Manchester City ready to launch sensational bid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid this summer

Abu Dhabi powerbrokers willing to match £80 million world-record transfer fee and sanction salary of between £400,000-a-week and £500,000-a-week to land Portuguese icon


Manchester City are ready to deliver a sensational package to sign Cristiano Ronaldo fromReal Madrid this summer, Goal.com can reveal.

The Premier League club are understood to be willing to match the world-record transfer fee of £80 million (€96m) that Real paid Manchester United for Ronaldo in 2009, and wages of between £400,000-a-week (€478,000) and £500,000-a-week (€598,000) to land the Portuguese icon.

FOOTBALL'S BIGGEST TRANSFERS
1. RONALDO - £80M
	FROM: MAN UNITED TO: REAL MADRID YEAR: 2009
2. KAKA - £56M
	FROM: AC MILAN TO: REAL MADRID YEAR: 2009
3. ZIDANE - £53M
	FROM: JUVENTUS TO: REAL MADRID YEAR: 2001
4. TORRES - £50M
	FROM: LIVERPOOL TO: CHELSEA YEAR: 2011
5. IBRAHIMOVIC - £40M PLUS ETO'O
	FROM: INTER TO: BARCELONA YEAR: 2009

Sources in both Manchester and Spain have told Goal.com that there has been contact between intermediaries in recent weeks to gauge the player’s interest in returning to Manchester and the early indications from the 27-year-old's camp is that he could be open to a transfer that would send shockwaves through football.

Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes has become increasingly close to senior City officials over the past year.

It is understood that Abu Dhabi go-betweens floated the idea to Ronaldo last summer but the feedback from the player was that it was not the right time.

"The signs now from the Ronaldo camp are surprisingly more positive," a source close to the situation told Goal.com. "The contact has taken place in the last few weeks and there is serious chatter in the corridors at the Etihad, akin to when City tried to sign Kaka from AC Milan a few years back."

Owner Sheikh Mansour, advised by the club’s senior hierarchy in Abu Dhabi, is a huge admirer of Ronaldo and has tremendous respect for Real Madrid as a footballing institution.

Although City strongly refuted on Friday that the club have made any move to sign the forward, it is understood that the billionaire owner is ready to sanction the monies if there is a deal to be done.

"City want a marquee signing this summer to confirm their emergence as serious players among football’s elite," the source added. 

"Ideally, they would do so from a position of strength as Premier League champions but whatever happens in the title race they want to send out a statement of intent.

"Ronaldo is the one they have wanted for a long time. They know they will not get Lionel Messi."

Three years on from the failed attempt to sign Kaka from AC Milan in a world record €108m deal (worth £90m at current exchange rates), the Sheikh’s advisers are confident that the club’s growth on and off the pitch will enable them to hold firm in their dealings with the nine-time European champions.

City’s powerbrokers are also confident that the staggering sums required to entice Ronaldo to Etihad Stadium would not contravene Uefa’s financial fair play regulations, which the club are fully-committed to satisfying.

Sheikh Mansour would off-set the cost of signing Ronaldo and at least one other marquee summer signing – with Napoli’s Edinson Cavani the leading centre-forward target - by sanctioning a summer clear-out of big earners who are not central to manager Roberto Mancini’s long-term plans.

The club will listen to offers for Carlos Tevez, who earns £198,000-a-week, Edin Dzeko, who gets £130,000-a-week, Nigel De Jong, who is on £85,000-a-week. On-loan trio Emmanuel Adebayor (£170,000-a-week), Wayne Bridge and Roque Santa Cruz (who both earn £90,000-a-week) can also leave.

	CITY SLICKERS
11/2	Manchester City are 11/2 with William Hill to beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Etihad on Saturday

City are likely to encounter difficulties in shifting them from the wage bill but if they do so it would free up nearly £800,000-a-week, equivalent to an eye-watering £38m per annum, around a quarter of the Premier League record £174m salary bill revealed in the club’s 2010-11 financial accounts.

Ronaldo’s six-year Real contract, which runs until 2015, was initially worth £250,000-a-week but has built-in incremental rises which will swell the figure to around £400,000-a-week in the final year of the deal.

