by Renee Israel
Kevin Pietersen, who plays for the Delhi Daredevils, has slammed
England's attitude to the IPL, claiming the English media does support
or generate sufficient interest in the Indian Premier League.
The England batsman does not mince words when he says that the reason for
this is jealousy over the success of the IPL. He finds this surprising because
he has had an "amazing time" at the IPL, and deplores the fact that the
publicity the IPL receives in the English media has been largely negative.
Pietersen, like many other top international cricket players, have nothing
but praise for the IPL T20 tournament because it provides excellent financial
remuneration and a chance for fringe players to showcase their cricketing skills
and cement a place in their national teams.
Pietersen has High Praise for the IPL
Stressing the advantages of the IPL Pietersen said, "Playing another month in
the subcontinent honing my skills, training with the spinners and practising, I
consider myself so very fortunate." His comments are all the more meaningful in
the background of the inability of the English batsmen to fathom the Pakistani
spinners earlier this year. Pietersen was speaking to CNN-IBN.
The English media is not the only English institution to rubbish the IPL.
Wisden, the English custodian of cricket history, has also spoken out in
scathing terms. Wisden editor, Lawrence Booth, said that the IPL had created the
rise of a Twenty20 based nationalism, the growth of private marketeers and high
level conflicts of interest. He added, "It is a perfect storm and the global
game sits unsteadily in the eye."
Meanwhile some of the English players participating in the IPL are playing
game changer roles for their teams. Owais Shah, who has more often than not been
ignored by the English selectors, is playing for the Rajasthan Royals. Before
the commencement of the IPL cricket tournament the Royals had been given odds of
14/1. Today the odds of their winning have shortened to 7/1. Shah's contribution
to this success is significant.
Bet365 Offers IPL Odds for English Punters
Whatever the attitude of the English media and cricket officialdom may be,
English punters find the IPL an exciting and lucrative betting market.
Fortunately every UK white listed online betting site covers the IPL. Some
online sports books like Bet365 offer exhaustive markets for matches and live
in-play betting along with odds for the outright winner.
The odds for the outright winner at the time of writing were as follows.
Delhi Daredevils 3/1
Mumbai Indians 4/1
Bangalore Royal Challengers 9/2
Chennai Super Kings 13/2
Kolkata Knight Riders 7/1
Rajasthan Royals 7/1
Pune Warriors 10/1
Kings XI Punjab 20/1
Deccan Chargers 33/1
