May 12, 2009 at 6:14 am
· Filed under Uncategorized
If you are a fan of free markets and open economy along with a true die hard sports spirit; you would want the ICL & IPL to co exist. If the BCCI recognizes ICL as a second division league then that means you get more out of the T20 format of the game. All the players (just retired and domestic talents) will have better earning potential and Lalit Modi will get what he wants- a larger window for the T20 league concept. All that the Moses of cricket needs to do is be magnanimous and recognize ICL as the second division. It may cause him a few initial hiccups. ICL as second division means that the top two teams from ICL will replace the bottom two in the IPL in the next years’ IPL. This may not go down well with the existing IPL franchisees, who in the present format are cushioned. Performance plays no role in the success or the brand equity of the team. This has also been the IPL’s biggest critic that cricket and performance are taking a backseat on its platform.
BCCI could monetize the game further by garnering broadcast fees for both IPL and ICL. Zee would broadcast the ICL and BCCI can get a cut out of it. Maybe a few IPL franchisees may resist such a move, but they can be shown the door and new ones roped in. Like every other business industry some parties will object to safeguard their vested interests ,but like a government .BCCI needs to concentrate on the larger picture and see the benefit of the proposed move.
Players will get to earn more and BCCI and Lalit can increase their revenue streams by only stamping approval with the pending ICL case. If approved all nine ICL teams will get ready sponsors – at the present rates ICL makes an attractive investment proposition for prospective franchisees, provided the approval is got. The amount that BCCI can get for nine teams in a second division is best left to your judgment. So, why the BCCI should look at the ICL approval route for growth of league T20 cricket? The answer lies in the following two facts; first the only way the IPL can grow with the present international calendar and window restrictions is by making ICL its second division & secondly tap of the impressive resource pool at the disposal of the ICL.
The IPL and BCCI can increase their revenue by the following way:
They can have 9 ready made teams, some with international flavor like the Lahore Badshahs & Dhaka Warriors to earn franchisee fees.
Charge Zee & ICL as broadcaster and league operators a license amount in return of recognition.
More player transfer fees as larger talent pool will result in more selling and buying where a transaction fee can be charged by the IPL board. (Rumors have it that ICL talents like R Sathish, Vignesh, Rayudu & Abhishek Jhunjhunwala are being offered over 1.5 crore deals from IPL franchisees- a percentage of same can be taken by IPL/BCCI if ICL is recognized and player transfer take place like they do in the European soccer circuit)
Finally the above makes sense for a simple reason. The talent pool in the world and especially India is so big that the IPL today faces an embarrassment of riches. Players of the likes of Collingwood, McGrath, Nitini, Vettori are warming benches. It shows that as a global tournament IPL is too small to accommodate the talent pool. Secondly if the IPL adds two more teams in its franchisee list it means at least another 14 matches to the present calendar which may not be possible. It already has a problem with accommodating its present month and half tournament so how will it accommodate more teams and more matches.
So if you are a T20 fan and want the league concept to grow further then the easiest way to achieve this would be to get the ICL as a second division league.
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May 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged ICL, IPL, kapil dev, kiranmore, lalit, modi
So the league cricket system is precariously placed with the ICL players receiving the amnesty offer from the all mighty BCCI. IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has gone on record saying that it will be good for the game as he gets more players to choose from. Not a bad thing ! It will help a few top quality players in the ICL like R Sathish (easily the best young talent in the country), Ali Murtaza, Vignesh, Stuart Binny et al. The usual suspects like Ambati Rayudu, Deep Dasgupta, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala , Badani & Mongia too will get IPL offers along with the likes of Rohan Gavaskar . However my concern is about players like Abu Nechim, IS Reddy et al, along with around 70 odd domestic players who are neither a certainty with their state Ranji teams or on the IPL radar. Some would say it is a fair call ; the top performers will get their due while the rest will have to settle for a life back in obscurity of league cricket on barren grounds. This would be a sad situation if sport is only judged on basis of the survival of the fittest- the spirit of sport means that even underdogs should get the opportunity and that is what differentiates sport from business. ICL transformed player remunerations and made it possible for a decently talented young cricketer to play at the domestic level to earn a decent livelihood. IPL & ICL made it possible for a young man to take up the game even if he did not have it in him to make it to the competitive Indian national team. I believe if there is a player exodus from ICL to IPL , a lot of domestic talents in the IPL too will face the heat now. IF some of the top ICL performers are to replace them in the IPL teams , it is certain they will not get renewed contracts from their team owners. This is a point that Lalit Modi and BCCI have to introspect upon as custodians of the game. An ideal stance for them is to buy a majority stake from Essel Sports in the ICL or licensee out domestic players to formulate the ICL as a second division league to the IPL. It also takes forward the T20 format of the game and allows more broadcast revenue & earning potential for the BCCI. As the present ICL & IPL calendars are separate from each other it makes it ideal for both leagues to continue as second and first divisions respectively. What the above policy would do is to encompass a larger talent pool to earn the perks and lucrative packages offered by the T20 league format of the game.
