Is Ravi Shastri now an MSD clone?

Is Ravi Shastri transforming into an MS Dhoni clone?

Sample his recent statements about Team India’s performance Down Under:

Whether Indian batsmen were too focused on milestones:

“If they were focusing on milestones, Virat Kohli wouldn’t have been the fastest to 7000 runs; he would have taken another 100 games. If that was the case, Rohit Sharma would not be having two double hundreds, and a score of 264.”

On the bowling performance:

“Finishing touch is better bowling, and being more consistent as a bowling unit. As MS mentioned, there were too many easy boundaries. It is not like the batsmen had to earn it, they were given. That should be eliminated. Even if you cut that by 60%, we will have tighter games. Those are the areas. Attention to basics. If we do that right, who knows…

What you want to see is the bowlers learning from what has happened in the first three games. If that happens, that will be the biggest plus irrespective of the result. That is what I said last year when we played cricket in Australia. We might have lost the series 2-0, but deep inside I knew the way the boys played there was only going to be improvement.

It is a young side, there have been three debutants, we have been plagued by injuries. No excuses, I am not giving any excuses here, but it is an opportunity for the youngsters to learn. In Australia nothing comes easy. It’s one of the hardest places to play. You are playing against the world champions. The fact that you are competing, and they have competed right through this one-day series, is very good. “

On whether the team needs a psychotherapist:

“I am the shrink, don’t worry about that.As far as extra bowlers are concerned, yes we do need (them). We need bench strength. If you look at the last six days, we have been in three time zones. It is not often you go through that.

You play in Perth, get on a flight to Brisbane where the time is different, then to Melbourne where the time is different. All in a matter of six days. When you consider all that, I think the boys have done extremely well.

When it comes to bowling, what I would suggest in the future to the BCCI is to have extra players. Instead of 15 on a tour like this, probably 16 would be advisable. Somewhere in the subcontinent 15 is fine. Here, when you travel so far, and suddenly you get injuries, that is something I will suggest. At least 7-8 bowlers have to be there with the amount of cricket.”

Compare these statements against MSD’s:

Contrast these statements against those he made last year when India toured Sri Lanka.

When Team India suffered a shock defeat in the first Test in Galle under Virat Kohli:

“Let’s hope lightning doesn’t strike twice, because we will not change our style of play. Our mindset will be the same. But to close the deal you have to walk the distance and we made that mistake in the first Test. They are getting closer and for this team, it is a case of getting one on board. Then it will be the start of many. It was not a question of buckling under pressure. They go out with intent. The endeavour of this team is to play fearless cricket that comes with mindset. These boys have enough talent. I am sure they must have thought after the match why I didn’t play this shot, why I didn’t play in this manner.”

On changing their losing away record:

“You don’t come to a cricket ground to draw a match so you play a brand of cricket where you look to take the game forward and you look to take 20 wickets, that is paramount. You have got to think how you can take 20 wickets to take the game forward and win the game.”

While the Indian batting has delivered and in spades, the bowling has left a lot to be desired.

But has the Indian side really played fearless cricket in the past four games?

Can Ravi Shastri respond?

Tigers at home, pussycats overseas

Team India have lost yet another ODI series to the Aussies away from home. The tag ‘tigers at home, lambs abroad’ would seem apt, except that the Indians have batted well in all three games. It’s their bowling that has let them down.
You may dominate your opponents at home but if you can’t win overseas in alien and hostile conditions, you can never be considered a  great side.
Indian fans wouldn’t mind so much if their side lost a few games at home as long as they clinched a few more matches and series overseas. The only way to ensure that happens is to have conditions and  pitches much like the ones found in England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Commentary on Lodha Commission recommendations to BCCI – II

Chapter 2: Governance

The Lodha Commission identified the following problems with the BCCI’s governance structure.

1. Concentration of power
2. Lack of competence
3. Overlap of diverse functions
4. Zonal considerations
5. No representation to players
6. No representation to women
7. No independent voice
8. Unlimited terms and tenures
9. No disqualifications

The President will no longer be all-powerful.

An Apex Council is to be formed and powers formerly vested in the President will be assigned to it.

The IPL Governing Council will continue to exist as a separate entity.

The BCCI will address lack of competence by bringing in professional managers and area experts.

There shall be only one Vice-President. The provision for having five VPs is to be scrapped.

The Apex Council will thus consist of the President, Vice-President,Secretary, Joint Secretary and Treasurer.

