Recently, one news item that caught my attention was advise to the Indian team not to waste water in Zimbabwe. Apparently, water is extremely scarce in drought-hit Harare. If Indian players were taken aback by this reality check it is not surprising. Indian players, touched by IPL’s magic, live on a planet different from those of ordinary folks, in a bubble of celebrity and entitlement. Being subjected to a limit, even if it is about using water sensibly while taking a shower, is a new experience for cricket’s superstars.
Trent Boult has shown the way to others by opting out of a New Zealand contract (AFP/File Photo)
But what can’t be escaped, in a broader sense, is the understanding that cricket is going through a grave climate change moment. England realised this when it suffered its driest July in 90 years -in a month when rain is a daily occurrence the skies this time were blue and cloudless and it was scorching hot.
Away from England, more threatening developments are unfolding and it is not just absence of rain - cricket has been hit by a series of dramatic events. Even as the ICC gathered in Birmingham for its annual meetings, they were mindful of the grim challenges springing up from various quarters, some of them capable of forever weakening world cricket as it stands at present.
The major threat is T20 leagues popping up everywhere, like wild weed in India’s monsoon. After England launched its Hundred last year, South Africa and the UAE announced their tournaments to be played on the same dates in Jan- Feb, a busy slot already occupied by Australia’s Big Bash.
With T20 leagues scheduled round the year in a convenient loop, traditional cricket could go for a toss. Something has to give in a crowded calendar and there is no space for bilaterals and to squeeze in 5-day Tests (which are financially unviable) in this endless cycle is too much of an ask. The signs are clear : world cricket will soon become a merry circus of franchise driven leagues featuring independent players free from any contractual obligations to their national cricket bodies.
Cricket as a team sport will be a thing of the past and, pushed into a corner, limited to ICC World Cups. Apart from this, it will be a commercial carnival of T20/ Hundred/ Sixty and even T10 games. The sport will grow commercially but match time will shrink according to spectator preference and broadcast decisions.
Evidence of future expected chaos is already available. Among players, in the short run, there is confusion but a happy one because more leagues mean more demand for quality players and as franchise teams scramble to stitch together squads the price goes up. T20 experts (specially multi skilled players, the finishers and death over experts) never had it so good. More so because Indian players are not available and Pakistanis are un-employable because of Indian owners.
Chased by different leagues, a prominent England player reneged on an understanding to play in Dubai - and switched to South Africa, like clever legislators do in India before a trust vote. Australia had to tweak its player payment policy ( and salary cap guidelines) to ensure Warner did not reject BBL and stayed back instead of turning up in Dubai for his IPL team. South Africa is paying a ‘marketing fee’ in addition to contracted salaries to lure players.
The player stock market is hot and for those who are talented this is the time to make a killing. Trent Boult has shown the way to others by opting out of a New Zealand contract and offering his services to anyone writing the biggest cheque. West Indies cricketers pioneered the trend and the ‘club versus country’ debate is losing relevance—-increasingly, the first choice of players is club.
It is easy to understand why. From a player’s perspective T 20 leagues are more rewarding and more convenient and easier to break into. To make a mark they don’t need to slog for years, learning difficult skills and playing first-class cricket. T 20 is a short cut, a bypass and a stent to move ahead, an expressway compared to a slow-moving village road.
Tim David, worth ₹8 crores in the IPL, is from Singapore- he hasn’t played a first-class game but is a superstar on the T20 circuit. Tristan Stubbs, the South African player who straddles multiple leagues, is another in huge demand. Had these two been confined to traditional cricket chances are nobody would have noticed them.
Franchise based commercial leagues is cricket’s economic liberalisation moment as it opens up financial opportunities for players and frees them from restrictive control of national cricket bodies. But while players embrace the change, cricket administrators have reason to worry. With cricket’s remote passing into the hands of franchise team owners their control over cricket is loosened.
Amid all this churn and uncertainty, however, Indian cricket is an island of calm and stability. The IPL is the Mt Everest of all leagues, monstrously successful from a cricket and commercial standpoint. India is a cricket imperial power, conquering different leagues across the globe, vanquishing anyone standing in its path. IPL teams have acquired assets in the CPL, South Africa and Dubai and when the market opens up in Australia and England, they will not waste time to plant the flag there.
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