IPL...Here I Come !!!

"This is a situation forced on me," said Bravo "It is not a decision I made. It was made by the West Indies' team medical staff and the selectors. The situation is that I have been advised by doctors to get my ankle stronger before I can play five-day cricket. The plan is to join the West Indian team in England when the one-day series begins."

Dwayne Bravo's surgically-repaired ankle has been deemed too fragile for West Indies' Test series in England, but strong enough to withstand the rigours of Twenty20 cricket. Bravo, speaking prior to boarding a Durban-bound flight on Tuesday, confirmed he will represent the Mumbai Indians in the IPL while his West Indian team-mates play two Tests against England.

Bravo was in a more conciliatory mood this week when discussing the circumstances under which he will be allowed to play for the Mumbai Indians while his West Indian teammates are engaged in a Test series in England.

"The tour is going on and the West Indies will take part in that series [in England]," he said. "I am excluded because of my situation with the injury. I have played five one-day games for the West Indies but I am yet to play in any longer forms of the game. I still am experiencing side effects [with the ankle]. I am trying to monitor it as best I can and work with the physio and the team doctor to get myself 100 percent fit. I will look to play in the Test series against Bangladesh later in the year and the one-day series in England before that."

Bravo, rated one of international cricket's premier all-rounders, was reported last year to have signed a contract worth between $200,000 and $250,000 with the Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai franchise, and rewarded them with 11 wickets at 21.09 and 178 runs at 29.66. So desperate were they for him to play a ninth and final game in 2008 - against Deccan Chargers on May 18 - the Indians agreed to fly Bravo to Jamaica via private jet to allow him to play the first Test against Australia beginning at Sabina Park four days later.

Mumbai might opt for a similar course of action in 2009, should Bravo prove similarly valuable in South Africa. The first match of the one-day series between the West Indies and England will be played at Headingley on May 21; the same day the Indians are due to play Delhi in their final home-and-away match of the IPL season.

IPL Teams: New Buys

Incase you missed what happened in the transfer market, here's a low down of where the money was spent at the IPL Auction.

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Kevin Pietersen (England) - Rs. 7.5 Crore ( US$ 1.55 million )

Jesse Ryder (New Zealand) - Rs. 78 Lakh ( US$ 160,000 )

Chennai Super Kings

Andrew Flintoff (England) - Rs. 7.5 Crore ( US$ 1.55 million )

Thilan Thushara(Sri Lanka) - Rs. 68 Lakh ( US$ 140,000 )

George Bailey (Australia) - Rs. 24 Lakh ( US$ 50,000 )

Rajasthan Royals

Shaun Tait (Australia) - Rs. 1.83 Crore ( US$ 375,000 )

Tyron Henderson (South Africa) - Rs. 3.18 Crore ( US$ 650,000 )

Mumbai Indians

JP Duminy (South Africa) - Rs. 4.65 Crore ( US$ 950,000 )

Kyle Mills (New Zealand) - Rs. 73 Lakh ( US$ 150,000 )

Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh) - Rs. 36 Lakh ( US$ 75,000 )

Delhi Daredevils

Owais Shah (England) - Rs. 1.34 Crore ( US$ 275,000 )

Paul Collingwood (England) - Rs. 1.34 Crore ( US$ 275,000 )

Kolkata Knight Riders

Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh) - Rs. 2.94 Crore (US$ 600,000 )

Punjab Kings XI

Ravi Bopara (England) - Rs. 2.2 Crore ( US$ 450,000 )

Jerome Taylor (West Indies) - Rs. 73 Lakh ( US$ 150,000 )

Deccan Chargers

Fidel Edwards (West Indies) - Rs. 73 Lakh ( US$ 150,000 )

Dwayne Smith (West Indies) - Rs. 49 Lakh (US$ 100,000 )

Other IPL Team Compositions

Pollock Invaluable to Mumbai Indians says Rhodes

Former Protea Jonty Rhodes is "very impressed" by the work ethic the Mumbai Indians' rookies displayed at a training camp in Durban last week.

Rhodes a member of the Indian Premier League franchise's management, spent the last few days honing the fielding skills of the younger players in the Mumbai team. He worked closely with fellow former Protea Shaun Pollock, who too is a consultant to the Indians.

"The majority of the players we worked with will fit around the four overseas professionals and four Indian internationals so they are quite young and their skills are very Indian specific," Rhodes said.

"But they showed great enthusiasm and were very keen to throw themselves about. They watch a lot of international cricket and do not subscribe to old theory that India does not have a fielding culture. I was very impressed by how much they wanted to learn and absorb."

There is a growing belief among the IPL franchises that teams with a strong South African influence will have the edge in this year's tournament because of it being relocated to the Republic.

So with the two Proteas legends on the payroll of the Mumbai Indians, does Rhodes believe his team will start with an advantage over the seven other franchises?

"Shaun is going to be invaluable to the team. There's no doubt about that. He just has such a calm demeanour in the dressing room.

"Even when it was thought that the tournament was going to be held in India, and Shaun was still considering whether to come back for another year, the Mumbai management made it very clear they wanted him back," Rhodes said.

Although appreciating Pollock's involvement, Rhodes was, however, quick to dismiss the assumption that South African players will automatically be the stars of the second IPL season because of their knowledge of the conditions.

The leading South African player in the Mumbai Indians team is JP Duminy, who was signed for $950 000 while Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya also played domestic cricket in Durban for the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins in 2009.

"International players adjust very quickly today. Most of the guys in all the teams are experienced international cricketers. They play all over the world and have learnt to adapt very quickly," Rhodes said.

"Take a guy like Dwayne Bravo. He plays for the West Indies in the Caribbean, where each island has different conditions, and he has learnt a lot on how to adapt all over. His experience will be very valuable."

The Mumbai Indians will kickstart the IPL against last year's finalists, the Chennai Super Kings, on Saturday, April 18 at Newlands.

By Zaahier Adams

How MI will make their way to the finals

This has been a memorable year for Mumbai in domestic cricket. They won a record 38th Ranji Trophy crown. But as the IPL approaches, the Mumbai Indians are hoping to add another glorious chapter to their history by turning last year's disappointing result on its head.

There is a buzz in the Mumbai Indians camp: a new coach in former India batsman Praveen Amre, who has been very successful with the Mumbai Ranji team, taking them to two titles in the last three years.

"When you work with Mumbai (Ranji team) you're the only decision maker," Amre says. "But here you have to work as a unit and adjust yourself to see that the franchise is going there and winning."

Amre will join Shaun Pollock, who has given up his playing gear for a role as mentor to the team, and Jonty Rhodes, who has been roped in as fielding coach. Ten young Mumbai Indians players have already been to Durban and trained with Pollock and Rhodes.

"As far as we saw, the pitches were pretty good, there was some good bounce and pretty good for batting," said Abhishek Nayar. "It was good for cricket: bowlers had some nip in it, the batsmen could time the ball as well."

The Mumbai Indians endured more near misses than hits last year. The players in particular remember close losses to Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals - defeats that cost them a semi-final place.

"The one-run loss to Kings XI Punjab last year is still fresh in my mind," says Ajinkya Rahane. "But close games are bound to be played in Twenty20 cricket. Fewer mistakes will give us a better chance."

So even as their key players Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh prepare for a final go at the Kiwis, the first batch of Mumbai Indians will leave for Durban in a couple of days.