Such is the Portuguese’s vast marketing potential, built around the CR7 brand, City are confident they would be able to recoup much of their outlay through shirt sales, merchandise tie-ups and other commercial spin-offs.

The parameters of the deal would be quite similar to the offer made to Kaka in 2009, with City believed to be prepared to fund a series of soccer schools in Ronaldo’s name in a bid to demonstrate their commitment to the player and push his brand.

City's hopes of enticing Ronaldo are not at this stage linked with any move for Jose Mourinho, who is also represented by Mendes.

As revealed by Goal.com earlier this month, club chiefs will assess the position of Roberto Mancini at the end of the season although Mourinho will jump to the top of the club's list of alternatives if there is any indication he could be willing to leave Real.

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Sachin Tendulkar is the reason I started playing cricket: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli said as a child he only dreamed of catching a glimpse of Sachin Tendulkar in person. 

"Sachin Tendulkar is the reason I started playing" -- said India's most promising batting talent right now, Virat Kohli, as he paid tribute to the senior batsman for completing a century of international hundreds. 

At a felicitation function organised by industrialist and IPL team Mumbai Indians' owner Mukesh Ambani, Kohli was asked to give his thoughts on the 39-year-old, who completed the incredible feat during the recent Asia Cup in Bangladesh. 

The 23-year-old right-hander, who is in the form of his life having scored three hundreds in his past four one-dayers, said as a child he only dreamed of catching a glimpse of Tendulkar in person. 

"He is the reason why I have started playing cricket. Like me I think most of the youngsters in the India started playing cricket because of him," Virat said as Tendulkar looked back at him smiling. 

"Now it is just a great honour to share the same dressing room with him. I remember when I was small, my only dream was to see him in real life and to play with him now is just a great honour for me. I couldn't have asked for anything more," he added. 

Tendulkar too is quite impressed with the spunky batsman and has stated that he could be the one breaking the 100 centuries record apart from another promising name -- Rohit Sharma.

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INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE

R U READY?????

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner. It is currently contested by nine teams, consisting of players from around the world. It was started after an altercation between the BCCI and the Indian Cricket League.

In 2010, IPL became the first sporting event ever to be broadcast live on YouTube in association with Indiatimes.Its brand value is estimated to be around $3.67 billion in fourth season. According to the Annual Review of Global Sports Salaries by sportingintelligence.com, IPL is the second highest-paid league, based on first-team salaries on a pro rata basis, second only to the NBA. It is estimated that the average salary of an IPL player over a year would be $3.84 million.

• IPL 2011 SEASON:

CHAMPION: CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
RUNNER UP: MUMBAI INDIANS

• IPL AUCTIONS 2012

The IPL Player Auction 2012, held in Bengaluru ahead of the tournament’s fifth season, was marked by a whopping USD 2 million dollar bid for all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja made by two franchises, Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. The player was sold to the Chennai franchise on the basis of tie-breaker involving a silent bid.

Medium pacer Vinay Kumar was the other big purchase at the auction conducted by auctioneer Richard Madley. The Karnataka bowler was picked up by home franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore for USD 1 million.

Each of the franchises had a purse of USD 2 million to shop with. The franchises can use the remaining purse only to buy uncapped players during the trading window which opens on February 6.

• IPL TEAMS IN 2012
  
  1. CHENNAI SUPER KINGS:It franchise based in Chennai, Tamil  Nadu. The team home ground is the M.A  Chidambaram Stadium. CSK are the most successful team in IPL, having won the IPL twice and reached the play-offs every season  , and won the 2010 Champions League Twenty20. The team won IPL in succession (2010,2011) . The leading run scorer n IPL is from CSK only i.e Suresh Raina.
  

  
  Owner:The India Cements Limited    
  Coach: Stephen Fleming 
  Captain: MS Dhoni 
  IPL Best : 2010 ,2011 winner
  KEY PLAYER: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina,Albie Morkel
  KEY BATSMEN: M. Vijay, M Hussey, S Badrinath
  KEY ALLROUNDER: R Jadega,Dwayne Bravo,Scott Styris
  KEY BOWLER: R Ashwin,Doug Bollinger,Shadab Jakati
  UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Ganapathi vignesh
  STRENGTH: Batting Lineup, Spin bowling ,home suppourt, key Indian players

  WEAKNESS: Less uncapped Indian  players

  
  One of the best team in IPL because they have so many players who are in Indian cricket team , this make CSK very special . They have Captain cool with them , who had win 2 WC, 2 IPL, 1 Champions league.So he will aiming one more . Suresh Raina is highest Run getter in IPL and he is the only man from India who have 100 in T20 International , he will looking to End this IPL on high note .
  
