CricDigs Blogs

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.

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 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.

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.

India’s biggest cricket stars, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar could soon be turning out for a proposed Australian domestic T20 Championship which would be designed on the IPL franchise. The BCCI has already given its approval to send its best players for Australia’s newest concept regarding Twenty20 cricket which is likely to come up soon as Cricket Australia is highly-impressed by the IPL success. The franchise model is being seriously considered by Cricket Australia. The brain and soul of the IPL tournament, Lalit Modi — the IPL chairman has already put forward India’s complete cooperation and participation if CA is indeed successful in executing their plans.
This is a reciprocal of Australia agreeing to send in its top players for the first edition of the IPL. The tournament is likely to begin in 2009-2010. Australia cricketing authorities would like to promote their domestic talent but they are very interested in having international stars competing in this proposed tournament. Australia already has a six-state team Twenty20 being played this season. The state teams would be definitely modelled on the structure of the IPL team format, where each team had huge corporate backing. The group developing this novel idea is headed by CEO, James Sutherland.
It is believed that certain members of CA had already mentioned about this when they visited India during the first half of the IPL. Furthermore, Australia has perhaps the strongest and the most competitive domestic cricketing structure in the world and the presence of international players and increased remuneration is only bound to increase the already fierce Aussie fighting spirit. Presently, crowds are being enthralled with spirited six state teams that are fighting it out to be the T20 domestic champions in Australia by winning the KFC Twenty20.
Now, with the news of international players being included, the level of competition among the state team members is bound to increase. Australian domestic circuit already has some big county cricket stars and former White members of the Zimbabwean cricket team. State teams like Victoria and Western Australia have made the biggest impact so far and they already know that winning the KFC T20 Championship would definitely enhance the reputation of the players and their negotiating rates in the future would definitely rise.

The Sri Lankan cricketing authorities have been in a state of turmoil lately. The reason has been the compounded problem of pending dues and the reluctance of the senior players in the side to visit England for the scheduled 2008 England versus Sri Lanka Test series. The dates of this Test series clash with the second edition of the IPL season. The players have a big reason to feel offended by the supposed ‘wrong’ scheduling of the English tour. Some of the Lankan players, like Kumar Sangakarra and Sanath Jayasuriya, who had featured in the first edition of the IPL know how lucrative a stint in this league is.

Again, the bounties being offered for the second season are bound to increase further. Most of the senior players have already communicated their unwillingness to go ahead with the English tour. In such a scenario, the re-scheduling of the test series seems like the only probable solution. The Sri Lankan cricket board headed by the former captain, Arjuna Ranatunga has already hinted at this solution. However, the feels that the players should put forth the cause of playing for the nation rather than playing in some first class club. Same sentiments have been expressed by many of the former members of the Sri Lankan cricketing team.

The fears of a stand-off between the Board and the players aren’t far-fetched. In fact, the tour already had a crisis as the Sri Lankan players have been complaining about the non-payment of dues. In order to solve this problem, the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been approached to speak to the players in order to eke out an amicable solution.

On the other hand, the problem of the ICL too has come up. Sri Lankan cricket has already lost the services of star batsman like Marvan Atapattu to the ICL. He has further asked for solidarity from the world cricketing authorities to allow the players participating in the ICL or IPL to play for the nation too and evaluate it as being similar to playing for some English county league.

Some analysts may not see this as an alarming situation but the fact is that the poaching by the cash-rich Indian leagues could begin a trend of sorts. This would mean that the young and restless cricket players and those who aren’t contracted by their respective boards would prefer playing for a club rather than represent their nation.