As expected, the IPL selection is gaining momentum with its new season about to get underway within a few months. Some of the Pakistani players had commented that they wouldn’t prefer playing for Indian franchisees with the surmounting political tension between the two neighbours and that is exactly what is happening.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have decided to do away with their much touted acquisition — Shoaib Akhtar. This really isn’t much of a surprise though Shoaib might face further humiliation as he hasn’t been dropped. It is just that the KKR franchise have decided to put him on ‘sale’ but the question remains that whether there would be an Indian franchise willing to take him on?
In all probability, no one would and even if that does happen, it would be for a remarkably reduced fee. KKR also have Umar Gul and it would be interesting to see if he is persisted with. There are already rumours of regional political parties in West Bengal shouting for the ouster of all Pakistani players. In a similar manner, the Mumbai franchise would find it very hard, nearly impossible, to even consider a Pakistani selection. There are rumours that Mumbai might not even host IPL matches that have a Pakistani talent playing.
ICL versus IPL: ICL have been reluctantly engaged in some official dialogue with the IPL. In all probability there are a few administrators of the game who believe that an amiable and profitable mutual participation for the players of the two T20 franchises is be a possibility. At the moment, the ICL players including those from New Zealand and Pakistan, are fighting with their respective cricket boards to lift their ‘banning’ from domestic and national selection.
Double-edged Bats: T20 is witnessing another attacking option being introduced for its batsmen. Double-edged bats are about to be used in Australia’s domestic T20 tournament. Most people believe that it wouldn’t make much of a difference while the bat’s manufacturers sound confident when saying that it makes shots like the reverse sweep more powerful.
Tension arising out of the deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan have left Pakistan cricket in a real mess and now it seems that whatever little earning opportunity its players had from the ICL/IPL matches too stand to be compromised. While the Lahore Badshahs’ players have already been delivered a feeler saying that their representation in the next instalment of the ICL wasn’t a certainty, the IPL players too might be asked not to participate in the IPL’s new season.
While some of the Pakistani players are confident that the situation will improve in the near future, most of the international players feel that the situation might only get worse as the nation is witnessing a political isolation like never before. Some of Pakistan’s players have even gone on to say that they fear some sort of backlash even when turning up for the counties in the current and coming season as the memories of the recent terror strikes and the general anti-Pak rhetoric fails to fade away.
The PCB is trying hard to get some sort of matches for its players and now if things go according to plans they might be able to host Sri Lanka and Australia. However, the PCB hosting the Aussies is only a proposal at the moment as the authorities acknowledge the fact that the Aussies too would have the most extreme of reservations about travelling to a nation where incidents of human bombs exploding are common and the presence of terror factories are being broadcasted on every news channel. The PCB is desperate enough to schedule international fixtures at neutral venues but now as things stand, some of the proposed neutral venues in North America and the Middle East face uncertainty as the fear of terrorist strikes carry on haunting the concerned authorities.
This may sound very strange but it is not only Pakistan that is facing a cricketing financial crisis. It is there in Sri Lanka and England too. The Lankan players are fighting over the right to pay hikes that they demand should be handed over because of their pretty good record for the past few years but the Board has been relenting saying its resources are very limited. Now, the Lankan international and domestic players are fighting hard to make sure that their Board either provides them a financial coverage against injuries and expensive treatment or allows them to apply for selection in the IPL/ICL leagues even at the cost of domestic matches.
England is facing a bit of crisis of its own with increasing payments to its county players both domestic and international ones. They are still involved in the financial mess that they have entered with the Stanford failure. Their coach recently remarked about Alastair Cook’s releasing his autobiography!! Are their players so insecure about their financial future that they have got to start authoring books about themselves after playing for a couple of seasons? Now, England is trying hard to make things work out by trying to team up with the BCCI and the next IPL season.
The ICC had recently stated that they are finding it hard to establish the proposed leagues in nations like Canada and Ireland because of the lack of funds. It is said that the financial crisis eroded a part of its investments and there has been a decreasing support from corporates when it comes to spreading the game in far-off continents like Africa and central Europe.