  Their Batting revolve around Indian players like Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, M vijay , S Badrinath but they have quality overseas player like M hussey who also knows as Mr. Cricket.
  
  R Jadega is the most expensive Player in 2012 Auction and he wanna show his value to world with his bat and ball , in last year IPL he was only postive from Kochi Tuskars.The experience of Bravo and Styris will be key in this IPL .
  
  They have world class spinners in form R Ashwin , Jakati , Suresh Randiv, and these spinners will be on top in their home ground which is very slow turning track .They have quality fast bowler from overseas in form Bollinger and A Morkel .A Morkel is in very good form during New Zealand tour for South Africa.
  

2. DELHI DAREDEVILS :  The Daredevils dominated for much of the 2008 and 2009 IPL, finishing at the      top of the table after the league stages but unable to reach in semi final .  

 Owner: GMR Sports Pvt Ltd      
 
 Coach : Eric Simons   
 
 Captain : Virender Sehwag
   IPL Best : 2008, 2009 Semi-finalist

KEY PLAYER: Virender Sehwag , David Warner, Mahela Jayawardene

KEY BATSMEN: Venugopal Rao, Aaron Finch, Kevin Peterson

KEY ALL-ROUNDER: Irfan pathan , Andre Russel

KEY BOWLER: Varun Aaron , Umesh Yadav, Ajit Agarkar

UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Punnet Bisht, Robin Bisht, Unmukt chand

STRENGTH: Batting Lineup

WEAKNESS: Lack of Quality spinner 

 
 No introduction should be given that what sehwag and warner can do in their opening partnership, mahela and  kevin peterson in middle order.  
       

Venugopal Rao was among the top runs getter in IPL 2011 which help DD to win imp matches and this lad has get extra  potential and he will be the  hub of the team in middle order.

Irfan pathan was back in indian team early  this year which will make pathan more confident and the way he was batting and bowling in indian team, he will be acid to this team.

Punnet bist , Robin Bisht will be of those uncapped players which public must see. 

Unmukt chand which belongs to Uttarakhand will be those young batsmen in IPL who will aiming spot in indian team.

one thing which is missing in DD lineup is quality spinner which they also miss in 2011 season.

3.DECAN CHARGERS: It represents the city of Hyderabad in the IPL. They after finishing last in the first season of the IPL , won the second season held in South Africa in 2009 , under the captaincy of former Australian Wicket keeper batsmen Adam Gilchrist .Gilchrist was captain of the team for the two season of the IPL .From the fourth season , kumar Sangakkara has been  leading the team .

Owner: Deccan Chronicle Holdings    
Limited     

Coach: Darren Lehmann     

Captain: Kumar Sangakkara     

IPL Best: 2009 winner

KEY PLAYER: Kumara Sangakara, Dael steyn, Amit mishra

KEY BATSMEN: Shikhar Dhawan, Parthiv Patel, Jp Duminy

KEY ALL ROUNDER:  Cameron White, Daniel Christian

KEY BOWLER:  Manpreet Gony, Daniel Harris 

UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Abhishek jhunjhunwala, Tanmay Srivastava

STRENGTH: Youngsters

WEAKNESS: Lack of Indian star player

If we will look around in cricketing world , we will not find keeper and batsmen better then sanga, spinner better then amit and fast bowler better then steyn. This make DC very special because they have very balance team.

If we look the batting lineup they have very good batting lineup ,good mixture of overseas and indian players. They way Jp duminy is playing for SA nowdays ,his owner  exception will be on 7th sky.

They also have  very quality aussies pair in their allrounder position.

Strong part of this team is their bowling lineup , they have so many wicket taking option and all the bowlers are very attacking.