The council will have nine members: two additional Councillors (one male, one female) to be nominated by the Players’ Association to be formed, one to represent the Full Members of the BCCI, and one to be nominated by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of India.

No member can be a member of the Apex Council for more than nine years, with a single term consisting of three years.

Additionally no one can be elected to the council for more than one term at a time. The same holds for nominated Councillors.

Ministers, government servants or post-holders in other sports bodies as well as persons over 70 are disqualified from being members of the Apex Council.

Comments:

The appointment of a woman member to the Apex Council is to be welcomed. This should help promote the women’s game in the country and a player representative will be able to give advice to the BCCI about the problems ailing women’s cricket.

The added four members nominated will bring in independent members thus adhering to good corporate governance principles.

The nomination of a member by the C&AG will help in desired oversight into the BCCI’s finances.

The provisions of this section are so much in line with the Draft National Sports Federation bill that it makes one wonder if the Commission used it as a reference document to frame the governance rulings.

The key differences are that the term of office recommended is four years as against three in the Lodha Commission, council members can serve two consecutive terms which would then be followed by a cooling off period of four years. The President is exempt from this rule in that he or she can hold office for three consecutive terms or twelve years.

Government servants are eligible to serve as Board members provided they get permission from their Ministry.

Team India are No. 1 by default

Just three months ago, South Africa headed the ICC Test rankings. Today, they were knocked off their pedestal by a resurgent England. Team India are now No. 1 crowned by default on the back of their resounding defeat of the Proteans at home. Funny how in a matter of six Tests fortunes have changed and how. It also goes to show that if teams don’t put up a fight overseas and everyone concedes that South Africa were dismal tourists barring the final Test, their performance at home can take a nose-dive. England did something similar to India when they toured here following their 4-0 whitewash at home. MS Dhoni would perhaps reminisce about the time he led Team India to the peak four years ago, and perhaps knowingly wink at Virat Kohli saying, “I told you so.”

Indian side doled out taste of their own medicine

Two Rohit Sharma centuries, two 300 plus scores, yet the Indians couldn’t keep the rampaging Aussies at bay.

One could go with the excuses trotted out by Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni that his bowlers lacked bite and are incapable of bundling out the opposition. But one could say the same about the Aussies as well.

The Indian batting failed to accelerate in the final 10 overs of their innings.

As for the bowling, it’s time Dhoni reassessed his options and picked bowlers who can  bag wickets given their current form and the conditions.

The Indians are simply tasting their own medicine when they regularly chase down imposing totals in docile home conditions to their opponents’ chagrin.

Rohit Sharma, Test bride-in-waiting?

Rohit Sharma is scoring hundreds by the dozen in ODI and T20 cricket. That appears to be his metier.

But his form languishes in Test cricket. He is yet to grab his opportunities by the horn.

Will he be yet another Yuvraj Singh lost to Test cricket because the likes of Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman meant that he was the perpetual bridesmaid? Or can he become India’s Marvan Atapattu?

Your prognosis is as good as mine.

Rohit Sharma fielding at Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ashish Nehra returns to Indian cricket in T20 format (Updated)

Once upon a time, Ashish Diwansingh Nehra, was the pick of the Indian pace bowlers even ahead of Zaheer Khan.

But he was plagued by injuries and inconsistency throughout his career.

Some would  even term him India’s Bruce Reid.

Reid turned out in Australian colours in a total of 27 Tests bagging 113 wickets at an impressive average of 24.63.

Nehra played 17 Tests for India bagging 44 wickets at 42.40.

One would have imagined that you had seen the last of the lanky Delhi left-armer since he was left out of the Indian side post the 2011 World Cup victory.

But, no, the fast bowler is back in the selector’s scheme of things selected for the T20 side for the ongoing tour of Australia.

Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag may have called it a day.

But the comeback man soldiers on.

Nehra performed exceedingly well in IPL 8 securing 22 wickets in 16 games at an average of 20 with an economy rate of 7.2.

Nehra said:

“I was surprised when they weren’t picking me for the last two-three years to be honest. Better late than never, hopefully I can do well, I am just working hard. If I go to Australia and play the World T20 and deliver, people will say ‘Oh he should have been there earlier.’ If I don’t, people will say, ‘It was right that they didn’t pick him!’ That’s how it works in India. Whatever is gone is gone, I am just looking forward and hopefully everything will go my way.

