IPL III to start on March 12 in Hyderabad

Mumbai, Aug 11 (PTI) Four new venues and a third place
playoff match will be introduced in the third Indian Premier
League which will get underway in south Indian city of
Hyderabad on March 12, 2010 with a game between IPL II winners
Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders.

The final of the 45-day Twenty20 cricket league, which
proved a huge success in its first two editions in India and
South Africa, would be held on April 25, IPL Chairman Lalit
Modi announced after a meeting of its Governing Council here
on Tuesday.

IPL III will have four additional match staging centres
-- Nagpur, Vishakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Dharamsala -- and
will also stage one extra match, the 60th, for the third place
play-off, Modi said.

"The playing window remains the same, 45 days", Modi said
before adding that the Governing Council also decided to
include two more franchisees in IPL IV to be held in 2011.

"There would be 94 games in all with each franchisee
playing 18, instead of 14 preliminary phase games. But the
window would remain more or less the same," Modi said.

The four additional venues would host matches featuring
Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan
Royals, Modi said.

"Nagpur would host some matches of Mumbai Indians,
Vishakhapatnam of Deccan Chargers, Ahmedabad of Rajasthan
Royals and Dharamsala of Kings XI Punjab," he said.

Modi also said the IPL decided to allow players who have
switched allegiance from the Indian Cricket League to the
Cricket Board by taking advantage of the latter's amnesty
scheme provided the BCCI Working Committee approves this move
in its meeting here on August 13.

"Provided the BCCI Working Committee approves this, the
salary cap for such players who have returned from the rebel
league has been fixed between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 20 lakh except
those who have played internationals who would have to be
auctioned off," he said.

The salary cap for each franchise also remains the same
at USD seven million as well as the number of foreign players
(10 in all and four in a playing XI), Modi said.

He said the new trading window would open from December
15, 2009 to January 5, 2010 and all other conditions would
remain the same as last year.

Modi said there is a change in the strategic time-out
that was introduced in IPL II and received mixed responses
from players and critics. They have been reduced from seven
and half minutes to five.

"The time-outs are mandatory with the bowling team
mandated to utilise the first time out lasting 2.5 minutes
between overs 6 and 10 and the batting team the second between
overs 11 and 16," the IPL chairman said.

"We have finalised the entire schedule of IPL III eight
months ahead," he declared.

Modi also made it clear that players contracted to their
country's boards for one year cannot just refuse to sign the
contract when offered to them the next year in order to play
in the IPL.

"A contracted player in the previous year will have to
get an NOC from his home board to appear in the IPL. We want
to plug this loophole and to maintain the sanctity of
international cricket," Modi said explaining that such cases
have come to the fore.

From IPL-IV, to be held in 2011, Modi said the icon
player status enjoyed by some players currently would not be
in existence.

"There won't be an icon player from IPL-IV," he said.

Modi expects a franchise team to represent a city from
Gujarat from IPL-IV because of the level of interest shown in
IPL I and II by that state's cricket lovers. PTI SSR
SDE
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