Limit of 4 foreigners in playing XI for IPL

[MundaPakistani]

I was looking through the lineups the other day and something immediately came to my mind If a hasbeen like Sunil Joshi is being paid thousands of dollars and is still eligible to play for his city and country then why can't a far better player like Mushtaq Ahmed be allowed to make a similar sum of money and still be eligible to play for Multan and Pakistan? If Virat Kohli and several other Indian youngsters are given a chance to make thousands of bucks then why shouldn’t players like Tim Southee, Sarfraz Ahmed and other young non Indian players be given a chance to make money? I know it isn’t BCCI’s responsibility to give chances to the players outside IND but they should also NOT have the right to block opportunities for the players to go to different leagues.

[flamy]

Being INDIAN premier league, obviously they'll prefer Indian unknowns and hasbeens.... no brainer much?

[Ram]

Its got nothing to do with players/countries etc.. Its just the professional nature of the system. The closest corporate analogy I can draw for is it is this - Imagine BCCI ( IPL) to be Google and Zee ( ICL) to be Microsoft. If you decide to join Microsoft and work for it, then obviously you cant work for Google at the same time. There's a level of mutual exclusivity to this. Only, you can quit working for Microsoft and then join Google, but in the case of ICL, because its a rebel league, the punishment is a lot higher. There's a good reason why the boards ( mainly BCCI) / ICC are so spooked and anti-ICL. Success of ICL means the downfall of the official cricket that we are so used to seeing now. Ultimately, most of the revenue for the cricket comes from TV. If ICL had succeeded, then obviously more people will watch it, which would mean more ad revenue for ICL tournaments. ICL's gain is the Offcial cricket's world's loss. So, the next set of rights for all cricket games held in India wont be sold for $1.2 Billion by the BCCI, it would be sold for $700 million. These rates are directly related to supply-demand. If any cricket broadcaster thinks BCCI charged too much for the rates, then he could always go for ICL, provided it was interesting to watch. This is where the ICC and other boards came together and told ' We will do all we can to make sure ICL doesnt take off' and put in place all the stringent player restrictions to deter as many stars as possible from joining it. Less number of star players in ICL --> less attraction ---> Less TV viewership ---> Less ad revenue ---> so all the major TV deals still go ICC/other boards. ICL threatened to shake up the entire world cricketing system at its roots and was a major danger to cricket as we know it. But ICC and the other boards have colluded to make sure that doesnt happen, atleast till now.

[The Outsider]

Sriram, MP is making a different point here I think. He is not talking about players from other countries who are playing in ICL(which is where your MS/Google analogy would work to an extent). He is talking about fringe players from other countries who have not violated any contract, but still have close to zero chance of selection in IPL because of the 4 foreign player restriction. One can argue either way on it I guess. IPL is a BCCI sponsored tournament and they would give preference to Indian players like the counties do in England. On the other hand it kind of defeats the purpose behind a completely open league in which teams are free to hire as MP said Mushtaq Ahmed over Sunil Joshi.

[Holysmoke]

Sriram, MP is making a different point here I think. He is not talking about players from other countries who are playing in ICL(which is where your MS/Google analogy would work to an extent). He is talking about fringe players from other countries who have not violated any contract, but still have close to zero chance of selection in IPL because of the 4 foreign player restriction. One can argue either way on it I guess. IPL is a BCCI sponsored tournament and they would give preference to Indian players like the counties do in England. On the other hand it kind of defeats the purpose behind a completely open league in which teams are free to hire as MP said Mushtaq Ahmed over Sunil Joshi.

Its Indian Premier League, not the International Premier League. This is by the BCCI, not by the ICC.

[Ram]

Sriram, MP is making a different point here I think. He is not talking about players from other countries who are playing in ICL(which is where your MS/Google analogy would work to an extent). He is talking about fringe players from other countries who have not violated any contract, but still have close to zero chance of selection in IPL because of the 4 foreign player restriction. One can argue either way on it I guess. IPL is a BCCI sponsored tournament and they would give preference to Indian players like the counties do in England. On the other hand it kind of defeats the purpose behind a completely open league in which teams are free to hire as MP said Mushtaq Ahmed over Sunil Joshi.

