Club vs Country conflict : who is to blame for this?

[achilles]

With this statement- 1. BCCI has washed its hands off the matter. 2. It has virtually given a clean chit to the franchise. 3. Blame everything on the poor player who is so committed that he played with an injury & would even play international cricket with an injury Best way out, eh?

[achilles]

Well, firstly we owe a THANK-YOU to Times Now for exposing this story. Secondly, they've brought reports and stuff from the physios to back their story. Thirdly, kinda sick to squarely blame the player. But then public isn't stupid and the veiled attacks on the babus were there for everyone to see last night.

[achilles]

Usseh kyun bigad raha hai? Padhne de. Koi toh mehnat ka kaam karne de useh.

[Ultimate_Game]

One of the better articles I have read... regarding Club Vs Country debate. http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/cricket/IPL2011/Does-the-Board-even-care-who-s-in-the-team/pradeepmagazine/SP-Article10-702848.aspx

The inevitable consequence of the greed of those responsible for governing cricket in India is increasingly threatening international cricket. The profits that the IPL has generated for the Board and the rich and powerful corporates who have filled their coffers are at the root cause of this club versus country debate. The players, no matter how much money they are making (a pittance if you compare it with what the Board is making) are in the end victims, being treated like guinea pigs by those who it seems care a damn about who plays for India, or who falls by the wayside, as long as their pursuit for bigger profits is fulfilled. In their scheme of things, the IPL is the most important cricket tournament in the world, as has been proved by their callous disregard for the players, who, it was obvious, desperately needed rest after having won the World Cup for the country. It is easier for us to blame a Gambhir, a Sehwag or a Yuvraj for giving precedence to money over country. In the process, we forget who has created this monster that is putting players in an unenviable situation where they are being forced to make a choice. In reality, they probably have no choice. Do you think the board secretary, who owns the Chennai Super Kings, would have allowed Dhoni to skip the IPL so that he could have got much needed rest before embarking on another gruelling international schedule. It is a wonder that unlike those injured, the Indian captain can still walk on two legs and will lead the Chennai team in the IPL final. What is even more galling in this debate is our own hypocrisy, where we allow things to reach such a stage, even endorse it, and protest only when the situation appears to have gone out of control. India, the World Cup winners, the most influential cricketing nation in the world and the country which generates the maximum revenue for the sport, should not behave like the Americans, whom the world fears for its power, but hates for its arrogance and insensitivity towards less powerful nations. The cricketing world may not be in a position to revolt against the might of India's money power, but, as the half-empty stadiums and the falling TRP ratings for the IPL suggest, not only the players, even the spectators are fatigued with this overkill. The Indian board as a popular Hindi proverb goes, is cutting the very branch on which it is sitting.

[Feed]

Players cannot be held accountable for club vs country conflict More... Players cannot be held accountable for club vs country conflict Friday, May 27, 2011, By Kiran More | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA Modern professional sport is hectic, demanding and it expects huge amount of accountability from the players. The itinerary of modern day cricket sees players playing round the year. How much ever we wish, but commercial and bilateral considerations are such that; year round cricket is a stark reality that cannot be wished away. Some experts and analysts tend to blame players and their commercial club commitments for playing with injuries et al. We had the case of Sehwag and now Gambhir; however let us put things into perspective. I sincerely believe that players do not have a choice here. At the outset, the IPL is a tournament organised and promoted by the BCCI. The board charges the franchisees a fat fee and in turn has to make its players available to them. The players in turn are sub-let to the franchisees by the BCCI itself through an auction process. One has to be realistic and understand that in the practical world, franchisees that pay huge sums for players would try and get the best returns from them in terms of performance and leveraging their star value. Therefore, it is important to realise that the player here is a professional worker like any other professional in other fields of work, who does not have a choice! Despite the fact that IPL is a club-level tournament, the stakes are high. It is no hidden fact that the crunch matches come in with swelling expectations of franchisee owners and in turn put pressure on the players. This should also explain and justify the salaries of most cricketers. The biggest asset of a cricket tournament is its cricketers and one should not forget that! In the final analysis, it is the players on the field that make or break the success of a tournament. Make no mistake, I have been a former player myself and I can vouch for the fact that for every Indian cricketer, the priority is always country and Test cricket. Yes, commercial considerations are there as it is the case for any other professional around the world. Take the case of Gambhir and Sehwag, both signed by their franchisees for million dollars plus. In case they were injured prior to the start of the IPL and if they excused themselves from the participation — would the principal organiser, BCCI, compensate these players for having missed the IPL? More importantly, what would be the impact to a franchisee’s business model if they were to announce that this IPL season their biggest star was not available due to injury? So it is a complex issue that needs policy decisions to be put in place. Let us not gets jingoistic and blame the players alone. Injuries are part and parcel of the game and modern players have to live with the fact. At times they need to carry and play with injuries niggles also. It is not easy for a Sehwag, Gambhir or Tendulkar, to excuse himself from a high profile tournament like the IPL! Even from a financial perspective, you cannot blame them for playing for commercial reasons. Would you question the patriotism of an IIT or IIM graduate who migrates to another country for better career prospects? If no, then how can you blame a sportsman whose bread and butter comes from his skills with a bat and ball? It is too simplistic and utopian to think that the commercial interests do not play a factor in a player’s trade-off, in foregoing the IPL riches, as against playing with injury niggles! A professional sportsperson is no different in his materialistic aspirations as compared to any other young hardworking professional in other strata of society. Even the great Sachin Tendulkar had to play last year’s IPL final with broken fingers; exemplifying the demands and rigors of professional cricket and its accountability. My solution for this club vs country debate lies in a two-fold strategy. 1.First, BCCI as the principal body, needs to formulate a comprehensive policy to deal with all situations as seen with the case of Gambhir and Sehwag. They need to build consensus with all parties involved, including players, franchisees and the media. The policy should be on paper andshould be transparent so that speculative stories, questioning a player’s integrity, does not arise in the future. 2.Second, from a cricketing perspective, the national side needs to strengthen its bench strength for the national squad so that right replacements are ready and available when the need arises. With a 365-day cricket calendar becoming a reality, injuries are going to be a part and parcel of the game. Competent back-up players and prioritising bilateral series on basis of importance is the cricketing way forward to tackle the issue. For the same, it is important for the board to take the selectors and senior team management, including head coach, into confidence.

