Purists fume as IPL shifts cricket's powerbase to India, Twenty20

By Sandeep Nakai

CRICKET: NEW DELHI, Feb 23: - The massive spending on the new Indian Premier League shows the power base of the game has shifted very firmly to the subcontinent and the Twenty20 game, and the game's traditionalists are not happy.

Cricket's old guard attacked the new Indian Premier League on Friday, saying the tens of millions spent at a player auction on Wednesday - not to mention the $1.7 billion on combined television rights and franchise ownership - had cheapened the sport.

The critics pounced two days after IPL franchise owners spent almost US$42 million at the auction, staffing their teams with the cream of world cricket's talent ahead of the April 18 launch.

While the majority of fans in India were eagerly awaiting the new league, and cherishing their place as the new center of the sport, not all were happy.

"Cricket is not going to change, but the unfortunate side is that cricketers have become commodities ... just commodities," said former India test player Erapalli Prasanna.

"If I look at you like some sort of vegetable, is it good for you?" Prasanna was quoted as saying at a panel discussion in Mumbai by Press Trust of India.

"You should be looked at for your quality, as a cricketer ... a talented cricketer."

The Indian media dubbed the IPL as a "million-dollar baby", but historian and cricket author Ramchandra Guha was not convinced about the merits of a city-focused league or the dominance of Twenty20 over test cricket and 50-over game.

"How can you generate city loyalty in a sport so focused on national identity," Guha said in a debate on independent New Delhi Television.

Guha said he was not tempted to watch the IPL, and would instead prefer to spend his time viewing a domestic Ranji Trophy game.

"Test cricket is scotch, one-dayers are Indian whisky and Twenty20 is local hooch," said Guha.

The jibe may or may not have been aimed at billionaire Vijay Mallya, whose runs one of the world's biggest spirits companies and is the owner of the Bangalore team.

Regardless, Mallya seemed pleased with the players he had bought Wednesday.

"I'm very happy with the team we've got, we have the best bowling attack in the IPL," Mallya told independent TIMES NOW network.

Mallya's team paid top prices for seasoned South Africans Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher to back up former India captain Rahul Dravid - who was given the "icon" status and not available for bidding.

Mallya said Dravid, who attended the auction, had influenced who the franchise targeted in bidding.

It secured current test captain and ace leg-break bowler Anil Kumble before focusing on bolstering its pace attack by buying Indian left armer Zaheer Khan, Australia's Nathan Bracken and South Africa's Dale Steyn.

Young Australian big-hitting allrounder Cameron White was another player in its wish-list whom Bangalore claimed.

"We bid very aggressively for (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni, but could not go beyond a certain budget as we needed to keep money for the bowlers," said Mallya, adding that he had wanted Bangalore-based batsman Robin Uthappa "but he slipped through my fingers." Dhoni was ultimately the highest-paid player at the auction, fetching US$1.5 million (euro1.02 million) from Chennai. Teams were permitted to spend a maximum of US$5 million (euro3.39 million) at the auction.

Uthappa, who features in the Indian one-day squad currently playing in a tri-series in Australia, was bought for US$800,000 (euro542,888) by Mumbai, which will be led by India batting great Sachin Tendulkar.

"We play cricket, do the job we love and the money that comes with it is a perk," PTI quoted Uthappa as saying in Sydney.

Uthappa will be joined at Mumbai by ace India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who fetched US$850,000 (euro576,819) in the auction after fierce bidding as the Mohali team too was eager on buying him.

"I'm happy to be playing under Tendulkar, who's my cricket idol," Singh was quotes as saying in Sydney by PTI. Singh said it would be unusual playing against his childhood friend and Punjab state teammate Yuvraj Singh, who will be leading Mohali.

Mohali's owners, industrialist Ness Wadia and film actress Priety Zinta, were delighted with their acquisitions, which included India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, Australia pace spearhead Brett Lee, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, plus young Indian bowlers Shantakumaran Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla.

"The team comprises only winners and we'll play to win," said Wadia.

Jaipur's lineup will feature an interesting combination of South Africa skipper Graeme Smith and former Australian spin great Shane Warne, whose dislike for each other is well known and who have a history of fiery verbal exchanges.

The pair could boost light-spending Jaipur's prowess if they can establish a working relationship.

After the high-profile acquisitions, team franchises face the task of filling out their squads with players from their catchment areas and youngsters, whose presence in the squad is mandatory.

