What motivates them to play in the IPL?

Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Ganguly, Kumble and Hayden have all retired, from all international and domestic cricket, in the last 2.5 years.

Yet, they all played in the IPL, both this season and the last.

What motivates them to play in the tournament? Is it the competitive urge? Is it the curiosity to find out if they're still good enough to compete with other current players? Is it the money? Did they retire because they were tired of living out of suitcases for nearly 9 months a year? Is it the will to try and master a relatively unfamiliar form of the game? Is it to pass on their decades of cricketing wisdom on to youngsters who'd be in awe of sharing the same dressing room with them?

If it is the competitive urge, why did they retire in the first place? Were they "pushed"? So maybe its a way of cocking a snoop at the selectors or team management.

Again, if it is about wanting to find out if they're still good enough, what's the big deal? They've excelled in their field over the past 10-15 years. So it is plain and obvious that even 1-2 years after retiring, they'd be much better than the average player at the IPL, perhaps even in the 80th percentile (i.e. in the top 20% of the players at the IPL). So why even try checking?

Is it about mastering T20 and learning "new tricks"? Quite possibly so, given that between all of them, they've played 24 T20 internationals and coincidentally, only the Aussies in that list (Hayden - 13, Gilchrist - 9 and McGrath - 2) have played T20 internationals.

Of the lot, it is fair to say that Gilchrist, Hayden, Warne and Kumble (perhaps in that order) have achieved the most in this format with McGrath having a great run last year but strangely not featuring in the playing XI at all this year while Ganguly has had two horrible tournaments barring 2-3 good knocks. Hayden and Gilchrist were the top run-scorers this season while Gilchrist was at #6 last time. Warne was the 2nd highest wicket-taker last time and slipped to #10 this time. Kumble had 2 of the 4 best bowling performances this time even as he got within 2 wickets of the purple cap. McGrath was in the top 10 wicket-takers last time. Ganguly had 2 entries in the top 11 innings scores last time around.

Is it about passing on their gyaan? Again, quite possibly so. I'm sure these chaps are nice enough to try and motivate their teammates through their attitude to preparation, their winning spirit, their focus, etc. Then again, barriers are bound to crop up in a team which has players from multiple countries/cultures. So not all the youngsters would be able to/keen to absorb the gyaan.

Were they sick and tired of being part of the tours & tournaments circus for the best part of 10+ years? Quite possible, because they would have felt the need to give more time to their families and the IPL is just a month-long tournament.

Is it about the money? Most certainly so. The money is huge, and even though McGrath would have been disappointed at not featuring in the playing XI, he earned quite a lot (he was "bought" last year for USD 350,000). None of these players would actually be in a situation where they desperately need money, but hey, who's going to be stupid enough to say no?!

As a parting note, Ganesh pointed me to 53-year old Shirley-Ann Bonaparte. What prompts her to play on, 30 years after she last turned out for West Indies' women's team, now representing the USA women's team?

Labels: ganguly, gilchrist, hayden, indian premier league, ipl 2009, kumble, mcgrath, twenty20, warne

Thus spake Jagadish @ 11:23 pm | Sledge/Read 4 sledge(s)
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Too early to call the IPL semi-final line-up?

The Indian Premier League points table indicates that Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians should take up 3 of the 4 semi-final spots. Yet, it is perhaps worth pointing out that less than a third of the league phase games of this IPL season have been completed.

Each team plays 14 games in the league phase and most teams have something like 9-10 games more to play. That's a huge number of games still in hand to reliably predict a semi-final lineup. Bangalore Royal Challengers maybe down right now, but you really can't rule out anything for any side right now.

The key aspect in the remaining games is who will be available, who won't be and who will replace the ones that're missing.

The only international cricket being played is West Indies tour of England. The teams impacted are Kolkata Knight Riders (Gayle), Bangalore Royal Challengers (Pietersen) and Delhi Daredevils (Shah and Collingwood - are they both considered great 12th man material? Is that why Delhi bought them and haven't bothered playing both yet, especially considering they're going to be unavailable from next week?). Chennai Super Kings have already lost Flintoff.

Some of the Aussies currently playing against Pakistan will return. Kings XI Punjab will especially benefit considering they will have Hopes and Lee back (Marsh is injured). Bracken will be back for Bangalore Royal Challengers, Hussey (David, not Michael who's currently shopping for runs in Perth) returns for Kolkata Knight Riders, Symonds returns for Deccan Chargers and Watson for Rajasthan Royals, providing he doesn't injure himself while collecting his bags after getting off the flight from Dubai to Johannesburg.

Then there are some reasonably known 'foreign' players who haven't even been used so far (BRC - Cameron White; DC - Chamara Silva, Vaas & Zoysa; DD - Andrew McDonald & Maharoof; KXIP - Katich & Pomersbach; KKR - Langeveldt, Mortaza; MI - Dilhara Fernando, Mills, Ashraful & Ronchi; RR - Morne Morkel). Some others (McGrath, Fleming, Dravid) will probably turn up if needed.

It is perhaps safe to assume that by and large, the Indian players without international experience, who will probably start getting more opportunities now, will not significantly impact the result of too many games.

