MS Dhoni spoke very clearly today about the ongoing tussle between ICC and IPL in providing a Window for the new tournament.
ICC - International Cricket Council will have to adjust IPL in its cricket calendar otherwise it may force cricketers from many countries to opt for retirement, India’s ODI captain Mahender Singh Dhoni said on Sunday - reported PTI from Chandigarh.
“They will need to take this decision otherwise we may have a situation where cricketers will prefer retirement,” Dhoni told PTI here before leaving for Chennai.
He was of the view that BCCI-backed IPL, which is currently holding its inaugural T20 tournament, will become an annual feature.
Dhoni, who is captaining the IPL team Chennai Super Kings and led them to convincing victory over Kings Punjab XI in Mohali last night, felt that with so much money involved in the lucrative league, it would become difficult to stop players (from participating).
Outgoing CEO of ICC, Malcom Speed, said in Mumbai on Wednesday that there was no immediate need to carve out a slot for the IPL in the Future Tours Programme at the moment.
Speed had said the biggest challenge facing the game’s administrators right now was how to integrate the T20 format with Tests and ODIs to ensure that none had to face the disinterest of the fans.
Spin legend Shane Warne, who is leading IPL T20 team Rajasthan Royals, has slammed England and Wales Cricket Board for not allowing its centrally contracted players to turn out in the League.
Dhoni saw nothing wrong in players making money by playing in the IPL, saying in some countries the players don’t not earn that big and IPl will be a real option for such deserving players.
Cricket South Africa has rallied strongly behind its Indian counterpart BCCI and asked the International Cricket Council for a six-week window in April-May to accommodate the Indian Premier League that opened in Bangalore two days ago.
“I believe, however, that it is vital that the ICC creates a six-week window in the international programme each year for the IPL tournament so that it does not encroach on any international tours,” Gerald Majola, CEO of CSA, said in a media release.
“In this way, there can be no conflict between national playing contracts and those of the tournament. An ideal time would be the last two weeks in April and for the month of May,” he declared after praising the launch of the IPL at Bangalore as a “very exciting new jewel in cricket’s crown”.
Majola’s views are radically different to those expressed recently in Mumbai by outgoing ICC CEO, Malcolm Speed, who feels there’s no hurry to rush things up and carve out a window in the Future Tours Programme of the ICC to slot in the IPL.
“The players know that the only reason they are approached for the Twenty20 is because they are the stars for their country. They have become good players because they have been brought up in the system within their country. IPL hasn’t started yet. Before we go carving windows in the structure that is basis of the finances of all countries including the BCCI, let’s see how good it is. There is no rush to do this,” he emphasized.
Former Pakistan captains including Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram, who feel the cash-rich Twenty20 competition has begun to damage the international cricket calendar - The Hindu reported today.
“The IPL has already started hurting the international calendar and in the long run it will encourage more private parties and organisations to come in and start their own leagues if they have big money to roll,” he said on Friday.
Miandad said the IPL would create a divide in international cricket and feared players would be willing to sacrifice their international careers to play for more money in the the BCCI-backed league.
“People are comparing the IPL with the Kerry Packer series in the late ’70s. But these are two totally different things. The Packer series was held when players were paid ridiculously low wages,” Miandad said.
“The Packer circus brought in new concepts into international cricket which were beneficial in the long run and it forced the boards to improve pay structures to a reasonable level. The figures being quoted by the IPL organisers are ridiculously high,” he said.
Miandad said when the International Cricket Council had decided to host the Twenty20 World Championship every alternate year, there was no room for a private league.
Akram also raised an alarm in a television interview, saying the IPL could prove to be a negative distraction for international players as they could end up preferring to play in private leagues than for their national teams.
True everyone has their point of view but one should not be blind to the fact that such tournaments also helps players and cultures break barriers like Hayden said and also bring out the best in the field.
Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, fears for the future of international cricket if administrators don’t carve out a six-week window for the Indian Premier League. The tournament opens in Bangalore on Friday and while the cricket world is waiting to see how big it will be, Ponting is concerned about how it could influence players - reports Cricinfo.
