Forget the economics, having Kieron Pollard and Andrew Symonds in the Mumbai Indians side where Sachin Tendulkar is renowned for regularly batting a good proportion of an innings that only lasts 120 balls, doesn't make cricketing sense
Forget the economics, having Kieron Pollard and Andrew Symonds in the Mumbai Indians side where Sachin Tendulkar is renowned for regularly batting a good proportion of an innings that only lasts 120 balls, doesn't make cricketing sense
It's ironic that currently, cricketers receive the highest pay for the shortest game.
|
| Mumbai Indians' Andrew Symonds (left) and Harbhajan Singh during Friday's Indian Premier League match against Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium |
Five hours of effort in an IPL game will reap far greater rewards for a player than a gruelling five day Test match. This doesn't make sense ufffd economic or cricketing ufffd but it's a matter of supply and demand.
However, in the same way businessmen establish a worth for their employees, IPL owners and other franchisees around the world will eventually find a way to put a value on players. When that happens, cricketers will have to get used to fewer rich contracts that don't make sense.
After all, the franchisees are businessmen and they didn't amass a fortune completing a string of poor deals. It won't be long (some already have) before they realise a player has a certain value and beyond that mark you're over-paying for talent.
As a witty economist once said; "The ancient Greeks used to sit around and argue whether men or women have more hair on their head. Did they ever think to count?"
Adding valueThe first figure the franchisees will need to arrive at, is the value of a win. There's more to it than just the prize money, as a franchise can add to it's value by building a winning tradition.
Once a win can be roughly valued, then a reasonable estimate can be made of each player's worth. The franchise owners can then better decide what actually is value for money in the case of each player.
Obviously for marquee players like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen and company, there's also a marketing value to be added. That type of player can't be judged solely on what they do on the field, even though they represent good value as a cricketer.
A quick look at the early going in this year's IPL gives a clear indication that the latest auction has produced a few potential steals and some dud deals.
The Mumbai Indians are one team that appear to have gone to auction with more money than sense.
To pay a huge fee for both Andrew Symonds and Kieron Pollard, two powerful strikers who field well and can bowl a bit, seems to be a case of over-kill. Both are able to play a full season so why not buy only one and have a cheap replacement available if the star player has an injury?
So little...In the first five matches Pollard has faced two balls and Symonds has hit only two sixes, with neither contributing greatly to a Mumbai win. Forget the economics, having both those players in a side where Tendulkar is renowned for regularly batting a good proportion of an innings that only lasts 120 balls, doesn't make cricketing sense.
Both Pollard and Symonds are a viable proposition if they're regularly clouting sixes and contributing to at least a couple of victories in a season. It's difficult for that to happen when neither is getting much time at the crease.
As one of the rich clubs, the Mumbai Indians can afford to make a few monetary mistakes but eventually even the high rollers tire of fiscal folly.u00a0
Some of the less affluent clubs can't afford to make million dollar mistakes. On the contrary, they're looking for bargains; a reasonable value player who performs extremely well.
In that category, both Jesse Ryder for the Pune Warriors and Paul Valthaty of the Kings X1 Punjab represent good value for money in the early going.
In 2003, the best selling author Michael Lewis wrote a book called "Moneyball". In it he delved into the art of valuing baseball players in America.
The gist of the book was how the general manager of a less affluent club was utilising modern statistics to unearth players who were under-valued. Since then, even more sophisticated statistics have been devised to give a rough indication of what a win is worth in the game of baseball.
A similar statistical transition will take place in the T20 version of cricket and eventually this may even flow through to the longer games. So the message is clear to cricketers; enjoy the high wages for short games because soon value-for-money will become the owners' catch-cry.
