Smart Stats - Symonds trumps Hayden and Gilchrist to be the MVP of IPL 2009

Pradeep Magazine, in the Hindustan Times , calls for a reasoned analysis of the Indian Premier League

Bidding for England's star allrounder Andrew Flintoff started at $950,000

The rules justifying the ban on Mohammad Asif for one year gives the impression that the fast bowler has been banned by the IPL alone and not across the sport

It will be a little difficult to swallow at first

Kevin Pietersen, who will captain Bangalore Royal Challengers and play in his country of birth, has a series of factors going against him as he heads into the IPL, despite the small matter of getting richer by US$1.55 million, writes Lawrence Booth

Perhaps the cruellest ordeal of all for these prisoners is that they are not allowed to tell the truth about a particularly hideous piece of merchandise that regularly appears on our screens

S Dinakar writes in the weekly magazine Sportstar that the IPL has provided many peripheral Indian players a chance on the big stage, and has helped give the national team greater bench strength.

Makarand Waingankar, writing in the Hindu , discusses some of the reasons why big names like Kevin Pietersen, Sachin Tendulkar and Brendon McCullum faltered as captains in the IPL.