Well, the 4 player restriction isnt actually going to *stop* any foreign player from getting selected, per se. Its open competition out there, if you are really 'that' good, your name is bound to figure in the short-list of foreign players. Having said that, its obvious that the short-list isnt based on merit alone. There are names in that list simply for their star value. As far as the ' 4 foreign players only' restriction goes, I think the BCCI is trying this on an experimental basis. For IPL to succeed, the Indian audience needs to be captured, which is why there is a deliberate and distinct Indian flavor to this edition of the tournament. IPL cant be seen as an instrument for foreign players to come and make lots of money. The Indian participation in it needs to be significant and visible, to really capture the Indian audience. If this year's edition succeeds, I am sure the BCCI will relax a lot of the rules for the next edition, like allowing more than 4 foreign players, increasing the team budget and allowing for foreign ownership of teams. After all, what they really care for is more money. And if Foreign corporates are allowed to buy newly created IPL teams, then its win-win for all. BCCI gets more 'license fee' as I would like to call it and MNCs, so desperate for advertisement in India, get to popularize their brand through the single most popular mass vehicle in India, Cricket.

[sreej]

MP... Luke Pomersbach, Luke Ronchi, Shaun Marsh are all domestic cricketers from Australia who are virtually UNKNOWN outside of Australia. How and why did they get IPL contracts?? This was because most of the teams in the IPL are coached by Aussies. They brought in players who they believed would be an asset to their teams. Now, Neil Maxwell is the IPL agent for Australia as well as the CEO of the Mohali franchise so he was instrumental in getting Pomersbach and Marsh over. Also like pretty much everyone has been saying it's an Indian league so they would rather have has-beens from their own region than import has-beens from outside the country. Youngsters like Tim Southee & Sarfraz Ahmed will definitely feature in future editions of the IPL, but as of now they don't really have the star value to command a place in an IPL team today. Take note even Misbah-ul-Haq wasn't featured in the First auction and had to be put up for bidding in the second one.

[Chandan]

like allowing more than 4 foreign players, increasing the team budget and allowing for foreign ownership of teams. After all, what they really care for is more money. And if Foreign corporates are allowed to buy newly created IPL teams, then its win-win for all. BCCI gets more 'license fee' as I would like to call it and MNCs, so desperate for advertisement in India, get to popularize their brand through the single most popular mass vehicle in India, Cricket.

More teams? Oh no! That would mean an IPL tournament for more than 44 days. It will be nightmarish for the cricket in general as ICC is trying hard to find a separate window for IPL so that players from other countries could participate in it, without missing a single match and hence earn the total money promised from their contract, its task would become almost impossible unless some official cricket is given up. If IPL will keep spreading its wings, it'd mean the end of official cricket, especially test cricket. However I think or rather hope MM that it is just your imagination and nothing of that sort would happen. Secondly I don't think it'll be as big a success as it is hyped right now. In the absence of emotion, it'll compete with other entertainments in India and I don't think it'll defeat Bollywood. So at the most the response is going to be lukewarm for IPL in India.

[Ram]

More teams? Oh no! That would mean an IPL tournament for more than 44 days. It will be nightmarish for the cricket in general as ICC is trying hard to find a separate window for IPL so that players from other countries could participate in it, without missing a single match and hence earn the total money promised from their contract, its task would become almost impossible unless some official cricket is given up. If IPL will keep spreading its wings, it'd mean the end of official cricket, especially test cricket. However I think or rather hope MM that it is just your imagination and nothing of that sort would happen. Secondly I don't think it'll be as big a success as it is hyped right now. In the absence of emotion, it'll compete with other entertainments in India and I don't think it'll defeat Bollywood. So at the most the response is going to be lukewarm for IPL in India.

Franchise based sport is the norm in most other major sports of the world, be it Football or basketball or even Tennis. Cricket is one of the rare sports where country-based teams still dominate the landscape. That could well change. In the future we may well see a trend where league-based cricket gives the highest quality and matches between countries gets relegated to the second string eleven, a lot like Basketball. And I have absolutely no problems with that. I see cricket coz I love that sport, not because my team claims to represent my country. That is a load of nonsense sold by the media to hype up everything.

[MundaPakistani]

MM, Your analogy of Microsoft and google is not valid because i am not asking for the players to play in BOTH ICL and IPL. I really think it is time for the BCCI and Zee to sit together and come up with a deal. At least make it so the players who are NOT contracted by their respective boards are allowed to play in the ICL with out having to face the ban. The players(especially those in domestic cricket) all around the world are really missing out on this opportunity to finally make some money.

