IPL:Second Auction, Chennai get Flintoff, KP lands in Bangalore

Even before the second auction of the IPL began, there was lot of talks that Kevin Pietersen was in talks with Bangalore and had met owner Vijay Mallya regarding the same. And rumours floated that Chennai was in talks with Flintoff, when he came to the city for the first test against India. And these talks were vindicated when both these players headed in the mentioned directions. Chennai got Flintoff for a whopping $1.55million and that made him the most expensive player in the IPL and he was joined by Kevin Pietersen who was purchased by Bangalore for the same price and they both have become the most expensive players in the IPL surpassing M.S.Dhoni's tag of $1.5million. There were little doubt concerning the buying of they both unlike Michael Clarke, who pulled out fearing that he may be not be bought. And when Flintoff came under the hammer, Chennai who had the full $2 million purse went all out and got their man. Though there wasn't much talk about Flintoff's destination, Chennai team later revealed that they had targeted Flintoff long back. I cannot wait to see Flintoff teeing off for my Chennai side!!!!!!!!!!!!

IPL:England players set to play

All the roadblocks for the English players participating in the second edition of the IPL have been removed with The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) agreeing to allow England players to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a three-week period. Ealier it was said that KP and Flintoff would be available for 2 weeks only, which made the franchises think about buying but after this finals resolution we can see a host of English players including Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen and few more in the IPL. And the players have struck a deal with the counties and it means they will give 10% of whatever they get from the auction. But once they are put on auction, there is no doubt that they will attract high bids and its been rumoured that KP is in talks with the Bangalore team while Chennai are in dialogues with Flintoff. Lets wait and watch as all of them will come under the hammer and have no say in deciding they play!!!!

Pietersen & Moores quit Strauss named skipper

Kevin Pietersen has stepped down from the post of England captain just 6 months into the job and following him resigning was the England head coach Peter Moores, whom KP din't have a good working relationship. And as a result of their rift they both have resigned and Andrew Strauss has been made the captain. Though he is likely to captain only the test team it remains to be seen who will be the ODI captain. Pietersen was not happy with Michael Vaughan's omission from the tour to West Indies and that prompted him to speak up against his coach. And the ECB found that KP did not have the backing of his players, something that will make KP feel let down as he backed the players a lot. And before ECB could hit the nail on his head, he walked away from the job. He is England's best player by some distance and the team needs him badly but I feel they also need the aggressive captaincy of Pietersen, something Strauss doesn't have. Terrible times for English cricket which is in total chaos.

Flintoff , Pietersen to play in IPL

The doubts over the participation of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen has been cleared after the ECB and PCA, Professional cricketers association cleared the star players for the lucrative domestic tournament. But they will be available only for the earlier parts of the IPL,just like how the Aussies were available for the inaugral IPL as they will have to return to play in the first test against West Indies which starts onMay 6. Now its certain that they will be available for the auction on February 16. Pietersen is rumoured to have been roped in by Bangalore team as he has a good relationship with Vijay Mallya and Flintoff has been signed by Kolkata Knight Riders but both these players will have to go under the hammer during the auction. Both there players are likely to be sold for arounf $700,000 - $900,000 but that figure may even breach $1 million mark as the franchises have been given $2 million for the auction.