That's the point though, isn't it mate? The IPL (and its owners) have their focus on results - however you get them. Unlike any other sports tournament in the world, that I'm aware of, the IPL is not reliant on building teams for the sake of fans. 45,000 supporters will turn up whoever is playing. Even if half of them played for your biggest rivals the year before. I'm not sure that's a scenario which exists anywhere else... but I'm not an expert.
"The question being asked more and more frequently in the global, professional game is: ‘If you’re not making as much money as possible, what the hell are you doing?’"
So then we've become animals, essentially. And we might as well give up on cricket entirely, because it's no longer a sport, a game or an entertainment, it's simply the most convenient way for often already obscenely rich, greedy individuals to get even richer, and everyone else can go fuck themselves.
The top players you're referring to here should be careful what they wish for. The people you meet on the way up are the people you meet on the way down and all that....
As usual, Dave, we appear to be very much aligned. The art and aesthetics are being systematically removed from the game. Or the professional game, at any rate. Maybe it's just a generational thing. I recall some old rugby codgers who were horrified that players were being openly paid in the early 90s. They were disgusted that the game was turning professional. Much as it distresses me to see cricket (and cricketers) so openly motivated first and foremost by making as much money as possible, I do also wonder whether that's the unfortunate direction all sport is heading in...?
I understand that, Aditya, and you are quite right. I think there may be a cost to pay in the years to come, however. Perhaps I'm wrong. Cricket is an unforgiving environment, it may become even more difficult for players when they become mere merchandise.
The thing that makes the IPL competitive is that it can pay 10x the money any other T20 league can. So it always get the best T20 players from all over the world.
I don't think it would be any less competitive if they ditched the auction, and just went to a standard model (NFL, NBA, EPL) of Franchises agreeing contracts with individual players (all within a salary cap off course). The advantage of this is that the public can then better build up relationships with a team. When your team drastically changes every 3 years, that's much harder to do.
It confounds me. Completely baffling. And the transfer rules seem to be made up on the fly. How come Hardik Pandya moved to Mumbai Indians and Cameron Green to RCB outside of any auction...?
Still, the tournament moves primarily to the beat of the Indian market and if it makes no difference to Indian supporters that their teams change profoundly every three years, then that's the way it'll be...
That's the point though, isn't it mate? The IPL (and its owners) have their focus on results - however you get them. Unlike any other sports tournament in the world, that I'm aware of, the IPL is not reliant on building teams for the sake of fans. 45,000 supporters will turn up whoever is playing. Even if half of them played for your biggest rivals the year before. I'm not sure that's a scenario which exists anywhere else... but I'm not an expert.
"The question being asked more and more frequently in the global, professional game is: ‘If you’re not making as much money as possible, what the hell are you doing?’"
So then we've become animals, essentially. And we might as well give up on cricket entirely, because it's no longer a sport, a game or an entertainment, it's simply the most convenient way for often already obscenely rich, greedy individuals to get even richer, and everyone else can go fuck themselves.
The top players you're referring to here should be careful what they wish for. The people you meet on the way up are the people you meet on the way down and all that....
As usual, Dave, we appear to be very much aligned. The art and aesthetics are being systematically removed from the game. Or the professional game, at any rate. Maybe it's just a generational thing. I recall some old rugby codgers who were horrified that players were being openly paid in the early 90s. They were disgusted that the game was turning professional. Much as it distresses me to see cricket (and cricketers) so openly motivated first and foremost by making as much money as possible, I do also wonder whether that's the unfortunate direction all sport is heading in...?
But, that is what makes the IPL much more competitive
I understand that, Aditya, and you are quite right. I think there may be a cost to pay in the years to come, however. Perhaps I'm wrong. Cricket is an unforgiving environment, it may become even more difficult for players when they become mere merchandise.
The thing that makes the IPL competitive is that it can pay 10x the money any other T20 league can. So it always get the best T20 players from all over the world.
I don't think it would be any less competitive if they ditched the auction, and just went to a standard model (NFL, NBA, EPL) of Franchises agreeing contracts with individual players (all within a salary cap off course). The advantage of this is that the public can then better build up relationships with a team. When your team drastically changes every 3 years, that's much harder to do.
It confounds me. Completely baffling. And the transfer rules seem to be made up on the fly. How come Hardik Pandya moved to Mumbai Indians and Cameron Green to RCB outside of any auction...?
Still, the tournament moves primarily to the beat of the Indian market and if it makes no difference to Indian supporters that their teams change profoundly every three years, then that's the way it'll be...
Fascinating insight to the lives and finances of players 🤗