[Sachin=GOD]

Club vs Country conflict : who is to blame for this? Indian cricket needs a Players Association which can take up the interests of the players regarding these issues.

[Sachin=GOD]

Does the Board even care who's in the team? Pradeep Magazine

THE PLAYERS ARE THE VICTIMS, BEING TREATED LIKE GUINEA PIGS BY THOSE WHO IT SEEMS CARE A DAMN ABOUT WHO PLAYS FOR INDIA The inevitable consequence of the greed of those responsible for governing cricket in India is increasingly threatening international cricket. The profits that the IPL has generated for the Board and the rich and powerful corporates who have filled their coffers are at the root cause of this club versus country debate. The players, no matter how much money they are making (a pittance if you compare it with what the Board is making) are in the end victims, being treated like guinea pigs by those who it seems care a damn about who plays for India, or who falls by the wayside, as long as their pursuit for bigger profits is fulfilled. In their scheme of things, the IPL is the most important cricket tournament in the world, as has been proved by their callous disregard for the players, who, it was obvious, desperately needed rest after having won the World Cup for the country. It is easier for us to blame a Gambhir, a Sehwag or a Yuvraj for giving precedence to money over country. In the process, we forget who has created this monster that is putting players in an unenviable situation where they are being forced to make a choice. In reality, they probably have no choice. Do you think the board secretary, who owns the Chennai Super Kings, would have allowed Dhoni to skip the IPL so that he could have got much needed rest before embarking on another gruelling international schedule. It is a wonder that unlike those injured, the Indian captain can still walk on two legs and will lead the Chennai team in the IPL final. What is even more galling in this debate is our own hypocrisy, where we allow things to reach such a stage, even endorse it, and protest only when the situation appears to have gone out of control. India, the World Cup winners, the most influential cricketing nation in the world and the country which generates the maximum revenue for the sport, should not behave like the Americans, whom the world fears for its power, but hates for its arrogance and insensitivity towards less powerful nations. The cricketing world may not be in a position to revolt against the might of India's money power, but, as the half-empty stadiums and the falling TRP ratings for the IPL suggest, not only the players, even the spectators are fatigued with this overkill. The Indian board as a popular Hindi proverb goes, is cutting the very branch on which it is sitting.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2011/05/28/ArticleHtmls/Big-picture-Does-the-Board-even-care-whos-28052011020004.shtml?Mode=1

[ravishingravi]

I have a point to make. Isnt IPL all about India? Hasnt it brought fans by the thousands to the game? Hasnt it helped to give BCCI and indian cricket power and money over other countries? Today Australians defer to us and IPL is a contributor. So what makes you say that IPL is only club cricket? Its goes much beyond that. IPL is contributing to Indian cricket much more than 100 series to WI or NZ will ever do

Depends on how your valuation of contribution comes from. If it comes purely in monetary terms then yes, it has contributed much more than most international series. So, yes IPL is all about India if that is the yardstick. But is it is all about Indian cricket. What is basic minimum that an Indian cricket fan hopes for his team ? For it to win, yes. For it to have quality players and decent bench strength and that its best players represent the nation as often as possible/ Now this is where there is an impediment.

