E-Paper
In the hot seat, it’s about T20 thinking
The IPL auction is the ultimate reality show, full of riveting drama and unexpected twists. Gautam Gambhir emerged the Big Boss, many others became crorepatis and there was no shortage of sansani either.
The IPL auction is the ultimate reality show, full of riveting drama and unexpected twists. Gautam Gambhir emerged the Big Boss, many others became crorepatis and there was no shortage of sansani either.
Apart from the blinding glitter, glamour and the high commercial stakes, the auction was stressful business because at the core of this bazaar was cricket and the matter of squad building.
Teams went into the auction with a set plan that was worked to the minutest detail. So, it wasn't good enough to be a good fast bowler: what really mattered was the capability of delivering in the specific situations. For instance, is he capable enough of bowling the critical death overs. Also while choosing the squad, injury, loss of form and availability has to be factored in. So, for every type, there have to be at least a couple of players. So, the coaches and experts sat with excel sheets with plans A, B, C etc.
But having clarity about the script is only half the job, the more difficult part is keeping to the overall plan in what is a highly dynamic bidding situation.
In an auction events don't unfold according to plan, very often the market forces send you for a toss causing frantic revision of strategy. To an extent, the auction is like a tough exam where one prepares hard but yet is unsure of the googlies that might come up.
You have to work within an approved purse. Sometimes, to secure a must-have option, teams are tempted to spend that extra crore and therefore end up exceeding their budgets.
The critical part of the auction is not just team selection but also player buying. It is a heady mix of cricket and commerce. When players are offered for purchase it is the market which decides the bhaav through a complicated formula.
In normal situations cricket teams are picked on) the basis of skills and experience of a player but in an auction it is a matter of demand and supply.
The commercial value of the players is considered.
Star players like Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and others go for high prices because they also bring commercial value to the teams. Such players attract sponsors who get to use them for advertisement and corporate promotion purposes. At the same time, the marquee drive ticket and merchandise sales.
The IPL auction was loaded in favour of Indian talent, considering seven players have to be part of the starting eleven of each IPL team. And tilting the balance further in favour of the Indian players was their scarcity. Only 50-odd Indians were being chased by 10 teams.
The market understands the commercial value, it recognises statistics but rejects sentiment and emotion. In some cases, the outcome of the auction was exceedingly harsh but the reality is only those who fit into carefully constructed plans get picked.
(Amrit Mathur is the CEO of Delhi Daredevils)
