I had read somewhere - "Money is like a sixth sense, and you cant make use of the other five without it". Its really amazing what money can do to you. The other day, I was watching the IPL auctions live on the news channels and was really amazed at how much the corporates are willing to spend on each player. The owners of the teams (Yes, teams are no longer according to the place where their players belong. They are owned!) sat and strategically decided upon the team composition they wish to have and thereby started bidding for cricketers.
Wow, Now cricketers were on sale. Literally. A total of 70-80 odd players were bought by 8-10 different teams owned by the elite class of people from India including SRK, Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya and the like. Anything between 1 to 6 crores were spent on a single player with the highest getting 6 crore rupees going to our very own MSD. As always a lot of controversy followed with regards to whether cricketers deserved the price they were bought for. Certainly, MSD who does not have a great technique seems to be overpriced (much like the Rel Power IPO) when compared to Ponting (sold for just 1.5 crores).
All this apart, I feel all international players would now be quite in a fix since the IPL tournament clashes with much of their other commitments. Frankly, I wont be surprised if the IPL gets a place in the official ICC calender soon. I mean, with the BCCI (richest sports body of the World) which is even richer than the ICC, there is no doubt whatsoever. What worries me is the fact when cricketers get carried away with money, they really dont seem to serve their primary purpose, which is playing for their country.
Anyways, for a common man and a cricket fan like me, its going to be pure entertainment. Just imagine the fun at Brabourne when Sachin belts Shoaib for a towering six, and when the entire stadium erupts! Wow, am waiting for the calender to come out. Just hope all matches at Mumbai are on weekends.. ;-)
Wow, Now cricketers were on sale. Literally. A total of 70-80 odd players were bought by 8-10 different teams owned by the elite class of people from India including SRK, Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya and the like. Anything between 1 to 6 crores were spent on a single player with the highest getting 6 crore rupees going to our very own MSD. As always a lot of controversy followed with regards to whether cricketers deserved the price they were bought for. Certainly, MSD who does not have a great technique seems to be overpriced (much like the Rel Power IPO) when compared to Ponting (sold for just 1.5 crores).
All this apart, I feel all international players would now be quite in a fix since the IPL tournament clashes with much of their other commitments. Frankly, I wont be surprised if the IPL gets a place in the official ICC calender soon. I mean, with the BCCI (richest sports body of the World) which is even richer than the ICC, there is no doubt whatsoever. What worries me is the fact when cricketers get carried away with money, they really dont seem to serve their primary purpose, which is playing for their country.
Anyways, for a common man and a cricket fan like me, its going to be pure entertainment. Just imagine the fun at Brabourne when Sachin belts Shoaib for a towering six, and when the entire stadium erupts! Wow, am waiting for the calender to come out. Just hope all matches at Mumbai are on weekends.. ;-)
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