By now you would have realized that I have a special affinity for the ICL and you may ask me the question why? For the simple reason that the gritty Baroda wicket keeper batsman Kiran More & the great Kapil Dev managed to produce a serious cricket tournament despite all the difficulties faced by them. The ICL could have easily gone the Hong King Sixes way as a recreational tournament, but these two gentlemen at the helm of ICL cricket managed to produce a serious and high quality cricket product. The contribution of Michael Bevan, Steve Rixon, Moin Khan & Daryl Cullinan should not go in vain and am sure that their cricket acumen would be tapped by other cricket bodies if ICL takes a sabbatical from the game. The ICL has done its job in identifying and developing young talent like VIgnesh, Binny, Murtaza & Khaleel. The two red hot players for me however would be R Sathish & Ambati Rayudu. These two have it in them to make it to the big league and I am sure they will prove to be ambassadors of ICL’s cause- if they get to perform in the IPL and larger platforms. Having followed cricket as a true patron for over two decades, I am sure these two young players will prove to the world that ICL too has quality acts in its talent pool and will probably bring justice and vilification to the concept of ICL not in the court of law or TV ratings but purely with their cricketing talent.
But along with these talented players a thought should be spared to the likes of Abbas Ali, Reetinder Sodhi , Rakesh Patel and Thiru Kumaran- may be age is not on their side to make it to the Indian team , but they still have a few years of cricket left in them. They may not be a Warne or a Mcgrath but they sure are quality cricketers who will enhance domestic Indian Cricket. Of course ICL would not be needed if IPL could add another 8 teams on their list –but that doesn’t seem to be a realistic possibility. So why not find the best solution in taking league cricket forward by recognizing the ICL as a second division to the Indian Premiere League. If Lait Modi & his BCCI colleagues are true connoisseurs of the game then they will do a big favor for averagely talented domestic talents to get their due from the riches of T20 league cricket; by allowing or recognizing ICL as a second division T20 league. At the risk of sounding repetitive I would again like to state that one IPL is too small to encompass the entire talent pool of domestic Indian talent and either the IPL has to accommodate more domestic talents or outsource some domestic portions to private sports management firms like the ICL.
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April 30, 2009 at 8:15 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged bcci, gavaskar, rajeev shukla, Shahrukh khan
It is lot of restructuring at BCCI. Ever since the ICC pushed for an early resolution with ICL and the Essel groups’ response to failed negotiations with strong legal actions have caused a lot of concern for the BCCI. The IPL cash-cow too has left a lot of loop holes in the second season. The announced deal and revised hike by IPl broadcaster Sony; is not all black and white. According to sources it seems that Sony will not part with cash and some parts of the revised hike, is in format of barter to the IPL & its franchisees- in terms of free air time for promotion. Tickets are being sold at a low rate of only about Rs 100. Even this low rate is not educing full houses and false propaganda of sell-out matches have become part of the IPL fictional folklore. This has left the franchisees with lot of heartburn; the central revenue (largely coming from the Bradcaster fee) may not see a hike in actual cash-flow as is being proclaimed by IPL officials. Gate receipts are a long foregone history making the red on franchisee balance-sheet’s far more prominent and dark.
