Kingfisher Airlines unveils IPL umpire uniforms; announces ‘Fair Play Award'

Kingfisher Airlines (Kingfisher) today unveiled umpire uniforms for the ensuing season of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) in Bangalore today.

The uniform comprises a ‘smart’ red shirt with the message ‘Fly Kingfisher’ on the front and the back, black trousers and a white hat with a red hat band also carrying the “Fly Kingfisher’ message. The line also includes training shorts set in black with a red t-shirt and a cap. The uniform has been designed by the UB group’s dress designer Manovraj Khosla.

Kingfisher Airlines Chairman and CEO Vijaya Mallaya also announced a ‘Fly Kingfisher Fair Play Award’ during the matches which begin on 18 April in Bangalore. Under the Fly Kingfisher Fair Play Award, umpires will award teams' points for fair play, respect for the laws of the game and respect to their opponents. The ‘Fly Kingfisher Fair Play Award’ will involve a League table running over the course of the season. The winner of the award will be the team that, in the eyes of the umpires, has played fairest across the 56 matches comprising the regular League season. Each member of the winning team will be presented with a glittering precious trophy.

“We wanted to do something different from the conventional Man of the match, hence the innovation in which the umpires will be involved,” explained Mallaya during the press conference. After each match, the two officiating umpires and the third umpire will reward award points to the competing teams based on the following criteria: Up to 4 points - awarded per team that in the opinion of the umpires according to how the team upheld the spirit of the game during the match; 2 / 1 / 0 points * - awarded to one or both team/s - if in the opinion of the umpires the team/s showed respect to the opposition; 2 / 1 / 0 points * – awarded to one or both team/s - if in the opinion of the umpires the team/s showed respect to the laws of the game; 2 / 1 / 0 points * – awarded to one or both team/s - if in the opinion of the umpires the team/s showed respect to the umpires. A team can receive a maximum of ten points per match. *Key to Award Points: 2 points – Exemplary, 1 point – Good, 0 points – Average.