Tendulkar targets return against Chennai

Tendulkar recovering from injury
The Indian Premier League is nearly half over but its biggest draw Sachin Tendulkar is yet to play a game because of a groin injury. However, he is optimistic of joining the resurgent Mumbai Indians soon. "I can tell you roughly that I'm targetting the next match [against Chennai on May 14], Sachin said while watching Mumbai play Rajasthan from the sidelines. "If I'm in the middle, I should be able to compete, for if I'm not able to compete, I'll be letting the team down."

Charu out, Brijesh in
After five defeats, a visibly rattled Bangalore Royal Challengers are wielding the axe. The first victim is Charu Sharma, the CEO of the franchise, who was held responsible for the team's poor performance. Sources close to the team claim he was asked to step down by Vijay Mallya, the franchise owner, but the team spokesperson however said he stepped down due to "personal reasons." Sharma has been replaced by Brijesh Patel, the former India Test player and secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association. The players are reportedly shocked by this move. The question is, who's next?

Was slap-gate premeditated?
According to a report in the Times of India, Sudhir Nanavati, the BCCI's commissioner to look into the slapping incident involving Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth, told its sources in the Indian board that the attack seemed to have been premeditated. This was supposedly based on the reaction of the Mumbai Indians' coach, Lalchand Rajput, immediately after the incident. Navanati, however, denied making such a statement. "The report that appeared in a newspaper is completely false. I can tell you I neither saw him [Rajput] neither clapping nor laughing when Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth from the video footage shown to me yesterday", Nanavati told Cricinfo.

No more games for DY Patil?
The 40 km commute from the team hotel to the DY Patil Stadium in Nerul is getting to the Mumbai players and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has stepped in, suggesting Mumbai's last two matches - on May 14 and 16 - be moved to the Wankhede Stadium. The franchise owners, Reliance Industries Limited, are yet to confirm the move. Today's game against Rajasthan Royals, however, stays at the DY Patil stadium.

Fat wallets
Players can look forward to bigger earnings once the second season of the IPL gets underway, with the governing council deciding to scrap the $5 million cap on earnings. The move was prompted by the success of the current season, and players can look forward to an increase of upto a massive $15 million. "I can tell you that our players would already be the highest-paid across any sport in the world," Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, was quoted as saying in The Daily Telegraph.

One more chance
Harbhajan Singh, who has been banned for 11 IPL matches for slapping Sreesanth after an IPL match in Mohali, has appealed to the Indian board to give him "one final chance" before taking further disciplinary action against him. "Along with accepting my most sincere and heartfelt apologies over this incident, I would like to appeal to the board's sense of fairplay and ask for one final chance before taking any disciplinary action against me over this incident," Harbhajan said a letter to the BCCI. The disciplinary hearing will be conducted commissioner Sudhir Nanavati, who was appointed by the BCCI, in Ahmedabad.