I have always worked hard to play international cricket. Once you have been there, you know how much pleasure you get playing for India. There were times when it was very difficult for me to motivate myself, despite not being picked, to go to the gym or ground and train. It was difficult. Age is just a number for me. If you can keep yourself fit, you can keep playing.”

Perhaps, it’s the on-off nature of his career that has ensured his longevity. And the fact that he opted out from playing Test cricket a long time ago to preserve his body.

He added:

“Some people really want match practice, I am among those who wants a lot of practice. Most of the time I like to practice in open nets, so I get the same kind of feeling. If I am bowling well in the nets or to a single wicket, I get that confidence, that’s how I have been playing for the last seven-eight years, this is not the first time I will be doing it.

People say T20 is a young man’s game, all those theories I don’t believe in. You have to be on top of your game, especially as a bowler and the kind of job I do, bowling two-three of the first six overs and one or two in the last four. In the sub-continent or outside also these days, wickets will be flat. You have to be physically fit and mentally strong, especially as a bowler. It’s a fast game but I have been playing IPL, and that’s a big boost. The intensity is as good as international cricket.”

Nehra hopes to be a mentor to the younger crop of bowlers, a role performed earlier by his partner-in-arms Zaheer Khan to perfection.

Maybe the selectors felt the need for his wise head in the camp given that Ishant Sharma has yet to fully deliver on his promise since his debut in 2008.

He said:

“This is a short tour, but whatever little I can help the youngsters, I will. If I can play till the World T20, I will definitely look at that job, I have done it for CSK and I really enjoyed it. Most of the bowlers have different strengths, but you can’t buy experience.

I made my debut 17 years ago. In the sub-continent, somebody like me, who has had so many injuries, undergone 10-12 surgeries, still standing there and playing the fastest format of all, it has taught me something which I can pass on to the youngsters and give my experience.”

Does Nehra regret giving up Test cricket?

He replied:

“My biggest regret is that I couldn’t play too many Tests because of my injuries. I played my last Test match some 11 years back. I was 25. In 2009-10, Gary Kirsten and MS Dhoni asked me to play Test cricket but that point of my time I was not sure about my body. I look back now and I regret it. I should have said ‘yes’ because couple of years ago, when I was 34, I played six four-day games for Delhi in six weeks. I could have easily done it in 2009, I was than just 30.”

Harbhajan Singh , the Turbanator, another ageing player returning once again to the Indian side, supported Nehra.

He said:

“Ashish Nehra has been a match-winner for India…..Just check the scorebooks as to how many matches Nehra has won for the . He played a big part during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and he was our unsung hero in the 2011 World Cup campaign.”

There’s a twist in this tale.

Nehra is considered good enough to represent Team India and his IPL side Chennai Super Kings (under suspension) but not for his state side Delhi.

The classy bowler was omitted from Delhi’s squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament’s Super League stage.

A Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) official said:

“Nehra’s got a bad habit of picking and choosing domestic games, which disturbs the balance of the team. It’s not good for the youngsters in the team either, and certainly not fair on the selectors, who were upset with him after he played just two games in Baroda before leaving the team. And this has happened many times in the last few years. In recent years, no one had a clue about when he would play and when he wouldn’t. This time, though, the selectors seemed to have put their foot down and said this can’t go on. Hence, he was excluded from the team. They feel that while he can play for India and the Chennai Super Kings, he can’t play for Delhi as long as he doesn’t show enough commitment for his domestic team, which in the first place helped him become an India player.”

Nehra will thus be undercooked for the Indian tour of Australia.

He has played just three games this season.

Former Indian wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya was non-committal.

He said:

“You’ll have to ask the selectors (about Nehra). He didn’t play after two games in Baroda because we wanted to give a chance to the youngsters. He’s bowling every day at the nets in Delhi.”

Ex-India pacer Sanjeev Sharma, though, backed Nehra.

He said:

“He played 70 percent of the games when I was the Delhi coach. His commitment to the game, even at 37, is 100 percent. I saw him roll over Punjab with a deadly six-wicket spell at the Roshanara. He will strengthen the Indian pace attack with his experience. In the IPL, he was the second-most successful bowler this time.”

“Infrastructure status” and tax benefits for stadia construction: Boon or bane?

The sports ministry of India has recommended to the finance ministry that sports stadia be accorded “infrastructure status”.

Such a development will aid developers in securing long-term financing from banks at cheaper rates and avail tax benefits.