SRK ill- advised to drop his city loyalty base and reposition his team into a pan global identity has met with dust. Latest reports that the Bollywood Badshah is on his way out of the IPL circus, further compounded by his teams’ disastrous cricket performance. Despite better cricket performances Rajashtan Royals & Kings 11 Punjab are financially bleeding and are looking for stake holders to keep the ship floating. The only way IPL franchisees’ can be bailed out is in form of additional central revenue from IPL. However that seems a distant reality with Sony officials admitting that offering additional broadcast fees was a mistake, especially after learning that the competitive suitors NDTV & ESPN were never serious about paying the revised rates demanded by the IPL body. Sony now has offered the IPL and its franchisee a strict part payment in barter (free air time for promotion) that results in lack on additional cash revenue from the central revenue system offered by IPL to its franchisees.
The BCCI changing its ICL stance largely lies on the fact that –an aggressive Essel group is going on the offensive. Sources at Essel, state that time for negotiations are over & they are looking at legal suits being filed both in India & internationally. Its strong legal ground means that BCCI has to try to break the ICL player pool by offering them the IPL and domestic cricket carrot. However, most ICL domestic talents are skeptical about the BCCI offer. Reason being, most are being paid about 30 lakhs plus by the ICL – returning to BCCI hardly guarantees them a place in the Ranji sides or IPL teams. A ranji player would pocket 20 lakhs in a financial year and no player wants a dip in his income. Secondly except for a few players like Rohan Gavaskar, none of the players are certain of a place in the Ranji or IPL Squads. The total number of ICL players from the domestic stable is about 80. SO no more than 10% are assured of an IPL or Ranji place! The only way they can be accommodated in the IPL is by addition in number of IPL teams; strongly objected by existing IPL franchisees as that reduces their share of the pie in regards of the central revenue. The ICL players are also aware of the treatment meted out to Md kaif, Vidhyut Shivramakrisnan, Sanjay Bangar , Akash Chopra et al by the IPL franchisees- making the transition from ICL to IPL a very risky financial proposition. The international guys like Shane Bond are drawing salaries to the tune of $ 8,00,000 ( 4 crores) from the ICL so they would not make the shift unless IPL offers the same amount. Post the Peterson & Flintoff debacle it seems IPL franchisees would not loosen their purse strings easily ;having burnt their fingers with expensive propositions. Therefore it may not seem as easy for the BCCI to break the ICL player pool ; justified that no single individual ICL player has been mentioned other than Sandeep Patil, who according to sources did not fair well in the ICL called – Sports performance evaluation. His side Mumbai Champs always figured last in the ICL tournaments and major restructuring was on the cards as far as that team was concerned.
These look interesting times for the BCCI president Shashank Manohar. His dislike for Lalit Modi is well documented by his absence at both the first and second seasons of IPL. His boss and mentor Sharad Pawar too has distanced himself from Lalit Modi in season-2. Srinivasan, Rajeev Shukla and Niranjan Shah ( BCCI powerbrokers) are fence sitters and waiting for the election results. Rumors are also afloat that if the congress returns to power Lalit Modi’s stint in Indian cricket would be history.
If the ICL issue was not enough then the BCCI also has to content with the APL ( American Premiere League). The BCCI wants to monopolize the game but an over priced IPL has broadcasters and prospective sponsors looking at private leagues like the ICL & upcoming APL as a more value for money proposition. These are interesting times in cricket Will the monopoly of BCCI continue or will it have to share space with ICL & APL? It’s an answer that only time will tell.
