Problems related to IPL affect the franchises: Zinta

PUNJAB CO-OWNER Preity Zinta feels that every year problems related to the Indian Premier League "do affect" the franchise as a brand and its business as the cash-rich league has become some sort of a "whipping boy". "Yes, it does affect the brand and it is unfair to theowners.itaffectsourbusinessaseveryyear there is some controversy or some rumours that come up. I believe at one level IPL has become a whipping boy for many," Zinta said.

While she made it clear that she has complete faith in the judiciary, Zinta questioned those who have filed PIL regarding usage of water to maintain stadiums in drought-hit Maharashtra. "I have complete respect for the judiciary. But I have a question as to what all those people who have filed PIL done to resolve this crisis in Maharashtra.

Sixteen teams from school, and clubs, play in the u-12 and u-14 age categories in this tournament where a total of 117 matches are played in 35 days.

The bespectacled Samit made the round of newspapers last year when he was named the ‘Best Batsman’ in a U-12 Gopalan Cricket Challenge in September 2015. Playing for his school Mallya Aditi International, where students from 16 nationalities study, he hit three half-centuries – an unbeaten 77, 93, and 77, again, in the final, incidentally all the three fifties came in match-winning causes.

Samit’s father Rahul Dravid is currently mentor of the Delhi Daredevils IPL franchise. He earlier was coach of the Indian junior team at this year’s U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.