By IANS
Mumbai : The DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) Wednesday announced its association with Lord’s Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in order to support the club’s ‘Spirit of Cricket’ initiative at the inaugural season of the cash-rich league.
The pioneering agreement will see each of the eight franchises of the IPL sign a MCC Spirit of Cricket Declaration at the opening ceremony to demonstrate their commitment to upholding the spirit of the game in the 44-day tournament to be held across eight Indian cities starting April 18.
Announcing the league’s association with the MCC, considered as the custodian of the Laws of Cricket, IPL’s chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said: “I am happy that the DLF Indian Premier League will adopt MCC’s doctrine on the spirit of cricket. This partnership between the IPL and MCC is both exciting and important.”
“All the cricketers playing in the inaugural season of the league are role models for an entire generation of youth and it is crucial for youngsters all over the world to learn straight away the values of this great game and the spirit in which it should be played.”
MCC’s secretary and chief executive Keith Bradshaw said: “We are delighted that, right from the outset, the DLF Indian Premier League is embracing the MCC Spirit of Cricket initiative.”
“The Spirit of Cricket is a worldwide concept that affects all players of the game, from the grassroots to the elite level. We are looking forward to a league full of great cricket and superb cricketers playing in the right way – hard but fair,” he added.