Australia series last chance for IPL impact
Black Caps can make a late impression ahead of lucrative auction next Friday
The first two Chappell-Hadlee cricket one-dayers might include an added incentive for several participants. The matches on January 30 at Auckland and February 2 at Napier provide a chance to audition ahead of the Indian Premier League auction on February 4 in Bangalore.
The final match of the New Zealand-Australia series is on February 5 in Hamilton, so it’d be easy to forgive the odd bleary eye or early morning grin for those successfully contracted to the sport’s most lucrative Twenty20 league.
While most kudos is credited to players’ past performances on Indian pitches, a match-winning cameo could sway IPL owners.
Ish Sodhi was snaffled by the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League on the back of his T20 showings against Bangladesh. He could be in contention for an IPL deal after topping the wicket charts at the World T20 in India alongside teammate Mitchell Santner and England’s David Willey, with each securing 10.
Colin Munro was another to earn a BBL contract — with the Sydney Sixers — after shining against Bangladesh. He scored his maiden T20 century in the first of two T20 internationals at Mt Maunganui.
IPL player bids can be fickle. Corey Anderson earned a contract with the Mumbai Indians in 2014, principally on the back of his world record 36-ball ODI century against the West Indies at Queenstown’s tiny ground. Martin Guptill got picked by the same franchise last season only as a replacement, despite being in his limited overs pomp against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia in the lead-up.
The auction is renowned for Machiavellian politicking and the Herald understands this year’s prelude is no different. Franchises try to throw rival teams off the scent by pitching for players they might not be interested in, hoping word gets back. They then target alternatives, who they aim to get for a bargain.
Franchises have a budget of 66 Indian crore ($13.4 million) to recruit 27 players. Most budgets are already locked into retention. Mumbai Indians have the least to spend ($2.4 million on seven players) and Kings XI Punjab the most ($4.7 million on eight players).
The Stephen Fleming-coached Rising Pune Supergiants have $3.9 million to invest in 11 players, while the Daniel Vettori-mentored Royal Challengers Bangalore can buy up to seven players with $2.6 million.
Several Black Caps will be in contention to renew contracts ahead of the tournament’s 10th edition.
Of the nine New Zealanders involved last year, five have been retained and four released.
No current list of potential selections is available because of the chaos surrounding Indian cricket. The Supreme Court is set to appoint a panel of administrators on Monday to run the Board of Control for Cricket in India after they sacked the president and secretary this month. It’s hard to work out whether BMW is speeding towards a crisis or away from one. But the famous German car maker has been slow on the uptake when it comes to Sonny Bill Williams.
SBW has been a Muslim since about 2009 which means there is a very good chance he has associated with his religion’s clerics for seven years. BMW signed SBW as an ambassador late last year. Now they are suddenly worried about the clerics he hangs out with, and particularly one who is violently anti-gay. Many Muslims and Islam are regarded as anti-gay, and they aren’t the first religious people to be guilty of that. (Last year, for instance, the Catholic Pope re-affirmed a ban on gay priests). SBW has never uttered an anti-gay word, so far as I can make out.
SBW should be proactive, and tell BMW to take a hike before they drop him off. He’s got the right to hang out with whomever he wants to without being branded for their views.
In other words, do you agree with everything your friends, associates and leaders believe?
As PR boss Bill Ralston says, this smacks of being a witch hunt, one (in my opinion) of religious intolerance against Muslims and Islam.
Reality water off Duco’s back
Duco Events continues to promote the Brisbane rugby 10s tournament next month by clinging to the impression that many current All Blacks will be involved, even though the players association boss Rob Nichol publicly states they won’t.
I reckon Duco’s statement on this, made on Tuesday, was disingenuous, containing loopholes like the phrase “provisional squads”. Here’s a question for Duco. Two weeks out from the inaugural tournament, which star All Blacks are guaranteed to play? Under consumer rights norms, the paying public has a right to know.
Duco might win the odd concession from New Zealand Rugby, but the superstars will not come out to play.
Why stop at promoting a tournament by advertising a level of All Black players who won’t be there? I’ve got this great idea, about how to make these “Global 10s” even