Line & Length
R Mohan
Exodus of Aussies, Kiwis to affect IPL
May 03, 2008
In May, IPL teams may hardly resemble those that played in the last two weeks of April. The exodus of the Australians, West Indians and New Zealanders, to do national duty in the Cari-bbean and in England, would mean that the team composition would change dramatically. Considering the impact the Australians have made in the opening phase with three of four centuries coming from them, the very nature of a team's cricket could change too.
The latecomers and the reinforcements have arrived, some may even have sneaked in much to the consternation of franchises, which are questioning the norms for foreign player signings outside the auction. Frankly speaking, the flavour of the first IPL has been mostly of the imported variety despite so many success stories of local players who on occasion have outperformed themselves.
Chennai Super Kings who have established themselves at the top of the table with four wins in as many outings may have to change their whole batting order as well as their approach because they are losing three key men to the exodus - Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey and Jacob Oram. Other teams are also similarly affected with Kolkata Knight Riders certain to feel the pinch as McCullum was providing them with so much thrust.
The question is bound to come up about how open should the competition be. Should the IPL throw open its doors and raise the cap on foreign players from the existing four? It can be argued that if the English Premier League format is to be followed, it should then be an open house with teams free to choose how much of their playing XI they would wish to be filled by imported stars.
If market forces are allowed their freedom, which will probably happen after the first season when transfers become possible, it is on the cards that some IPL teams will aspire to be the Arsenal FC of the IPL. The London club that boasts of 13 League titles and 10 FA Cups now has far more French-speaking players than English footballers. If the existing cap of four players is raised because of pressure from teams, the composition of IPL teams could change drastically once again.
It would be nice if the IPL teams were to follow the examples of the other giants of EPL, like Manchester United and Chelsea who believe in keeping their backbone English. There is a certain pride in them when an English footballer like Paul Scholes scores the goal as he did to take ManU to the final of the Champions League.
When it comes to a one-club star like Scholes, who having been with United for 14 years has risen through the Old Trafford ranks, the English tend to go gaga.
There is, however, no denying the pride in seeing home grown talent reach the pinnacle even in a club with an international outlook like ManU, one of the leading brands in pro sport franchises.
The Delhi Daredevils, with a batting star cast that is virtually all Indian will probably argue that national is the way to go. That might, however, be a minority view. IPL cricket is bound to face the dilemma over the cap on foreign players soon as franchises try to go for the best combinations possible.
The effect of having the big hitters who belt the new ball from the top order is already evident, with openers McCullum, Hayden and Gilchrist making three spectacular centuries. The other century came from the uberbat Symonds.
It must have been galling for youth like Abhishek Nayar and Palani Amarnath to have to go out and play in front of huge crowds, with millions more watching on television. Many young Indians have begun to shed their stage fright and are standing up to be counted.
Still, when it comes to providing momentum at the top of the innings, only the world's best, which of course includes Dhoni and Sehwag, have done it so far. The clamour will be for more ammunition from abroad. One of the founding principles of the IPL was to promote Indian talent.
This is where the issue will get ticklish because franchises that have put up considerable sums will demand greater flexibility. They do pay huge amounts for foreign players to sit on the benches because only four are allowed.
Curiously, Chennai dropped Muralitaharan to play Morkel against Bangalore, which was a poor tactical decision considering how Murali is a spinner for all conditions and pitches.
In any case, the cap of four will certainly prove irksome and the arguments will break out. It would be interesting to see what shape the administrators give the league in the future when the debate over foreigners opens up.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
The latecomers and the reinforcements have arrived, some may even have sneaked in much to the consternation of franchises, which are questioning the norms for foreign player signings outside the auction. Frankly speaking, the flavour of the first IPL has been mostly of the imported variety despite so many success stories of local players who on occasion have outperformed themselves.
Chennai Super Kings who have established themselves at the top of the table with four wins in as many outings may have to change their whole batting order as well as their approach because they are losing three key men to the exodus - Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey and Jacob Oram. Other teams are also similarly affected with Kolkata Knight Riders certain to feel the pinch as McCullum was providing them with so much thrust.
The question is bound to come up about how open should the competition be. Should the IPL throw open its doors and raise the cap on foreign players from the existing four? It can be argued that if the English Premier League format is to be followed, it should then be an open house with teams free to choose how much of their playing XI they would wish to be filled by imported stars.
If market forces are allowed their freedom, which will probably happen after the first season when transfers become possible, it is on the cards that some IPL teams will aspire to be the Arsenal FC of the IPL. The London club that boasts of 13 League titles and 10 FA Cups now has far more French-speaking players than English footballers. If the existing cap of four players is raised because of pressure from teams, the composition of IPL teams could change drastically once again.
It would be nice if the IPL teams were to follow the examples of the other giants of EPL, like Manchester United and Chelsea who believe in keeping their backbone English. There is a certain pride in them when an English footballer like Paul Scholes scores the goal as he did to take ManU to the final of the Champions League.
When it comes to a one-club star like Scholes, who having been with United for 14 years has risen through the Old Trafford ranks, the English tend to go gaga.
There is, however, no denying the pride in seeing home grown talent reach the pinnacle even in a club with an international outlook like ManU, one of the leading brands in pro sport franchises.
The Delhi Daredevils, with a batting star cast that is virtually all Indian will probably argue that national is the way to go. That might, however, be a minority view. IPL cricket is bound to face the dilemma over the cap on foreign players soon as franchises try to go for the best combinations possible.
The effect of having the big hitters who belt the new ball from the top order is already evident, with openers McCullum, Hayden and Gilchrist making three spectacular centuries. The other century came from the uberbat Symonds.
It must have been galling for youth like Abhishek Nayar and Palani Amarnath to have to go out and play in front of huge crowds, with millions more watching on television. Many young Indians have begun to shed their stage fright and are standing up to be counted.
Still, when it comes to providing momentum at the top of the innings, only the world's best, which of course includes Dhoni and Sehwag, have done it so far. The clamour will be for more ammunition from abroad. One of the founding principles of the IPL was to promote Indian talent.
This is where the issue will get ticklish because franchises that have put up considerable sums will demand greater flexibility. They do pay huge amounts for foreign players to sit on the benches because only four are allowed.
Curiously, Chennai dropped Muralitaharan to play Morkel against Bangalore, which was a poor tactical decision considering how Murali is a spinner for all conditions and pitches.
In any case, the cap of four will certainly prove irksome and the arguments will break out. It would be interesting to see what shape the administrators give the league in the future when the debate over foreigners opens up.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