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April 29, 2009 at 12:27 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged harbhajan singh, IPL, Jo, saurav ganguly, Shane Warne, Zaheer Khan
The primary thing to identify with the ongoing IPL is that the golden rule of sports, applies to even this so called young-man’s game. Age certificate is no criteria for success in this format of the game. The biggest stars last year were Warne, Mcgrath & Jaisuriya & this year too seems to continue in the same vein with Tendulkar , Dravid & Gilchrist right backing contention in the T20 format of the game. The matter first came into prominence when people and a gullible fourth estate tried to run down the pioneers of the league cricket-ICL, due to the age of its international player-pool base. Then came the IPL and the biggest stars last year were Warne, Mcgrath & Jaisuriya. The experts did a turn around and followed the cliché mantra – “form is temporary, class is permanent”. So my strong request to especially the media; next time around judge the tournaments of both IPL & ICL objectively on basis of the cricket on display and not pre-conceived notions. After-all despite the facts that ICL is at the moment unofficial; its young players are domestic Indian talents who deserve more than just an ostracized rebel tag.
I am principally not against league cricket as it helps identify new talent and also provides economic prosperity for professional cricketers. It has helped prolong the otherwise short careers of some fine international cricketers, alongside helping some make comebacks like that of Shane Watson. However I have a minor disagreement with the way IPL is positioned as an entertainment tamasha. Such positioning does disservice to the game and its cricketers;e forced to take the backseat to overenthusiastic corporate czars & Bollywood personalities. I think it will also affect the IPL in the long run because it’s biggest critics are questioning the quality of cricket on its platform. Soon players will approach the tournament with a casual approach and the core consumer of the game –‘ hardcore cricket fans’, will turn away from it. I guess Lalit Modi’s advisers will do a great service to advice the self proclaimed Moses to reposition his product as a serious cricket tournament, with entertainment a critical but peripheral product extension.
Coming back to the game – kudos to Shane Warne, every time he takes the field he brings cricket back in the limelight and puts the entertainment quotient in its right place. What makes Warne special is that he has laid emphasis on what is a critical factor for a successful T20 league side-“ develop your domestic talent”. Success in both IPL & ICL depends on the contribution of the young domestic talents. After all every side is composite of 7 domestics and 4 internationals in both leagues and therefore the differentiating factor between a good & bad side is the quality of its domestic pool. This is what makes two coaches especially special, Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals –IPL) & Michael Bevan (Chennai Superstars-ICL). Both are champion cricketers with supreme confidence in their abilities, both have been integral part of the most successful cricket team in the last 25 years & most importantly have delivered results. This is the whole purpose of ICL & IPL identify new talent not only from the player pool but also support staff and coaches who can take forward the international format of the game.
Two other coaches who come to mind are the combative Moin Khan who leads a mercurial Pakistan side – Lahore Badshahs on the ICL platform and Steve Rixon former New Zealand coach, who has championed the cause of Hyderabad Heroes (ICL) and the ICL –India team. The final word is written by deliverables and this is where fancy coaches like John Buchanan, Greg Chappel & Jeff Lawson have bit dust. A special mention for Moin needs to be added for the simple reason that he has created the old Pakistani magic with the Lahore Badshahs- they are unpredictable, combative, maverick , cheat with the ball to produce reverse swing, produce aggressive Pakistani cricket; true flavor of the troubled nation’s rich cricketing history. The Greatest achievement of Moin has been his ability to combine mercurial raw talent with discipline; making the Pakistani outfit at ICL a potent deadly unit.
As a cricket fan one can only hope that sanity prevails and the game (Cricket) & the above magnificent gentlemen take the center stage at especially IPL. One quality that Warne, Bevan & Moin had in common in their playing days was their gritty approach to the game and that opportune’s, food for thought for the most troubled IPL side –KKR. We all know that Saurav Ganguly may be a bit over the hill- but his grittiness provides for a great opportunity to make him a player cum coach of the Kolkata side! Ganguly has always shown interest in coaching- his greatest quality as an Indian captain, was his recognition, nurturing & backing of young talent like Harbhajan,Zaheer & Yuvraj.
I repeat the crux of success for a T20 League side is dependent on how well the coach harnesses the domestic talent available to him- Bevan has done that with R Sathish, G Vignesh & P Syed Mohammad. Warne has done it with Asnodkar, Kamran Khan & Ravindra jadeja & my bet is Saurav Ganguly has the credentials to do better with young domestic boys than good old “Buck”- whose expertise lies with managing big players rather than young upcoming domestic boys.
