Gautam Gambhir is set to miss the CLT20 as he has been advised rest to recover from the concussion. (TOI Photo)
MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders have left it to their injured captain Gautam Gambhir to decide whether he is fit to play in the Champions League T20 qualifying rounds, commencing in Hyderabad later this month.
"Unfortunately Gautam Gambhir is injured. We will not force him to play in the tournament. The decision whether he's fit enough to play in the championship has to be completely his (to take) and to his fitness staff's," said the IPL franchise team's owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan at a media conference on Friday.
Gambhir hurt his head while attempting to take a catch in the fourth and final Test against England and suffered a concussion that led to blurred vision and dizziness, which has resulted in the opener being ruled out of the ongoing ODI series.
The Delhi left-hander is also set to miss the CLT20 as he has been advised rest to recover from the concussion.
Shah Rukh, who was on Friday launched as the face of the Champions League, said that injuries and sports go hand in hand.
"If you play sports you can get injured. No pain, no gain. The players know best about their injuries though at times they may take a decision (to play) which may go wrong. Sometimes players don't know how serious is their injury and they want to play," said Shah Rukh.
The Bollywood actor also rubbished growing criticism that it was the Indian Premier League that preceded India's disastrous tour of England, which had led to the spate of injuries forcing the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team to lose several top players since it landed in England.
"It's a knee-jerk reaction and happens only when we lose in cricket and not in other sports. Today we drew 2-2 with Pakistan in hockey (Asian Champions Trophy) which no one talks about," said Shah Rukh, who also brushed aside the growing debate of country versus club after the success of the IPL.
"All of us, franchise owners, were happy with the runs scored by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the World Cup. We are all proud when the Indian team does well," he said.
"You can stop IPL for one year and see what happens but I don't think it will make any difference. We need to be a lot more patient," he said.
Shah Rukh was also happy that KKR, despite having finished fourth in the previous season, have got a chance to qualify for CLT20.
"We have a good team. The way we lost to Mumbai (Indians) was so killing. Now we have a chance for redemption. We have not won a trophy for a long time and it would be great if we can do so now," said Shah Rukh who also posed with the huge 16-kg silver CLT20 winners' cup.
Tournament CEO Sundar Raman announced that there would be a grand opening ceremony in Bangalore, venue of the first match on September 23 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and South African team Warriors.
Raman also said that though some top players like Tendulkar may be missed due to injury (toe), there were over 100 international cricketers who would be taking part.
"Over 100 international cricketers would play. The tournament may lose a Sachin Tendulkar, but one has to live with that," he said.
"The addition of a six-team qualifier for the first time adds another dimension to the tournament. It also provides a record number of teams with a chance to win club cricket's most prestigious prize," the official said.
Raman also said that the security for the teams at the four centres were being handled in consultation with the concerned law and order enforcing authorities.
Apart from Hyderabad (qualifying round) and Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai are the other centres where the matches have been scheduled to be held.
Aloke Malik, MD of of tournament broadcasters ESPN Software India, said that a new innovation - Sunglass Camera - would be unveiled during the coverage in High Definition TV.
"Sunglass Camera will provide feed from the fielders' point of view. It won't be 'live' but would get integrated within the coverage part," he said.
"The 29 matches would be shown in 174 countries," he added.
Nokia India opted for title sponsorship after their brand ambassador Shah Rukh became the face of the tournament, said the company's MD, D Shivakumar.
The tournament schedule:
Qualifiers (Venue: Hyderabad, 3 teams advance):
Pool A: Kolkata Knight Riders (India), Somerset (England), Auckland Aces (New Zealand)
Pool B: Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies), Leicestershire (England), Ruhunu (Sri Lanka)
Sep 19: Trinidad and Tobago vs Ruhunu (4 pm); Knight Riders vs Auckland Aces (8 pm)
Sep 20: T and T vs Leicestershire (4 pm); Somerset vs Auckland (8 pm)
Sep 21: Leicestershire vs Ruhunu (4 pm), Knight Riders vs Somerset (8 pm).