Stadiums will thus be classified under social and commercial infrastructure which includes educational institutions, hospitals, industrial parks, special economic zones, soil-testing markets and cold chains.

Parties seeking to build sports stadia will thus be able to finance their projects using the 5:25 scheme announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the last budget proceedings. The scheme stretches the repayment period to the economic life of a project as against the norm of five years.

These loans can be refinanced every five-seven years.

The onus is on the developers to ensure that the projects continue to be viable and not become non-performing assets (NPAs).

Jaijit Bhattacharya, partner, infrastructure and government services, KPMG said:

“Currently, stadiums are closed down after the sports events are over and they are not easily accessible to general public. The government needs to resolve these issues so that the revenue models are clear and sports infrastructure becomes a viable investment opportunity.”

Latika Khaneja, director of Collage Sports Management, added:

“The existing stadiums are highly under-utilized. Unless you allow private developers to open stadiums to public whereby they can charge a fee, who will invest in such infrastructure?”

Nita Ambani, chairperson of the ISL,  believes that there needs to be a sporting culture in the country as well.

She said:

“It is important that we encourage our young children towards sports. Sports should become an integral part of school curriculum. Children must enjoy playing games rather than sitting indoors. I am not saying only cricket or football, but India should become a multisport nation.
We need to work on our infrastructure, on our coaches so that the next generation that is growing up can see sports as a profession.
Today parents don’t encourage kids to take up sports as a profession except for some of the sports that are lucrative. They still ask them to become a doctor, engineer. If sports can become a profession and can have an income to it, it will change things around.”

A Times of India, Bengaluru, article states:

“Stadia are built by governments to encourage a healthy way of life, engaging youth development through sports and games and achieving excellence in sports. It is also the responsibility of every government to ensure it provides spaces and infrastructure, keeping in mind the health of its citizens.
There is no harm in taxing stadia except for the fact that government agencies are, perhaps, overlooking the purpose of building these facilities for promotion of sports in the first place. Although I agree that infrastructure built has to raise revenue for its own upkeep, the ministry of sports must clearly identify activities that need to be taxed -such as exhibitions, rallies, corporate events, events for which tickets are sold etc- from activities purely for promotion of sports which could be athletics and competitions. Be it inter-school, inter-state or nationals, taxing of athletes and coaches must not be allowed at any cost.”

The sports ministry’s proposal, on the face of it, appears to be progressive and beneficial to the nation’s economic growth.

But the experience with funding construction of stadia, specifically with taxpayers’ monies, has been more bitter than sweet.

List of current National Football League stadiums (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The National Football League, in the US, is one such beneficiary of government largess.

The NFL expects special treatment.

It is estimated that 70% of the cost of building and operating the fields where NFL teams play comes from taxpayers.

Land may also be gifted by local governments eager to attract NFL teams to set up base there.

The Atlantic reports:

“Hidden costs may include city or county government paying electricity, water, and sewer charges for a stadium (such as First Energy Stadium in Cleveland, where the Browns perform), the city paying for a new electronic scoreboard out of ‘emergency’ funds (ditto First Energy) or the issuance of tax-free bonds that divert investors’ money away from school, road, and mass-transit infrastructure (Hamilton County, Ohio, issued tax-free bonds to fund the stadium where the Cincinnati Bengals play, and has chronic deficits for school and infrastructure needs as a result).”

It adds:

“The NFL even accepts subsidies for honoring the U.S. military. Games often are preceded by color guards, or the display of various military banners. This promotes the NFL, not the military, by suggesting professional football somehow is related to national security. The NFL stages an annual ‘Salute to Service’ event during Veterans Day weekend, in which coaches dress up in fatigues as if they were military officers, again trying to create the impression the NFL has some relationship to defense of the nation.

At least the league is showing appreciation to service members, right? If only. In 2015, Senator John McCain of Arizona disclosed that the Pentagon pays the NFL about $2 million per year to stage what appear to be displays of patriotism. Included in 2014 was $675,000 to the New England Patriots to honor National Guard members at halftime: Most other NFL teams received payments for introducing color guards, and for similar bunting-dressed activities. As for that ‘Salute to Service’, in 2014 the NFL donated $412,500 to wounded-warrior projects, and was lavishly praised by partner networks for doing so. The amount is about one-20th of one percent of the league’s annual public subsidy.”

Football fields are also used least in comparison to baseball parks, for instance.

