Lifting of $5 million cap hypothetical: Modi

Indian Premier League Chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi on Monday described talks of lifting the $5 million cap forcing each of the eight franchise teams to limit their players' buying power for next year's edition as "hypothetical". "All players have been bought (by the franchise owners) for three years. All the teams probably have eight foreign players. It's hypothetical (to say) cap will be lifted. The cap is applicable for years two and three," he said. Reports that the cap may be raised by the IPL authorities has fuelled speculations that England batsman Kevin Pietersen would be signed up for an astronomical sum by one of the franchises. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has expressed his opposition to lifting of the $5 mn cap as he felt that the scrapping of this benchmark for salaries could lead to robbing the Twenty20 League of its competitive edge as franchises with money power would go on a buying spree. "I have heard there may be no salary cap, but I am not sure if that will be good for the IPL," Ponting was quoted as saying in Herald Sun . "The more I have thought about it, it might be detrimental to the whole set-up. We want good, competitive cricket with lots of international players playing good, close games," he said.

Do-or-die situation for Knights

With Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar uncertain to play with a knee problem, Kolkata Knight Riders face a do-or-die situation to keep alive their fading semi-final hopes as they meet the in-form Rajasthan Royals in an Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.The Royals, the most inexpensive side in the tournament bought by their franchisee owners for $67 millions, have emerged as the surprise package of the meet and are now sitting pretty at the top after sealing a last four slot. Having triumphed in eight of their 10 outings, the Royals have so far collected a whopping 16 points, to leave behind close challengers Punjab Kings XI (14 from 10) and Chennai (14 from 11).