Team scouts have already started their search for promising youth, including reaching out to the India team currently participating in the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia.

Extracting brand value ahead of the IPL's launch will be difficult as the leading India players - the biggest draws at the auction - will be on national duty until three days ahead of the IPL's launch.

India's home test series against South Africa will run from March 26-April 15, giving the test stars just a few days to bond with new teammates and promote their teams.

Teams for Twenty20 IPL tournament

CRICKET: MUMBAI, Feb 23, 2008: Following are the eight franchisees' teams after Wednesday's auction for the Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament (read as player, country, bid amount in US dollars):

Each player will receive his auction price as an annual wage over the initial three-year contract.

The 44-day IPL starts on April 18.

Bangalore: Jacques Kallis (RSA), 900,000; Anil Kumble (IND) 500,000; Cameron White (AUS) 500,000; Zaheer Khan (IND) 450,000; Mark Boucher (RSA) 450,000; Nathan Bracken (AUS) 325,000; Dale Steyn (RSA) 325,000; Shivnaraine Chanderpaul (WIS) 200,000; Wasim Jaffer (IND) 150,000.

Kolkata: Ishant Sharma (IND) 950,000; Chris Gayle (WIS) 800,000; Brendon McCullum (NZL) 700,000; David Hussey (AUS) 625,000; Shoaib Akhtar (PAK) 425,000; Murali Karthik (IND) 425,000; Ricky Ponting (AUS) 400,000; Ajit Agarkar (IND) 350,000; Umar Gul (PAK) 150,000.

Chennai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (IND) 1.5 million; Jacob Oram (NZL) 675,000; Albie Morkel (RSA) 675,000; Suresh Raina (IND) 650,000; Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI) 600,000; Matthew Hayden (AUS) 375,000; Michael Hussey (AUS) 350,000; Stephen Fleming (NZL) 350,000; Parthiv Patel (IND) 325,000; Joginder Sharma (IND) 225,000; Makhaya Ntini (RSA) 200,000.

Delhi: Gautam Gambhir (IND) 725,000, Manoj Tiwary (IND) 675,000; Mohammad Asif (PAK) 650,000; Daniel Vettori (NZL) 625,000; Dinesh Karthik (IND) 525,000; Shoaib Malik (PAK) 500,000; A.B. de Villiers (RSA) 300,000; Glenn McGrath (AUS) 350,000; Tillekeratne Dilshan (SRI) 250,000; Farveez Maharoof (SRI) 225,000.

Hyderabad: Andrew Symonds (AUS) 1.35 million; Rudra Pratap Singh (IND) 875,000; Rohit Sharma (IND) 750,000; Adam Gilchrist (AUS) 700,000; Shahid Afridi (PAK) 675,000; Herschelle Gibbs (RSA) 575,000; Venkatsai Laxman (IND) 375,000; Chaminda Vaas (SRI) 200,000; Scott Styris (NZL) 175,000; Nuwan Zoysa (SRI) 110,000; Chamara Silva (SRI) 100,000.

Jaipur: Mohammad Kaif (IND) 675,000; Graeme Smith (RSA) 475,000; Yusuf Pathan (IND) 475,000; Shane Warne (AUS) 450,000; Munaf Patel (IND) 275,000; Younis Khan (PAK) 225,000; Justin Langer (AUS) 200,000; Kamran Akmal (PAK) 150,000.

Mohali: Irfan Pathan (IND) 925,000; Brett Lee (AUS) 900,000; Kumar Sangakkara (SRI) 700,000; Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (IND) 625,000; Mahela Jayawardene (SRI) 475,000; Piyush Chawla (IND) 400,000; Ramnaresh Sarawan (WIS) 225,000; Simon Katich (AUS) 200,000; Ramesh Pawar (IND) 170,000.

Mumbai: Sanath Jayasuriya (SRI) 975,000; Harbhajan Singh (IND) 850,000; Robin Uthappa (IND) 800,000; Shaun Pollock (RSA) 550,000; Lasith Malinga (SRI) 350,000; Loots Bosman (RSA) 175,000; Dilhara Fernando (SRI) 150,000.

Note: Five icons - Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata), Rahul Dravid (Bangalore), Yuvraj Singh (Mohali) and Virender Sehwag (Delhi) - will get 15 percent more than the highest-paid player in their side.

Each team will also have domestic players. (AFP)