IPL and bilateral player valuations very different
How does one interpret the T20 series between India and West Indies in the wake of the IPL mega auction over the last weekend which saw over ₹550 crore spent in the purchase of 204 players? On the face of it, juxtaposing IPL with a bilateral series can lead to misleading conclusions. While the format (T20) may be the same, and players would be more or less common, the two tournaments are like apples and oranges.
The IPL price tag does not necessarily have a direct co-relation to the value of a player in bilateral cricket. For instance, Ishan Kishan (₹15.25 cr, MI) and Shreyas Iyer (₹12.5 cr, KKR), the two most expensive Indians in the auction, are part of the squad for the T20s against West Indies. Neither may have been part of the playing XI had KL Rahul been fit. Likewise, young pace bowler Avesh Khan, the most expensive uncapped player (₹10 cr, LSG) would perhaps not be a frontrunner to take the field in the first match versus West Indies had Jasprit Bumrah and Mohd Shami not been rested.
To highlight this with examples of West Indies players, Shimron Hetmyer, bought by Rajasthan Royals for ₹8.5 crore, is not part of the T20 squad (on fitness grounds) and Akeal Hossein, who everyone thought would be chased by all franchises, remained unsold.
IPL’s eco-system is distinctive and the auction has a logic all its own. While choice of players is based increasingly on research and data now unlike when the league began, it is still laced with whims, fancies, punts, egos, belief of team owners, coaches, captains and others involved in the decision making.
Essentially, franchises identify roles to be filled and seek players who fit the bill. Sometimes a particular player will be the target at any cost. Ishan Kishan and Jofra Archer (₹8 cr despite not being available this season) being hunted down by MI are examples of the latter. Tim David being bought by the same franchise because he fits the role of a strong finisher is example of the former attribute.
Apart from retentions, every deal depends on tactics, courage and financial assessment by a franchise at various times during the auction. Bidding is a dynamic process which can lead to a steep rise or fall in price. That done, there are no guarantees that the highest priced players will be the best performers. IPL’s 14-year history is replete with big-ticket players bombing and punts on hardly known players and rookies paying off.
Nonetheless, IPL salaries can be useful in assessing overseas players. A few may be bought on potential, but most on what they have already achieved and current form. Since only four overseas players can play a match, the numbers needed are much fewer, and hence the scrutiny on them is sharper.
In the context of the current T20 series, eight West Indies players in the squad (including skipper Kieron Pollard, retained by MI) found favour with IPL franchises, some of them at fancy prices that has a far more rational link to their prowess than the monies paid to their Indian counterparts.
The proliferation of T20 specialists also reflects the cultural transformation of cricket in the Caribbean. There was a time when the West Indies were the most scintillating team in the sport in Test matches. The blazing, natural brilliance of players and their uninhibited approach made them the toast of the cricket world, win or lose.
Under Clive Lloyd, West Indies became a juggernaut, quashing all opponents in Tests and also ODIs once that format came into existence. However, just before the turn of the century, the slide began and has reached a stage where West Indies today are stragglers in Tests, dismayingly inconsistent in ODIs, but—thanks to the eruption of T20 leagues starting with IPL—among the best in the business in the shortest format.
Twice winners of the World Cup, T20 has come to the rescue of West Indies cricket. Young talent, which had started deserting the sport, is coming back. This holds out hope that cricket, in all formats, will regain its pristine position in Caribbean life.
I’ve digressed enough. For the present, both India and West Indies, after a forgettable World Cup late last year, are seeking a revival. The ODI series was terribly one-sided. West Indies were astonishingly listless. However, T20 is a format they revel in and India—with Rahul, Bumrah, Shami, Jadeja and Sundar missing—must be on guard. Another T20 World Cup comes up later this year, so experimentation and consolidation have to take place simultaneously for both teams. This means lesser margin for failure for players and those who fetched fancy prices in IPL auction will face a stiff reality check.