The franchises pick players to balance their team so as to go on to win the Indian Premier League trophy. Therefore, to lose any player just before the Playoffs is...
Rajasthan Royals opener and England skipper Jos Buttler, who has reportedly supported ECB’s decision to call their players back before the IPL Playoffs to prepare for the T20 World Cup in June. Pic/PTI
The Incredible Premier League is approaching its last week before the Playoffs. The scramble for the last two places will get really intense now. Kolkata and Rajasthan are sitting pretty at the top and are certain to qualify while Mumbai and Punjab are packing their bags and contemplating what went wrong. They, of course, can still play spoilsport in their remaining matches against those other teams who are hoping to qualify.
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There is talk that the ECB is going to ask its players playing in the IPL to return early and perhaps get into a camp for those selected in their ICC T20 World Cup men’s team. As of now, there is no information of any other cricket board asking those of its players selected to return for a bit of rest and preparation for the World Cup. Before the auction took place, the BCCI had checked with all the Boards about the availability of their players for the full IPL season, knowing that the World Cup was going to start a few days after the IPL finished and only after an assurance was received from the respective Boards, that the BCCI informed the franchises of the availability of the players.
Also Read: Bats, balls and what not!
Penalise players, boards
Now, I am all for players choosing country before anything else but having assured various franchises about their availability for the full season, if they pull out now, it will be letting down the franchises which probably pay them more money in one IPL season which they don’t earn in a few seasons with their country. The franchises should not only be allowed to deduct a substantial amount from the fee that the player was bought for, but also not give the Board, to which the player belongs, the stated 10 per cent commission of the fee that each player gets. If the Board has gone back on its assurance they need to be penalised too. By the way, this 10 per cent commission to the Boards happens only in the IPL and nowhere else. Not in the Australian Big Bash nor in the ECB’s The Hundred, nor in the Caribbean Premier League, nor any other T20 league anywhere else in the world. Does the BCCI get any thanks for its generosity? Ha ha ha. No way.
If the player on his own has informed the franchise that if he is selected for his country he would like to go before the Playoffs, that is fine, as long as he has given the assurance before the auction and not just before the start of the season. The franchises pick players to balance their team so as to go on to win the IPL trophy. Therefore, to lose any player just before the Playoffs is certainly not cricket.
Each player signs a contract with the franchise where all these clauses and conditions are laid out. There is little ambiguity in the clauses or anything that allows either party to take advantage of each other through a mischievous interpretation of any clause.
Smart Hasaranga
Someone who took a very smart decision so as to not miss the T20 World Cup is the Sri Lanka captain—Wanindu Hasaranga. He had retired from Test cricket a year or so back and had subsequently been suspended by the ICC for two matches earlier in this season for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct. The Sri Lanka Test matches against Bangladesh were before the IPL started. By coming out of retirement and making himself available for the Sri Lanka Test team, the ICC sanctions came into force immediately after he was selected for the Sri Lanka Test team and he was not allowed to play. Now with that ban having been enforced, he is free to play the ICC T20 World Cup from the first game, whereas if he had not come out of retirement for Test cricket, he would have missed all the initial games of the group stage for Sri Lanka. Very clever, isn’t it? No wonder, Sri Lanka have named him as the captain of their World Cup team and if the same cleverness comes into fore on the field of play then Sri Lanka will be serious contenders for the title.
Professional Management Group
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