Time to accept IPL change
The IPL will make the Packer years look like a storm in a teacup, writes Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald .
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The IPL will make the Packer years look like a storm in a teacup, writes Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Cricket is undergoing a radical change, the second in its history. Far from being a passing phase, the franchise system launched in India recently will spread. Before long, Pakistan, South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka will have their own franchises in place. Within a decade the entire structure of cricket will have changed beyond recognition.
In his column in the Australian, Ricky Ponting indicates Andrew Symonds, who was signed for a US$1.35 million in the IPL's players' auction, has been at the receiving end of jokes, but also voices serious concerns over the impact the tournament will have.
Symonds embodies the confused state of world cricket, Greg Baum writes in the Age.
He is, in two senses, wanted in India. He is wanted as a villain is wanted, as he was in India last year when the crowds turned on him, and again in January for his part in the Harbhajan affair. He also is wanted in the meaning of desired; he was the second-most expensive player in Wednesday's unprecedented auction. Symonds' head must be spinning.
In the Australian Malcolm Conn takes aim at the ICC over its lack of action over creating a window for the Indian Premier League.
Mathew Varghese is sub-editor (stats) at Cricinfo