If you go through the squad of Dc you will not find any big name of indian player which can be their weakness but this weakness can also work in their favour as this make them very balance team .

4. Kings XI Punjab: The franchies based in Mohali, Punjab .It is currently captained by former Australian wicket-keeper batsmen Adam Gilchrist. The team PLays its home matches in PCA stadium, Mohali. since 2010, its has been playing some of the home matches at Dharamsala.

   
Owner: KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited   

Coach: Michael Bevan   

Captain: Adam Gilchrist     

IPL Best: 2008 semi-finalist  
 
 


KEY PLAYER: Adam Gilchrist, Parveen Kumar,Stuart Broad
KEY BATSMEN: Shaun Marsh, Paul valthaty, Abhishek Nayar

KEY ALL ROUNDER:  David Hussey, Dimitri Mascarenhas,

KEY BOWLER: Piyush Chawla, Ryan harris,James faulkner

UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Mandeep Singh,Paras Dogra, Rj satish
STRENGTH: Batting Lineup and youngsters

WEAKNESS: Fast bowling  


They have very good collection of indian and australian players which make this team special. It will be interesting see will Gili magic works this time.


The batting line up of this team promise lots,Everybody knows what gili can do on his day.In last season whole world see another sehwag in form of paul valthaty, he was find of IPL  4 but this time his fans except more from him,Abhishek Nayar is in very good touch as he was scoring some good runs in domestic circuit.

They have very hard hitting all rounder in form of david and dimitri. David was top scorer in CB series for Australia and Indians fans still remember dimitri for his 5 sixes against Yuvi in oval.

In bowling department Parveen kumar will be leading the side with Ryan and james. but their strenght will be  spinners as they have very quality spinner in form of piyush chawla and ramesh powar. 
They have qaulity uncapped players but man to watch will be Mandeep singh. Some selectors have shown sign that he can include in test squad. He is very talented batsmen who can score very big runs and he can be difference in this season for Punjab.

The weak point of this team is their Fast bowling lineup as they lack experience in this department.

5. Kolkata Knight Riders:It is franchise representing Kolkata in the IPL. The team is led by most expensive player in IPL Gautam Gambhir.The official theme of the team is KORBO,LORDO, JEETB RE. As per the recent study done by a UK based brand valuation company, KKR are ranked as the second most valuable Franchise brand at US$46 million. Celebrity co-owner Shahrukh Khan's hard selling of the KKR brand has counteracted the team's poor field  performance through the first three season.However , team performance  improved in the fourth season.The home of the KKR is Eden Gardens.  

Owner:Knight Riders Sports Private Ltd

Coach: Trevor Bayliss   

Captain: Gautam Gambir

IPL Best: 2011 Play-offs





KEY PLAYER: Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis,Brett Lee
KEY BATSMEN: Manoj Tiwary, Eoin Morgan, Brendon Mccullum
KEY ALL ROUNDER:Yusuf pathan, Rajat Bhatia, shakib Al Hassan
KEY BOWLER: L Balaji, James Pattison, Iqbal Abdulla

UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Jaidev Unadkat,Laxmi Ratan Shukla

STRENGTH: Batting Lineup and Allrounders

WEAKNESS: Too many overseas Players and Lack of Indian young players

 KKR buys Gautam Gambhir last season and straight away make him captain , that change the fortune of this team and team reaches semi final or play off first time in history of IPL. Gautam Gambhir is that player who perform well when platform is set for him in big matches ,who can forget his knocks in final of T20 WC 2007 and WC 2011, same things SRK is want from his skipper to lead the team from front and win this IPL. The experience of Kallis and Lee will be key for KKR as everybody know what these two can do on their day.

The batting lineup of this team  is very stable as they have Manoj Tiwary , Morgan, Mccullum ,Haddin. Manoj wanna proof to indian team management that why he was neglected in past months for palying 11?? In 2008 IPL everybody remember the knock of Brendon but problem for KKR is that he dont perform regularly.Eoin is the no 1 batsmen for team England in T20 International so he will key for KKR in this IPL

Most Exciting Department of this team is their All Rounders. They have world No 1 all rounder in ODI and test in form of Shakib Al hassan, the way he perform in Asia cup for Bangladesh that will help him to get in playing 11. The man behind the Rajasthan Royals surprise Victory in IPL 2008 and that man has record of fastest 100 in IPL is now with KKR from last season i.e Pathan but he unable to perform well in last season but in this season he will aiming the empty slot in Indian team as Jadega unable to perform in last 2 series.

