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Spent bullets in a new gun?

By: Anantha :+: Under: Business, Cricket, It Happens Only in India, Sports
On: ⋅ July 26, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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A few months ago, I had posted about the breakaway Indian Cricket League, proposed by Zee TV head honcho Subash Chandra and the ramifications it would have on cricket as we know it. At that point, it was just that, an announcement.

Is Subhash Chandra trying to do a Packer? Is this independent cricket league what India needs?

The intent obviously seemed to be to emulate Kerry Packer’s World Series of Cricket, but the similarity ended with the idea. And for a time, the BCCI seemed to be on a wait and watch mode.

Meanwhile, Chandra started to acquire the brains that he needed to manage his breakaway league. Among the first to come on board was Kapil Dev, who took charge as the chairman of the ICL’s executive board. In the ensuing weeks, a number of Kapil’s peers from the 80’s, like Madan Lal, Sandeep Patil and Balwinder Sandhu joined too. It is interesting to note that these former Indian cricketers all have had some coaching experience with Kapil’s resume boasting of some additional qualifications like being the resident loud mouth and loose canon. It is also interesting that Packer veteran Tony Greig and former Australian batsman (and closet racist) Dean Jones were signed up, to run the outfit.

And in the past few weeks, more details have slowly started emerging regarding the players and the teams.

The league proposes to field six teams — each featuring four international players, two Indian stars and eight up and comers — playing Twenty20 matches across India.

(link)

Players will represent teams such as the Bombay Jets, Madras Heat and Bangalore Tigers…

(link)

“We are not there to ask guys to break contracts with their countries — we’re not doing that,” Jones said. “We are targeting countries that are not playing at that time.”

Or over the hill, retired cricketers, eh, Jonesy? It certainly appears so. Two days ago, the first international was signed up - one Brian Charles Lara, on a reported $500,000 a year.

“It gives me great pleasure to join the Indian Cricket League,” Lara said in a statement on the league’s Web site. “You can’t keep me too far from cricket.”

Sure Brian, the money was no consideration at all!

And Lara’s signing seems to have moved everything to a different gear. Yesterday, Kapil announced that Shane Warne and Glenn Mcgrath have signed on too. Of course, in a development that is on par with the course, Warne’s agent denied Kapil’s claim.

“They haven’t offered what we have asked for, so negotiations are proceeding,” Erskine told The Australian. “Provided the terms and conditions are right, Shane Warne will play, but it’s a long way off before we get the contract signed.”

Similarly McGrath’s manager denied that a monetary offer had been made. Nor has any sort of agreement been made.

McGrath’s manager, Warren Craig, confirmed he had had preliminary meetings with ICL officials some time ago but said there had been little progress recently. “

Craig said there had not yet been any definitive discussions regarding money to lure McGrath out of retirement. “They haven’t given us any indication,” he said.

Details, eh, Kapil?

And today comes the news that at least one current player is contemplating signing with ICL and forgoing the rest of his international career. Reports suggest that Stephen Fleming, one of the most astute cricket brains of the recent past and current New Zealand cricket captain, has been approached to lead one of the teams in the ICL.

Cricket sources in Australia, New Zealand and India all confirmed yesterday that Fleming was being sought to captain one of the six proposed teams on a three-year deal believed to be worth more than $500,000 a year.

(link)
The same report throws up the names of Shane Bond and Russel Arnold as two other players among a number of others that have been approached. It also says that recently retired Australian players Damien Martyn and Justin Langer have rejected offers, when they were approached.

These are certainly not the current players, at least not the ones signed up so far. While sources claim that a number of current cricketers have been appoached, cricket’s ruling bodies have barred their contracted cricketers from any participation in a non ICC sanctioned event.

So will the proposed league, which is going to be on a Twenty20 format, succeed? One would think that without the current active cricketers, this would be a damp squib. But then, in a cricket mad country like India, they could just be top draws. I am still going to wait and see how this is going to pan out.

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