The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : No takers for Buchanan’s new idea

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Cricket

No takers for Buchanan’s new idea

Principal Correspondent

Bangalore: John Buchanan obviously believes in ‘the more the merrier’ philosophy. After his much debated ‘multi-captain’ theory, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach has now stated that more than four foreign players should be allowed in the playing eleven in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Buchanan has admitted that his suggestion has not found any favour with the IPL officials.

Buchanan’s statement may be attributed to a celebrated coach’s inability to cope with a team that has struggled to shed its rust and cast aside its internal rumblings.

However, in the context of the IPL with its often overlooked goal of promoting young Indian talent, a move to increase the foreign footprint will only come at the expense of available local talent.

Stymied the move

The IPL officials may have stymied the move for the present but as the tournament gains in stature and team owners struggle to cope with their squad’s fluctuating fortunes, there is always the chance of a desperate franchise seeking more foreign players in the squad.

Not long ago, a leading Indian player had called the IPL as ‘a domestic tournament with an international flavour.’

However, it is a viewpoint that is slowly ebbing away as more overseas players are keen to revel on the IPL stage.

A former India player, who is a member of an IPL team, said on condition of anonymity: “It is called the Indian Premier League and you can’t have that name and then field more foreign players. The move to have more in the playing eleven was on last year too but it was stopped.

“This year someone might say let us have five foreign players and then there will be no stopping that demand. The key in having foreign players is that besides their obvious skills, their expertise might rub onto the younger local players. The quota of four per playing eleven is adequate.”

E.A.S. Prasanna, who was earlier associated with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), said that an increase in the number of overseas players in the playing eleven will be detrimental to nurturing local talent.

Have more Indians

“The IPL authorities should ensure that more Indians get to play the tournament and another point I want to stress is that foreign players should be available for the entire duration of the tournament, irrespective of whether they are in the eleven or not.

“These players are paid exorbitant amounts and they just cannot play a few games and vanish,” Prasanna said.

The ICL did have overseas teams like Lahore Badshahs and the Dhaka Warriors, but its officials stress that the overall emphasis was on the ‘unsung’ Indian domestic cricketer.

Buchanan has triggered another debate and it remains to be seen whether the IPL officials will stick to their earlier stand of favouring a strong Indian base with a touch of foreign flavour within the teams in the coming years.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport