IPL monitor

An Aussie player of the tournament (June 1)
Shane Warne, Shaun Marsh and Shae Waston will be competing for the Player of the Tournament award, which has a prize money of Rs10 lakh (US$23,500) prize; despite his success in the tournament, Warne said he is happy with retirement and playing the IPL for six weeks of the year; The Rajasthan Royals' formula for success, according to Darren Berry, the team's director of coaching, lies in creating an environment where all players are equal; and Geoff Marsh, the former Australian bowler, is pleased with his son Shaun's performance in the IPL but he insists the team comes ahead of the individual.

Fleming out of IPL (May 29)
Stephen Fleming will not be available for Chennai's remaining matches as he is heading back to New Zealand for the birth of his child; Indian umpire AV Jayaprakash retires; Rahul Dravid believes two IPL tournaments a year will be difficult; and Pakistan selectors will not consider IPL performances while naming the squad for the triangular series in Bangladesh.

Semi-final hopes, and a police complaint (May 27)
Kepler Wessels, the Chennai coach, believes Manpreet Gony is the find of IPL; a Senior Superintendent of Police lodges a formal complaint against Ness Wadia, the Mohali franchise owner for alleged verbal assault; and Wasim Akram calls for a shorter IPL.

From purple caps to red badges (May 20)
IPL authorities announce an all-area accreditation badge to one member of each of the eight franchisees; Mohammad Asif is doubtful for the rest of the IPL and the tri-series in Bangladesh after he splits the webbing on his right hand; and the IPL Trophy is unveiled in Mumbai.

Kolkata sign Mendis (May 18)
Eden Gardens has its second power-cut of the tournament, Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, has been signed by Kolkata for three years; Neil Maxwell, the chief executive of Kings XI Punjab, has admitted there have been delays in paying the players; Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes the key to sucess in Twenty20 lies in a player's fitness and not experience; and service tax authorities in Chandigarh consider issuing a notice to Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) for alleged evasion of tax in the IPL.

Mumbai sign Nel as Bravo's replacement (May 17)
Andre Nel joins Mumbai in place of Dwayne Bravo, who will fly out to join the West Indies squad ahead of the Australia Tests after the match against Deccan Chargers on May 18; the Kolkata franchise threatened to take legal action against a Pakistan newspaper which suggested Shoaib Akhtar was questioned at Karachi airport - en route to India for the IPL - on an "inordinately large supply of syringes in his luggage"; Adam Gilchrist is satisfied taken by the IPL organisers following the bomb blasts in Jaipur is adequate; Misbah-ul-Haq backs his Bangalore captain Rahul Dravid; and Yuvraj Singh says he hadn't made any conscious efforts to be a good captain for Punjab.

Support for Dravid (May 16)
Anil Kumble backs under-fire Bangalore captain Rahul Dravid following ranchise owner Vijay Mallya's statement that his biggest mistake was to trust Dravid on matters of team selection; Sourav Ganguly hopes for an ODI recall after scoring 91 in Kolkata's win over the Deccan Chargers; Following the Jaipur bomb blasts Nicholls Steyn and Associates, security advisors to the IPL, have been appointed to oversee the arrangements for May 17th match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium; Lalit Modi announces a donation of US$1.4 million from the IPL franchises and sponsors for the blast victims; Dwayne Bravo postpones his departure to West Indies by two days; Brad Hodge will re-join Kolkata if he is not picked for the first Test in Jamaica; and the income-tax department has sent a notice to the BCCI, seeking copies of agreements signed between the IPL franchises and the overseas player.

Rajasthan's stars consider leaving (May 15)
Darren Berry, the Rajasthan Royals' team manager, says there is a "real option" Shane Warne, Shane Watson, and Graeme Smith will not return to Jaipur following a series of bombs that killed about 80 people in the city on May 13; the IPL organisers have banned spectators from bringing carry-bags to their venues in the wake of the blasts; the Kolkata franchise have been taken to court by the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) on grounds of copyright violation for playing 14 popular Hindi songs without its permission during the IPL matches at the Eden Gardens.

Kolkata fined again (May 14)
IPL organisers refuse to shift the venue of Bangalore's match against Rajasthan from Jaipur following bomb blasts in the city; VVS Laxman backs Rahul Dravid, whose Bangalore team is in the middle of a torrid run; and Kolkata have been handed US$1000 fine by Talat Ali for maintaining a slow over-rate during their match against the Delhi Daredevils, the third time in as matches that they have been rapped for the offense.

