Moody is being spoken of as a big catch as he was one of the most sought after coaches once his stint with the Sri Lankan team came to an end last year. His name was being branded upon by the BCCI as Greg Chappell’s replacement but Moody didn’t even apply for the Indian post then. Months later, he is willing to fly down and work for the Mohali team. With Moody as the coach and local lad Yuvraj Singh as the captain, the Mohali team has set its eyes on the title already. Both the coach and the skipper have been entrusted with the job of choosing their team in the players auction to be held in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Mohali team however will have to wait another week for its name as it will be finalised through an SMS campaign where the cricket lovers from the region will be helping out the Mohali franchises, led by actress Preity Zinta and industrialists Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman and Karan Paul, with a catchy name for the team.

Zinta and her band were at the PCA Stadium here, looking at the stadium and the facilities and also co-ordinating with the PCA officials for the event. Ness was more than happy with what he saw. "Mohali was our first choice simply because sports, especially cricket is profoundly followed and practiced in this part of India. The cricket infrastructure here is amazing and frankly, it was due to Yuvraj Singh that we bid for Mohali," a beaming Ness told newspersons.

The PCA President I S Bindra added: “The Mohali team will have a pool of 16 players. Four will be international players and four will be from the Under-19 level or from the catchment area (Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir).

Bindra also dismissed having any dispute with the IPL franchise holders over tickets or passes. Referring to the query by Cricket Association of Bengal asking for more tickets and passes from the IPL for its club affiliates, Bindra said: "We have no worries as such and we don't want to be in any sort of controversy. Our aim is to promote the game and provide a platform to the region's domestic players.”

Bindra also informed that the IPL has no plans to provide amnesty to the Indian Cricket League (ICL) ‘rebels. “I had suggested the idea of amnesty period for those playing in the ICL but this was not taken well by the BCCI officials. So, there is no question the rebel players coming back to the BCCI fold,” he said.