Ted Gayer and Alex Gold of the Brookings Institution concluded in a 2015 study:

“Despite the fact that new stadiums are thought to boost local economic growth and job creation, these benefits are often overstated. Academic studies typically find no discernible positive relationship between sports facility construction and economic development. Most evidence suggests sports subsidies cannot be justified on the grounds of local economic development, income growth, or job creation.”

The Wikipedia entry on stadium subsidies, in its criticisms, states:

“There exist many criticisms regarding the use of stadium subsidies. First, critics argue that new stadiums generate little to no new spending (consumption). Instead, what fans spend in and around the stadium are substitutes for what they would otherwise spend on different entertainment options. Thus, this argument contends, new stadiums do not cause economic growth or lead to increased aggregate income. Because there is not an increase in consumption related to new stadiums, it is not worth the cost for cities to subsidize their construction.

Another criticism of stadium subsidies is that much of the money the new stadiums bring in does not stay in the local economy. Instead of going to stadium employees and other sources that would benefit the local community, a lot of the money goes toward paying the players. The problem is that most of these players do not live in the local community, so the money they make is taken away and spent in other locations. Critics question why a city should subsidize a sports stadium when large portions of the revenue the stadium receives will not be reinvested in the city. They go on to claim that subsidizing job training or improved transportation are smarter investments to make, as they will yield higher returns for the city.

Critics also argue that the construction of new stadiums could cause citizens and businesses to leave a city because of eminent domain issues. If a city is forced to take land from its citizens to build a new stadium, those who have lost land could become angry enough to leave the city. If they are business owners, then they will likely take their businesses with them. This cost, it is argued, must be added in when a city determines whether or not it is worth the cost to subsidize a new stadium.

Finally, critics contend that any benefits resulting from a new stadium are felt by the entire region where the stadium is located and not just the immediate city. However, often it is only the city, and not the whole region, providing the subsidy. Thus, the city is not realizing the full benefits of the new stadium while, at the same time, undertaking the full cost of the subsidy.

A review of the empirical literature assessing the effects of subsidies for professional sports franchises and facilities reveals that most evidence goes against sports subsidies. Specifically, subsidies cannot be justified on the grounds of local economic development, income growth or job creation. A survey of economists also reveals a general opposition toward sports subsidies.^”

Joel Kotkin on Reason.com says:

“I think this is sort of a fanciful approach towards economic development instead of building really good jobs. And except for the construction, the jobs created by stadia are generally low wage occasional work.

The important thing that we’ve forgotten is ‘What is the purpose of a government? Cities instead of fixing their schools, fixing their roads or fixing their sewers or fixing their water are putting money into ephemera like stadia. And in the end, what’s more important?”

The Heartland Institute provides a list of papers that document the economic impact of publicly funded stadiums here.

I’ll leave it to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.

Vandana Jain complains, withdraws case against Amit Mishra and then doesn’t (Updated)

Amit Mishra in the field during India’s first match of their 2011 tour of England at the County Ground, Taunton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The best leg-spinner in the country, Amit Mishra, is embroiled in a sordid scandal.

A woman friend has filed and withdrawn a police complaint against the cricketer for allegedly assaulting her in his hotel room during the preparatory camp in Bengaluru last month.

Mishra had been summoned by the local authorities.

The leggie was originally booked under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 328 (causing hurt with intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code.

The complainant is 34-year old Bengaluru resident Vandana Jain.  She is a Bollywood producer and co-owner of Celebrity Cricket League’s Bengal Tigers team along with Boney Kapoor.

Jain accused Mishra of attacking her with a kettle and behaving immodestly with her.

Mishra and Jain were good friends over the past three years. The diminutive sportsman was  a frequent visitor at her residence on Rest House, Crescent Road.

The lady confronted Mishra for avoiding her by inveigling herself into his hotel room without his permission.

According  to the Bangalore Mirror, Jain’s written complaint at the Ashok Nagar station states:

“I learnt that he is in town for training prior to South Africa tour. On September 25 evening, I went to Ritz Carlton hotel room and began to talk to him. He began to give me evasive replies and shouted at me. He tried to outrage my modesty. Even few hotel staff have seen this and CCTV footage must confirm this. Please take action against him for assaulting me.

Once he entered the room, he started fighting and asked me how I got into the room without his permission. He started hitting me with his hands and threw a kettle at my face. He started choking me hard and I suffocated. I screamed. I was frightened as I almost stopped breathing. He twisted my right wrist and fractured my right ring finger.”

