The cricketing world has recently been embroiled in a power struggle between club cricket and international cricket. The recently inaugurated Indian Premier League (IPL), the brainchild of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has opened up new avenues for cricketers, exposing them to huge amounts of money that international cricket cannot possibly hope to compete with.
The IPL is full of the glitz and razzmatazz that you would normally associate with a Bollywood movie, which is unsurprising, as two of the teams have been bought by Bollywood stars. IPL is a domestic brand of franchise−based 20−20 cricket, with seven teams owned by franchises competing for the championship over two months. The money being thrown at the cricketers borders on the ridiculous, as the hype generated by the IPL has quadrupled BCCI's coffers.
What more do you expect when a Formula−1 team owner buys a team from Bangalore, hires cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins and throws a party after every game? Could there possibly be a lack of money when you have a Mumbai−based team owned by the fourth−richest man in the world?
It's only natural that international players' heads have been turned by the event, with some worried that players will be willing to retire early from international cricket in order to focus on the IPL. Meanwhile, the younger generation deals with fame and adulation for which it is not prepared, and many lose their way as they find themselves in ostentatious environments after being plucked from relative obscurity.
Power struggles continue between the national cricket boards and their players, who have become reluctant to play international cricket during the IPL season. The boards are understandably unwilling to commit their players to the IPL, as they lose out on revenue and their players are subjected to a heavy workload, increasing the risk of injury. The most recent impasse occurred when New Zealand cricketers threatened to not sign national contracts if any games were scheduled during the IPL season. In that case, the players won the power struggle.
This has set a very dangerous precedent, and there will be more players finding themselves reluctant to play away from their homes and families throughout the year when they could simply play for a month and pocket a bigger paycheck.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has to tread carefully around this matter. It cannot afford to confront the BCCI, as it provides the ICC with more than 70 percent of its revenue. If it does not take some sort of action, though, chances are that cricket will change in a way that no one but the players will be happy about. Cricket has a rich tradition and culture, and representing the country has been the biggest source of pride for players throughout history. The IPL threatens that culture as the players change their priorities.
The ICC must take a proactive stand and ensure that international cricket and the IPL coexist. It must leave a window open for the IPL to be played over a period of two months, during which no international games will be played. They should push the BCCI to ensure that the franchises are accountable to the country boards if players get injured while playing in the IPL. The IPL has been a huge commercial success, and proper steps should be taken to ensure that it helps in globalizing the game as cricket evolves to cater to the needs of the modern era.
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Avinash Asthana is a junior majoring in computer science. He can be reached at Avinash.Asthana@tufts.edu.
