General / Frank Gregan / 14 April 2009 /

Forget the politics, the terror and the England team - this year's IPL promises big hitting, nail biting finishes and scantily clad cheerleaders. Frank Gregan can't wait...

It will be an early start for the fans when the Indian Premier League gets underway on Saturday. The first fixture sees the Mumbai Indians play the Chennai Super Kings in Cape Town and the Mumbai supporters had better set the alarm clocks as they will need to be on the road early. Indeed, if they are travelling they will need to be blessed with ten times the stamina of the Proclaimers - it is 5,105 miles to the venue!

The tournament clashes with the Indian General Election and given the current global terrorist threat it was decided that it would be unsafe to hold the competition in India and we now have the bizarre situation of a six week domestic competition being held in another continent. The likelihood is that it will ensure the tournament passes safely although cynics say that the decision to move the tournament is a victory for the terror groups. There has been criticism of the Indian Government's lack of support with allegations of political gain being a motivating factor but most reasonable commentators seem to accept that it is a classic case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't."

Away from the politics, terrorism, doom and gloom, the cricket promises to be superb fayre, this is Twenty20 at its very best. There are those who hate it because the format has more in common with Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle than Geoff Boycott and Chris Tavaré. However, for the majority that is the attraction!

This is no ordinary Twenty20 - this is the M&S of Twenty20! Skimpily clad cheerleaders, neon scoreboards, batsmen swinging from the heels, the ball sailing into the crowd and nail biting finishes. It is cheesy, pretentious and right up itself. It's great! Some of the world's best players are on show and this tournament is all about adaptability, it's like asking Kauto Star to run over five furlongs or telling Toby Flood he is playing prop. The sport is the same, the game is totally different and reputations count for nowt - adapt or flounder!

The big bucks attract the big players and the auction system means that everyone is aware of what each player is earning and can judge for themselves if they're value for money. There are imitations out there so buyers beware. The Bangalore Royal Challengers thought they had bought a diamond for $900,000 last year in Jacques Kallis, he later turned out to be 100% cubic zirconia! The Rajasthan Royals were mocked for "paying over the odds" in securing the services of an "over the hill" Shane Warne but it turned out to be a tournament-winning piece of business.

Take your time before selecting your team to follow during the tournament and laying down your hard earned in the win market. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are the two most expensive players in the competition representing Bangalore [8.4] and Chennai [5.4] respectively and will have the support of the English fans.

Both were members of the English Twenty20 side humiliated by the West Indies in the Stanford challenge and managed only 15 runs between them in the match. Flintoff missed the one off Twenty20 on the recent tour but Pietersen was part of the team that was once again hammered by the West Indies. Don't be surprised if they have learnt the lyrics of "what a waste of money" off by heart before returning for international duty three weeks into the competition.

The value lies in finding a lively outsider. The Deccan Chargers were the wooden spooners last year losing 12 of their 14 matches. They are the rank outsiders this time around but if Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds find anything like their best form then [14.0] may turn out to be a very big price and yield a green screen with an in-play trade.

The Mumbai supporters have got it easy, it's 5,190 miles from Chennai to Cape Town so the other side in the opening fixture has to travel an extra 85 miles! That's not very far but I don't think the game will have the feel of a local derby - there's certainly nothing local about the venue!

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