For evidence, the most runs made so far by an Indian player who hasn't featured in any (or too many) internationals for India is 88 from 5 innings by Virat Kohli. Next best is Ravindra Jadeja's 70 in 3 innings. Karan Goel's 57 from 4 innings is the highest by someone who has no international experience. The most wickets by an Indian player who hasn't played any internationals is Kamran Khan's 5 wickets from 3 games.

Last season, Yusuf Pathan (having played 1 T20 game for India) and Manpreet Gony were the best among those Indian players who didn't have any (or too much) international experience.

Looking at the list of new entrants (and those who haven't yet played), Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers seem best placed since they won't lose people and will have enough quality players available to pick from. Kings XI Punjab will gain the most since their Aussie players will be available and the bowling gets strengthened. Pietersen is an impact player, so even though he has flopped majorly so far, he could have turned it around in a couple of games to get Bangalore Royal Challengers' campaign back on the rails. Bracken is an excellent bowler, but Bangalore's main problem is the batting. Kolkata Knight Riders will suffer since Gayle will leave and assuming Langeveldt/Mortaza aren't drafted into the captaincy committee, that's one less skipper for them.

So now, maybe it isn't too far fetched if I predicted that Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers should make it to 2 of the 4 semi-final spots. Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils will in all likelihood make up the remaining 2 semi-finalists. But hang on, that is essentially what the points table is telling us right now! Like Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr said, "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (the more things change, the more they stay the same).

Labels: india, indian premier league, ipl 2009, twenty20

Thus spake Jagadish @ 12:33 pm | Sledge/Read 14 sledge(s)
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Hardly breaking news - Sunil Gavaskar faces conflict of interest situation yet again

An English newspaper editor once wrote about Sunil Gavaskar - "He has an inability to realize a conflict of interest even when it stared at him in the face". He keeps proving it right every now and then.

In early 2007, he and Ricky Ponting had a slanging match when Gavaskar commented on Australia's behaviour and in response Ponting pointed out that Gavaskar had no business talking of behaviour when he had famously dragged along Chetan Chauhan after being given out lbw off Lillee at the MCG in 1980.

Then last year he alleged at race being involved in Mike Procter's decision to ban Harbhajan for 3 tests after the events at Sydney. David Morgan, the then President-elect of the ICC, expressed concern over the conflict of interest (Gavaskar was ICC Cricket Committee chairman & cricket columnist/commentator). A couple of months later, there were rumours that Gavaskar would be asked to choose from one of his roles and in April of 2008, he resigned from his role as chairman of the ICC's Cricket Committee.

In a column published last weekend, he rubbished John Buchanan's idea of having multiple captains by wondering aloud why people even bothered listening to him. He pointed out that Buchanan had successfully got roles within the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) support staff for a lot of Queensland friends. He also generally rubbished Buchanan's coaching skills, qualifications & achievements.

Sunil Gavaskar is a member of the IPL's Governing Council. Thus, he really has no business passing judgement on the strategies and plans proposed or adopted by any of the teams that are playing in the tournament. If he isn't on the governing council, he is well justified in criticizing (or applauding) what the various teams do (or don't do). But since he is, surely it is a huge conflict of interest. If there was some decision that the IPL Governing Council needed to make regarding something related to KKR, that team would be be perfectly justified in demanding that Sunny recused himself from the proceedings.

Labels: conflict of interest, gavaskar, indian premier league, ipl 2009, twenty20

Thus spake Jagadish @ 5:46 pm | Sledge/Read 3 sledge(s)
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IPL facing far too many questions

Before India's general election dates were announced, there was little doubt over the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League being held. The primary concerns were over what all it would be blamed for, the impact of the attack in Lahore and whether anyone would actually care if Andrew Symonds or Ricky Ponting were missing.

However, it soon became apparent that the Indian government was not quite thrilled with the schedule drawn up for the IPL because the priority in terms of deployment security personnel would (obviously) be for the conduct of elections. After some initial attempts at playing down the issue, the IPL administrators then got into overdrive to accomodate the concerns of the various agencies involved in providing security for the games - the central government, the state police, the state government, etc.

Now, the situation is still in limbo. Revised schedules are being drawn up and I guess things will clear up in the next 2-3 days. I'm sure the IPL administrators will accommodate the government's concerns (as if they had any other choice! It's actually fun to see Lalit Modi actually acknowledging the power of some other authority!). I do believe that the IPL will find in its favour that the government would not want a situation where a sporting event was cancelled for security reasons.

This though doesn't really mean everything else is hunky-dory. Even if the revised schedule is arrived at and announced, there's no guarantee that audiences can actually watch the games. The IPL administration and Sony Entertainment Television (who has the broadcast rights for the Indian sub-continent) are at loggerheads after the BCCI suddenly attempted to remove SET as the broadcaster. That issue is now in the courts.

I do hope that the court also accepts public interest litigations on the actual quality of TV telecasts. I don't think I'm too far away from a stage where I won't bother following a game "live" on TV. Coverage on TV is so irritating to follow, because even as the ball is up in the air and a fielder is getting under it, we're transported to an ad break. The logical next step is that when a bowler loses his run-up, we go for an ad break.