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April 24, 2009 at 10:41 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged bcci, ICL, IPL, lalit modi, ravi shashtri, set max
Well Moses is what Ravi Shastri called you for inducting IPL on the cricket map. I am sure Shastri will soon realize that his own no- nonsense and gritty image as commentator earned after his famous whiplash at Mike Denis in South Africa after the infamous Indo- SA test is diminishing fas and replaced by a puppet of the commercialized cricekt world .THe infamous press conference post Mike, the match referee banning six Indian players including Sachin Tendulkar saw Shastri win over the audience for his sharp and incisive comments that followed for years in his stint at ESPN. Since his shift to the IPL Shastri, is left with nothing but a peripheral role of a known-commentator; milked by the IPL commissioner to propagate his white lies.
Lalit Modi in his latest avtar is now seen as blogger on his monetized website www.iplt20.com and in his inaugural post he takes a dig at the fourth estate covering his cricket circus as – “ill-informed media commentary that we have introduced strategy breaks simply to squeeze in more ads does us a disservice.”
I cannot fathom the fact that this man gets away with murder every time he and his IPL circus is doing disservice to the game and its true patrons -the cricket fans. Why does he just not admit that the strategy break is for additional revenue as he has arm-twisted his broadcaster to pay extra 400 crores.
The panic in his camp was realized as soon as the TRP’s were released. Sony and the advertisers are seething in anger according to well placed sources. I mean the biggest joke is when the IPL camp say that tickets have been sold out (empty stands show a completely different picture though!). The justification given by poor commentators says that tickets were sold but people have backed out due to bad weather. Which sane person would buy a premium ticket and not turn up for a match. I guess top angle shots on a doctored audience section – trying to justify a packed attendance is nothing but what in filmi lingo is known as cheat-shots. I am amazed how come nobody from the media covering the tournament, clicks a true picture to show the true picture to the fans of the game . I am sure they are in agreement with me that this is the least the Indian fan deserves – a honest appriasal of the tourament.
You may ask me why so much anger against Lalit Modi . My answer is simple- I just cannot take the following facts
Some questions for Modi and please to answer them through his blog or more importantly I would urge you as custodians of the forth estate to poke him with the same :
1. You call your product recession proof and at the same time, pack back domestic Indian boys. MD Kaif & co are considered excess baggage while IS Bindra , Niranjan Shah , Rajeev Shukla sip on wine shamelessly at the matches.
2. Teams are not known by the players but either through their franchisees or filmstars owning exaggerated stakes in various teams. I would seriously want to know if Shilpa Shetty has paid the said $ 15.4 million for a 12% stake. ? Would you make available the relevant documents on a public forum? More imporatanly are you addressing the issue as the BCCI president – on why Indian cricketers are bestowed with second class status on what you procalim to be a domestic Indian tournament?
3. You are interviewed by Ravi Shastri in a doctored interview during the live telecast of the match and you say that ratings are sky high & the tournament is picking up? But opening figures for your matches show a completely different picture can you clarify?
I guess three questions are enough to fill your second blog and you would do a great service to the people of India who have given cricket the pedestal it enjoys today.
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April 20, 2009 at 9:54 am
· Filed under Cricket India, Indian Cricket League - ICL, Indian Premiere League - IPL
The self proclaimed messiah of world cricket Lalit Modi, seems to have taken too many liberties with the brand “Cricket India” ;resulting in heartache for IPL broadcaster-Sony, IPL Sponsors & advertisers ;not forgetting most important constituent – the cricket fans of the country. This time round Modi & his coterie of franchisees felt that moneybags gave them the final say in terms of what was best for the game ridiculing cricketers, legends and the basic ethos of cricket.
The first problem arose when an arrogant Modi called his product recession proof and bullied his broadcaster to cough out an extra Rs.400 Crores, least appreciating market conditions. Sony took the bait of Lalit’s proposed product modifications (forced mid innings break); ignoring consumer requirements as well as player considerations. Fans, experts and cricketers (none less than Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar & Harbhajan Singh) have been unanimous in their protest against the marketing gimmick that has affected the sport product adversely. The Coaches have no say in the timing of the break that makes it a poor cousin of the original time-out concept adopted by sporting disciplines such as Basketball and Volley-ball.
