IPL skippers pledge allegiance to MCC's spirit of cricket

Kolkata, April 7 (IANS) Skippers of the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams on Tuesday pledged their allegiance to the Marylebone Cricket Club's (MCC) Spirit of Cricket campaign during the glitzy inaugural ceremony at the Salt Lake stadium here.

Seven of the Indian teams present on the occasion signed the spirit of cricket bat to pledge their allegiance to the campaign.

The skippers, one after another, trooped on to the stage as their names were called by former Indian skipper Ravi Shastri, who conducted this part of the show before a crowd of around 15,000.

Indian ODI skipper M.S. Dhoni, who leads the three-time winners Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, was the first to sign the bat. Another Indian cricket star and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli was the last.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's David Warner was the only captain who was not present. His teammate Shikhar Dhawan put his signature on the bat on behalf of the Australian.

During its first edition In April, 2008, the IPL had pledged its allegiance to the MCC's Spirit of Cricket campaign, and it has been reaffirming it every year.