It’s the time of the year that most cricketers around the world look forward to. The Indian Premier League players’ auction is not only the day they can expect a big fat contract
but perhaps also a career-altering opportunity to land a gig in the most glitzy and rewarding theatre of Twenty20 cricket.
The T20 competition, which will host its ninth edition from April 9 this year, has grown into one of the most popular leagues in the world. Eight editions on, IPL is now one of the
most recognised sporting events in the world. Australia’s Big Bash League, the domestic T20 competition Down Under, has also popularised the game of cricket as a prime time TV favourite, gaining non-cricket audiences in the world which were so far untapped. The refreshing, well-packaged shorter version of the sport is now striving to get into the Olympic fold, with the International Cricket Council heralding its cause.
While the IPL has popularised cricket far and wide, it has raised the profile of Indian domestic cricket. The revenue it brings in through TV rights and sponsors has trickled
down to the grassroots, helping the BCCI upgrade infrastructure throughout the country. The tournament has been successful in bringing to the fore cricketing talent from
the hinterland and regions which have been traditionally considered to be aloof from the sport.
The IPL as a tournament has evolved too. Its auctions are no
longer just money-splashing endeavours where players go under
the hammer and are bought for huge sums. The franchises
have over the years become smarter when lining up players on
their shopping lists. For the franchises, the first few editions
were all about packing in international star power in their playing
elevens and relegating home-grown talent on the rosters
to play second fiddle or worse sidelining them on the bench,
where they couldn’t even get a single game throughout the season.
Now, team managements understand that it’s not just star
power that delivers the trophies. A team needs a good bunch
of domestic Indian players to complement their overseas star
picks. Throughout the eight editions so far the teams that have
won the title -- from inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals to
the most successful IPL team Chennai Super Kings -- have been
driven by a strong core of Indian performers who have powered
their successful campaigns.
So, it comes as no surprise that a newbie like Pawan Negi,
who has only three first class appearances to his credit
trumped a veteran like Yuvraj Singh to be the costliest Indian
player bought in the players auction for this season of the tournament.
The auction also threw up some names which most
cricket fans, however fanatic they maybe in their support for
the game, would have heard for the first time. Kishore Kamath,
M Ashwin, Nathu Singh... these are not familiar names in Indian
cricket. But all three are now the latest million-dollar babies
to have come out of the IPL stable.
The franchises are dolling out the huge sums because they
are now investing heavily in their scouting programmes, which
are helping them find the young Indian players they can bet on.
Ultimately, the budding young Indian cricketer is the winner.