We also hope that ICC will rise to the occasion and put IPl in its right place in the Cricket Calender.
“If they don’t have an international window for IPL, I fear for the long-term impact that it will have on the game,” Ponting wrote in the Australian. “Much has been said about the veterans coming to the end of their careers, but what about those players just starting out?
“I think it’s vital that we have a six-week period carved out of every international team’s program because the money being thrown around becomes very appealing to young kids coming into the game.”
Ponting expressed concern that players might choose the lucrative Twenty20 league over national duties. “Seeing the big dollars there and having the chance to take that and turn your back on international cricket is the biggest danger that will be posed out of this event,” Ponting said. “For those young guys starting out who haven’t had a taste of international cricket, they might not want to put themselves through the rigours of traveling the world for the next 15 years.
“And the guys at the end of their careers have family at home and it’s getting harder and harder for them to go away on tours every year. For them, they could make the equivalent amount of money in only seven weeks.”
Ponting highlighted the exodus faced by countries such as New Zealand, with key players like Shane Bond having joined the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League. “I know it has lost a couple of its bigger and better players because of the difference in pay playing for New Zealand,” Ponting said. “The Kiwis’ IPL contracts are probably four times the value of their international contract.
“That’s where the dangers are. You would hate to see a situation where New Zealand is no longer playing international cricket because it has no players.”
John Buchanan, the former Australia coach who is with the Kolkata Knight Riders, expressed similar concerns in the Sydney Morning Herald. He said cricket needed to sort out its finances and the likes of Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire hoping to revive West Indies cricket, should be welcomed.
“With the exception of Australia, England and India, every country in world cricket is struggling to pay their players sufficiently,” he said. “For example, we have Brendon McCullum with us, and there’s no way New Zealand Cricket could be paying him in a day what the IPL is.
“But there shouldn’t be any debate in terms of him playing for his country. That is of utmost importance. But administrators should allow the IPL to subsidise his income with New Zealand Cricket.” - Ponting added.
IPL is planning a grand opening on Friday the 18th when the Knight Riders meet the Royal Challengers at Bangalore. With Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid facing each other as rivals for the first time - it will indeed be a spectacular scene.
The opening ceremony will kick off at starting 18.30, when all the captains will come together at mid-pitch to jointly read out a pledge reaffirming the IPL’s faith in the spirit of cricket. There will be speeches by Ray Mali, the ICC president, Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, and IPL Chairman Lalit Modi.
The opening ceremony will consist of fireworks, stilt walkers, aerial gymnasts, performers in a bubble suspended over the ground and of course with a major Bollywood presence with Shah Rukh Khan the owner of Kolkata team - Knight Riders and some of his friends, Preity Zinta, co-owner of the IPL Mohali franchise - Kings XI Punjab. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy the music directors from Bollywood will perform throughout the ceremony even as the other performers go through their acts. And your guess is right - the key role behind sich an extravagant opening is played by none other than the Liquor Baron Vijaya Mallaya.
The most dramatic moment comes after the end of ceremony when all the floodlights are switched off at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and the two skippers walk out for the toss just under spotlights.This is really something unique and will add sufficient drama and excitement just before the match - a kind of Roman arena where gladiators use to sweat out in a fight till the end atmosphere.
After the toss, a couple of players from the fielding side will talk directly with the TV commentators during the match. However we have seen this before and is good value for the Tv Audience.
Bangalore is also waiting anxiously for the 12 cheerleaders from the Washington Redksins, the ‘First Ladies of American Football’.
So what we will find here is a mix of glamor and cricket and personalities which is planned to be presented with professional touch adding new colors to the serious game of cricket and maybe reflecting the true image of IPL. One thing for sure is that the audience will never feel bored in this kind of an event as also the match itself will have enough firepower within it.
We can only hope that this event will not be marred by faceless politicians crowding the stage to grab some limelight again. All the best to the two teams Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers and also for the millions of cricket fan waiting breathlessly for the IPL League to start.
