After Shilpa Shetty and her boyfriend Raj Kundra's investment of Rs. 7.5 crores in Rajasthan Royals IPL franchise, Ms. Shetty has said and rightly so that she is here to add glamour to the Royals. The Royals were the winners of the first edition of the Indian Premier League.
"Well I am not going to bullshit myself into believing I've been brought in for my business acumen. The team had it all. They needed the glamour quotient and for that I am here," Shilpa told IANS. [CricketNext]
Refreshing honesty, I must say. Although Ms. Shetty also goes on to add the following gems later in the interview:
Raj is a crazy cricket fan. And why shouldn't he be? He's an Indian who lives in England. All Indian men are crazy about cricket. And everyone knows cricket was born in England. So Raj has a double reason to buy a part of the IPL.
All Indian men are indeed crazy about cricket (and glamorous hot women, skimpily-dressed cheerleaders and Shilpa Shetty herself of course). And cricket was but of course born in England.
And hence Raj's reason to buy a stake is not to see a return on investment but because he is "an Indian who lives in England" and because "Indians are crazy about cricket" and "cricket was born in England". The logic is confounding.
In the wake of Ms. Shetty's pomp-filled arrival on the stage of cricket ka maha yuddh, the IPL has also faced some withdrawals.
Pakistani players
The Pakistan "government" stepped in to ensure no Pakistani player features in the 2009 IPL season.
"We have been informed by the foreign ministry today that the situation is not conducive for Pakistan cricketers to travel to India," sports minister Aftab Jilani told the Associated Press. The sports ministry had last week given clearance to the players to participate in the Indian Twenty20 league, while informing them that their security would be their own and their IPL franchise's responsibility. [Cricinfo]
Oh. Whom will Shah Rukh Khan now jump on after match presentations (and expose a little innerwear in the process for girls to go ga-ga over)?
Michael Clarke
Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke has also pulled out of the IPL. Clarke claims that a busy international schedule is the main reason, but Lalit Modi has a few more things to say. Apparently, Clarke's base amount of $1m was too much to pay.
"I don't think anybody is ready to pay that kind of price," Modi said. [IE]
Maybe Clarke needs time out to contemplate how Australia can undo this.
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7 comments:
Friday, February 6, 2009 at 9:17:00 AM PST
Why always cricket? This is not personal attack to the blogger. But somewhere in my heart it hurts that very less people wrote about no Padma award for Olympic Medal achievers.
Well it seems recession didn't hit IPL!!
Friday, February 6, 2009 at 10:42:00 AM PST
Hmm
its okay for ms shetty to feel that way, isnt it,
I mean what more did you expect.
BTW
you are for 'Advnai for PM'? Seriously?
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 12:10:00 AM PST
@Pangala Nagendra Rao
I agree. Why always cricket? I've asked this question to myself a lot many times. But it does not necessarily mean that I do not respect other sports, does it?
@Mampi
Yes. It is okay for her.
Me an Advani supporter? I dont think so. If you read that from my previous post, then you would also care to understand that I'm being misunderstood.
Regarding Google ads, I do not choose which ad I want to display. Google does that.
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 12:23:00 AM PST
I dunno but the IPL bug hasn't caught up with me yet...
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 9:03:00 AM PST
@Trialblazer:
I didn't meant that you are not respecting other sports and I think I have mentioned the same concern in my comment. I just took the comment area to put my feelings!!
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 11:19:00 AM PST
@Rakesh
Hmm. I believe you are missing something. If not the cricket, at least the cheerleaders. :-)
@Pangala Nagendra Rao
Hmm. Apologies for the misunderstanding, but even I feel for the rest of the sporting world.
Monday, February 9, 2009 at 1:29:00 PM PST
IPL had so many matches that it got really boring after a point. And, I too am quite confused as to why we go crazy over a single game. Its beyond me.
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