MUMBAI: The first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is over. Moves are already afoot to garner fresh talent for the second season. Emerging Media, which owns the IPL’s Jaipur franchise, is scouring new team members from children of railway station porters, chemists and garage mechanics.
Not resting on its laurels, the IPL winner is to flag off its Cricket Star talent hunt. The search will visit eight cities within a span of 45 days. The winner gets to play in the third season, in 2010.
The winner of the inaugural edition of Cricket Star last year, Sukhvir Singh, is a 20-year-old fast bowler son of a bus driver from a Punjab village . He was sponsored for training at the Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
Runnerup Dinesh Salunkhe, 21-yearold leg spinner got to play in the just concluded IPL. For the second season, and this year’s winner of the talent hunt, Srideep Mangela is a 20-yearold left-hand batsman, from Thane, Mumbai. He gets to play in 2009. Former India cricket coach Greg Chappell was part of the search exercise for the past two years.
“IPL is not just about bidding for cricketers. No doubt this is a cheaper proposition, but this way, one gets to realise the potential in the country amongst the have-nots who would like to make a mark in the cricket world,’’ a franchise official said on the condition of anonymity.
In the sponsorship game, the Jaipur franchise roped in Bajaj Alliance as the main sponsor. The three year contract for an estimated Rs 4.5 crore ensured the corporate’s colours on the T-shirt front. Kingfisher and Royal Challenge were roped in too as sponsors and had their corporate logos on shirt sleeves and the T-shirt back, respectively .
Australian spin legend Shane Warne will oversee the selection trials of the third season, sources informed. The players will be free to play for any other IPL team if they get contracted.
