KEY POINTS:
Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe has joined the management structure of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, one of eight franchises contesting the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket competition.
Crowe, whose Cricket Max concept in 1996 was a forerunner to the burgeoning Twenty20 format, joins a high profile list of foreign support staff connected to the IPL, which starts on April 18.
Former Australian coach John Buchanan and compatriot, former test allrounder Tom Moody, had already been appointed to coach Kolkata and Mohali respectively.
Crowe's primarily role will be marketing the franchise as a "figurehead".
India's current bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad - the former international that masterminded India's successful campaign at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last September - will have more of a hands-on role.
"My job is more of marketing, a figurehead role though I'll probably working closely with Rahul (Dravid) on strategies and how to get the best out of the team," Crowe told the BSport radio network.
Crowe was promoted as a useful acquisition by former Australian captain Greg Chappell, who is based in India.
"It's a bit of a shock,' said Crowe who was delighted to be considered.
"I've always had a thing about the third generation game with Cricket Max and now Twenty20, I'm pretty excited about it."
While the player auction was transparent, with each of 78 players' eventual price tag public knowledge, Crowe would not be drawn on his financial package other than to say "it's very good".
It included incentives should the Bangalore progress to the yet-to-be determined Champions League - a competition featuring the leading teams from rival Twenty20 tournaments.
Crowe likely piqued Bangalore's interest due to his reputation as a cricket innovator and intuitive thinker.
As captain he was a prime mover behind New Zealand's surprising march to the 1992 World Cup semifinals, pushing for Mark Greatbatch to open the innings while spinner Dipak Patel caught opponents napping with the new ball.
The Bangalore franchise is lead by designated "icon" Rahul Dravid.
The batting line-up also features Wasim Jaffer, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jacques Kallis.
Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan and Nathan Bracken form the basis of the bowling attack.
Crowe said he was disappointed Bangalore missed out on Styris, who headed to Hyderabad for ($221,406) a year for three seasons.
"I'm disappointed we didn't get Scotty, I thought we could have gone up to $250,000 for him."
Instead Australian allrounder Cameron White nabbed the allrounder's spot for US$500,00 - one of the surprising outcomes of Wednesday's US$40 million cash grab.
White, the Victorian captain, has played just one Twenty20 international for Australia.
Crowe said the auction was often difficult to comprehend.
"Some of it was hard to fathom.
Someone like (Australian captain Ricky) Ponting going for US$400,000 and David Hussey (Western Australia), who we haven't really seen, goes for a lot more (US$675,000)."
- NZPA
