<i>Cricinfo Magazine</i> to hit the stands first week of January

Cricinfo.com, the world's largest single sport website, is venturing into print with the launch of Cricinfo Magazine. The monthly title will hit the newsstands in the first week of January.

Though the magazine will be primarily aimed at an Indian readership - both in India and overseas - it will have a strong international flavour and will feature some of the world's finest cricket writers. It will be be published by Infomedia India, an established publisher of special-interest magazines and business directories, under a license agreement with the Wisden Group.

The first issue will comprise 124-pages, with a 32-page preview supplement on the eagerly-anticipated India-Pakistan series. In the cover features, Rahul Dravid, the India captain, shares his vision for Indian cricket, while Greg Chappell, the national coach, talks about his innovative coaching methods.

Other key features include an in-depth look at fast bowling down the years, an examination of Pakistan's growth as a team, interviews with Ian Healy and Chaminda Vaas, and Virender Sehwag's flashback to one of his classic innings.

The new magazine will be edited by Sambit Bal and compiled by the same experienced editorial team that produced Wisden Asia Cricket. While retaining the core values of its acclaimed predecessor, Cricinfo Magazine will contain more pages and additional features. Regular contributors will include Harsha Bhogle and Sanjay Manjrekar and the first issue also features articles by Peter Roebuck, Mukul Kesavan and Gideon Haigh.

Tom Gleeson, the CEO of the Wisden Group, said the magazine was a logical extension of the Cricinfo brand. "Cricinfo.com is the world's largest publisher of cricket news, scores and analysis on the Internet. It makes perfect sense for us, in partnership with Infomedia, to bring the brand to the magazine stand.

"Cricinfo Magazine will share the values that have made the website so successful, but it will also enable us to showcase the finest cricket writing and photography in the best possible format."

Prakash Iyer, the CEO of Infomedia India, said: "Cricket is India's number one passion, and given that there is no specialist magazine of real quality in India catering for cricket lovers, we are looking to fill the void with Cricinfo Magazine.

"The world's largest and most passionate cricket audience deserves a truly world-class magazine. We will ensure that Cricinfo Magazine becomes the Indian fan's can't-put-down-companion."

The new title will be available on annual subscription to fans of the Indian game around the world. Full details of global subscription rates will be available on Cricinfo.com from the beginning of January.