A copy of the complaint was made available to the BCCI.

A senior police office said:

“We have sent a notice to him (Amit Mishra) and are waiting for his reply. Also, we have asked him to appear before the jurisdictional police at the earliest and also to co-operate with them in the investigation process.

We are collecting the information from the staff at the hotel on Residency Road, where the incident took place. It seems like the victim is known to Mishra and has visited him a couple of times. To get an exact picture we will question Mishra and the victim and then carry on with the case.”

Another police officer added:

“She told the staff in the reception lobby that Mishra was expecting her. Once upstairs, she told the housekeeping staff that she had lost her key and needed to use the washroom urgently. She looked confident and her posh dressing and mannerisms convinced the housekeeping staff.

There’s no doubt that the two knew each other very well. The woman has told us that they were in a relationship. She was forced to take the step of sneaking into his room as he was trying to avoid her. These things are common among couples and her entering the room cannot be construed as trespassing in the strict sense.

She was a familiar presence in the hotel. So the version of the hotel staff also can’t be taken on face value.”

Mishra is an integral part of Team India’s scheme of things for the on-going series against South Africa at home.

The trundler is considered unfortunate to have played just 15 Tests for the country since his debut in 2008.

In a turn of events, Vandana Jain has decided to withdraw her case.

Speaking to PTI, she said:

“Two days after lodging the complaint, I approached the police station and told them that I have in principle decided to withdraw the case,” the complainant told PTI here. I am waiting for Mishra to appear in the police station. We both will amicably withdraw the case. We were friends. We fought, and continue to remain friends here after.”

Jain insists that she has not been pressurized in any way.

She added:

“There was no pressure from any quarters, including the BCCI. I am surprised how the media picked up the case, which I have decided to withdraw.”

Update:

Jain has since recanted saying that she will not withdraw her complaint against Mishra.

Speaking to the Hindu, she said:

“I won’t withdraw the complaint against Amit (Mishra). I am hurt physically, mentally and emotionally by the cricketer. He knew I was going to the police and kept saying he will come to Bengaluru and sort out the matter. I want Amit to come in front of the police and talk to me.”

She added:

“My hand was in a cast, which I removed recently. I was forced to go to the police following the abuse and insult Amit subjected me to.”

Jain trusts that the law will take its course.

“Court and police will decide. I trust police, I trust law, so let them decide. I thought of withdrawing the case but then I realized if he is not worried about it then why I should. Let him take his step, let me take my step. I didn’t want to ruin his life, I don’t want to ruin his career but the things went wrong without my intentions.”

Second update:

Mishra was arrested on the 27th of October in the morning and then released on bail by the Ashok Nagar police.

The ace legspinner spent three hours at the Cubbon Park police station.

Sandeep Patil, DCP Central said:

“Enquiry with regard to the assault complaint was done. Mishra was questioned for 3 hours from 11am following which he was arrested and released on bail as it is a bailable offence.”

The Twitteratti reacted swiftly to the latest debacle.

Here are some choice tweets:

https://twitter.com/lindsaypereira/status/658936373131407360

Case for non-merger of ISL, I-League: Uneven standards and inferior finances

2010 AFC Champions League Final (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Read the first two parts of this piece, here and here.

Is an ISL/I-League merger on the cards?

As with any new endeavour, there are naysayers.

Former India skipper and ex-Bury FC player, Bhaichung Bhutia, is anti-merger.

He believes that a union at this stage could dilute the standards of the ISL.

He said:

To have one league is very important, but at the moment it is not right to merge ISL with I-League and I don’t it should happen also. Two to three years down the line it can be thought and be implemented but currently it should not be done.

I think the inaugural ISL season was really successful, top foreign players are coming to India and the Indian players are getting to learn a lot from them. Last year players like Alessandro Del Piero came and now Roberto Carlos and Lucio are coming in.

To make it one league, we really need to wait and watch. At the moment I think ISL has done a lot for India and it should not be merged. I think I-League should be taken to a standard where ISL is at the moment and then think about merging. The ISL has set a high standard and its level should not be pulled down. First standard of I-League should be upgraded and the merging should be thought about.

It is just because of the ISL that Indian football fans have started watching football. It is really sad when you see I-League matches being played in almost empty stadiums, and when ISL is happening in the same place, thousands of people turni.

The authorities should step up and take a note of it about upgrading the level of I-League and then focus on merging the two leagues. All the state associations also have to come forward and help in upgrading the I-League. We also have to see if the teams and players get a chance to train in better facilities, better ground.

