Monday 21 April 2008
PCA: Players Love IPL Opportunity
The English cricket players would love the opportunity to play in the Indian premier League according to Sean Morris of the Professional Cricketers Association.
‘100 per cent yes, top players want to test themselves against the best, also the money is very attractive for such a short period of work’ said Morris of England’s players.
England captain Michael Vaughan’s expressed the same sentiments last week saying ‘It would be naïve to think England’s leading players would never play in such a lucrative competition.’
‘It’s a huge opportunity; Cricket dominates India which is one of the world’s most valuable emerging markets. It's perfectly natural for the PCA to want our members to take advantage of that - it's a unique opportunity’ Morris enthused.
As a representative of the players, Morris is obviously pleased with the financial benefits the Indian Premier League could potentially bring to the game of cricket.
"It forces the administrators to explore and develop new commercial opportunities. It also highlights how attractive T20 cricket can be to a younger audience. This helps to grow our supporter’s base and has the potential to attract new sponsors/investors into the game."
Cricketers have traditionally been paid lower than other sports stars such as football, but while the changes will bring plenty of extra revenue into the game, Morris doesn’t feel the player’s salaries can ever match top football players.
"As the country is one of the most valuable emerging markets the value in India will dictate the value of the top international players who play over there. This will filter down into other countries as they will need to increase the rewards to players to ensure that they don’t all go and play in India. The players will be better paid, but not to top footballer’s levels."
It is clear to see with the creation of The Indian Premier League cricket the players will benefit hugely. With salaries of £300,000 to £500,000 for six weeks' work, some players are earning more than in their wildest dreams. Matthew Hoggard described t this as 6 weeks work for a year’s salary, which is a huge draw for every cricketer.
It is clear to see with the creation of The Indian Premier League cricket the players will benefit hugely. With salaries of £300,000 to £500,000 for six weeks' work, some players are earning more than in their wildest dreams. Matthew Hoggard described t this as 6 weeks work for a year’s salary, which is a huge draw for every cricketer.
The first IPL player auction saw 77 cricketers from around the world win contracts worth almost $42m (£21.4m) from the eight franchises that make up the league, prompting huge interest from players and agents not involved first time round.
The IPL conducted a second auction on March 11 for an additional list of 28 players [including 14 from India's Under-19 players - bought on the basis of a draft system
Michael Vaughan summed it up nicely when he stated ‘It really is something that could be quite powerful and something that all players around the world will want to go and play in.’
Lancashire Director Supports IPL
Lancashire director Andy Hayhurst has praised the Indian Premier League on the eve of its launch this Friday and has suggested the ECB launch a similar format.
The Indian Premier Leagues 20:Twenty format and signing of cricket stars from around the game has captured the imagination of the cricketing world.
Players have been offered big salaries to compete in the 8 team league which will see each team play each other home and away. This format has been likened to the Uefa Champions league in football.
‘The Indian Premier League brings more profile to the game of cricket and also the financial aspects and supporter interest are much increased’ Said Hayhurst.
This was reflected in the television rights being distributed for a combined total of around $1 billion to be broadcast in every continent.
The launching of a format in England would certainly serve to subdue some of the negatives the Indian premier league has brought up in the domestic game and Hayhurst argued the case. ‘It would of course, be feasible, for the ECB to set up a similar tournament here as all foreign players are basically out of season and would be available. That would allow our better county players to earn there money here and not be tempted to go to India’
There have been concerns raised in England that the league would have a negative affect on county cricket. However Hayhurst feels there are measures that the ECB could take to prevent it doing so. ‘If the ECB keep to the rules and ensure that their England contracted players remain with England then it should be fine. If County players wish to play in India for 6 weeks of their season then it is up to the Counties to decide individually’
Other concerns have been raised over the values and traditions of cricket could be usurped by the money being poured into the game. However Hayhurst, while understanding the sentiment, felt that the IPL should serve to enhance cricket.
The players themselves will be very interested in the developments financially that the Indian Premier League players. Other sports have traditionally paid out more to its stars than cricket, but the IPL may change this. England cricketer Matthew Hoggard said in his column in The Times ‘We're talking six week's work for roughly a year's salary. As they say in the States, you do the math."
The question of whether the England players want to go to play in the IPL is obvious. Even captain Micheal Vaughan agrees. Hayhurst feels that the financial benefits are too high for the players to miss out on ‘using Glenn Chapple as an example. He could earn treble in 6 weeks than he earns in 3 years at Lancs. At his age it would be a no brainer provided of course, he went with Lancs blessing otherwise he would jeopardise his County contract.’
The cricket world is transfixed, and there’s a lot of hype to live up to for the players
Thursday 10 April 2008
The IPL Buzz
Cricket is changing. The The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a franchise-based Twenty20 competition organised by the BCCI, and it has official sanction since it has the backing of the ICC. It features the world's best cricketers, their affiliation decided by open auction, for eight city-based franchises, owned by a host of businessmen and celebrity consortiums. The inaugural edition of the tournament will run from April 18 to June 1.
The tournament will feature 59 matches in total, the teams playing each other on a home-and-away basis. This has been likened to the European Champions league format in football. The tournament has created excitement among fans, but controversy in the game.
Although sanctioned by the ICC, the tournament clashes with the Englsih domestic league. the only English player to sign up so far is Dmitri Mascheranhas.
Players' boss Sean Morris says England cricketers want to play in the Indian Premier League. "The value of the cricketer has just increased through what is happening in the IPL," Morris told BBC Sport.
"It's perfectly natural for the PCA to want our members to take advantage of that - it's a unique opportunity
Morris was replying to comments made earlier by Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
"We are not interested in people playing in the IPL," Clarke said, before adding that he would not change the domestic calendar to suit the Indian league.
The tournament will feature 59 matches in total, the teams playing each other on a home-and-away basis. This has been likened to the European Champions league format in football. The tournament has created excitement among fans, but controversy in the game.
Although sanctioned by the ICC, the tournament clashes with the Englsih domestic league. the only English player to sign up so far is Dmitri Mascheranhas.
Players' boss Sean Morris says England cricketers want to play in the Indian Premier League. "The value of the cricketer has just increased through what is happening in the IPL," Morris told BBC Sport.
"It's perfectly natural for the PCA to want our members to take advantage of that - it's a unique opportunity
Morris was replying to comments made earlier by Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
"We are not interested in people playing in the IPL," Clarke said, before adding that he would not change the domestic calendar to suit the Indian league.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)