A domestic T20 competition on the lines of the English Premier League sure sounded good. The commercial success that the Indian Premier League (IPL) was and the response it got from all over the country were also amazing. But the comparison was far-fetched. For not only the rivalry in the EPL was never a result of a commercial venture, players giving EPL preference over international fixtures is also unheard of. That is exactly what the IPL has succeeded in achieving.
Players are understandably more willing to feature in the league and all such similar efforts rather than playing for their country. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) recently got to hear the music from its players when they decided to tour England in 2009 after Zimbabwe’s tour of England ran into troubled waters. But what Arjuna Ranatunga, the SLC chief failed to remember when he gave his word to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was that the dates of the tour would clash with those of IPL chapter two. 13 Sri Lankan cricketers are on IPL contracts and thus, the timing of the proposed tour or the former Sri Lankan captain’s commitment was certain to come across as a bolt from the blue to the Sri Lankan players. Sri Lankan officials, who had a tough time sorting out their own contract issues with the players, had no option but to give in to the demands of the players. As of now, as things stand, SLC has verbally told its IPL players that they can choose IPL over the tour of England. Further discussions with the English officials as regards postponement of the tour is on the cards but is unlikely to yield any results. What it effectively means is that the possibility of Sri Lanka engaging themselves in an absorbing Test series in overseas conditions without their captain Mahela Jayawardene, vice-captain Kumara Sangakkara, pace spearhead Chaminda Vaas, spin wizards Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis is very high.
Indian Premier League has successfully created a conflict of interests amongst players from Sri Lanka, New Zealand and even Australia. Adam Gilchrist’s announcement of retirement from international cricket was viewed with suspicion by a section of the pundits for the same reason. With India controlling the finances in world cricket these days, this scenario probably makes sense. But other cricket boards are alarmed by the situation and with help from the likes of Allen Stanford (the Texan billionaire has taken it upon himself to revive West Indian cricket by pumping in the big bucks and is also expected to send a team to England’s domestic T20 competition) they might just succeed in putting BCCI under pressure.
Imagine a situation where Cristiano Ronaldo refuses to play for Portugal as playing for Manchester United would do a world of good to his bank account! Rest assured, the Portuguese football association, with support from other European football associations would force Man U to drop the player to teach him a lesson. But in cricket, this is a distant dream. There’s no scope of unity amongst the various cricket boards apart from areas where vested interests are involved. Moreover, if cricketers from other countries develop some kind of a loyalty towards BCCI, simply for the reason that the Indian board is apparently more concerned about their financial security than their own board, then even chaos wouldn’t be the word to describe such a state of affairs!
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2 comments:
Yup, Indan cricket officials were pretty successful in creating rifts between various team players and their respective players. Money is what money does. Cricketers hardly earn the cash the soccereres do...but then, such is life's drearies.
very well put mr.kalucha
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