Padding up for IPL

Television broadcaster Max is gearing up to welcome the tournament with a few special touches. “This year,the tournament is a little different with new teams coming in. We have made a few changes in our studio.

There will be a band playing music inside our studio as well as a performing area for cheerleaders. Our presentation will be focussed on cricket but we will do it in an entertaining manner since IPL is not just for hardcore cricket lovers but also women and children,” Jasdeep Pannu,Programming Head,Set Max said and added,“We will have five presenters instead of four this year. This was necessitated by the longer format of the tournament with two new teams (Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala) in addition to the existing eight vying for the trophy this year.”

The presenters include Samir Kochhar,Yudhishtir Urs,Gaurav Kapoor,Archana Vijaya and Shibani Dandekar. Angad Bedi,who recently featured in F.A.L.T.U.,and Ayushmann Khurana who were presenters last year have been dropped. “Every year we cast afresh and with the logic that we have at that time. This year,we had to look at the combination of the presenters and selected the best five of the lot,” Pannu said. Other cricket commentators who will comprise the experts’ panel include Navjot Singh Sidhu,Arun Lal,Sanath Jayasuriya along with Rohan Gavaskar.

Kochhar,who has been a presenter for Max since the inception of IPL in 2008,said his main objective was to be lively and entertaining while covering the Twenty20 format of the game. He said,“We have to think about entire families as our target audience. As sports broadcasters,our job is to ask the correct questions and assess each team’s strengths and weaknesses. Being the senior-most presenter,this year I will also be sharing thoughts with my colleagues on handling the pressure. Things like working the earpieces,when to throw to the studio,to the toss,to a break etc. must be shared since its so loud in the stadium that it’s easy to lose focus.”

Other responsibilities include reporting from the teams’ dugout,talking to owners and dignitaries in the VIP box,having a line to the commentators box,showing around the different cities where the matches will be hosted and taking along cricketers to sample the local culture. For instance,Kochhar recalled taking Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist on a culinary tour of Hyderabad as part of his job.

Shibani Dandekar,the latest glam quotient on the show in the absence of Mandira Bedi,also told Screen that she is honoured and excited to be a part of Extraa Innings,the channel’s IPL-centric show. “I’ve grown up in Australia where cricket is as big as it is in India and have been familiarising myself with the teams and watching the World Cup to prepare myself for the tournament,” she said.

The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has already run out multiplexes from screening matches despite the housefull signs the just-concluded semi-finals and finals of the World Cup matches generated. Sunil Punjabi,CEO of Cinemax India,said that he was in talks with Sundar Raman,CEO of IPL on the issue but talks have hit a roadblock after Raman said that theatrical rights will not be sold this year. As a result,theatres will not be screening the tournament this year.

Ticketing partner kyazoonga.com,meanwhile,has already started selling tickets of the two new teams viz.,Pune and Kochi. The prices currently vary between Rs 400 to Rs 5000. The tournament,which begins on Friday,will end on May 28.

priyanko.sarkar@expressindia.com