The affect of this has been the fact that people have lost interest in watching the matches as shown by Television rating figures for IPL matches. The decline in TRPs is drastic making one wonder how the Sponsors and broadcaster can justify the costs borne by them for this cricket Tamasha. The fact that the IPL matches are just not holding the attention of the audience can be best reflected by the AMap (market research agency) finding. According to CEO of aMap, Amit Verma: “Even though larger number of viewers watched the first two matches, curiosity did not sustain as much as last year.”
The product is fast loosing its fizz. As compared to TRPs of 8.21 achieved last year by IPL , this year has seen a sharp decline at TRP ratings falling at a dismal 5.48 by the second match of IPL season-2 (latest Tam ratings). It is important to realize that 8.21 Trps was the highest achieved by IPL- season1 and was registered in the tournament opener which averaged to around 6 for the entire tournament. So it is only certain to predict that the poor figure of 5.48 will fall further having catastrophic consequences for an already bleeding SET MAX and it’s on-air clients; who have presumably paid Lalit and his IPL tamasha a higher premium as compared to last year!
I find it ironic that the ICC which rejected the official recognition of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) on basis of affecting the basic fabric of the game –finds no faults with the whims & fancies adopted by the self proclaimed messiah of modern cricket- Lalit Modi.
I also urge the media to recognize the fact that cricketers and legends of the game have been reduced to mere puppets or ridiculed by Money Czars ( IPL franchisees) and market considerations. It started with the Gavaskar- Shahrukh Khan verbal dual where the filmstar questioned the credentials of India’s first sports hero in the modern context of the game. Gundappa Vishwanath –match refree for the first match was a mere spectator at the toss where the coin was tossed by Lalit Modi instead of the batting maestro who was reduced to the job of just picking up the coin from the ground. Match-2 saw the same treatment being meted out to Yashpal Sharma who had to pass the honors of tossing the coin to India’s infamous traveling goon – Niranjan Shah. I want to ask the ICC now is this not affecting the basic fabric and ethos of the great game of cricket?
The biggest fraud in this whole tamasha has been the handling of the domestic Indian players. Rajashtan Royals has sent back its domestic talent , Chennai Superkings have followed suit and many more domestic boys are on the way back, if sources from the various IPL franchisees are to be believed! This has been a perennial problem with all IPL teams, Season-1 saw players being asked to vacate their hotels for franchisee guests. The treatment meted out to Ranadeb Bose (team India player & highest wicket taker in the domestic format) by Kolkata Knightriders has well been documented. I think if IPL is recession proof and if the revenues are larger than last year –how come so many domestic boys are facing the axe !!!!!!!!!!!
The matches too have been drab. The avg scores are below the 120 runs/ innings mark making it a poor viewing experience for the sports fans. Ajay Jadeja ( NDTV cricket expert ) made a relevant point in his analysis judging the IPL as an inferior cricket product that has certainly been overpriced as a sports property.
The biggest blunder has been in Lalit Modi- ill-advising his franchisees of shifting their city loyalty to a more global presence. Saurav Ganguly’s handling by KKR management and their strategic decision of removing Kolkata from all their merchandise has seen their brand equity disappear as quickly as a plate of rosogollas from a KC Das store. If most franchisees try & follow suit forgetting their home base ( IPl was formulated on city loyalties) then dooms day is not far for the overvalued IPL bubble to burst.
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December 8, 2008 at 10:01 am
· Filed under Uncategorized
The enigma called BCCI a great commercial success, great for star cricketers& upcoming promising cricketers in their radar – but yet to encompass the entire cricket talent pool in the country and domestic Indian cricket. Circa 2007 a private entity backed by one of India’s most respected business house Essel group and run by some of the best cricketing names of the globe –headed by India’s first world cup winning captain, Kapil Dev takes upon itself to revamp and synergize domestic Indian cricket & the hard working players associated with it.
