Yusuf Pathan was an unknown name in international cricket till a couple of years ago. His name only came in the news as the brother of Irfan Pathan who had a stable international career then. But times have changed for him after the IPL T20 World Cup and more importantly the IPL T20 first season last year. He was perhaps the biggest find of IPL season 1 and he ability to hit fours and sixes at will had made him an instant hit amongst the Indian audience. Thereafter his international career also rose significantly and he is a permanent member of the ODI and T20 side right now. He has also helped India win matches from crucial situations in the last one year.
And Yusuf Pathan is again busy in preparing for the second season of IPL this year. But IPL T20 season 2 has a greater significance for cricket this year as the ICC T20 World Cup will follow the IPL this year. And Yusuf Pathan believes that the IPL will be an ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup as the conditions of South Africa and England are quite similar. And it would also help India in defending its IPL T20 World Cup title in June.
Yusuf is one of the main players in the IPL season 1 title holder Rajasthan Royals squad. Hope that Yusuf and other players have a successful IPL and that the league helps in choosing the best unit to represent India in the IPL T20 World Cup.
IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has officially announced the schedule of the IPL season 2 in South Africa. As mentioned in my previous post, Wanderers Stadium will host the IPL final, a semi final and six other matches while the opening match is at Cape Town. The match timings have been kept at 4 PM and 8 PM IST as promised by Lalit Modi.
Here is the exact schedule:
April 18: Rajasthan Royals (RR) v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) (4 pm) at Cape Town; Mumbai Indians (MI) v Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (8 pm) at Cape Town
April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) v Deccan Chargers (DC) (4 pm) at Cape Town; Delhi Daredevils (DD) v Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) (8 pm) at Cape Town
April 20: RCB V CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth
April 21: RR v MI (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v KXIP (8 pm) at Durban
April 22: DD v CSK (4 pm) at Durban; RCB v DC (8 pm) at Cape Town
April 23: KKR v RR (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth
April 24: KXIP v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg
April 25: KKR v CSK (4 pm) at Cape Town; DC v MI (8 pm) at Durban
April 26: RR v KXIP (4 pm) at Cape Town; RCB v DD (8 pm) Port Elizabeth
April 27: KKR v MI (4 pm) at Cape Town; CSK v DC (8 pm) at Durban
April 28: DD v RR (4 pm) at Pretoria
April 29: MI v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v RCB (8 pm) at Durban
April 30: DD v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria; RR v CSK (8 pm) at Pretoria
May 1: RCB v KXIP (4 pm) at East London; MI v KKR (8 pm) at Durban
May 2: RR v DC (4 pm) at Johannesburg; CSK v DD (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth
May 3: MI v RCB (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v KKR (8 pm) at East London
May 4: DC v CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth
May 5: DD v KKR (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v RR (8 pm) at Durban
May 6: MI v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria
May 7: KXIP v CSK (4 pm) at Pretoria; RCB v RR (8 pm) at Pretoria
May 8: DD v MI (4 pm) at East London
May 9: DC v KXIP (4 pm) at Bloemfontein; CSK v RR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth
May 10: KKR v DD (4 pm) at East London; RCB v MI (8 pm) at Johannesburg
May 11: DC v RR (4 pm) at Bloemfontein
May 12: RCB v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria; KXIP v MI (8 pm) at Pretoria
May 13: DC v DD (4 pm) at Durban
May 14: MI v RR (4 pm) at Durban; CSK v RCB (8 pm) at Durban
May 15: KXIP v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley
May 16: CSK v MI (4 pm) at Johannesburg; DC v KKR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth
May 17: RR v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley; KXIP v DC (8 pm) at Johannesburg
May 18: CSK v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria
May 19: DD v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg
May 20: CSK v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; RR v KKR (8 pm) at Durban
May 21: DC v RCB (4 pm) at Pretoria; MI v DD (8 pm) at Pretoria
May 22: Semi Final 1 at Pretoria
May 23: Semi Final 2 at Johannesburg
May 24: Final at Johannesburg
IPL season 2 was going through a tough phase since the last few weeks. The Indian government and the BCCI had various talks regarding security etc. as the IPL schedule clashed with the elections. But the IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was sure that the IPL season 2 would surely take place and that too during the same period. And after realizing that the talks with the govt. were going nowhere, he finally announced that the Indian Premier League would be moved abroad this year. England and South Africa were the two prime options for staging the IPL but SA got the edge as the weather and other factors were more suitable for the league. The dates were also changed a bit and IPL 2 would start from April 18 instead of April 10 as planned previously. The number of matches would remain the same at 59 but it would be played in a constricted period of 36 days as opposed to the 45 days initially planned.
Lets wait and see if it is a success after its shift to South Africa. I think it will marginally recover its staging costs and nothing else.
What do think will be outcome of IPL season 2 in terms of revenue.
