Dravid, Ganguly iconic players for IPL

Mumbai, Jan 25 (UNI) Two of India's greatest cricketers Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly may not be in the minds of the selectors in the shorter version of the game, but the two former captains enjoy iconic status in the newly-launched Indian Premier League (IPL) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Dravid and Ganguly along with master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh are the four players who would command a percentage of income over and above what's offered to the highest player in their team at the Twenty20 professional league, IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said here today.

''These four players would have to play for their respective city-based teams,'' he added.

Master blaster Tendulkar will play for Mumbai, bought by Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani with a winning bid of USD 111.9 million.

Dravid will play for liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Bangalore outfit, Ganguly will turn out for Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata team and Yuvraj for actor Preity Zinta's Mohali side, Mr Modi informed.

Yesterday the IPL closed the team franchise bids for a staggering USD 723.6 million.

Modi, also a BCCI vice-president, said the professional league is looking for a title sponsor for the League, to commence on April 18, apart from six associate sponsors ''on the lines of the International Cricket Council (ICC)''.

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