T20 is exciting when ...

... the bowlers dominate the batsmen. What joy to see low scoring thrillers!

Also South Africa is proving to be an inspired choice for a location. With the pitches supporting the bowlers - it is clear that the fly-by-night lesser skilled batsmen are not going to make the cut.

Which means that we get to watch real talent fight real battles out there. It also means that the Jaffers and Chopras of the world have a right to play their trade in the IPL. It will also mean that teams will actually relook their batting lineups and go in with one anchor and one hitter kind of a lineup.

The thing with the last IPL was that the batsmen started on top and the bowlers had to learn new tricks to keep the scoring down. In this case - the learning curve is all for the batsmen and hence the old experienced hands are going to be the ones most succesful.

Cheers to the new IPL ~ its like a Hamam. Everybody has a chance here

The IPL and the stock market

While there will always be many ways to make money in the IPL - one of the long term solutions is investments. Not investments in shares but investments in players.

The way to make big money is to contract players cheap - make them successful, have them capture the public imagination and then sell them at much higher rates.

It makes for an interesting conundrum for any team then! You need to have established stars to get audiences riveted to your team, to ensure that you have fans and to ensure that you win matches. And yet these stars dont come cheap. So you need to get a mix of stars, good steady known players and then the unknown guys - young talented but with no pedigree to show that they can really shine. These are the ones you take your chances on.

Ofcourse as was shown in the case of Hyderabad last year - even buying the best players on paper can get you to bottom place. However the IPL mandates that you balance your portfolio well. For every Sachin and Sanath that you buy - you need a Nayar and a Rahane and equally you need the mix of Dhavals and Rajes. The Sachin and Sanaths will win matches alongside Nayars and Rahanes being the supports while the Dhavals and Rajes will come out of nowhere to make a name for themselves.

The Sachins and Sanaths are high short term returns - they win matches and are attractive to sponsors and hence get immediate money. They also sell the shirts. They would however also be the depreciating assets - resale value would be lower than the buying price for sure
!
The Nayars and the Rahanes are possibly the known future stars - the ones that come inexpensive and can weigh in with their performances. The Dhavals and the Rajes are the ones who come at prices tending to zero - can make a name for themselves and get sold for astronomical prices. These are the logn term investments. High Risk if they dont fire as even one really bad over in a T20 can have the match lost - as to make these guys future stars and marketable - they have to be played in a fair smattering of matches.

So one has to be a strong scout and spot the ones with the talent and get them in - take your chances and play them even if it means one can lose the match. Because if you nurture and market that talent well - you have a big fat profit on your hands.

The strategy is also very useful when it comes to players on the brink of national selection - say for eg Shaun Marsh last year. If he were to be sold - there would be some buying to be done.

So the long term profits depend on who one picks to be the future star. They could perhaps pick a trick or two from The Rajasthan Royals. Buy low - sell high - they have it made!

Chokety choke

Mohali - a flying Yuvraj and a choke. Delhi - a sweeping Karthik and a choke. Rajasthan - a misfielding Fernando and yet another choke.

With all these chokes - I petition to rename the Mumbai Indians as the "Mumbai South Africans" and nominate them as the true successors to the choking tradition of the Saffers.

Oh Woe!

The IPL situation

Note: This is one of the rare posts that I had left as a draft after writing the first 2 points and than actually came back to finish it off. Started writing this before the IPL - got a bout of NED (No Enthu Da) - quit the post and now am continuing it again once the IPL has started. So the latter part of the post also has the benefit of hindsight.

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Lot of people have expressed their concern over IPL - ranging from resentment over India's growing and now evident power in World Cricket to IPL's effect on International matches and even the future of Test and ODI cricket and even the impact on the purity of the game.