Then of course, there's the whole question of the on-field happenings. I think right now, even 50-over games are forcing bowlers into considering retirement. For evidence, consider the recent India-New Zealand ODI series. It produced the highest ever runrate for a series of 3 games or more and the 2nd highest for a tournament of any length excluding games involving minnow sides (a definition that does include Bangladesh & Zimbabwe but excludes England).

Yes, the grounds were smaller than Ashish Nehra's brain, and the pitches were flatter than Cameron White's legbreaks. But the fact remains that bowlers, by and large, are being made so irrelevant that they might as well not bother turning up. Do I love watching batsmen smacking bowlers around? Sure, at most once or twice a series. Would followers of the IPL T20 games love seeing nothing but sixes and fours? Chances are the answer is no.

Labels: economics, india, indian premier league, ipl 2009, security, tv rights, twenty20

Thus spake Jagadish @ 11:40 pm | Sledge/Read 8 sledge(s)
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Bretton-Woods system collapse blamed for England collapse at Sabina Park

When England lose, and especially badly, we're normally guaranteed some extremely creative excuses. At least as far as I remember, there've been excuses about prawns, pollution, alignment of stars, too much cricket, too little cricket, injuries, "what's the big deal?", etc.

After England collapsed horribly at Jamaica to lose the first test by an innings (Video on YouTube), two former England captains, coincidentally both from Essex, have now blamed the IPL for distracting England.

I have news for you, Nass & Goochie. The IPL didn't cause the collapse. The England batsmen's poor skills, application & response to pressure did.

Surely then the team shouldn't even bother turning up for games, because all players aren't paid alike. The dressing room should have already been a war-zone, because chaps like Flintoff, Pietersen, Collingwood, etc. obviously earn a lot more than Swann, Bell or Broad. Should all the players be paid the same?

Next thing, they'll blame the collapse of the Bretton-Woods system and the emergence of the US dollar as the reserve currency. Why? Because the IPL bids were in US dollars.

Labels: england, indian premier league, ipl 2009, twenty20, west indies

Thus spake Jagadish @ 7:49 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Breaking news: Andrew Symonds pulls out from IPL

In a stunning development, Andrew Symonds has exclusively revealed to this blog that he is pulling out from the Indian Premier League. The news comes a couple of days after Cricket Australia announced that he would not be considered for national selection until he completed his counselling & rehabilitation. He said that his decision was not related to any on-field related issue with Deccan Chargers.

Readers will recall that he was sent off during the Bangladesh one-dayers. Subsequently, he was recalled to the side. However, as part of his rehabilitation programme, Symonds was barred by Cricket Australia from going fishing anywhere.

Having looked at the various teams in the Indian Premier League, Symonds came to the conclusion that it would be impossible for him to resist the temptation to go fishing in the cities where the IPL games were played in. Delhi & Kolkota have rivers, Chennai & Mumbai have beaches while all the others (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur & Mohali) had lakes (artificial & natural).

Symonds is the latest among prominent cricketers who've decided to give the IPL a miss - Michael Clarke, Stuart Broad and Mitchell Johnson. Michael Vaughan really doesn't count. With a ODI batting avg 27, sr 68 from 83 innings, there's a high chance that he gracefully stepped aside lest the IPL team owners ask him to pay up to go anywhere near one of the teams in the league.

Labels: breaking news, exclusive, indian premier league, ipl 2009, symonds, twenty20

Thus spake Jagadish @ 12:59 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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ICL, IPL, Bangladesh cricket and a BCCI website!

A fortnight or so ago, six Bangladesh cricketers sent in their resignation letters to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, to join the Indian Cricket League and play as a team called the 'Dhaka Warriors'.

The board responded by banning them for 10 years. But it was pretty obvious that Bangladesh cricket was in serious shit. Big brother, the BCCI, stepped in to help out. How did the BCCI help? It offered to include more Bangladesh players in the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League and a Bangladesh team in the 2010 Twenty20 Champions League.

The BCCI's decision is so ridiculous. The Bangladesh Cricket Board does not benefit when its players play in the IPL, or the Champions League. The players do. At this point in time, no cricket board gets any payment for releasing its contracted players for the IPL.

Perhaps the better option for the BCB would have been to get the BCCI to agree to a rapidly scheduled home-and-away test & ODI series. Bangladesh was to have played tests in India in April 2005. That then got postponed, so often, that no-one seriously expects it to materialize.

In a path-breaking, breathtaking and least-anticipated development last week, the BCCI launched its website (www.bcci.tv) over a decade ahead of schedule. One of the first few decisions taken by the outgoing BCCI President, Mr. Sharad Pawar, was to target a 2020 launch of the BCCI's own website.

It's perhaps apt to mention though that during the 2006 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, you could buy tickets on www.bcci.tv. After that tournament, the site lay dormant, until it sprung to life over the weekend!

Amazingly enough, it even has RSS feeds for press releases and cricket news!

Labels: bangladesh, bcci, india, indian cricket league, indian premier league, ipl 2009, twenty20, website

Thus spake Jagadish @ 7:55 am | Sledge/Read 3 sledge(s)
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