Kumble quits IPL; Will other seniors follow?

 

Kumble quits IPL; Will other seniors follow?

Money has this nasty habit of making fools out of the wise and duds out of the deadly. Anil Kumble's decision to walk out of the IPL is the right decision as he need not worry about his price or his buyers. Maybe, the IPL think-tank did him in by fixing a base price that franchisees may feel is too steep for senior statesmen.

India's spin legend Anil Kumble has decided to pull out from the Indian Premier League (IPL), ostensibly on the grounds that he has more important things to do in his new avatar as cricket administrator at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

"I wish to withdraw from the players auction for IPL IV scheduled for the 8th and 9th of January 2011 in Bangalore," Kumble said in a press statement today. "I have enjoyed my stint at the IPL so far and thank all concerned for the support extended."

Of course, the former India captain is not getting any younger and at 40 is amongst the senior statesmen still turning out for their franchisees in this cash-rich tournament that courted massive success in the first three editions before things went awry and claimed its own creator and a junior Indian minister over issues of financial mismanagement.

That India's highest wicket taker decided to call it quits despite having his reserve price placed at the highest level of $400,000 alongside other greats like first timer at IPL Brian Lara, his RCB colleague Rahul Dravid, former India mates Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman and Australian legend Adam Gilchrist, seems to indicate that money isn't everything.

For this genial giant, arguably one of the prime architects of India's top billing in Test cricket, the legacy of leaving behind an efficient cricket administration is probably more important than making a few dollars more in a 20-year-career that began with skeptics dismissing him as a spinner who never turned the cricket ball.

Kumble, who took over the reins of KSCA with his team mates Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, after a bitter election against Mysore scion S.N.Wadiyar, rightly believes that his performance as a cricket administrator is what will set yet another trend of former players taking over from corrupt politicians who head several of our country's sporting bodies.

Of course, there is a flip side to the debate too. Though Kumble and other senior cricketers have been given top billing at the IPL auctions scheduled for later this weekend, there is no guarantee that the cash-rich franchisees and their advisors, who probably are more savvy about money than cricket, will pick these old warhorses in their team.

Otherwise, why would a Vijay Mallya decide to unceremoniously release Anil Kumble for this year's auctions. Wasn't he the same captain who brought together a bunch of so-called "test cricketers" from IPL-1 and turned them into a fighting unit that made the finals in IPL-2 and the semis in IPL-3? Not to speak of two Champions League turnouts.

It's all about money honey!

Why did the likes of Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman, etc. become too hot to handle for their franchise owners? It can't be the fielding as none of the above was known to be great fielders at any time in their careers. It cannot be Kumble's bowling as he only needs to hurl the cherry 24 times in a match. So, is it once again about the money?

Prior to the latest auctions, the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings held back its four players. The MI retained Sachin Tendulkar, Keiron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga, while CSK held back MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel. The others kept one or two back like Virender Sehwag by Delhi Daredevils and Virat Kohli by the RCB. The Rajasthan Royals retained Shane Warne and Shane Watson

From the totally commercial viewpoint that franchisees take, the senior players may be great ambassadors of the game and ideal brand ambassadors for their teams. But, would a hard-nosed business magnate really want to pay more to buy them? If you can get a Yusuf Pathan and a Saurabh Tiwari for the price of a Dravid, why not?

Officials at the IPL governing council admitted that the decision to jack up the base price of some of the old warhorses was done to generate a "feel good factor" amongst these stars. But, there is no way that the IPL top brass can ensure that any of the franchisees will actually pay up $400,000 for these players.

In case these stars do not find any takers, it will not just be embarrassing for them but also for the organizers who permitted them to raise the bar. Most IPL fans still recall the ruckus that the first IPL auction generated when a Ricky Ponting managed one-fourth the price of an Ishant Sharma - both turning out for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Therefore, it is good that players like Kumble decided to force the issue one way or another and move on as the worst nightmare of any superstar is the feeling of being neglected.