They have very quality fast bowler in form of Lee, Balaji, Pattison  and in spin department they have very good indian spinners.

The strong points of this team are their batsmen, spinners, and all rounder . They have very good T20 players in these slot.But the weak point of this team is that they have to many overseas players as in IPL a team can only play 4 overseas players and they lack good indian Youngsters.

6. MUMBAI INDIANS: It is a franchise cricket team representing Mumbai in the IPL. The Team is one of the eight founding members of the IPL in 2008. MI are currently lead by SACHIN TENDULKAR , who is the icon player for the team. The team is owned by by India's biggest conglomerate, Reliance Industries, through its 100 % subsidiary . MI is ranked no.2 in IPL with a brand value of $57.13 million in season four of the IPL after CSK. The team is also one of the strongest team on paper in the IPL.

Owner:India win sports Pvt. Ltd Coach: Robin singh Captain: Sachin Tendulkar  Venue: Wankhede Stadium IPL Best: 2010 Finalist KEY PLAYER: Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan singh, Kieron Pollard KEY BATSMEN: Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma,Herschelle Gibbs KEY ALL ROUNDER:Mitchell Johnson, Thisara perera,James Franklin KEY BOWLER: Lasith Malinga, P Ojha, Munaf patel UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Abu Nechim Ahmed,Ricard levi, STRENGTH: Batting Lineup and Allrounders WEAKNESS: To many overseas players and less Indian youngsters. If we look into the squad of MI , there are so many players who can win matches single handly. Their captain has scored 100th hundred in Asia cup only and he will keen to win IPL this season . Harbhajan singh is trying to comeback in Indian team and this IPL will be ideal platform for him . Kieron pollard centuary against Australia was remarkable and MI will be hoping same from him Few years ago Ambati Rayudu  counted as a next Indian star but then suddenly he disappear because of ICL but after clearance from BCCI ,he and other players included in IPL 2009 season. And he will aiming empty spot in Indian T20 team . Rohit and Gibbs will be key batsmen for MI in this IPL They have very good over seas all rounder in form of johnson , perera and franklin They have very balanced bowling line up with one of best T20 bowler leading the team i.e Lasith Malinga. Munaf patel and Rp singh will be other fast bowler who will be helping MI to win IPL 2012. And with Harbhajan singh and Ojha they can also depend on their spinners to win matches for them. They have same problem like Decan chargers i.e to many overseas player , but they can only play 4 of them. Abu Nechim and Richard Levi are those youngsters which everybody keen to see in this IPL .

7. PUNE WARRIORS INDIA: It is franchise cricket team that plays in IPL representing the city of Pune, Maharashtra. The team is one of two franchisees added to the IPL for the 2011 season, alongside Kochi Tuskers Kerela. On 21 March 2010 , Sahara Adventure sports Limited made winning bid of $370 million(approximately Rs 1700 crore) for the Pune franchise. The bid is the highest bid by any company in the short history of IPL.

Owner: Sahara Adventure Sports Limited Coach:  Geoff Marsh  Captain: Sourav Ganguly Venue: Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium  IPL Best:  2011 9th Position  KEY PLAYER: Robin Uthappa ,Ashish Nehra,Angelo Mathews KEY BATSMEN: Graeme Smith,Jesse Ryder,Manish pandey KEY ALL ROUNDER:James hopes,Sourav Ganguly, wayne Parnell KEY BOWLER: Rahul Sharma, Murali kartik, Ashok Dinda UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Kamran khan, Ali Murtaza, Harpreet singh STRENGTH: Batting Lineup and Allrounders WEAKNESS: To many overseas players and less Indian youngsters. The team is lead by Indian best captain Ganguly and sourav wanna proof his supermecy in this format also . The team have very good players. Robin uthappa will be key man for Pune  this year , he can change match in few overs as we had been seeing in past IPL but last year IPL was not good for him . They have very quality overseas players in form smith , Ryder in batting department. These 2 will be key in their top order and if u see Pune line  up one man who deserve chance in Indian team is Manish Pandey but till now he ignore by the selectors, he will aiming T20 WC for his entry. James hopes , parnell will be key all rounder fr this team as they can fit in any line up . Pune also have very good variety in their bowling line up as they have 2 quality spinners with them i.e Rahul sharma and Murali Kartik .Their fast bowling department will be lead by Ashish Nehra and Ashok Dinda.

left-arm seamer Kamran Khan was picked out of obscurity when the Rajasthan Royals signed him up for the second season of the IPL after Darren Berry, the team's director of coaching, spotted him in a Twenty20 tournament in Mumbai. Kamran, the son of a woodcutter from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, had no first-class experience when he was handed a US$24,000 contract by Rajasthan. He was mainly a tennis-ball player but shot into prominence in Rajasthan's warm-up game in April 2009 when he bowled Cape Cobras' Justin Ontong with an off-stump yorker. Shane Warne, the team's captain, said Kamran can bowl over 140kph even though he has a slight frame. He has marked him out as a player to watch in the tournament to be played in South Africa.So he will be man to watch in uncapped players.

8. RAJASTHAN ROYALS: It franchise based in the city of the Jaipur. It is currently captained by former Indian captain Rahul Dravid . They won the inaugural edition of IPL under captaincy of former Australian spin-legend shane warne.In 2010 ,they were terminated by the BCCI for a brief period for violations in terms of agreement but were allowed to play in the league soon after Board lost the case in the supreme court.

Owner:jaipur  IPL Crciket private Ltd Coach:  Rahul Dravid Captain: Rahul Dravid Venue: Sawai Mansingh stadium IPL Best: 2008 winner

KEY PLAYER: Rahul Dravid, Shane watson,Shaun Tait

KEY BATSMEN: Owais Shah, Ajinkya Rahane,Brad hodge
KEY ALL ROUNDER: Brad hogg,Paul collingwood,johan Botha

KEY BOWLER: Siddharth Trivedi, Pankaj Singh
UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Ashok Menaria,Deepak chahar, Abhishek Raut

STRENGTH:Maximum Young players are from Rajasthan only

WEAKNESS: Lack of Indian spinner and more overseas players

IPL 5 will be last Tournament of Great wall of India and he surely wanna win this tournament and he have the team for this . young Team with the quality overseas players , they can be winner of this season .Shane watson will be key man in this IPL for them .

In batting department they have Rahane who was  find of England tour last year . He with shah , hodge will be taking the responsiblity to scores big runs.

They have so many overseas all rounder in form botha, paul and brad, they all aiming to add extra in team but problem is that they cannot play all of them .

Bowling will lead by the Rajasthan duo with shaun tait .

In whole IPL ,RR have best uncapped players in their team as Rajasthan is Ranji Champion and all of them will be eyeing spot in Indian team . some of those players are Deepak ,Menaria, Raut etc

9. ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGLORE: RCB is currently lead by New Zeland all- rounder Daniel Vettori. Anil Kumble is mentor of this team .

Owner: Royal challengers sports private Ltd Coach:  Ray jennings Captain: Daniel Vettori Venue: M chinnaswamy stadium  IPL Best:2009 , 2011 finalist

KEY PLAYER: Virat Kohli,Daniel vettori, Zaheer khan

KEY BATSMEN:AB De Villiers, Saurabh Tiwary,Chris Gayle
KEY ALL ROUNDER: T Dilshan, Asad Khan Pathan,

KEY BOWLER: Dirk Nannes, Vinay kumar,M Muralitharan
UNCAPPED PLAYERS TO WATCH: Arun Karthik, Syed Mohammad
 

STRENGTH:Batting lineup , bowling

WEAKNESS: Less allrounders


Two time runner up will aiming to Win trophy this year . RCB is one of those team which is very balanced in all department. They have hottest property of Indian cricket team with them i.e virat kohli. They have experience player like Zaheer khan ,Daniel, Murali.

The team which have Gayle , Dilshan, De villers , virat in their batting line up , they will be very confident about their batting .They also have  some good Indian younsters in lineup.