So does only wearing a white dress and having the name 'India' on the scoreboard mean that you are respresenting India? Only to the retarted. IPL is one of the biggest thing to happen to Indian cricket and is the way the future is

Well traditional India fans like me are becoming retarded. I am sorry I can't get orgasm over Raina smashing some "nausikhya" bowler in what is an inferior format of the game against low quality attacks. I would rather take his 50 for India in ODIs in high pressure situation. Again if the definition of biggest is in terms of getting eye balls and money then yes it has. But in cricketing tersm it has given no permanent players. Our bench strength remains the same if not worse considering some young players have lost their in IPL parties. AND, we are having our best players playing with injury and risking losing India series for some bucks in pyjama cricket. I say I would rather stay retarded.

Trust me' date=' I hate IPL and I love test cricket to bits. But I can see which way the wind is blowing. in the context of cricket overall and BCCI, a WI tour is simply an excercise in magnamity while IPL is truly more Indian than the former. To state that a player picking or being forced to pick IPL over a WI tour, just because the later carries the tag of 'representing your country' is being selfish is actually ignoring the ground realties. An international player contributes 100 times more to Indian fans and Indian cricket by playing an IPL match than by playing an inconsequential series against WI or NZ. [/quote'] I hear you. But I do not agree with your weather analysis. I say there are some temporary current like there is Packer era where everyone said the Test cricket would die. But it didn't. I also agree that implictly it is an FU to WI tour both by BCCI and Indian players. Then say so. Btw Sehwag and Gambhir are likely to miss England tour also. Was that also the plan ? Btw it is interesting you use the word "inconsequential". To me, it shows why the great Aussie side and WI side will never come again or atleast not from this land. The sheer pride and honour in representing your country, in captaining your country, in coming on to the feild as "World Champions" are being valued against "Few Dollars More". I say that simply because after considering endorsements especially after winning the WC Indian players without the IPL would be comfortably the highest earning in the world. So, yes it is greed beyond reasonable limits and no greed to bring honour for Indian cricket or make it one of the all time greats. Yes that would have been good. I don't use the term selfish, since everyone is selfish imo.

[saneindian]

To me' date=' it shows why the great Aussie side and [b']WI side will never come again or atleast not from this land. The sheer pride and honour in representing your country, in captaining your country, in coming on to the feild as "World Champions" are being valued against "Few Dollars More".

The same side that went to the Packer circus (obviously for a few dollars more) for 3 years and did not play for the WI at all?

[ravishingravi]

The same side that went to the Packer circus (obviously for a few dollars more) for 3 years and did not play for the WI at all?

Yeah that same side which was getting paid peanuts compared to other cricketing nations who were also getting paid peanuts ( 500 $ for a test match at best ). Not saying it makes it right, but they have better justification. Can Indian players complain "lack of money" ?

[saneindian]

Yeah that same side which was getting paid peanuts compared to other cricketing nations who were also getting paid peanuts ( 500 $ for a test match at best ). Not saying it makes it right' date=' but they have better justification. Can Indian players complain "lack of money" ?[/quote'] Now don't shift the goalposts. It was about "money vs country" and how IPL has eroded that value. That WI side put money over country (even though WI is not a country). They did not play for the national side for 3 years, none of these guys playing in the IPL have said they are not available for the national side anymore .

[f.b.m]

I have a point to make. Isnt IPL all about India? Hasnt it brought fans by the thousands to the game? Hasnt it helped to give BCCI and indian cricket power and money over other countries? Today Australians defer to us and IPL is a contributor. So what makes you say that IPL is only club cricket? Its goes much beyond that. IPL is contributing to Indian cricket much more than 100 series to WI or NZ will ever do So does only wearing a white dress and having the name 'India' on the scoreboard mean that you are respresenting India? Only to the retarted. IPL is one of the biggest thing to happen to Indian cricket and is the way the future is Trust me, I hate IPL and I love test cricket to bits. But I can see which way the wind is blowing. in the context of cricket overall and BCCI, a WI tour is simply an excercise in magnamity while IPL is truly more Indian than the former. To state that a player picking or being forced to pick IPL over a WI tour, just because the later carries the tag of 'representing your country' is being selfish is actually ignoring the ground realties. An international player contributes 100 times more to Indian fans and Indian cricket by playing an IPL match than by playing an inconsequential series against WI or NZ. Thats one of the reason why players of the stature of Sachin and Warne take part in IPL. Its not just about the money, its a paradigm shift taking place in this game, which the smart veterans are quick to realise. The 'club over country' phrase is a cliche' which is not based on reality, particularly since, the country benifits more when the player choses to play for his club than for some series with a third tier team

Good post! Gotto say I've never thought of it this way before..