Sports

Indian Pyjamas

The Australian board, players disagree over the IPL

Advertisement

Indian Pyjamas
info_icon
M

The billion-dollar IPL, run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has been engaged with Cricket Australia (CA) in a battle of wits over the commodities they possess—the cricketers. CA has been unwilling to let its contracted players represent teams which have competing sponsors to its own. Furthermore, CA’s memorandum of understanding with its players, running into a voluminous 338 pages, doesn’t allow more than two players holding contracts to be part of any overseas team.

IPL chairman Lalit Modi upped the ante when he declared that the tournament would go ahead without the Australians if they are not cleared to play by CA.

Advertisement

The Australian players have been grumbling about these clauses, even though from the current team only Adam Gilchrist, who has announced his retirement, will be able to take part in the inaugural IPL, slated for April. The Australians are scheduled to tour Pakistan at the time. Yet CA spiked Andrew Symonds’ column (players can publish columns only after it has been vetted by CA) because he had revealed the rift between his cricket board and the players over the IPL. He had reportedly criticised CA for preventing players from signing up with the IPL.

Captain Ricky Ponting, however, has not been very coy about his view that CA can’t stop his teammates from signing up. "If they tried to do that I’m sure the players’ association would have something to say about it. It would be a little bit unfair if that was the case," Ponting said, arguing that the IPL, like county cricket, is a domestic competition. "There’s never been any worry about CA releasing guys to go and play county cricket," Ponting pointed out.

Advertisement

The Australian skipper has been insisting that the team is not overly worried about the controversy. "We all know the likelihood of us Australian players being able to play this year is pretty minimal, so we’ll worry about all those other outside distractions, if you like, once this summer is over and done with."

Despite the Australians’ eagerness to play in the IPL, Ponting has said that the temptation of easy money is not without its danger. Intense and excessive cricket could cause injury. There’s also the possibility of players choosing to retire from international cricket earlier than before. "If a guy is approaching the end of his international career anyway, being able to play 44 days (in IPL) and stay in one form of the game, I’m sure, is very attractive," he told an Australian news agency. "Particularly if they have families and they are getting a bit sick and tired of the travel you do with international cricket."

After negotiations, one workable solution is emerging. There is a suggestion that there be a six-week "international window" (or no international cricket) to fit the IPL in the global schedule. The suggestion came from Paul Marsh, the Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive, who told Outlook that this should keep all parties happy. Ponting has heartily endorsed this suggestion.

There’s a further, interesting twist—Australia’s tour of Pakistan is almost certainly not going to happen due to security concerns. In a letter to the Pakistan Cricket Board, CA has said that they’ve received advice to not tour Pakistan. Even if the tour goes ahead, there are chances that several senior players would pull out. The first IPL, thus, could see the world’s most intense and energy-emitting cricketers, the Australians, in action, after all.

Advertisement

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement