Mr. wall Dravid not looking at IPL as vehicle for ODI return

Former captain Rahul Dravid is not looking at next month's Indian Premier League as a vehicle to return to India's One-day squad but says he will just focus on playing good cricket and enjoy the new version of the game. "I am not thinking about it that way. I am focusing and trying to play good cricket and be fit. I just want to enjoy it and take it as one step at a time," Dravid said. Dravid admitted that he had not thought about the IPL when he refused participation in the Twenty20 World Championships. "I did not, to be very honest with you. But things happen and its exciting to be a part of something new, like I said it's a journey," he said. Dravid also said he felt lucky to see all the big developments while he was still playing cricket. "I feel lucky in a sense that I have played in a good era. I have been able to see this sort of Twenty20 thing towards the end of my career, to be a part of something since its inception and to see where it takes us," said the batsman, who is the captain of Bangalore's Royal Challengers team. "It could be something big and to be a part of it at least for a few years, it's something I am looking forward to," he said. On whether he had devised strategies for his IPL team, he said, "we will think about the strategy later. It's a 44-day long tournament, its going to be a lot of cricket. I believe we will be competitive."

LET'S HAVE A LOOK WHAT DHONI IS DOING IN HIS HOME TOWN RANCHI

KOLKATA TIGERS PREPARED THEIR JERSY

IPL WON'T GET OFFICIAL STATUS : ICC

ICC announced on Tuesday that runs and wickets at the Indian Premier League's Twenty20 competition will not gain official recognition. The International Cricket Council (ICC) regards the multi-million-dollar IPL, promoted by the Indian board and featuring top stars from around the world, as a domestic Indian competition, a spokesman said. "The IPL is not international cricket, it is a domestic tournament," ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald said when asked if players' performances will gain official recognition. "Therefore, the matches do not have Twenty20 international status." The IPL is a city-based tournament with eight teams bought by franchises who selected their respective line-ups via auction in Mumbai last month. The tournament, which runs from April 18 to June 1, will mark the first time international cricketers will put aside their national allegiances to play for privately-owned teams. Players have received huge pay packets, starting from 100,000 dollars for the first year, to take part in the 44-day, 59-match extravaganza across cricket-mad India. In a sport where only a few top stars net more than a million dollars a year in fees and endorsements for their respective countries, the IPL has showered unprecedented riches. The Chennai franchise bought India's limited-overs captain Mahendra Dhoni for 1.5 million dollars, while Hyderabad snagged Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds for 1.35 million dollars.