It may not be too long before drop-in pitches make their IPL debut. Mark Perham, the man behind the first drop-in pitch in New Zealand at the Eden Park in Auckland, told TOI that he has been approached by an IPL franchise to prepare dropin pitches in India.
Royal Challengers Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya and his latest recruit Dinesh Karthik make for an interesting case study where IPL player auctions are concerned.
He couldn't resist following the IPL players' auction even in the middle of the World Cup but New Zealand pacer Trent Boult asserts that his focus is firmly on the ODI showpiece despite emerging as the fifth costliest player.
The media room went into a tizzy when the bidding war for KC Cariappa got really serious. "KC Cariappa who?" enquired journalists, many caught off guard by the events unfolding at the venue.
One of Delhi Daredevils' USP over the first six seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was their connect with the north of India, especially the Capital.
New Zealand are one of the favourites in the World Cup this time and cricket pundits of the country feel getting distracted by the IPL auction isn't a good option.
Even as the IPL auctions were underway in Bengaluru, S Badrinath was on the field, marshalling his troops as Vidarbha faced Tamil Nadu on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinals in Jaipur on Monday.
Ace Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, released by Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the Indian Premier League's eighth season, was picked up by Delhi Daredevils for an astronomical sum of Rs 16 crore - Rs 14 crore more than his base price on the day - at the auction in Bengaluru on Monday.
Sunil Gavaskar endorsed Delhi Daredevils splurging Rs 16 crore on Yuvraj Singh in the IPL 8 auction, saying the flamboyant all-rounder "deserves every penny for his yeoman service" to Indian cricket.