EST Indian Premier League Sweepstake

[Jayesh87]

Apparently the IPL Trophy is the most expensive trophy evverr!! Looks well lush

[DeeGame]

Apparently the IPL Trophy is the most expensive trophy evverr!! Looks well lush

You'd be rich by just nicking one stone from it

[Tee]

WHAT A FINAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rajasthan win of the last ball with 3 wickets left

Tanvir hit the winning run of the last ball.

Amazing scenes

What a fantastic game to end a magnificent feast of cricket. This is thefuture of the game now, whether you like it or not T20 is here for good.

Rajasthan deserved the win as they have been the best team overall on a consistent basis. Warne is a truly inspiring Captain and they have some great young players. Watson and Tanveer were brilliant and I was so pleased Tanveer hit the winning run, especially after the WC final.

Roll on Season 2!! It will be bigger and better I am sure!!

[SouthAfricaRed]

So Who won the Sweepstakes?

[Tee]

So Who won the Sweepstakes?

I think TSB.

[Jayesh87]

I think TSB.

The bank?

[Jayesh87]

Sri Lanka put IPL above England

Sri Lanka's top players will be allowed to appear in next year's Indian Premier League instead of touring England.

Officials say they cannot guarantee to send a full strength side and will now discuss alternative plans with the England and Wales Cricket Board.

"The players were already committed to play in the IPL," said Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Duleep Mendis.

"They assured us they would give the 2011 tour of England priority ahead of the IPL, so we couldn't let them down."

Earlier this week, Sri Lanka accepted an invitation to tour England and play two Tests and three one-day internationals after the ECB severed sporting relations with Zimbabwe.

But the majority of Sri Lanka's top players are signed up to three-year deals with the IPL's eight team franchises.

The six-week tournament will start on 10 April, and will clash with the first England v Sri Lanka Test, which is scheduled for 8 May.

Mendis added: "We will be taking up the matter with the ECB shortly to find what alternatives we can arrive at without upsetting both parties."

Sri Lanka Cricket hope the tour can be rescheduled, but there is little room for manoeuvre with the ICC World Twenty20 in England starting in June.

If England cannot change dates, then Sri Lanka may offer to send a weakened squad.

Captain Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya and Upal Tharanga are among those to have signed lucrative three-year deals with IPL franchises.

And Sri Lanka cricket broadcaster Roshan Abeysinghe told BBC Sport: "13 of their top players have signed up to the IPL, so it will definitely be very close to an A team, which I doubt would be able to give England the type of run a normal Test side would do."

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat feels Sri Lanka's decision was inevitable given the financial incentives of playing in the IPL.

Lorgat told BBC Radio 5 Live: "My folks always used to say money is the root of all evils - at the base of all this is the sums of money involved.

"It's far more attractive to play in the IPL than to come and play in a Test series. Money puts a different spin on a players' affiliations."

Former England captain Alec Stewart feels Sri Lanka must bring their best side for the tour to go ahead.

"It's a big issue and it needs to be looked at by the ECB and, more importantly, the ICC," Stewart told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"We're talking Test cricket, which is meant to be the very best players from both countries playing with and against each other.

"If this isn't going to be the case, they must either move the date or perhaps uninvite Sri Lanka and find someone else.

"This is not the end of it - there will be plenty of discussions taking place but, from my point of view, in Test cricket you have to play your best side and it appears as though Sri Lanka are not going to do that.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cric...ka/7497395.stm

Good to see they got their priorties right

[Tee]

Fair enough. At the end of the day it is all about the Benjamin.

[Jayesh87]

Pakistan's Asif fails drugs test

Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif has tested positive for a banned substance during an Indian Premier League (IPL) game, tournament organisers have said.

Only last month Asif, 25, was detained at Dubai airport on suspicion of carrying illegal drugs.

He was held in Dubai for two weeks before returning to Pakistan after a decision was made not to press charges.

"The Indian Premier League confirms the player in violation is Mohammad Asif," the league said in a statement.

Asif played for the Delhi Daredevils during the lucrative Twenty20 tournament which began in April and ended in June.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7505454.stm