IPL franchise owners weren’t as free with their purses in Sunday’s fill-in auction for Season 6: at a time when the success of the world’s top cricket league as a business model isn’t clearly defined, the reluctance of teams to shower players with contracts is quite understandable.
Two major Australian players, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting, were expected to be top draws but both went only at the reserve price of `2.1-crore ($400,000). When a great debate is raging Down Under on playing for the flag or money, Clarke, the Aussie skipper, is probably lucky to get a contract at all, especially given his patchy record last season. Bowlers and all-rounders were in greater demand, which means franchises are also getting the hang of the game. Batsmen may lord over the game with their glamour, but the contribution of bowlers is as important, if not more, when it comes to winning matches. It is thus heartening that mystery bowlers fetch a lot more than star batsmen.
The bidding strategy seems to show the teams are wiser than five years ago when the league began on a note of optimism rather than good business sense. Next year’s bigger auction, with almost all players back in the pool, may throw more light on whether the IPL is working or if franchises are actually sponsoring the game and its players, and not earning from it.