IPL monitor: Round-up of the day's news

IPL monitor: Round-up of the day's news

Aussie player of the tournament

June 1, 2008

	Despite his success in the IPL, Shane Warne is happy in retirement as it lets him spend more time with his children © Getty Images

Aussie player of the tournament
Shane Warne is among three Australians competing for the Player of the Tournament award, which has a prize money of Rs10 lakh (US$23,500) prize. Shaun Marsh, the IPL's leading run-scorer with 616 runs from 11 games at a strike-rate of 139.68 for Kings XI Punjab, and Shane Watson, with 444 runs and 16 wickets from 14 matches, are front-runners for the award but the panel - Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi - may pick Warne for his impact on the tournament. "I feel we will have a major headache on our hands considering the quality of players on view and I can only hope that one star shines brighter than the others to make our task easier," Shastri told the Hindu.

Happy in retirement
Despite his success in the tournament, Warne said he is happy with retirement and playing the IPL for six weeks of the year. "Business off the field is also going fantastic and life is pretty good at the moment." Warne said being retired allowed him to spend more time with his kids and indulge in other interests. "I did not captain Australia but I do not have any regrets about it. I played for Australia in a wonderful era in which we won at home and away and I am pretty happy with that."

The winning formula
The Rajasthan Royals' formula for success, according to Darren Berry, the team's director of coaching, lies in creating an environment where all players are equal. "In team meetings we have spoken about walking on the edge and told them if they fall we will catch them," Berry said. "When Dinesh Salunkhe sits next to Warne in the dressing room they are brothers. That's the major factor in Rajasthan Royals' success in the tournament." The franchise, owned by Emerging Media, is the cheapest in the league but Manoj Badale, the Emerging Media chairman, said there were no budgetary limitations on the franchise. "We got exactly the players we wanted in our team," Badale said.

Proud Dad
Geoff Marsh, the former Australian batsman, is pleased with his son Shaun's performance in the IPL but he insists the team comes ahead of the individual. "For me, it's just the fact that he is playing in a good team which is playing well, Marsh told Mid-Day, a Mumbai-based tabloid. "It's a balanced team [Punjab], a well thought-out side. Shaun's played some good innings for them, but some of the other players have done well too. It's been a real team effort." Marsh said discussion on cricket between him and his son was limited to around the barbecue. "He's well looked after by Tom Moody, Trevor Penny and Steve Smith. You learn from your peers and you work hard. That's where you learn your cricket from."