The IPL remains the quintessential Indian dream. If techies believe America is the land of opportunity, the average cricketer regards the IPL as the ultimate meritocracy which recognises nothing but talent, as the shortest form of the game calls for specialised skills. Into its 10th and final year before a big shakeup ahead of the 11th season, the IPL auction on Monday delivered its promise of riches to many. Life-changing contracts were offered to two England cricketers, all-rounder Ben Stokes and Tyam Mills, who become the highest-paid foreigner and best paid specialist fast bowler respectively. What makes the IPL even more appealing is that it offers a life and a big stage under the spotlight. A daily wager and street vendor’s son, Tamil Nadu’s T. Natarajan, gets a Rs 3-crore deal, and a Hyderabad auto driver’s son, Mohammed Siraj, gets Rs 2.6 crores to ply their wares. These are true life-changing events.
Many others, including a few Afghan players, are also getting big breaks in the cash-rich league. Amid the riches it bestows, IPL itself is still recovering from the shock of having been sold down the river by gambling owners of a few franchises and cricketers who began “spot-fixing”. An unopened envelope lies in the Supreme Court secretariat with a list of names of possibly superstars who enriched themselves far beyond the handsome purses given by owners, who themselves hardly recovered the costs of running IPL franchises. It is upto the players now to resurrect the league’s image in a crucial season before the two offending teams get back into action.
