During the recent tri-series in Australia, Michael Clarke had certain fitness issues which he seems to have overcome. He has clearly stated that playing for the nation is his priority, and he will take no decisions which will physically jeopardize him.

The Pune Warriors have signed Michael Clarke for six games in the upcoming IPL season by paying him $1 million. After the Australian team finishes the tour at the Caribbean’s, Clarke will join the Pune Warriors.

Clarke feels that such opportunities for playing in T20 leagues do not come by easily, and this is the right time for him to have a go at it because he will be getting three weeks off after the IPL to rest before he leaves for a tour to England.

He will also have an eight week break after the England tour which will give him ample of time to take good rest and focus on his fitness. Clarke will be a great asset to the Pune team who would look to register maximum wins when Clarke joins the team. He is the best replacement for Yuvraj Singh.

Indian Premier League is to commence from April 4, 2012 and will conclude on May 27. The playoff stage will begin from May 22 where the top teams in the league table will play knockout matches to reach the final which is scheduled on May 27.

In the playoffs, the first and second ranked team in the table will play against each other on May 22; this will be treated as a qualifier match where the winner moves to the finals. The third and fourth ranked team will be battle it out on the field on May 23, and this will be an elimination match. Then the losing side of the qualifier match will play against the winner of the elimination match to decide who bags a place in the finals.

The pattern of playing matches at home as well as away remains, but there will be in total 16 league matches for each team; 8 at home and 8 away. The total tally of matches for IPL season 5 is 76.

The inaugural ceremony will be held on April 3 and the teams will commence their league battle from April 4 onwards.

This IPL season has witnessed quite a few changes and the cricket fans have lot of expectations from it. The number of people going for the matches is expected to increase this season. Top-notch security will be provided at the stadiums, especially at Wankhede stadium where the Mumbai police have decided to employ more number of spies as compared to last IPL season.

Through a reliable source it has been reported that the IPL organizers and stakeholders had a meeting with the joint commissioner of police a few days back to decide on the security measures to be taken for IPL season 5.

Apart from the watchers inside the stadium, there would be private security guards who all would be assigned tasks to check the tickets, frisking and access control duties. The outer middle cordon will be also having heavy police security.

The Wankhede stadium has a multi-agency control room where the fire brigade team, MSEB, Bomb Detection and Disposal team and Quick Response Team will be present incase of any emergencies.

Installation of more number of CCTV cameras will also be done at the adjoining lanes of the stadium. The stadium authorities will be given a list of do’s and don’ts to make sure that everything is under control.

The Mumbai police are taking no chances about the security arrangements this IPL season, though there is no threat as such.

Rudra Pratap Singh is listed at the top amongst the leading wicket takers for the Indian Premier League, but the left-arm pace bowler has failed to impress the Indian team selectors. IPL season 5 gives RP Singh an opportunity to prove his capabilities and reckoned for the Indian team.

The ICC World T20 is scheduled in September 2012 in Sri Lanka, and an impressive performance by RP Singh in this IPL season can book him a place in the Indian squad which will tour Sri Lanka for the World T20 series. The Mumbai Indians have had immense success in all the four IPL seasons by the consistence performance of RP Singh; 56 wickets in total.

RP Singh has said that he is happy with his performance in the last four editions of IPL which had given him an opportunity to bounce back twice. He is determined to repeat his impressive performance in this season too.

The 26-year old is not only focusing on his strength, which is bowling, but is also seen at the nets in the Wankhede stadium, practicing and polishing his batting skills which would be pretty handy in T20 format of cricket.

RP Singh’s Mumbai Indians teammates like Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh have been contributing with the ball and the bat, and he wishes to do the same this season. With no fitness concerns for RP Singh, he is ready to face challenges in the IPL season 5. Mumbai Indians look very strong with a balanced team and most of the players in good form.

Rajiv Shukla was in Ranchi upon Sunday to get familiar with a book launch ceremony at Raj Bhawan by which CM Arjun Munda also existed along with Deputy Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his other colleagues. Coincidentally, Dhoni also showed up their home town Ranchi where he is expected to remain until Holi.

He also added that merely on the basis of overall performance in one or two series, one should not really assess anybody’s capability. He additionally expressed hope that India would perform well in Asia Cup under Dhoni’s captainship.

Question any kind of rift in between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virendra Sahwag, he removed that there’s no issue between the two and termed it a brainchild from the press. He also gave illustration of current shows through all of them by which these people played with each other as well as carried out well.