The Magic Wand of IPL....

Hi friends....

I have just collated some facts on how IPL has changed life of some people & I was astonish to see that IPL’s magic wand is changing the way cricketers think about earning money....

Story of Kamran Khan:

Sleeping on railway platforms and going hungry was Kamran Khan's daily, depressing routine as he struggled with abject poverty in his dusty home town of Azamgarh in eastern India. But the advent of the Indian Premier League has turned things around for the teenager. A raw left-arm pace bowler, Khan was picked by Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural winners of the glitzy Twenty20 tournament, after he impressed the bosses during trials in Mumbai. The selection came as a boon for Khan, 18, who has not even played first-class cricket. "I had gone for trials to every part of my state Uttar Pradesh but without success," said Khan. "Even until a few days ago, nobody knew me. I used to play at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai and just hoped to keep on doing the hard work. "I had just one pair of clothes for trials and torn shoes. I used to buy platform tickets and spend the nights there when travelling to attend trial camps as I did not have money to book hotel rooms. "I often used to bowl on an empty stomach or a meal of tea and biscuits." But life has never been the same for Khan ever since his IPL selection. An annual contract worth 240,000 dollars, a trip to South Africa and rave reviews by skipper Shane Warne - Khan has been sucked into a heady whirlwind of good fortune. "He's a tiny little guy, but he bowls 140 plus. He's very raw but he could be a bit of a bolter," said Australian leg -spin legend Warne. "There's a toss-up as to what his nickname could be - Wild Thing or Tornado - something like that." Khan is not the only youngster to be touched by IPL's magic wand.

Khan bowled just one over in the Royals' losing warm-up game against the Cape Cobras in Cape Town on Saturday but surprised Cobras captain and South African international batsman Justin Ontong with a fast yorker which scattered Ontong's stumps.

Similar is the Story of Yusuf Pathan:

Yusuf Pathan, son of a muezzin in a mosque in western Vadodara, led a life of impoverishment before being signed by the Royals for 475,000 dollars. In the inaugural edition last year, Pathan scored 435 runs and took eight wickets and was also the man of the match in the final. Following his good showing in the IPL, he was selected for the Indian one-day team.

Story of Paceman Ashok Dinda:

Paceman Ashok Dinda, hailing from a nondescript village of Naichanpur in West Bengal, hit the IPL success button after struggling for recognition in domestic cricket. A late addition to the Kolkata Knight Riders’ squad for the inaugural season, Dinda shone in the league opener in Bangalore. Just four months later he was picked in the Rest of India squad for the prestigious Irani Trophy.

Story of Palani Amarnath:
Palani Amarnath, a right-arm seamer, worked for a construction company before deciding to take part in a fast bowling talent hunt programme. After playing just three first-class matches, he was spotted by Chennai Super Kings, a franchise led by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. For these youngsters, the purists’ debate over Twenty20 cricket might hold little relevance for it’s this slam-bang format which has brought them riches and fame.

Story of Amit Mishra:
It revived his career. After being dropped from the ODI squad in 2003, he played domestic cricket for five long years. When he got an opportunity to play for Delhi Daredevils he knew how big a platform it was. He was aware if performed well on this stage he could make my way into the national squad. IPL helped him gain the attention of selectors and made his Test debut last year. The four overs where he got a five-for against Deccan Chargers at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in the last edition changed his life completely.......

Story of Ishant Sharma:

For young Ishant Sharma fetched a price in the auction (USD 950,000) which outstripped the likes of Anil Kumble and Muthiah Muralitharan; Chaminda Vaas and Brett Lee; Shane Warne and Glenn Mcgrath.
At the age of 18, Sharma was invited to join Indian squad for the tour of South Africa in 2006-07.  But due to administrative reasons, his invitation was cancelled . . . If   the phrase “somebody’s food is somebody’s poison” is modified to “somebody’s injury is somebody’s reward “it graciously fits to the career of cricket players. Now a day the talented players at fringe are waiting in anticipate for regular players to get injured to enable them to get a chance. An injury to Munaf Patel provided chance for Ishant Sharma to make his test debut during India’s tour to Bangladesh in May 25, 2007. And here he started his international career...with way to go ahead. The success story of the present tour, is reaping beyond his wildest dreams as IPL 2008 entirely changed his Life, he being the HIGHEST paid amongst the ballers.

Story of Mashrafe Mortaza:

By the time the final round of auction of players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) wound up here Friday, the name of relatively low-profile Bangladesh bowler Mashrafe Mortaza was on everybody’s lips. Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza said his USD 6,00,000 buy by Kolkata Knight Riders in the second Indian Premier League auction was a reward for his consistent form this season. Mortaza's bidding started with a base price of USD 50000 but his figures kept climbing steadily with the Kings XI Punjab hot on the heels of the Knight Riders before the Kolkata side roped him for 12 times his starting price.  He said he would love to play in India.

Story of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff:

They couldn't play for the IPl last year but for IPL 2009 this English duo of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff attracted largest bids going for identical USD 1,550,000 each to at the auction for the second season of Indian Premier. They are very keen to play for IPL and sais that it is more interesting to play for IPL than World Cup.

And the life of these players conitnues with a siver spoon....