Kumble might miss IPL opener

Indian Test skipper Anil Kumble may miss the inaugral match of the Indian Premier League for his Bangalore IPL team as he has still not recovered from his groin injury.

"He (injured Kumble) probably might miss the first game definitely," Bangalore IPL team's skipper Rahul Dravid said, adding, another team member, Nathan Bracken would be able to join the squad only in the first week of May.

Given the twenty20 format, Dravid said the tournament was "very, very competitive" and therefore there were no favourites.

"I think there is no clear favourite in the tournament," he said.

On his comment made in Chennai over auctioning in team selection for IPL, Dravid said it was an "off the cuff" remark that was taken out of context, and then went on to support the IPL concept.

"It's a great opportunity for domestic cricketers," he said. "It's a domestic tournament with international flavour."

The team's manager, Martin Crowe, said the T20 format would "speed up" the one-day games and test matches.

"This format is now "sitting along side" the other two versions "comfortably," he said.