IPL Twenty20 Cricket 2011 Play-off Schedules

Date	Match Details	Time (IST)	Place
May 24	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings, Qualifier 1 (1st v 2nd)	20:00	Mumbai
May 25	Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders, Eliminator (3rd v 4th)	20:00	Mumbai
May 27	TBC v TBC, Qualifier 2 (Winner of Eliminator v Loser of Qualifier 1)	20:00	Chennai
May 28	TBC v TBC, Final	20:00	Chennai

Shane Warne fined US$50,000

The Indian cricket board has slapped a $50,000 fine on Australian bowler Shane Warne for his part in a bust-up with a local administrator after an IPL game, a statement said on Wednesday.

Warne, skipper of the Rajasthan Royals team in the Indian Premier League, was involved in an angry exchange with Sanjay Dixit, secretary of the Rajasthan state cricket association, following his team's defeat at home last week.

The punishment casts a cloud over Warne's last game of professional cricket on Friday when his Rajasthan Royals team take on the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Warne was furious about his team being asked to play on a different wicket than one used in previous games, but he later apologised for "any distress" his action may have caused.

After a complaint by the Rajasthan cricket association, Warne and Dixit were summoned for a hearing before a disciplinary commission comprising IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and former player Ravi Shastri.

"The commission has decided to impose a fine of US$50,000 upon Mr Warne," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which runs Indian cricket, said in a statement.

It said the disciplinary commission "regards the public criticism of Mr Dixit as being a serious breach by Mr Warne of his IPL playing contract".

"However, at the same time, the commission also recognises that Mr Warne has apologised to Mr Dixit, and that the incident occurred just after the match.

"In addition, the commission is cognisant of the contribution to the game of cricket in general, and to the Indian Premier League, which has been made by Mr Warne."

Twelve Indian Players in SL T20 league

As many as twelve Indian cricketers, including Munaf Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin, are expected to feature in the 1st edition of the Sri Lankan Premier League 2011.

According to a report in 'islandcricket.com', Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has secured the services of several famous overseas cricketers, including Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, who are currently engaged in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Apart from Gayle, whose blistering strokeplay has put the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the top of the points table in the fourth edition of the IPL, SLPL is also expected to feature Daniel Vettori, whose IPL journey was cut short after a recurring knee injury.

Among the Indian players on the SLPL radar, the inclusion of Patel and Ashwin besides Praveen Kumar, who was recently selected for the West Indies tour after missing the ICC World Cup due to an elbow injury, comes as a surprise as the trio is likely to be on national duty during that period.

India is scheduled to visit England during the month of July for a four-match Test series followed by a one-day tournament and a one-off Twenty20 match.

The other Indian players who figure in the list posted by the website include Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary, Paul Valthaty, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar.

Ganguly will play IPL4 for Pune Warriors

Former Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly has been signed up by Pune Warriors India for the remaining part of the IPL Season 4. The iconic player, who was earlier ignored by all the franchises in the auctions earlier this year, will be replacing injured bowler Ashish Nehra.

He will join the squad tonight and will play under the captainship of Yuvraj Singh.

"We were waiting for Ashish Nehra's fitness report and ultimately the report came yesterday. I was already in talks with Ganguly and we decided that the amount of experience that Sourav has in cricket will no doubt help the team. So we finalised Ganguly last night," Pune Warriors Team Director Abhijit Sarkar said referring to the finger injury that Nehra has been nursing.

The 38-year-old had earlier refused a mentor's role with KKR and there had been speculation of a possible comeback through another franchise.

The left-handed batman was first sought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala but their application was rejected by the IPL's Governing Council.

However, he signed on the dotted line for Pune yesterday, giving a major fillip to the side which has lost six matches on the trot after starting promisingly with a couple of back-to-back wins.