Main Tournament (Venues: Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai):
Group A: Chennai Super Kings (India), Cape Cobras (South Africa), NSW Blues (Australia), Mumbai Indians (India), Q2 (Pool B toppers)
Group B: Royal Challengers Bangalore (India), Warriors (South Africa), South Australian Redbacks (Australia), Q1 (Pool A toppers), Q3 (3rd best team in qualifiers).
Sep 23: Royal Challengers vs Warriors, Bangalore (8 pm)
Sep 24: Cobras vs Blues, Chennai (4 pm), Super Kings vs Mumbai, Chennai (8 pm)
Sep 25: Warriors vs Redbacks, Kolkata (4 pm), Q1 vs Q3, Koklkata (8 pm)
Sep 26: Mumbai vs Q2, Bangalore (8 pm)
Sep 27: Q1 vs Redbacks, Kolkata (8 pm)
Sep 28: Blues vs Q2, Chennai (4 pm), Super Kings vs Cobras, Chennai (8 pm)
Sep 29: Q1 vs Royal Challengers, Kolkata (8 pm)
Sep 30: Mumbai vs Cobras, Bangalore (8 pm).
Oct 1: Redbacks vs Q3, Bangalore (4 pm), Q1 vs Warriors, Bangalore (8 pm)
Oct 2: Mumbai vs Blues, Chennai (4 pm), Super Kings vs Blues, Chennai (8 pm)
Oct 3: Royal Challengers vs Q3, Bangalore (8 pm)
Oct 4: Cobras vs Q2, Chennai (4 pm), Super Kings vs Blues, Chennai (8 pm)
Oct 5: Warriors vs Q3, Bangalore (4 pm), Royal Challengers vs Redbacks, Bangalore (8 pm)
Oct 7: Semifinal 1 (Group B 1st vs Group A 2nd), Bangalore (8 pm)
Oct 8: Semifinal 2 (Group A 1st vs Group B 2nd), Chennai (8 pm)
Oct 9: Final, Chennai (8 pm).
If Super Kings qualify for semis, they would play their semifinals in Chennai, regardless of finishing position.
If Royal Challengers qualify for the semis, they would play their semifinal in Bangalore regardless of finishing position, unless they are drawn to play Super Kings, in which case they would play semifinal 2 in Chennai (due to Super Kings being defending CLT20 champions).
"Unfortunately Gautam Gambhir is injured. We will not force him to play in the tournament. The decision whether he's fit enough to play in the championship has to be completely his (to take) and to his fitness staff's," said the IPL franchise team's owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan at a media conference on Friday.
Gambhir hurt his head while attempting to take a catch in the fourth and final Test against England and suffered a concussion that led to blurred vision and dizziness, which has resulted in the opener being ruled out of the ongoing ODI series.
The Delhi left-hander is also set to miss the CLT20 as he has been advised rest to recover from the concussion.
Shah Rukh, who was on Friday launched as the face of the Champions League, said that injuries and sports go hand in hand.
"If you play sports you can get injured. No pain, no gain. The players know best about their injuries though at times they may take a decision (to play) which may go wrong. Sometimes players don't know how serious is their injury and they want to play," said Shah Rukh.
The Bollywood actor also rubbished growing criticism that it was the Indian Premier League that preceded India's disastrous tour of England, which had led to the spate of injuries forcing the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team to lose several top players since it landed in England.
"It's a knee-jerk reaction and happens only when we lose in cricket and not in other sports. Today we drew 2-2 with Pakistan in hockey (Asian Champions Trophy) which no one talks about," said Shah Rukh, who also brushed aside the growing debate of country versus club after the success of the IPL.
"All of us, franchise owners, were happy with the runs scored by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the World Cup. We are all proud when the Indian team does well," he said.
"You can stop IPL for one year and see what happens but I don't think it will make any difference. We need to be a lot more patient," he said.
Shah Rukh was also happy that KKR, despite having finished fourth in the previous season, have got a chance to qualify for CLT20.
"We have a good team. The way we lost to Mumbai (Indians) was so killing. Now we have a chance for redemption. We have not won a trophy for a long time and it would be great if we can do so now," said Shah Rukh who also posed with the huge 16-kg silver CLT20 winners' cup.