Even Bangladesh cricketing authorities are thinking that the non-payment of promised dues and timely match fees had in fact forced their players to seek solace in the comfort of the ICL’s more secure format. It is a bit far-fetched to call it the Game’s recession but things are getting a bit stretched.
There has been an increased sense of mutual understanding between the BCCI and the ECB. Now that England have come through of their promise of touring India even after the terror attacks in Mumbai the relations between the two cricketing Boards are getting better by the day. In fact, there is a proposition that IPL matches could be staged in England. This is a real startling piece of information because just a few weeks back the ECB seemed ruthlessly set against the idea of its players even participating in the IPL. It looks as if the BCCI is trying real hard to impress upon the ECB and their effort is being reciprocated in a very positive manner.
At one point there was a virtual deadlock between the two boards and England players were asked not to even think about IPL participation. However, if the IPL matches are staged in the UK, it would be more comfortable for the England players to participate. ECB might have calculated the fact that hosting the IPL in their backyard would given the England team another advantage — these matches could serve as the best preparatory option for the tentatively-scheduled World Twenty20.
I guess from a financial perspective too, this sort of scheduling would be very beneficial for the ECB. The presence of huge Indian diaspora in the UK guarantees substantial viewership. Furthermore, the small county grounds would enable a lot of free hitting from the batsmen, something essential for T20 matches. It is difficult to make out the real reason for the BCCI proposing this. Are they afraid of the terror-struck reputation of the sub-continent disrupting the IPL schedule again and want to ascertain a safe back-up option for the future or is this a goodwill gesture for England coming to India during a difficult time and helping to safeguard India’s reputation as a cricketing host.
Literally, the cricket world is falling apart, in every conceivable way, including its appeal, the level of competition and its administration. In terms of the competing there are hardly three or four test teams that provide some level of real anticipation and can really compete with each other. The demise of cricketing standards in the West Indies, New Zealand and Pakistan has narrowed down the level of competition of so much that most of the test series are going on with a sense of pre-conceived notion that a certain team is bound to win or is only playing to try out some of its new talents. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh stand hopelessly lost and either of them could be defeated by any of the top-ranked English county sides.
Even in the one-dayers, the pattern of the games has become a bit too predictable. The ICC had tried out a few new roles for the teams to involve more decision making and make the game look more cerebral but then again all these efforts have had one sort of effect — the game has become too heavily loaded for the batsmen. The days of a score of around 235-250 being fiercely competed and looked upon as a decent score now seem pre-historic. Now, any team not able to score 300+ regularly is seen as having a team denied of any real ‘hitters’ and that is exactly what the game is turning out to be — a place for batsmen who yield their bats like a rampaging samurai trying to axe every ball beyond the boundary.
The latest problem is the sub-continent’s cricketing status which is being increasingly threatened by the terrorism that has found a firm foothold. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka had very limited appeal when it came to hosting international matches and now God forbid if India comes to be counted along with them the game could have a crippling scheduling problem. The role of neutral venues has to be tested out no matter how financially unwise a decision it may seem to most administrators of the game. After all, neutral venues that are nurtured now would turn out as good hosting venues a few years down the line.
All these problems have been compounded by the IPL – ICL clash. Only if better sense was to prevail and these two enterprises could somehow come together and we could one truly global and highly competitive T20 League. This could really come in handy for the game itself, T20 involves shorter time spans that are easier to handle in terms of security cover, instant rush in terms of capturing the audience attention, more equality in terms of competition and almost equal if not more money-making opportunities.
BCCI is in the news once again as it fights a tough internal and external battle with factors that threaten to setback its cricketing power status. There have been widespread suggestions that India has been trying to bully world cricket because of its financial supremacy and has unduly started using its muscle to twist things in its favour. On the other hand, the world’s strongest cricketing body faces a rather tough time with the upcoming Pakistan tour that seems jeopardised. Now, even the IPL’s scheduling and that of the Champions T20 has become a headache for the body in wake of the terror strikes in Mumbai.
