and why I could care less for the Mumbai franchise.
The Mumbai Ranji Trophy team, culled from players in the Mumbai-Navi Mumbai region, are the true representatives of my fair city.
They are home bred and they have paid their dues in the various age group/city wide competitions before they were eligible for the Mumbai cap.
Unlike other Ranji teams, we dont "import" established Ranji players. Instead, we have done enough and more in sending our finest ( as players and coaches) and enhancing the quality of the other teams in the Ranji Trophy.
Mumbai players understand the city's cricketing culture and they are aware of the city's cricketing history and our varied contributions to Indian cricket.
It is a proud team and a prouder tradition.
What does the IPL have?
Homeboys like Wasim Jaffer and Zaheer Khan will be playing for Bangalore.Rohit Sharma plays for Hyderabad.Ramesh Powar will show up for Mohali while Agarkar will fly Kolkata's flag.(Mercifully, no Mumbaikar is playing for the Delhi team - the sacrilege!)
And in the meanwhile, as a proud Mumbaikar, I am expected to root for Loots Bosman and Harbhajan Singh and Dilhara Fernando!
Even the ICL, with the limited vision of a TV conglomerate, has not been this arrogant.
So, good luck IPL Mumbai (or whatever else they call you).
Good luck trying to shove that team of yours down my throat when you don't represent me or my city. And good luck trying to hawk your merchandise and your TV time to me - I ain't buying!
PS:- Expanding on the thought further
1. There is no concept of free agency in the IPL ( atleast there is no mention of it in the literature I have read thus far)
2. The players cannot make the call on taking a lower salary for staying with the team of their choice. The auction was about the player going to the highest bidder. As regards selections for the rest of the spots, what are the terms of selection for players outside of the catchment areas?
3. Is there a League minimum that is guaranteed to every player, irrespective of team?
4. Trades can be initiated only by the franchise owners after a period of 2 years. What about player initiated trades?
5. Is there going to be a farm system in place to supplement the IPL resource pool? If not, how much money will be diverted by the franchise to the teams in the city/catchment areas for player development?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The IPL
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6 comments:
Homer, while I share your sentiment about Mumbai players, remember that the franchise bids to win. From that perspective, the presence of Jaffer, Agarkar and Powar would have been more of a liability in T20. I am sorely disappointed that they let Hyderabad outbid them for Rohit Sharma. I would rather Ambani spent a few extra dollars trying to hold onto Sharma than bid up for Uthappa.
I am still hopeful, because the compelete squad hasnt been decided yet. We may yet see players like Iqbal Abdullah, Malvi Hussain, Prashant Naik, Abhishek Nayar and Ajinkya Rahane (the players from the Ranji team that I think are most suited to T20) among others in the squad. And that would give us a pretty strong Mumbai base. IMO its too early to give up on the team.
P.S. Zaheer isnt exactly home-grown. The MCA thought he wasnt good enough for Mumbai, and so he went on to play for Baroda. He came back last season, and made his debut in the final against Bengal. His only appearance to date.
Home going by reports that franchise are rightly aggrieved about icon status accorded to players...putting them in bind for going for higher bid players...
as OTT has also pointed out in his post...sachin being their icon has definitely played a part in this...
SP,
Icons or not, I find it very difficult to get myself to cheer for this pseudo Mumbai team!
Cheers
Sailesh,
The players did not have the option of accepting or rejecting the bid made for them.
I agree that there will be a significant Mumbai presence in the team but it is not quite the same is it?
When Rohit Sharma squares up against the Mumbai franchise, who does one root for?
Also, Zak happened because of Sudhir Naik. In Mumbai :)
Cheers
Homer, I agree that players should have been given a chance to play for their home teams. Maybe by giving teams first choice on their home players, or by subsidising their bids for local players.
All said and done, I will support a team rather than a player, and so I will still cheer for Mumbai against Hyderabad, and cheer for Rohit Sharma when he plays other teams. (And hope that in two years time, Ambani gets him on a transfer!)
Fair enough Sailesh :)
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