The ISL is beloved by the players with most, if not all, aspiring to be members of the elitist league. The current format allows only six foreign players to be fielded by a club in a game. The other five have to be domestic footballers.

The Indian Premier League is much more supportive of home-grown talent.

The rules state that each squad will have:

• A minimum  of 16 players, one physiotherapist and a coach.
• No more than 10 foreign players in the squad and a maximum of four foreign players in the playing XI.
• A minimum of 14 Indian players.
• A minimum of six players from the BCCI under-22 pool.

The ISL rules allow up to 17 domestic players , four of which could have been purchased in the players auction. The rules also require that each club have at least two domestic players under 23 years in the squad. The minimum squad size is 22 and the maximum is 26. Indian players can be either free agents or loaned from from the Hero I-League.

FC Goa co-owner Dattaraj Salgaocar also does not believe that a fusion of the two leagues is a possibility.

Speaking to Times of India, he said:

Certainly not in the short term. The dynamics are different, especially with I-League teams qualifying for AFC tournaments. Add to this, we have to look at the financial implications of a merger … A longer league will adversely affect the financials of a team, unless the revenue model changes and all franchisees get a proper share of the sponsorship and broadcasting revenues.

Desh Gaurav Sekhri, a sports lawyer, blogging for the Economic Times, has his own viewpoint about the proposed unification.

AFC Champions League (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While he agrees that the ISL is too abbreviated a league to do the sport in India any good and an extended season is the need of the hour, he does not believe that a joining of forces is the solution.

He writes:

The I-league has been a product of the team-owners’ passion for football, and an outlet for stirring the loyalties of die-hard football enthusiasts for their respective teams.

The ISL on the other hand is a commercially driven entity, promoted and supported by the experience and monetary clout of its promoters. It has focussed on a more international flavour, and in its short window, excites the fan-bases who are as likely to flock to the stadiums to see their favourite international stars of the past as to become die-hard city-team loyalists.

A merger of both leagues would not work, because teams in each are established with different ideals. The I-league teams are bankrolled by their promoters, and are rarely profitable. Most would be valued at significantly less than a comparable ISL team, due to the latters’ entry price, a cap on the number of franchises in the league, and the guaranteed sponsorship money that the ISL teams receive.

A combination will add six-seven teams to the mix and may still not allow teams to make profits or turn the finances of the existing I-League teams around quickly enough.

Sekhri suggests a series of playoffs between the I-League and ISL champions. Also, a series of games featuring  all-star teams from both leagues that would play each side in the opposing league is another option.

He adds:

The ISL as the sole flagship league in India would be a folly, and one which could be attributed to the false optimism that the Indian Premier League has given to Indian sports. The IPL is only able to succeed because it is backed by a complete domestic season to develop cricketers, and the successful Indian national team has a huge following by itself.

Football, if it loses the I-league won’t have the former, and given its current state, the national team is very far from the latter. Unless the ISL becomes an extended league along the lines of the Premier League or La Liga, a merger of the two will not only be a failure commercially, it will also set Indian football back another decade or so.

Sekhri has a point. Indian football requires a league that goes on for at least five-six months and featuring 90-120 games for it to match the best of European leagues.

The Chinese Super League has 16 teams. It begins in Feb-March and ends in November-December. The top three teams plus the winner of the Chinese FA Cup qualify for the AFC Champions League. The bottom two teams are relegated out of the competition to the China League One and the top two teams are promoted up. The I-League,which is somewhat analogous,functions similarly with relegation and promotion with the I-League second division.  However, no club has till now participated in the AFC Champions League.

The J-League has an even more interesting format. The year is divided into two halves—two seasons—with each half crowning a champion. At the end of the two stages, each stage’s champion and the top two-point accumulators in each stage take part in a playoff to decide the league champion.

The above is similar to what Sekhri recommends except at least three more teams in the fray. That could be another possibility. This is also the format followed by many Latin American leagues who term it  ‘Apertura (opening)’ and ‘Clausura (closing)’.

The I-League and ISL could be treated as two different stages. Standards across the I-league would have to be raised though. This could also be the blueprint for a melding in the future. It certainly calls for more teams and a longer season. The J-League features 18 teams.

2009 AFC Champions League Final (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This makes a case for a non-merger of resources and teams given the current scenario.

What are your thoughts? Over to you.