December 5th is being looked upon as a vital day for the BCCI as the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the case against BCCI’s former chief Sharad Pawar would be put forth. Pawar seeks to challenge Calcutta High Court’s ruling which threatened criminal prosecution against him to be initiated. The case was brought up on the basis that he had been instrumental in instigation the ouster of Jagmohan Dalmiya. In support of his case, Pawar would be joined by Ratnakar Shetty and Niranjan Shah — two familiar names in the BCCI fraternity. Their counsel has argued that the HC had acted against the principles of justice by condemning them without the chance of explaining themselves.
However, the Indian cricketing Board has found some support from the most unexpected of quarters in the form of Malcolm Speed. He has suggested that apprehensions regarding India taking over the ICC’s authority is a bit too imaginative. He has stated that India’s passion for the game and its huge appeal in the sub-continent should not be confused with seeking dominance in the cricketing world. Speed was sacked by the ICC due to his supposed mishandling of the issues facing cricket in Zimbabwe.
BCCI has issued a new dictum. They now want the scheduled Test match to be played between India and England to begin later by a day. All this trouble so as to guarantee that the much-admired Indian skipper, MS Dhoni, would be available to play in the forthcoming Champions Twenty20 finals. This is despite the fact that there is not guaranteeing the fact that India would actually be in the finals!! It does feel good to dictate terms to others when you have all the money and power in the world and the BCCI knows it. In fact, they have known this for quite some time; it is only now that they have started taking advantage of this fact.
The BCCI has requested England to delay the scheduled Ahmedabad Test to be played on December 12th 2008 instead of December 11th 2008. There are reports that England and Wales Cricket Board — ECB isn’t likely to undertake this request as it would reduce the rest period between the test matches for its players. Dhoni being in-charge of the IPL franchise — Chennai Super Kings, is looked upon as the major attraction for this tournament and there is no denying his popularity but should his presence be turned into something more important than two test-playing nations playing an international Test match?
Most probably the BCCI is very confident of the Kings reaching the final or is it just wishful thinking or do they have their participation fixed?
One the other hand, England’s cricket players face perhaps the longest and most anxiously awaited 3 weeks of their cricketing careers as their participation in the IPL and the loads of promised goodies that come with it is under consideration. There is a meeting being held in Mumbai to turn out a solution to this problem. Modi — the architect of the IPL wants that England’s players are available for the much-touted and lucrative T20 Tournament from April 10th to May 29th but the ECB are hell-bent on making sure that the scheduled Test series against Sri Lanka is given first priority. Controversies galore and one thing stands out — Money Does Make the Cricketing World Go Round.
It really doesn’t matter if the Stanford Super Series didn’t make as much money or engage the interest levels it was supposed to — Mr. Allen Stanford and his supposed brainchild is still very much in the news these days for all the wrong reasons. Firstly, there was a rather embarrassing incident that involved the wife of England keeper Matt Prior that happened during the live telecast of the Super Series match, featuring England’s win over Middlesex. The larger-than-life sort of Mr. Stanford was actually seen seated pleasurably among the wives/girlfriends of England team members and what drew the media’s attention was Prior’s wife, seated on Stanford’s lap.
The picture of this incident, if one can really call this an incident, was splashed across every major newspaper and for some strange reason, was even featured in the sporting pages. I still don’t get it. How does the social life of a cricketer’s wife or girlfriend make a part of sporting tabloids? Has the cricketing world’s sensibilities dipped to such a nonsensical level? Now, reportedly the England players were upset with these disclosures. Yeah right, they didn’t seem too upset with the fact that the very concept of getting paid close to 20 million dollars for a single night of an unrecognized T20 match was absolutely ridiculous for the lesser fortunate ones like us.
The Stanford Super Series that culminated with only a handful real cricket lovers seeing it along with a rather disinterested English side playing against a some sort of sponsored/co-sponsored, half-Stanford, half-Digicel and God knows what proportion of the WICB-backed West Indian team was a forthright disregard for any form of cricketing grace. What exactly did this game prove? The Texan billionaire, Stanford that is, has too much money to throw about? Are the English players are available for such horrendous circus-like gimmicks? What happened to the uptight and judgmental English cricketing authorities? I know, with 20 million sounding in their years, even centuries of colonial superiority and the exclusivity attached to English cricket had no takers, did it?