The story that followed including the formation of IPL, unfair bans bullish tactics by the men in control of the cricket cash cow is well documented & I don’t intend repeating it through this write up. My purpose of writing this piece is to bring to light the strong testimonials that the ICL has received from none less than cricket personalities of the stature of Clive Lloyd, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Ian Chappell, Trevor Chesterfield Peter Roebuck et al.
I was particularly engrossed to read the following excerpt of an Ian Chappell article that appeared on a leading cricket portal today:
The lop-sided nature of those two series was ample proof that there are not enough good cricketers to go round, let alone after some good ones have been banned because of their association with the ICL. If there is to be an all-inclusive approach to cricket’s future following the Mumbai mayhem, these bans should come under serious discussion. ) Ref –www.cricinfo.com
Full article link: http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/381
After reading this article I feel that there is a correlation in the way the politicians behaved after the terror attacks and their ill-informed responses & the BCCI attitude towards the emergence & establishment of the ICL as a major cricket tournament on the cricket horizon. It is extremely difficult to fathom how BCCI could ignore 50,000 plus audiences attending ICL matches on a regular basis in the ICL 20s Indian Championship. Or the matter of fact, that the tournament was going live across the globe to healthy TV ratings. Most importantly, how can you ostracize an emerging cricket body which is chosen and represents over 250 first class cricketers from every major cricketing center of the world?
I would like to clarify that I don’t want to draw a parallel between the terror attack & a cricketing issue which in parallel falls pale and is certainly not of the same importance as security of lives- however I am enthused by the public mobilization that presumably will change the face of Indian politics for ever and I feel such a public renaissance is needed in the cricketing world to get the BCCI to change it draconian monopolistic stance against pioneers of league cricket, who for the first time in the world created a commercially viable product from a domestic cricket structure & the players representing it.
Sharad Pawar moves into the ICC chairmanship position shortly, can one expect him to do for cricket what Obama is expected to do to restore World order only time will tell !
However we need cricket fans to pressurize the authorities to adopt a more objective stance on the ICL. Navjot Singh on a NDTV show a couple of months back had said that the ICL had managed to wake up a sleeping giant in the BCCI and that resulted in the IPL; all they need to do now is show some magnanimity- that is what leadership is all about and the ball is in Sharad Pawar’s court .
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November 21, 2008 at 5:58 am
· Filed under Cricket India, Indian Cricket League - ICL, Indian Premiere League - IPL ·Tagged Add new tag
The ICL season-2 was an eye opener for anyone with an eye for emerging talent. R Sathish, G Vignesh, Ali Murtaza, Stuart Binny, Imran Nazir , Rana Naved Ul Hasan, Alok Kapali, Shahriar Nafees et al – the list just keeps going on & on as to how these young players have marveled live & TV audiences not to forget pundits in the commentary box, with their superlative performances.
A lot has been said about the unfair ban faced by these professional cricketers & I don’t want to dwell on it further in this mail. However as a true admirer of the game and the magnificent men who play it; it’s an absolute shame that they don’t get recognized!
The talent pool and performance prowess at the ICL is far too strong to ignore for the cricket authorities. How on earth can one ignore matches that generate prime time television & 50, 000 packed stadiums?
As a sports optimist I would love to see a utopian scenario where sanctity prevails in terms of spirit of sports:
1. ICL, IPL & Stanford should be seen as ancillary supportive units to international cricket. Though Stanford & ICL have played to right role within the right parameters & framework, to act as ancillary units; IPL has been a bit of a gobbling giant with serious ramifications of destroying international cricket. The ICC needs to step in to restore order, reconise the ICL so that the monopolistic IPL can be balanced by a recognized ICL.
2. Free transfer of players: the IPL is no doubt the barrier breaker for creating a platform & viability for T20 & league cricket. However it suffers from the lacunae in terms of perfection of restricting the Indian talent pool. I guess if a free market exists for player transfers as seen by the soccer model in Europe; both the players & franchisee will see a synergistic benefit.