Lets try and look at it point by point

1. India's Power in World Cricket

Thats just some countries being sore about India and the shift in balance of power from traditional English-Australia stronghold days. Lets face the fact - India is where this game has gargantuan proportions and tremendous fan following and the money. India will be powerful and should use some of that power. However to quote Spidey's Uncle - With great power comes great responsibility and BCCI will have to tread that line carefully. But the point is that the IPL for the first time has opened up the treasure box of cash not just for itself but also for the players. For the first time players are not being paid according to Board Policies or Prize Monies but according to their market value - and astronomical sums. I have for long argued that a cricketer has a limited shelf life - open to injuries ruining his career - and if he isnt articulate enough then a career in commentary is not open either. Hence it is only fair that the cricketer cashes in on every possible opportunity to earn and secure his future. Indian money now is directly flowing to good players of any caste creed or origin. A relatively unknown David Hussey also has the chance to make a killing here and from the players point of view - this has to be a good thing.
The biggest stakeholder however is the spectator - and he now gets the chance to watch the best players play against each other far more regularly. While it may lack the national rivalry flavour - soon enough we might find that we the spectators will rally behind some franchisee or the other. And this may not even be region based - but largely on the following that the players will command.

2. The International Matches

The IPL is a 45 day window with 8 teams. Teams will purchase players on the basis of their performance not only in the IPL which happens only once a year for a 45 day window but primarily on the basis of their performance on the biggest stage that is World Cricket. For any player to connect to the adoring masses who will eventually bankroll the entire IPL - that player needs to shine for the country at the International Level. Unless he does that he will not be able to command a price premium. Given the intensity with which players have been playing in the IPL - it does not at any point of time seem that they look upon this as a carnival (except ofcourse Graeme Smith's stumping off Pollock). It is serious intense cricket with both the foreign and local players giving it their all.

What this means is that International Cricket will not be devalued by IPL - infact the importance will increase tremendously. The ICC here has a huge role to play by actually trying to accomodate the IPL in its FTP calendar as without that the player will be forced to choose for those 45 days between money (really big money) and country. With the shortsightedness that most cricket boards carry - it can end up having serious consequences for the player. My hypothesis obviously is that if a player only plays 45 days of IPL and no international cricket (unless he is a retired star like Warne or McGrath) he will lose bargaining power with the IPL.


3. Devaluation of Test / ODI cricket

When ODI cricket came in - it was argued that Test Cricket would die a death. On the contrary ODI has made Test Cricket more interesting with the fast pace of scoring boiling down to more results and hence more interesting cricket. Test cricket will always have its own charm - the charm of seeing 7 players crowded around the bat with the bowler attacking with full steam is something that has its own joy. Or the excitement that a tense close draw can generate with the no.11 batsman looking to play out the last over of the day to earn a draw by the skin of their teeth is unmatched.

Similarly T20 is going to make ODI cricket a more exciting place. Last 10 overs 134 to chase is no longer going to be outside the realms of possibility. The fielding is only going to get better and running between the wickets is going to improve.

Also the good part is that most matches have seen clean hitting and not slogging - which is good for the game.

4. The Good Things

This is not a concern obviously. One thing that IPL will do is increase friendship and tolerance amongst players from different countries and that is one thing that cricket desperately needs. Also now player weaknesses are going to be out in the open - so that again will make cricket more interesting and put the onus on the player to perfect his game to the largest extent possible.


All in all - IPL can only mean good things for the game. Ofcourse it could have been done in better ways but that doesnt take anything away from it. Its an outstanding idea executed well and the BCCI and the players will earn some deserved moolah.

IPL - Arbit Observations

1. Bhajji's slaps could have been better used on Shiv Pandit, Samir Kocchar and gang. Its wasted on Sreesanth. Sreesanth was funny enough without the supreme funniness of his crying uncontrollably after the match.

2. The commentary is consistently bad. Today when Tony Cozier made a witty remark after Kalyanakrishna threw down his second slipped ball (the ball flew from his hand behind the umpire) - Tony commented "We should call this the doosra - one that goes the other way" - Arun Lal responded with his best 'Oops - I have nothing witty to respond with' fake guffaw and then added this 'gem' - "Tony - the doosra is already taken, we should call this the Teesra - Ha Ha!"

3. If your team isnt performing well enough you should support the Mohali team - Priety Zinta just might throw in a free hug.

4. Who is Mussavir Khote? Why is he in any team? I want to play for the Mumbai Indians too if Khote can qualify so can I.