Tournament CEO Sundar Raman announced that there would be a grand opening ceremony in Bangalore, venue of the first match on September 23 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and South African team Warriors.
Raman also said that though some top players like Tendulkar may be missed due to injury (toe), there were over 100 international cricketers who would be taking part.
"Over 100 international cricketers would play. The tournament may lose a Sachin Tendulkar, but one has to live with that," he said.
"The addition of a six-team qualifier for the first time adds another dimension to the tournament. It also provides a record number of teams with a chance to win club cricket's most prestigious prize," the official said.
Raman also said that the security for the teams at the four centres were being handled in consultation with the concerned law and order enforcing authorities.
Apart from Hyderabad (qualifying round) and Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai are the other centres where the matches have been scheduled to be held.
Aloke Malik, MD of of tournament broadcasters ESPN Software India, said that a new innovation - Sunglass Camera - would be unveiled during the coverage in High Definition TV.
"Sunglass Camera will provide feed from the fielders' point of view. It won't be 'live' but would get integrated within the coverage part," he said.
"The 29 matches would be shown in 174 countries," he added.
Nokia India opted for title sponsorship after their brand ambassador Shah Rukh became the face of the tournament, said the company's MD, D Shivakumar.
The tournament schedule:
Qualifiers (Venue: Hyderabad, 3 teams advance):
Pool A: Kolkata Knight Riders (India), Somerset (England), Auckland Aces (New Zealand)
Pool B: Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies), Leicestershire (England), Ruhunu (Sri Lanka)
Sep 19: Trinidad and Tobago vs Ruhunu (4 pm); Knight Riders vs Auckland Aces (8 pm)
Sep 20: T and T vs Leicestershire (4 pm); Somerset vs Auckland (8 pm)
Sep 21: Leicestershire vs Ruhunu (4 pm), Knight Riders vs Somerset (8 pm).
Main Tournament (Venues: Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai):
Group A: Chennai Super Kings (India), Cape Cobras (South Africa), NSW Blues (Australia), Mumbai Indians (India), Q2 (Pool B toppers)
Group B: Royal Challengers Bangalore (India), Warriors (South Africa), South Australian Redbacks (Australia), Q1 (Pool A toppers), Q3 (3rd best team in qualifiers).
Sep 23: Royal Challengers vs Warriors, Bangalore (8 pm)
Sep 24: Cobras vs Blues, Chennai (4 pm), Super Kings vs Mumbai, Chennai (8 pm)
Sep 25: Warriors vs Redbacks, Kolkata (4 pm), Q1 vs Q3, Koklkata (8 pm)
Sep 26: Mumbai vs Q2, Bangalore (8 pm)
Sep 27: Q1 vs Redbacks, Kolkata (8 pm)
Sep 28: Blues vs Q2, Chennai (4 pm), Super Kings vs Cobras, Chennai (8 pm)
Sep 29: Q1 vs Royal Challengers, Kolkata (8 pm)
Sep 30: Mumbai vs Cobras, Bangalore (8 pm).
Oct 1: Redbacks vs Q3, Bangalore (4 pm), Q1 vs Warriors, Bangalore (8 pm)
Oct 2: Mumbai vs Blues, Chennai (4 pm), Super Kings vs Blues, Chennai (8 pm)
Oct 3: Royal Challengers vs Q3, Bangalore (8 pm)
Oct 4: Cobras vs Q2, Chennai (4 pm), Super Kings vs Blues, Chennai (8 pm)
Oct 5: Warriors vs Q3, Bangalore (4 pm), Royal Challengers vs Redbacks, Bangalore (8 pm)
Oct 7: Semifinal 1 (Group B 1st vs Group A 2nd), Bangalore (8 pm)
Oct 8: Semifinal 2 (Group A 1st vs Group B 2nd), Chennai (8 pm)
Oct 9: Final, Chennai (8 pm).
If Super Kings qualify for semis, they would play their semifinals in Chennai, regardless of finishing position.
If Royal Challengers qualify for the semis, they would play their semifinal in Bangalore regardless of finishing position, unless they are drawn to play Super Kings, in which case they would play semifinal 2 in Chennai (due to Super Kings being defending CLT20 champions).
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