Mumbai: Former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe, considered to be one of the finest-ever batsmen produced by his country, has joined the Bangalore Royal Challengers as its Chief Cricket Officer while India's bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad would coach the Rahul Dravid-led team in the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).

South Africa's former captain Kepler Wessels, who had also played Test cricket for Australia prior to switching allegiance to his country of birth after it got re-admitted into international cricket in the early 1990s, would coach the Chennai Super Kings, a media release announcing the full list of squads said here today.

A grand total of 187 cricketers representing eight city-based franchises would be seen in action in the inaugural edition of the multi-million dollar IPL, to be held from April 18-June 1. The list of players includes 30 centrally contracted (to Cricket Board) cricketers among the 121 Indians.

IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said he was pleased that all the teams have invested in grooming talented young Indian from the under 19 and 22 age groups and felt they will benefit to a large extent by playing with senior Indian players and players from other countries.

Source : PTI