Cricketing boards around the world seem to be slugging it out over administrative and scheduling issues. As England played the first of its Stanford Series matches, the views expressed from around the cricketing fraternity exclaimed how the ECB had literally sold of its players and teams for a non-cricketing cause. Even the likes of Geoffrey Boycott have come to terms with T20 cricket, saying it is a must for the game to survive, but even he couldn’t comprehend the logic behind T20 matches being organised between a national side and a privately-owned corporate team. Again, what exactly is the logic behind the West Indian players donning the uniforms for Stanford and not their national logos? Does this mean that on that day, the Stanford Group has bought the entire West Indies cricket team? The ECB has gone in a mood of snubbing everyone who has counter-questioned their wisdom.
Now, closer home, the SLC — Sri Lankan Cricket authorities are at loggerheads with the BCCI. The SLC strongly feels that their players should give priority to national duty rather than club cricket — IPL. Notwithstanding, the SLC’s sentiments, the BCCI has cleared that the Sri Lankan cricketers had signed up to participate in the IPL for three seasons. This has stumped the SLC. They were under the assumption that their players had been contracted for the first season only. This comes in the wake of the Sri Lankan players being asked to continue with their England Tour rather than play for the money-rich IPL. Now, the BCCI is on the verge of snapping its ties with the SLC, if the Board doesn’t allow its players to take part in the IPL. Things are getting worse with national sentiments divided among the viewing public. Most people agree with SLC head, Ranatunga, that it is immoral to choose club cricket over international, test cricket.
Even IPL’s arch rival, the ICL is on a warpath with its players. Reportedly, the Dhaka Warriors aren’t pleased with the amenities extended to them. The ICL has suspended an international player, Chris Cairns of New Zealand along with former Indian player, Dines Mongaia on disciplinary grounds. The ICL-IPL talks seem to be headed nowhere as everyone knows that Lalit Modi is going to be relentless in his pursuit to make IPL the undisputed T20 Championship. There were suggestions that ICL could sell its franchise to the IPL, helping IPL to eliminate the competition and increase the number of participating teams. The ICL bosses seem perturbed over the fact that the second edition is witnessing one-sided matches and limited crowds in the stadiums.
So as the situation stands now — the Stanford Series has soured relationships of world cricketing boards and the ECB. The ECB and SLC aren’t on the best of terms, with the forthcoming Sri Lanka – England series on the verge of being scrapped. Like I said, the BCCI and SLC are already slugging it out. Phew!! This is the state of things when we have less than ten Test teams and the game is struggling to re-invent itself and survive. May God hammer some sense into these crusading cricket boards and make them realise the bigger goal — uplifting and spreading the game.
International Cricket is undergoing some dramatic transformations and the entire cricketing community and the game itself is set to evolve into a new design, very quickly. The ICC has decided to evaluate the new review system that was first used during India’s tour of Sri Lanka. Now, it has been proposed that the Test series featuring England and West Indies would again initiate the use of the review of the umpire’s decision under stricter observation by the ICC authorities.
The system had been initiated in the test series in the Emerald Island to make sure that the game wasn’t tilting too much in the favour of the batsmen. This means that each side would be allowed an exact number of three appeals against a decision made by the umpire, per innings. The International Cricket Council has further stated that the system would be implanted in all four of the Test matches in the Caribbean that would be played out in February, March 2009.
This ICC decision was taken by its board members during their two-day meet which was held in Dubai. Furthermore, this is not the last test series to feature the review system. Three other test series featuring international sides like New Zealand, West Indies, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Australia would use it too. The impact of the review system would then be evaluated during ICC’s meet in May.
As a cricket fan'atic' you have an open invitation to register at CricDigs (for free) to read and voice your cricket views with other cricket fans from around the world via Cricket Blogs and blog comments. And, do watch some of the choicest Cricket video clips featuring lot of the favorite cricket players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting, Muttiah Muralitharan, Steve Waugh and many more.
We also plan on bringing cricket scores and commentary for live matches and a way for you to share other cricketing news and websites. We hope to become the biggest cricket community which is built by you for you - Cricket fans!
Blogs