Laxman out, Prince goes back (May 13)
A hairline fracture puts VVS Laxman out of the rest of the tournament; Kolkata decide to release five of their players, since they won't be required for the other games; and Ashwell Prince decides to return to South Africa to spend some time with his new-born kid.

Tension in the Bangalore camp (May 12)
Vijay Mallya, the Bangalore Royal Challengers' owner, says that he regrets not being involved in the team's selection; Sachin Tendulkar indicates that he could be fit in time for the Mumbai Indians' match against the Chennai Super Kings on May 14; and the DY Patil Stadium is the front-runner to host the final of the IPL.

Kolkata monitoring Hodge's next move (May 9)
The Kolkata Knight riders are hoping that Brad Hodge can re-join their squad after he was directed by his board to join the Australian squad for the tour of West Indies as a shadow player for Michael Clarke; Venkatesh Prasad, the Bangalore Royal Challengers' coach, calls for "patience and trust" with his team; and Sudhir Nanavati, the BCCI commissioner, ends his probe into the slap-gate incident involving Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh.

Charu out, Brijesh in (May 7)
Charu Sharma, the CEO of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, is sacked after the team suffer five consecutive defeats; while the BCCI commissioner inquiring into the slapping incident involving Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth, denies saying that the attack as premeditated.

Nanavati shocked, and Buchanan welcomes Shoaib (May 6)
BCCI-appointed Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati said he was stunned after seeing the video footage of the Sreesanth-Harbhajan incident; Wasim Jaffer has been ruled out for three weeks after suffering a fracture to the hand; Shivnarine Chanderpaul says he's tired of sitting on the bench and John Buchanan welcomes Shoaib Akhtar to the Kolkata Knight Riders.

A fine, a ban, and a rebuttal (May 3)
Sourav Ganguly and Shane Warne have been fined 10% of their match fees, while Pratap Kumar, the on-field umpire, has been suspended for a game following the catch controversy; the IPL maintains that Shoaib Akhtar cannot play; while the Mumbai Mirror criticises umpire Amiesh Saheba.

Warne v Ganguly, Sachin v groin (May 2)
Shane Warne, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals, has launched a stinging attack on Sourav Ganguly what he perceived to be a blatant disregard for the spirit of the game. Ganguly has retaliated by questioning whether Warne had the moral right to comment about the spirit of the game. Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar's battle to get fit continues.

Gony doubtful, and no cheergirls for Delhi (May 1)
Chennai Super Kings' fast bowler Manpreet Gony is suffering from fever and may not be able to play against the Delhi Daredevils in Chennai on Friday. Gony has been Chennai's best bowler with seven wickets in four games at an average of 19.

New surface at the Eden Gardens, and a ban on cheerleaders? (April 25)
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) announces that the next game at the Eden Gardens will be played on a new surface; the Mumbai Indians' next home game on April 27 may not feature the much talked about cheerleaders.

Bosman sent home, and a birthday wish (April 24)
Loots Bosman is forced to return home after immigration officials found that he had incomplete paperwork; Shane Warne says Sachin Tendulkar "should be allowed to continue till he wants to"; and an injured Chris Gayle joins the Kolkata Knight Riders' squad but his participation is uncertain.

Gayle doubtful, Burdett refuses (April 23)
Chris Gayle is all but ruled out of the first edition of the IPL after failing to recover from his groin injury; both the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are allowed centre-wicket practice before their match; and Les Burdett, the Australian curator, says he is unlikely to oblige an SOS call sent to him by the Kolkata franchise.

Cheap tickets and the Dhoni aura (April 22)
The authorities in Jaipur slash ticket rates to fill up the 30,000 seat Sawai Mansingh Stadium; Matthew Hayden praises Mahendra Singh Dhoni; and the four West Indian IPL recruits will return to the Caribbean on May 18 in time for the home series against Australia

A dicey pitch, and the arrival of Rajasthan's stars (April 21)
The Kolkata Knight Riders ask the Cricket Association of Bengal to hire an Australian pitch consultant to work on the Eden Gardens surface; the lights go off and hold up play for 30 minutes, again at the Eden Gardens; Rajasthan are bolstered by the arrival of their foreign recruits; and none of Mumbai's former Test cricketers get a pass to watch the Mumbai Indians' opening game

Gayle out, Bravo in (April 19)
Chris Gayle misses out on Kolkata's opener owing to a groin injury; Mumbai recruit a host of former Ranji players into their support staff; and Dwayne Bravo replaces Lasith Malinga in the Mumbai team