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.

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.

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.

It was suppose to be a masterful stroke by the ICL by initiating their second season in conjunction with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2008. However if the initial reports are to be believed, the supposedly well-planned manoeuvre hasn’t exactly come off the way the ICL managing committee was expecting it. The prime reason lies in the fact that there is an increasing rivalry between India and Australia. The series has gained so much hype and is bordering on becoming greater than even the Ashes. In this regard, for the ICL to expect that they would have been able to steal the viewership from this much-awaited test series, appears like far-fetched thinking.

The second ICL season was inaugurated with a lot of fanfare and gained momentum with the induction of new teams like the Dhaka Warriors. But they forgot to evaluate one very important aspect of cricket in India. The fans are very sentimental and club royalties haven’t been able to challenge the national sentiments. So, what if a test match lasts for over 90 overs-a-day? It does give the viewer a chance to witness some of the best tactics being employed by the opposing teams and see quality cricket.

The ICL managing committee was counting upon the lure of offering a shortened version of the game and fast-food kind of entertainment for the crowds wanting to escape the grind of a test match. Agreed, T20 may be more exciting but it doesn’t offer the kind of history and rivalry that is associated with an India-Australia encounter these days.

The ICL has made another blunder by organising some Day matches. Again, the ICL doesn’t have the kind of star attractions that the ongoing test series has or the forthcoming season of the IPL would have. Thus, organising matches during a time of the day when TV viewership is already limited doesn’t make much sense.

The ICL may appear like a poor cousin of the IPL but the number of international stars playing in the league is increasing by the day. Just take a look at the number of Sri Lankans who would be taking part in the second season of the franchise. The former Lankan test skipper, Marvan Atapattu had already played in the first edition of the ICL and surprisingly turned out as one of the leading scorers with one of the best strike rates. His services may no longer be required by the national side but his adaptability to this format of the game has been rather amazing. Upul Chandana is scheduled to play for the Royal Bengal tigers. He is a very useful all-rounder and his talents are best suited to the T20 format.

The destructive opening batsman, Avishka Gunawardene, is waiting to explode on the ICL season and the bowlers in the competing teams are already talking about the hitting prowess of this opening Lankan batsman whose batting style is styled on Sanath Jayasuriya’s. The bigger names of Sri Lankan cricket are beginning to get associated with the ICL without any apprehensions because their Board has decided not to exclude or ban them from appearing in the domestic championships.

This comes as a relief factor for the likes of Russel Arnold, playing for the Chennai Superstars, as he still has an outside chance of making it back to the national squad, although he had announced his retirement — coming back from retirement isn’t prohibited by any cricketing board. On the other hand the likes of young talents like Saman Jayantha, playing for Mumbai Champs, think that a good innings in the ICL would promote his chances of playing for the national side.

In fact, the presence of Lankan stars would be a ray of hope for players from other international sides who have been banned from representing their countries and even playing in the domestic circuits. Most such players feel that the pattern followed by the Lankan Board should be put into place and playing for either the ICL or IPL should be a matter of individual choice.

The cricket obsessed Indian fans are in for a real treat. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 is not the only cricketing treat that is lined up for them. ICL is ready to throw in the T20 fun factor for them. The setting is perfect for the ICL managing team. The first season had already made the people familiar with the rules and playing pattern of the game and then the T20 IPL season made sure that a regular fanfare for T20 matches was established.

Now, the cricketing season would begin with the Indians facing the Aussies during the day in the Test series and in the evenings people could tune into ICL II. This time ICL authorities have left no stone unturned to make sure that their second innings is superior and better received than the first season. People are still guessing what astronomical sums of money ICL must have offered the Bangladeshi national cricketers that they decided to nearly quit upon their national duty and decided to join the ICL bandwagon — they have been branded as the Dhaka Warriors.

Last season had seen a fair bit of international flavour in the form of Lahore Badshahs who had reached the final that was played at the Eden Gardens. This time the tempo seems to have increased with fresher and bigger names from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh having been roped in. Special care has been taken by the ICL authorities to make sure that the crowds are well received at their four main venues.

For the pure entertainment factor, the ICL Zeebras — the official cheerleading squad has been launched. The tournament director, Kiran More, is sure that from the financial perspective, Season II would bring in the kind of revenues and viewership that the ICL bosses had been hoping for. They have already announced Ten Sports as their broadcast partner.