Honey, Whaddaya do for Money ?

It is the year 2015. The IPL is in it's 7th year running. Sachin Tendulkar still makes the odd guest appearance for the Mumbai franchise. He only bats left-handed because of a tennis elbow. MSD still trades for $2 million (give or take a few in terms of his depreciating value). Ishant Sharma switches sides so he can bowl to Ponting every game. A greying ShahRukh watches from the pavilion with a scintillating Deepika Padukone, who's rumoured to be dating a slimmer, sexier Ramesh Powar who's made a comeback to the IPL. Shoaib Akhtar runs in steaming from the pavilion end and gets hit for a six by Rohit Sharma. ShahRukh picks his phone and the newspaper headlines read the next day "Akhtar transferred to Mohali franchise overnight. Deal price is a record low of $1200. Rahul Dravid planning to resurrect career in T20 after retirement."

I'm not sure if this is your idea of the future of cricket. It certainly isn't mine. Having said that, the Indian Premier League is a major victory for what Lalit Modi likes to term "free market economics". We understand the term and we understand how it works when it comes to deciding insanely high prices, which are based on even crazier speculative bids, for cricketers who are supposed to be inhumanly talented. And in a fair sense, one would really have to be a socialist or communist to not appreciate all of this.

But, serious questions need to be asked if the mad moolah that dominated the recent IPL auctions will take away what matters most - the beauty and variety of the game. The IPL is about a fast, quickfire, TV friendly format of cricket - the T20. In other words, it is about marketing a game that's slam-bang in variety and caters to the low attention span cricket viewer. Assuming that the market does exist for this variety, what could be the long-term consequences of the league?

Classically, Test cricket is still hallowed territory for the game and this is where batsmen and bowlers have an even chance of being successful. In my books, I find it tough to compare a Test scenario involving Sachin Tendulkar grinding it out in the heat against a steaming Brett Lee on a seaming Perth wicket or a Anil Kumble weaving his spell on a 5th day turning pitch Vs. a T20 scenario of MSD or Symonds hitting poor Piyush Chawla for sixes on a flat pitch. Yes, cricket needs the thrill and excitement but an even contest over 5 days on a sporting wicket is the true test of a cricketer's character. A free market economist would say "Let Test Cricket die a natural death". I'd probably say cricket will die in the process.

What does IPL mean for the smaller cricketing nations? A lot of players from smaller nations go to build up numbers and make quick cash in these leagues. Nations like Sri Lanka and New Zealand already have a very small player base to choose from. In other words, the national teams sometimes lose out on availability of players. Bottom line : The IPL needs to be sanctioned and controlled by cricket's governing body like a dog on a leash.

Does the IPL bode well for younger players? Yes and No. The IPL is a tremendous opportunity for under-21s to play with some of the best in a world. But one could also argue that the slog variety of the game is not apt for development of technique. One may get to see a lot of Dhonis enter the world stage, but not everyone may survive without adequate first class experience. The IPL is not a panacea for world cricket. On the contrary, it needs to be viewed as a sideshow that makes a lot of money.

What about corruption? Match fixing? No one's talking about it with all the money involved, just yet. Stringent rules being enforced and constant monitoring of inter franchise transfers is necessary.

How do the younger players handle money? Will cricket's rules change to accomodate more batting favourable rules (free hits, powerplay modifications) ? Will the T20 format encourage development of bowlers?

Many more factors come to mind before one could blow the trumpet on the IPL's tremendous kickoff. The money is good. The brand is good. Free market is good. But is it all good for cricket?
Time will tell.

I can almost imagine MSD getting introduced to his to-be in-laws by his girlfriend who says :
"Honey, whaddaya do for money? "
To which, MSD scratches his head and replies :
"It was Chennai till Thursday, yesterday I think I got transferred to Mumbai....Or was it Kolkata?"

Now that's insane.

Japanese test matches

My experience of solving a sudoku puzzle in the form of a cricketing metaphor. Hope some of you fellow cricket fans can relate to this.

Scrapping through a tough as nuts sudoku grid comes close to a Test Match experience on Aussie soil.The initial opening conjures up visions of a sheep-like Indian bowling attack of Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath trying hard for that opening breakthrough against a bullying Hayden and a resolute Langer on a cold Boxing day morning at the MCG. The sparsely populated sudoku grid seems to be jeering at your ineptitude like a thousand Aussies spitting curses at a boundary posted Indian fieldsman on his first trip Down Under. It is hell and you are living it.

And then, the joy of finally getting a number on the grid brings with it a calm reassertion of self-belief. Heh, we got started. One number on the grid leads to a few others, closely resembling an out-of-form Ponting leaving without troubling the scorers. A surge of confidence as the grid appears a little less menacing and the Indian fielders begin crowding around the bat thinking they'll run through the Aussie lineup in one session. Not to be, my friend, not to be.

A partnership follows as the sudoku grid unravels itself to hold mysteries unfathomable by your mentally challenged self. Self-doubts arrive in bigger numbers. Field changes, bowling changes - read that travelling to different parts of the grid in an attempt to see loose ends. Gritty thought soon turns into desperation. Time ticks on..the runs flow. Much head scratching, back itching and team discussions with the inner self. Images of an untiring Kumble toiling on an unresponsive first day pitch. And finally the breakthrough arrives. Hayden departs and few others follow in his wake. The grid starts populating fast.

And then come the tail-enders. These doughty digits represent the last stand of the grid. It is easy to mess up a grid you worked hard to fill in the smug overconfidence that underestimates these vanguard warriors. Insert more pictures of Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark pushing up an already behemoth Aussie total to even more imposing proportions. More itching before the grid's last shreds of resistance collapse.

1.5 Hours. On a sudoku grid. An Indian cricketer's Australian baptization. It's all the same.