MUMBAI: Just three letters, IPL, which stand for a simple and harmless sounding nomenclature of Indian Premier League, now appears to be turning international cricket on its head on account of the money-power that it commands.
The impact of just the first two editions of the Twenty20 tournament has been so great that some of the leading players are even prepared to forsake national duties to be free to sign up for one of the private teams.
You cannot really blame them because the amount of money they earn in only a couple of IPL series, each lasting no more than a month and half, is much more than what they can earn in their entire career of Test cricket, what with having to put up with the vagaries of being in and out of the national team.
All that big money, in fact too much of it, has suddenly become the root of all evil, as the proverb goes. Now, the itching palms of not only the organizers and their managers, but also those who own the various teams, rather quixotically called franchisees, want to handle more than they have at the moment.
What had started as a showdown between the principal governing body, the BCCI, and the management company, the IMG, which had created the blueprint and conducted the first two IPL editions for the popular tournament, is threatening to engulf the entire set-up.
The BCCI has suddenly decided to terminate the services of IMG, for over-charging. Lalit Modi, the chairman and the commissioner of the IPL, who had brought in IMG, has become the target. The top four franchisees have also protested against the sacking of IMG.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders was the most vociferous of them all, screaming that they had a right to be kept in the loop in view of any major changes. In other words, most of the franchisees want IMG to continue. The only one against it is the BCCI secretary, N. Srinivasan, also the owner of Chennai Super Kings.
The BCCI now wants to conduct the next edition on its own. But the dispute between BCCI and IMG might take an ugly turn if the latter take the issue to a court of law. This has also brought about a virtual split in the higher echelons of the BCCI.
The latest development is being interpreted as an attempt to clip Modi’s wings. Modi, who had roped in IMG for the first two editions of the cash-rich event, is getting too dictatorial, occasionally making embarrassing statements not only against the BCCI, but also against state officials, quite clearly going beyond his brief.
Attempts are being made to patch up the differences so that the goose that lays the golden eggs does not die. The cricketing world is so taken in by IPL and Twenty20 cricket that it has started sacrificing the once so popular 50-50 one-day cricket to make way for the shorter version.
If IPL too dies due to bickering within over the sharing of spoils, what will be left of international cricket? Perhaps nothing beyond Test matches.