3. Player benefits is primary objective of cricket administrators & not maintenance of the present pyramid : I was reading an interesting interview with the Ravi Sashtri proclaimed Moses and cricket’s so called renaissance man Lalit Modi, with a leading electronic media company . When quizzed about ICL’s ban ; Mr. Modi justified it by saying that private bodies have to be discouraged to maintain to present structure of world cricket. I fail to comprehend this logic! Should player development & commercial enhancement be the logical objective of the boards or should it be the present stance of maintaining their monopoly on the lucrative world cricket turf? I leave the judgment to you.
Finally despite all odds & restrictions the ICL has delivered a transparent & vibrant sports product and justifiably needs the support from all us sports aficionados to emerge as a premier sporting event on our annual calendar.
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September 19, 2008 at 10:07 am
· Filed under Cricket India, Indian Cricket League - ICL, Indian Premiere League - IPL ·Tagged Arjuna ranatunga, ICC, Sri Lanka
It finally took a cricketer to understand the importance and wisdom of accepting a strong cricketing body comprising of a rich talent pool of cricketers & vibrant cricket structure. Sri Lanka’s most successful captain & CEO of cricket board has taken the path breaking step of understanding the modern cricket world & its dynamics. For how long could the premier cricket body (ICC) ignore a league represented & chosen by players from every major cricketing center of the world.
Arjuna Ranatunga has taken a step which will restore sanctity in the cricketing world. It is important that the ICC emerges as the supreme authority on global cricketing matters rather than follow the diktat of an IPL honcho. The IPL honcho has does great disservice to the BCCI portraying it as a bully rather than as a leader in cricketing initiatives.
It is important that the ICC does not let go of this opportunity to restore its supremacy on all global cricketing matters and shows the IPL honcho his right place.
In the final analysis it is a moral story for a few over-zealous authorities, that you can try hard but for how long can you keep a hardworking professional cricketer down.
This is great news for domestic Indian talents who choose the vibrant ICL platform; this is just the beginning of great things to follow for them. Finally they have got their rightful due for all the hard work put in.
VIVA domestic Indian cricket!
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September 17, 2008 at 7:55 am
· Filed under Cricket India, Indian Cricket League - ICL, Indian Premiere League - IPL ·Tagged Bangladesh, Bangladesh cricketers, bcci, Dhaka Warriors, Habib ul bashar
With the unveiling of the 9th ICL team in form of the Dhaka warriors and a big marketing blitz for its season-2; ICL has announced that it is here to stay. What attracts a professional cricketer to the Indian cricket league? The answer lies in the fact that the ICL provides top playing conditions an elementary requisite for a professional cricketer. Secondly the ICL philosophy and structure helps a professional cricketer get his rightful due in terms of his remuneration.
So far all the commercial spoils were enjoyed by the cricket boards and a portion of it trickled down to the domestic grass root level players & this explains the poor status of domestic players across cricket boards.
In case of Bangladesh I think the cricket Board and fans need to take the “player move” to ICL in a positive way. The grand launch of the Dhaka Warriors has given due recognition to Bangladesh cricket and its cricketers.
The traditional cricket structure always questioned Bangladesh’s test status & considered them minnows. But this is where the ICL is a cricket body with a difference, they have not only seen a commercial & cricketing potential in Bangladesh Cricket, but also unveiled the Dhaka warriors as the next big thing from the ICL stable.
Cricket pundits of the stature of Kapil Dev, Kiran More, Dean Jones & Tony Greig have seen the wisdom of inducting the Dhaka side on the competitive ICL platform & now it is for the Bangladeshi cricket fan to come out in numbers to support their players on a vibrant cricket platform that has a global reach.
From the view point of Bangladesh Board, they need to be visionaries and not follow the standard BCCI dictum. The ICL induction will showcase the true potential of the Bangladesh players and if they knock in a good performance at the forthcoming ICL Season-2, then the perception about players from Bangladesh will see a refreshing change from the global cricketing fraternity.
My sincere request to the Bangladesh cricket board, stand up to the BCCI and work only for the benefit of your own players. The first effects of the ICL induction is there to see for every Bangladeshi cricket fan. IPL authorities who ignored your players in their first season have promised to sign up your players for their next season.
For the sake of Bangladesh cricket, I hope the Dhaka Warriors put up a good show in ICL season-2.
Good Luck Warriors!
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