They have very quality bowlers in form of Zaheer, vinay, dirk, murali .which is some thing different from all other teams in IPL

Asad khan pathan has shown some quality in last IPL , so he will aiming empty all rounder slot in Indian team.

They are one of  those teams who can win this IPL 

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Real Madrid to open academy in Kerala

Real Madrid CF, one of world football’s elite clubs, will set up a football school in the city of Kochi in Kerala shortly. The Spanish giants plans to start one of their trademark ’social-sports academies’ that have been set up across the globe by the Real Madrid Foundation here.

The preliminary talks for this was held at Kochi on Sunday between Manuel Tarreno Rodriques, the director of Real Madrid Foundation’s youth camps and KN Ganesh Kumar, the sports minister for the state of Kerala. The meeting was also attended by president of Kerala Sports Council Padmini Thomas, president of Kerala Football Association (KFA) KMI Mather, Member of Legislative Assembly Hibi Eden and former sports minister Dominic Presentation.

“The Sports Minister has suggested the Panampilly Nagar Sports Hostel (in Kochi) as the venue for the soccer school,” said the KFA President. “Real Madrid will send coaches, and they may also take some of the boys from here to their academy if they are very talented.”

Meanwhile, KFA Secretary P Anilkumar confirmed that the Panampilly Nagar Sports Hostel has been finalised as the venue and that an artificial football turf, swimming pool and a multi-purpose gym could also come up there. “The Panampilly Nagar Hostel, which is run by the Kerala Sports Council, will have a very modern look. Real Madrid is likely to start projects in other parts of Kerala too,” he said.

The Real Madrid Foundation is the means by which Real Madrid reaches out to society and develops its social and cultural awareness programmes. The Foundation carries out sports activities, educational and cultural activities, social welfare activities and institutional activities.

Real Madrid Foundation already has an institution in India at Kheadah in the state of West Bengal. This was their first project in Asia which gives education to 150 students aged between 7 and 15 years.

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'I do not abuse others, I talk to myself, I abuse myself': VIRAT KOHLI

On reaching Dhaka for the March 12-22 Asia Cup, Virat Kohli and teammate Rohit Sharma watched videos of Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal for hours, skipped lunch and nearly missed a team practice session.

Ahead of their clash on March 18, Pakistani cricketers huddled in the dressing room to remember former coach Bob Woolmer and vowed revenge for the loss to India in the 2011 World Cup. In the Indian dressing room, Kohli was cool as cucumber. "We have done our homework (for this match), don't worry," he told Sharma. Not many shared his optimism, especially after Pakistan put 323 runs on the board and Indian opener Gautam Gambhir walked back to the pavilion without the team opening its account.

But Kohli's 183, which included 23 boundaries, at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium-his fourth hundred in Bangladesh-tore apart a quality Pakistan attack, helped India scale its highest One-Day International (ODI) target and underlined his credentials as a master of the chase, a title given to him by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. The master blaster, in fact, did not leave his seat in the dressing room throughout Kohli's innings. His faith in cricket's latest poster boy was a revelation to many in Mirpur, the venue of the explosive India-Pakistan clash.

Yet, India headed back home disappointed, failing to make it to the finals. The tournament, however, completed Kohli's transformation as a mature modern-day cricketer. The numbers are staggering for India's new ODI vice-captain. In 48 innings batting second, the baby-faced Kohli has averaged 58.40, hit seven hundreds and 13 half-centuries-earning the unofficial title of the world's best ODI player. 

In an interview on the telephone from Mirpur, Kohli tells India Today Deputy Editor Shantanu Guha Ray that every time he goes out to bat, he splits his innings into targets of 30, 60 and 100. That way, he often gets a 50 or a ton. And he values the vice-captain's tag more than his life. Excerpts from the interview.

Q. Were your two tons in Australia and Bangladesh wasted because India could not make it to the finals?

A. Let us not read too much into the defeats in England, Australia and Dhaka. We had our moments and we have had some bad times. We have played a lot of cricket in the past one year. We played some great games in Dhaka, yet we could not make it to the final. It happens with every team. Win or loss is a part of the game. We only learn to win from defeats. I feel the team is slowly turning around from these defeats.

