SportsPundit.com Aims for Big Hitters in its First Online Fantasy Cricket Tournament

STOCKHOLM - SportsPundit.com expects to attract big hitters to play its first online Fantasy Cricket tournament based on the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 season.

Due to be staged from April 18 to May 24th, over 1000 online teams from global cricket-playing nations have already registered for the exciting competition.

Enter here: fantasyipl.sportspundit.com

The competition’s top prize is a trip for two to watch cricket in England in June for the highest scoring team manager. Further prizes include an official shirt of the favourite team awarded to the highest scoring manager each week. Meanwhile, the mini-league with the highest average score at the end of the competition will be bestowed ‘League of League Champions’, winning a cricket bat and ball for each mini-league member.

So how does Sports Pundit IPL fantasy cricket work? Participants enter the online tournament through the Sports Pundit website (URL - fantasyipl.sportspundit.com) and choose whom they think would perform well on the cricket field from the eight city franchises compete which will compete on a home and away basis in the IPL. They include the: Chennai Super Kings; Delhi Daredevils; Hyderabad Deccan Chargers; Kings XI Punjab; Kolkata Knight Riders; Mumbai Indians; Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Tournament participants receive a Fantasy Budget to create their own ‘Fantasy Cricket Team’ of players in the series, scoring Fantasy Points based on their selected squad’s performance. Entrants may only enter one team each which must be named and given a manager profile. Game players have a total budget of 35 fantasy stars to choose a team, which comprises: four bowlers; five batsmen; one wicket keeper and an all rounder. Each player is valued between one and five stars (one star being less likely to play, five star being a key player), and their value is dependent on the team they play for and their contribution.

Participants can either manually pick a team using their cricket knowledge or use the ‘Lucky Dip’ option in which the computer picks a team. The Sportspundit IPL tournament is holding a transfer amnesty up until 14.00 UK time on 17th April 2009. Before this deadline, players can fine tune their fantasy team to suit their preference.

SportsPundit Cricket and Fantasy expert, Suneer Chowdhary, says: “The fantasy competition will build on the massive success of the first on-field IPL tournament last year, and will attract a multitude of online cricket players. It is a really exciting opportunity for players to simulate the real life action of the cricket field. Participants can pick and choose their favoured squads and see how they perform against some top Indian cricket teams.”

For 2009, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been modified to allow 10 rather than eight foreign players, and the tournament has been shortened in length, although the number of matches, 59, remain the same. Another major development is the presence of new owners, including Bollywood actress and former Big Brother winner, Shilpa Shetty, who has bought a stake in the Rajasthan Royals team.

Chowdhary adds: “The first real life IPL tournament last year took the cricket world by storm and proved to be exceptional. SportsPundit believes its online fantasy cricket tournament will match that same success by gaining a massive fan base from many countries around the world.”

Entrants can indulge their cricket fantasies online by joining their favourite team’s fan club and make their pick in the IPL 2009 Fantasy League. Furthermore, they can submit their personal opinion on their rivals, build their profile, socialise with friends, and win great prizes through the site.

SportsPundit.com is an extensive sports community website dedicated to sports fans across the globe. It boasts one of the world’s largest public sports databases with a wide variety of current news and in-depth articles written by serious pundits. League results are updated in real time, as well as forums where members can discuss their favourite stars and teams.

Chowdhary sums up: “The online fantasy cricket tournament is predicted to gain massive momentum and snowball every year. It is a testament to SportsPundit’s professionalism as one of the biggest community websites devoted to global sports fans.”

For more information about the Sports Pundit Fantasy IPL Cricket tournament, please visit fantasyipl.sportspundit.com

Contact: Suneer Chowdhary, mail: suneerchowdhary@gmail.com, +91-9892740779

Source: SportsPundit.com

Contact: Suneer Chowdhary, mail: suneerchowdhary at gmail.com, +91-9892740779