IPL Newsroll: We want to win it for Sachin

After a not so impressive opening ceremony, the IPL kicks off this evening with reigning champions Chennai Super Kings taking on the Mumbai Indians in their backyard.

Here’s a quick round-up of what the newspapers are saying about the tournament.

Over the years, ‘We want to win for Sachin’ has become a sort of a catch phrase. But in the Times of India, Mumbai Indians skipper Harbhajan Singh tried to add a new spin to things by saying: The team wants to win it for Sachin this time. This time indeed.

Ideally, we all would have loved to play under Sachin but the last few months have been relatively tough for this cricketing giant and he wants someone else to share the burden and I respect his decision. Sachin might have left the job, but his role to lead us and inspire us will never end.

In the same paper, it has been revealed that the Rajasthan Royals sell-off isn’t going to happen. The team’s chairman Ranjit Barthakur told Times of India that the deadline to seal the deal was over.

Manoj Kumar Jain of the Kolkata-based Jain Group of Industries had shown interest in buying a majority stake in the team and as per reports, all the owners barring Raj Kundra had even accepted the offer.

In the Hindustan Times, Sourav Ganguly believes that having a settled side makes Dhoni’s job much easier.

When you have a set team for sometime it helps the captain in deciding a lot of matters. He, by now, knows how a particular cricketer responds to a particular situation.

The Indian Express has a fine story on Paul Valthaty — the star of the 2011 IPL, who failed to break into the Mumbai Ranji team. Valthaty had finished as the fourth highest run-scorer in 2011 but had to shift to Himachal Pradesh to get his Ranji break.

“Playing a full domestic season was a great learning experience for me as it was the first time I appeared in the Ranji Trophy. I’m not thinking about the past now, as it’s better to think about the future,” said Valthaty.