15 February,2010 08:32 AM IST | | Clayton Murzello
Cricket is never short of ironies. Now, we have a player -- Ravindra Jadeja -- banned from playing the Indian Premier League because he went shopping for a better pay packet than what the Rajasthan Royals were dishing out to him.
Ironic, because the IPL takes great pride in getting the best deal in every commercial tie-up they make.
If Jadeja has not signed a contract by the deadline, isn't he without a team in any case? So, the ban appears to be a double blow for one crime.
It is worth stressing that Jadeja believed he deserved a better deal since he is anu00a0 international player, which he was not when he first played and starred for the Royals in 2008, the year the Shane Warne-inspired team clinched the inaugural IPL.
Anyway, he must have done something completely unethical in the eyes of the IPL chieftains for him to be banned. The BCCI, which backs the IPL as an Indian domestic competition, too has thrown in a punch. It has put Jadeja well and truly out of the ring.
The young all-rounder was also the player who batted slowly against England, a 'performance' that put India out of the World T20 in England last year. Sshh... no one dare say we performed poorly because our players were knackered after the IPL gig in South Africa. So, blaming small-town boy Jadeja was nice and convenient, right? Right!
Is the BCCI so livid with Jadeja that they don't want him to stand a chance to play the World T20?
If Jadeja has strayed to the wrong side of ethics, he needs to be dealt with strongly by the IPL bosses. Since the IPL is all about the moolah, Jadeja can be hit where it hurts -- in his wallet. If his crime is grave,
of course.
But to ban him for an IPL season and build a hurdle for him to get into India's T20 squad for the World event to be held immediately after the IPL is a low blow.
Is the BCCI so livid with Jadeja that they don't want him to stand a chance to play the World T20? Or will the selectors pick him despite his no-show at the IPL? That will be some bold step, which Srikkanth & Co don't take often.
It is heartening to know that Jadeja can appeal to the IPL governing council to reconsider his case.
Every batsman has made an error of judgment that made him look silly, every captain has made a move that will haunt him forever and every administrator has messed up big-time. And most of all, every individual has allowed greed get the better of him/her at least once in their lifetime.