MP... Luke Pomersbach, Luke Ronchi, Shaun Marsh are all domestic cricketers from Australia who are virtually UNKNOWN outside of Australia. How and why did they get IPL contracts?? This was because most of the teams in the IPL are coached by Aussies. They brought in players who they believed would be an asset to their teams. Now, Neil Maxwell is the IPL agent for Australia as well as the CEO of the Mohali franchise so he was instrumental in getting Pomersbach and Marsh over. Also like pretty much everyone has been saying it's an Indian league so they would rather have has-beens from their own region than import has-beens from outside the country. Youngsters like Tim Southee & Sarfraz Ahmed will definitely feature in future editions of the IPL, but as of now they don't really have the star value to command a place in an IPL team today. Take note even Misbah-ul-Haq wasn't featured in the First auction and had to be put up for bidding in the second one.

how can you say for sure that there ever will be a next edition? how can you say for sure that these guys who have barely played international cricket be given a chance in the next edition? as you yourself pointed out that Misbah ul Haq who is now an established player and was arguably the best batsman in the T20 world cup can be sold for peanuts then that clearly shows that this whole IPL businesss is a bit of a lottery. I see a lot of people in this thread are saying that its an indian cricket league so BCCI aren't responsible for players like Southee, Sarfraz or others who have beeen performing in domestic cricket for years but i totally disagree with that. If BCCI can step in and be reponsible for the BANS of international cricketers then it is no longer an Indian thing.

[sreej]

OK...noone knows for sure if there is going to be another edition of the IPL, but I seriously doubt that there won't! It is highly unlikely that after such huge investments by franchises that the league would be abandoned altogether after one edition. Seeing as how people who have NEVER played international cricket are playing in the IPL I don't see any barriers to those who have BARELY played international cricket getting an opportunity. I don't understand why its bothering you that players like Tim Southee and Sarfraz Ahmed aren't playing. They can't stack up teams with 60 players each. When there is another edition of the IPL( in all probability there will), they are going to add more teams to the league which will lead to MORE players like Flintoff, Pietersen, and if deemed worthy Southee and Sarfraz Ahmed getting drafted. As of now BCCI has no reason to push for Southee or Sarfraz. The ban on players playing in the ICL is a completely different matter and I don't agree with what the BCCI's doing either.

[The Outsider]

MP is making an excellent point here - if BCCI can go out and instruct other boards to ban players for not being available for IPL(that is what joining ICL amounts to), then they have the responsibility to ensure players of other countries get treated on equal footing with Indian players.

[coffee_rules]

BCCI is not stopping other boards to start their own country PLs and have their players be compensated. EPL is on the pipeline. There is Sanford's 20 mil match. Why should BCCI tolerate rival leagues within India when they have a monopoly there. What others have to do is appeal to GOI and get BCCI rid of it's monopoly over Indian cricket and grounds. Facking Bench Odds have made enough money already.

[arkay]

Limit of 4 foreigners in playing XI for IPL Because of the limit of 4 foreign players in the playing XI, there are a lot of players who are still in the bench and have not played a single game as yet. If these players continue to be in the bench, they will be less reluctant to participate in the IPL next season. All these guys are the top players in their country and would not be interested to just sit in the bench. I wonder if these players would get paid if they are not in the playing xi. There are still players like Fleming, Vettori, Dilhara Fernando, Malinga, Cameroon White, Nathan Braken, Simon Katich are yet to play a single match. Should we remove the restrictions or increase to limit to 6 players. What are your thoughts? Another question: Each team has too many choices currently. Would make sense to restrict the team to 16 so that there is a lot more predictability to the team.

[straighttalk]

no the 4 internationals rule ensures that almost all the teams are balanced which will allow for good cricket..rather the exodus of aussies kiwis and windies will kill kkr,csk andto lesser extent brc.

[ludhianvi]

Well, from a non-indian perspective, one would want as many international players as possible. But from an indian perspective, I think the fans would love to see upcoming talent in domestic and u19 levels. So whichever you side you're on, you'll prefer that view. With the EPL seeming like a reality in the near future, the players would be sifted to the two leagues and there will be fewerinternational top players sitting on the sidelines. One question: How many foreign players are allowed in the current county setup in the playing XI?

[flamy]

When the aussies leave, the others will play

[Chandan]

Almost every foreign player will get a chance. Fleming will replace Hayden, Styris will replace Symonds, Hodge will replace Ponting and Vettori played the first game for Daredevils. I think it is a superb rule so that we have a nice balance of forein players, Indian international players and young players from Ranji or U-19 squads.

[umpire]

>There are still players like Fleming, Vettori, Dilhara Fernando, Malinga, Cameroon White, Nathan Braken, Simon Katich are yet to play a single match. Malinga is injured, Bracken injured, Katich got his chance today, Its long tournament and this 4 international player is awesome rule.