Q. What played on your mind when India lost a wicket with no runs on the board in response to Pakistan's huge total?

A. No cricket team in the world depends on one or two players. The team always plays to win. The Indian cricket team is full of top quality cricketers. Losing a wicket without a run on the board creates instant pressure but that is not the end of the world. Never did India, not even once, falter in the match and show any weakness for Pakistan to take advantage. We chased a big score and won in style.

Q. But the Indian bowlers did not impress, especially against Bangladesh and Pakistan.

A. If you noticed the pitch, you would realise it was a batsman's delight. The outfield was fast and it was difficult for the bowlers to pin down a side to less than 250-270. We had a bit of bad luck there. The bowlers didn't get the result they desired.

Q. The same pitch offered lot of advantage to you and other batsmen.

A. Yes. I have had some success in Dhaka. I got two centuries earlier and scored two more in the Asia Cup. It's like a typical subcontinental pitch with a fast outfield. Batsmen always flourish on such wickets.

Q. Experts have rated your innings better than Kapil Dev's knock of 175 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells in the 1983 World Cup.

A. Kapil Dev helped India remain in contention for the World Cup and eventually brought the Cup home.

Q. India-Pakistan matches were once special, high-voltage. Do tensions still run high?

A. Some matches, as in the World Cup, are very explosive. Even the last World Cup semi-final in Mohali was tense. This one was special because we had to win to keep the door open for the Asia Cup final, especially after our loss to Bangladesh.

Q. Why give vent to your emotions in public? Is that wise with so many people watching?

A. I do not abuse players, I talk to myself, I abuse myself. It's my way of letting off steam. I do it after every century, I do not do it always. I keep telling myself: Improve, improve from the previous match, the previous shot. You can do it.

Q. Cricket is now only about ODIs and T20s. Do you agree?

A. No, I don't. We play the entire quota of Test cricket as scheduled by the International Cricket Council.

Q. But Test matches don't attract the crowds anymore?

A. The fault lies with the crowds, not with the game, certainly not with the cricketers.

Q. You must be happy at being made the vice-captain. But the tag has its pressures. Do you think you could lose it if you do not shine with the bat?

A. If I do not shine, I will be out of the side. I try and keep my head down. I do not bask in the glory of a win and rarely talk. Everyone has seen me change after the U-19 World Cup win in Kuala Lumpur in 2008. I have not even read the newspapers that bestowed a hundred titles on me after the Pakistan match. I know the importance of the India shirt, and the vice-captain's tag.

Q. How did the transformation into a fluent off-side batsman occur?

A. My focus had always been the on-side. My coach wanted me to work on the off-side strokes since he was convinced of my ability and timing on the leg side. I worked hard and firmed up my defensive technique. I am happy getting runs all around the wicket now, and getting a lot of boundaries. No one calls me a "leggie batsman" anymore.

Q. You seem to enjoy the pressure, the chase.

A. I do not shy away from pressure. I have scored big runs while chasing huge totals in some recent matches. I set a good platform for myself so that I can get some big runs to help my team.

Q. You are being described as the world's best ODI cricketer.

A. If I do not perform, the title will change to the world's worst ODI player.

Q. How crucial is cricket to you?

A. It is life for me, it is everything. I delayed my father's funeral because of cricket. The guidance I get from seniors has helped me mature as a middle-order batsman and allowed me to retain my place in the Indian side.

Q. Tell me one lesson you learnt from skipper M.S. Dhoni.

A. To stick around in the middle, get runs and help your team gain a better position. He has taught me not to be in a hurry to score runs the moment I walk out into the field. I have learnt not to throw away my wicket.

Q. What kind of advice do you seek from seniors in the team? You wrote a letter to Sachin Tendulkar recently.

A. I did so to tell him to guide me through my moments of crisis. I grew up watching him, now I play alongside him. He offers invaluable advice. Cricket, after all, is a high-pressure game in India.

Q. But cricketers earn a lot these days from the game and brand endorsements, don't they?

A. Nothing extraordinary happens to a cricketer if you time his career-which is very short. Everyone loves a win in India. No one wants to lose a match. It is the cricketer who absorbs all the pressure.

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