Club versus country?

In the days to come, the imbroglio over Sri Lanka's tour of England next summer might be painted in club-versus-country colours. In reality, it's nothing of the sort. It's about money, and players' increasing exasperation with having no voice at all in the scheduling of matches round the year.

India have already seen the consequences of shoehorning matches into the calendar at every opportunity, with an exhausted Mahendra Singh Dhoni pulling out of the Test series in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's cricketers were initially promised that no tours would be scheduled during the IPL season in either 2009 or 2010, and if Sri Lanka Cricket does take up England's invitation for two Tests and three ODIs, it will mean that the majority of the squad will be available to their IPL teams for just 10 days.

With the exception of those from England, Australia and India, cricketers are poorly paid in comparison to elite athletes in other professional sports. Some of the Sri Lankans like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene (Kings XI Punjab) are on big money in the IPL, and after strong showings in the first season, their stock will only have risen.

Were they to miss most of the second season, they'd have to forfeit most of the money as well. That's simply not an option given how Sri Lanka Cricket's modest contracts pale into insignificance next to the IPL dollars.

It would be all too easy to characterise the players, who have allegedly threatened to boycott the tour if it goes ahead, as mercenaries who don't care about playing for their country. The truth is though that these games weren't on Sri Lanka's itinerary until the British government told the ECB that there was no question of hosting Zimbabwe before the Ashes.

Given that the players have prior commitments, it's entirely appropriate that the tour goes ahead only with their consent. Anyone who thinks Sangakkara cares more about a Mohali franchise than his country is just being cynical. And as long as the IPL money remains too good to turn down, the question of loyalty will be an irrelevant one.

And next time the ICC does draw up a Future Tours Programme, how about consulting the players' association first?

Comments

[Swami]

What great irony ! In the first 19 years of Sri Lanka's existence ( 1982-2001 ), England offered to play them a total of 6 tests and never more than 1 test series. And all because it wasnt a lucrative proposition. And now SL doesnt find it lucrative to play England ! The world has not changed because of IPL, just that roles have reversed.

[Tariq]

And it's high time the ICC thought of making it mandatory to keep the IPL window clear in order to avoid conflicts like this. It's just not realistic to issue statements like 'international matches must take precedence over club games', when you consider the kind of money involved in the IPL. The wealthy ECB might be able to afford to pay their players handsomely, but the Sri Lankan board, for example, pay their stars next to nothing. How can the ICC expect them to turn down lucrative contracts from the IPL in order to plug up the gaps in England's calendar? It's time to start getting a bit more realistic.

[Ash]

Spot on Dileep. There is no point trying to make out like the players are mercenaries, when the truth is that this ad hoc tour was agreed to by a bullyish administrator (Arjuna Ranatunge) without consulting the players, probably in order to fill the coffers of the SLC. Moreover, the board had verbally agreed to keep the IPL window clear for 2009 and 2010, and the players were right to be angered when this promise was tossed out the window for the sake of a tour that was put together haphazardly without any deliberation whatsoever. The Sri Lankans are amongst the lowest paid in the test playing world, and that is unlikely to change in times to come. I don't see what's wrong with these world class players wanting to increase their earnings to reflect something like what their peers have accumulated over the years.

And anyway, what is England complaining about? They were scheduled to play Zimbawbe for pity's sake! Let Sri Lanka send their A team for England to practise on before the Ashes, because that is all this tour will amount to anyway.

It's a pity that the Sri Lankan players might come out of this scenario looking like the bad guys, when it is Ranatunge who ought to be crucified for his disrespectful and overbearing handling of the players.

[Som]

I don't know what prompted Ranatunga to almost volunteer and fill in the void in the English calendar. I can't perceive the Lankan stalwarts as money-minded mercenaries. I don't know how many are aware that the seniors actually agreed to a freeze in their annual retainers but insisted that juniors and A team members get a better deal from the Lankan board. They showed they were not worried about the bulge in their pocket but for the youngsters. This is something for other cricketers to emulate. In such a scenario, especially when the money they get is abysmal in comparison to what their India cousins are piling, it was just wrong on Ranatunga's part to plunge them in a IPL vs country dilemma.

[RSN]

Like calling Bush stupid, ICC bashing, though still fun, has fallen victim to diminishing returns. Sure, its completely incompetent, run by India, and hangs out in Dubai too often to be taken seriously. But bickering about the mechanics of the ICC is useless in the organization's current form. Because of its convenience to those who run it, the ICC will continue to stumble along as is. What it needs is a little benevolent dictatorship action--strong stances must be taken with pratical penalties for those who deviate. For the sake of the game, some basic, immediate actions need to be taken: Bangladesh should be kicked out of test cricket, Zimbabwe should be kicked out of the ICC (for its shady accounts, not Mugabe), the number of one-day internationals should be reduced,cricket should be in the Olympics, and places like New Zealand and West Indies should not take back seat to places like Indian and Australia on the FTP --among other things. Oh and players should have a say in scheduling tours (sorry Dileep, I digressed). These things should happen for their financial benefits, if not health of the game. To bring revenue into international cricket (and hence address the elemental IPL problem), you need to make it a marketable product. International cricket should be enthralling, competitive, and exclusive. Come to think of it, Bush wasn't THAT bad.