Royals out to defend IPL title in South Africa
The Rajasthan Royals were the inaugural winners of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and with the iconic Shane Warne pulling the strings on the field and Bollywood superstar Shilpa Shetty the public face of the franchise, are arguably the most high profile of the IPL outfits.
And with South African Proteas skipper Graeme Smith and lanky South African fast bowler Morne Morkel among the ranks, the Royals are assured of solid South African support as well. The Rajasthan Royals defeated the Chennai Super Kings by three wickets in the first IPL final played in June last year in a thriller - Sohail Tanvir clinched victory for the Royals with a single off the last ball of the match.
And with South African Proteas skipper Graeme Smith and lanky South African fast bowler Morne Morkel among the ranks, the Royals are assured of solid South African support as well. The Rajasthan Royals defeated the Chennai Super Kings by three wickets in the first IPL final played in June last year in a thriller - Sohail Tanvir clinched victory for the Royals with a single off the last ball of the match.
The Rajasthan Royals will be looking to defend their title during the 59-game cricketing bonanza which kicks off at Newlands this weekend. And the Royals will be relying on the likes of Warne, their South African contingent and the likes of Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif and Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait and allrounder Shane Watson, who was named player-of-the-tournament last year. But the Royals will have to make do without Watson for the first part of the tournament as he is part of the Australian squad due to take on Pakistan later this month, and will only be available for the second half of the event.
The Royals, despite their status as defending champions, were the least active team in the players auction ahead of the 2009 tournament and failed to sign a 'designated icon' player for this year.
Their highest bid was for the Indian middle order batsman Kaif, who came on board for a paltry $675 000 and saw the franchise penalised by the IPL committee for failing to meet the minimum bidding criteria of $3,3million.
Australia's most successful Test bowler, Warne was again named the coach and the captain of the side. - Additional info by iplpremierleague.com
The Royals, despite their status as defending champions, were the least active team in the players auction ahead of the 2009 tournament and failed to sign a 'designated icon' player for this year.
Their highest bid was for the Indian middle order batsman Kaif, who came on board for a paltry $675 000 and saw the franchise penalised by the IPL committee for failing to meet the minimum bidding criteria of $3,3million.
Australia's most successful Test bowler, Warne was again named the coach and the captain of the side. - Additional info by iplpremierleague.com
Many Lion’s fans are expected in South Africa to support their team. ”Coupled with the IPL Cricket which ends on 23 May, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in June and the ICC 8-Nations Champions’ Trophy in September, South Africa is certainly expecting thousands of fans for the upcoming top level sporting events,” notes Robert Wilson. CEO of travelinsouthafrica.net . “Fans would be well advised to sort out their travel and accommodation soon,” he said.
This article was originally published on page 14 of Cape Argus on April 14, 2009
