Over the past two days, ever since the high profile IPL Auction, there has been a lot of hue and cry about the lack of selection of the Pakistani players in the third season. The outrage is due to the fact that Pakistan are the world T-20 champions. The likes of Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer would have provided the flair and excitement that none would have been provided. All the media are unanimous, that the IPL Spin doctors have gone into over drive and have deliberately ensured that no Pakistani players come for the IPL. Shahid Afridi has decided to spot a long beard in protest, Abdul Razzaq calls it a conspiracy, while other sections of our glorious media have gone into over drive and tell them that the IPL has decided to ostracize Pakistanis.
Some people, most notably Sharada Ugra and Gaurav Kalra have stated in their respective interviews and blogs that the big bosses in the IPL deliberately decided not to bid for the Pakistani players. The media itself was vehement that this is a conspiracy by messrs Modi and co. The franchisees itself were too timid to do anything about it, thus cloaking all this in the garb of lack of choice.
Now, all this is fine. But, are we looking at the broader picture? Harsha Bhogle stated that this is the sign of the times and we cannot separate politics from sports. 26/11 still lingers on in the hearts of many Indians. Whose opinion must we count? The media blabbermouth, or a reasonable expert like Harsha Bhogle? The answer could possibly be somewhere in the middle.
Yes, that oft quoted statement, because one’s opinion will be different from the others. But, however, one needs to question the system of franchisees and player choice and selection.
Firstly, the IPL is held every year. The more it is held, the more poorer it becomes. This season would be the pits, if the matches go otherwise. However, right now there are only 8 franchisees. Would it not be better if you have almost double the number of franchisees? Instead of 8, why don’t you go for 16? It could be argued that the quality may suffer. However, if you want the IPL to be pan-India, it has to be broader. Take teams from the north- east, more teams from the east and more teams from the West, that would give it a thorough all round representation.
Teams can be made from Gujarat (as was in the case in the ICL), Orissa, Bihar-Jharkhand, from the east (right now there is only one), J&K and UP from the north, the northeast will include at least two teams from Assam and if possible any other state which is deemed fit to complete with proportion to player perfromance, finance and infrastructure.
If the franchisee system is broadened, then you will not have these problems. More players can be bid for and a larger basket, set. This will not only give local players of India the international exposure, but this would go a little in helping their confidence on the grander stage.
Why do I say the IPL can go only a little way, because i am still not convinced that the IPL is world class in quality. Whichever country and its players have participated in the IPL, the national team fails to do well in the World T-20. Take Pakistan. Their players were not part of IPL-2, yet the national team won the T-20 in 2009. The Pakistani players should consider it a blessing that they are not part of this extravaganza, as their potential would have burnt out, in the lead up to the World T-20 in the Caribbean this year.
As far as non selection goes, I am the last one to make a decision. But, going by form of the past and present, it may be a silver lining. Kamran Akmal was sloppy in Australia, and his sloppiness cost Pakistan the crucial second test when they had Australia on the mat in Sydney. Umar is aggressive, but he is throwing away fast starts too quickly, while Shahid Afridi is Mr. Unpredictable, fires in one and misfires in another.
Mohamad Aamer has got potential, but he must be careful not to be burdened by the heavy schedule. On another note, Afridi was at the bottom of the run scorers in IPL-1, thus he did not have a good experience with the Deccan chargers.
One thing that this ‘high profile’ auction has shown. The IPL is run by a bunch of jokers at the top as well as by beautiful nitwits. This makes cricket a circus, not deemed worthy of quality. Hiring one star wonders at a large price, and ensuring that the other players are alienated is what this system thrives on. Quality of cricket will go down if the IPL persists, because believe me, under this system, we cannot create match winners, and that is also the sign of the times.
