Suresh Raina
Mkhaya Ntini
Michael Hussey
Stephen Fleming
R.Ashwin
S.Anirudha
Suddep Tyagi
Laxmipati Balaji
S.Badrinath
Napolean Einstien
Sahbad Jakati
Abhinav Mukund
Viraj Kadbe

Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab is a sports franchise based in Mohali in the eight team Indian Premier League. The team will be led by Yuvraj Singh who is also the Icon Player and coached by Tom Moody, the former Aussie all rounder.

Coach :Tom Moody
Yuvraj Singh(Captain)
Bret Lee
Mahela Jaywardene
Kumar Sangakaara
S.Sreesanth
Ramesh Powar
Piyush Chawla
Simon Katich
Ramnaresh Sarwan
James Hopes
LukesPomers
BatchK.Mills
V.R.V.Singh
Uday Kaul
Karan Goel
Ajitesh
Tanmay Srivastva
Irfan Pathan

Deccan Chargers

Deccan Chargers is the franchise that will represent the city of Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.[2] The team will be led by V.V.S. Laxman and coached by Robin Singh, presently the fielding coach of the Indian cricket team. There is no Icon Player for the team

Coach :ROBIN SINGH

V.V.s. Laxman(captain)

Andrew Symonds

Rohit Sharma

R.P.Singh

Adam Ghilchrist

Shahid Afridi

Chamara Silva

Chaminda Vaas

Nyuan Joysa

Scott Styris

H.Gibbs

Venugopala Rao

Pragayan Ojha

Halhadar Das

Dwarka Ravi Teja

Arjun Yadav

Kalyan Krishna

Paidikalva Vijay Kumar

Sanjay Bangar

Sarveesh Kumar

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians is the team that will represent of the city of Mumbai in the Indian Premier League. The team will be led by Sachin Tendulkar, also the Icon Player for the team and coached by Lalchand Rajput, the former Manager of the Indian Cricket Team.

Sachin Tendulkar(Captain)

Harbhajan Singh

Robin Utahppa

Sanath Jaisurya

Shaun Pollock

Lasith Malinga

Loots Bosman

Dilhara Fernando

Ajinkya Rahane

Abhishek Nayar

Yogesh Takawale

Pinal Shah

Aswell Prince

Manish Pandey

Saurabh Tiwari

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The team will be led by Sourav Ganguly, also the Icon Player for the team and coached by John Buchanan. The name of the team was revealed on March 10, 2008 with an official team unveiling ceremony on March 11, 2008. The official theme of the team is Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo Re (We will do it, Fight for it, Win it) and the official colors are black and gold.

Coach :JOHN BUCHANAN

Saurav ganguly(Captain)

Shoiab Akhtar

Ishant Sharma

Chris Gayle

Braddin Macculum

David Hussey

Ricky Pointing

Ajit Agarkar

Murli Kartik

Umur Gul

Tetenda Taibu

Salman Batt

Mohhamad Hafiz

Siddharth Kaul

Iqbal Abdullah