4 or more? - A 5-year-old dilemma

Edition	Highest Run Getter	Highest Wicket Taker
IPL I	Shaun Marsh	Sohail Tanvir
IPL II	Adam Gilchrist	RP Singh
IPL III	Sachin Tendulkar	Pragyan Ojha
IPL IV	Chris Gayle	Lasith Malinga
IPL V	Chris Gayle	Lasith Malinga

Barring the 3^rd season when the grand old man of cricket and India’s current second choice spinner for Tests led the batting & bowling charts, the IPL has largely been a glamorous show lit up by glittering stars from foreign shores. Over the last 5 years, the BCCI has always made it crystal clear in its media approach that it looks at and persists with the IPL as the ultimate stage for the growth and development of ‘local talent’. But ever since Brendon McCullum launched the cash rich league with that unforgettable 158*, ‘local talents’ haven’t really blossomed under the blazing sun of million dollar T20 cricket.

If we look at the ongoing season itself, one cannot go beyond Ajinkya Rahane and Shahbaz Nadeem if we were to point out consistently good domestic performers. Ambati Rayudu and Subramaniam Badrinath have been dependable middle order men for the Mumbai Indians and the Super Kings over the last few editions, but these two are tried and tested products of the Ranji circuit. The likes of Paul Valthaty, Naman Ojha, Manvinder Bisla, Swapnil Asnodkar, Pradeep Sangwan and others haven’t been able to make it count when it matters, over a considerable period of time. While there have also been a few successful local stories in the form of R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Aaron among few others, most have been one-season wonders; read Saurabh Tiwary, Iqbal Abdullah, Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha and so on.

But the question here is not directly on the ability or performance of the domestic players in the IPL, the question (as it has been for the last 5 years) is: Can the IPL fit more than 4 outsourced players in a single team?

This question has been on board ever since India’s T20 flight took off. If permitted, the presence of more than 4 foreign players in an IPL team will bring about a definite shift in power among the franchises. It will change the way the teams have shaped up over the years and prospects of domestic players. The quotas will have to be re-written. Teams will have to be restructured. The entire dynamics of the league changes then.

John Buchanan, when he was associated with the black & gold KKR, had urged the authorities to allow 5 foreign players in a playing XI. His point was justified in the sense that KKR has always concentrated heavily on importing quality players, rather than upbringing local talent. Even in the current setup, SRK’s Knights look to be well balanced but a foreign star-heavy team which lacks in domestic bench strength. Similar is the situation with Delhi Daredevils in their current setup who can boast of having the likes Mahela, Warner, Pietersen and Ross Taylor in the same batting line-up.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians mentor, Shaun Pollock recently spoke out against the prospect of including more than 4 foreign players in an IPL team. According to him, there’s no point of increasing that number as the IPL is a mode of developing and refining local Indian talent. His words also reflect on Mumbai’s formation policy. This team has always relied heavily on local talent. Similar has been the mantra for the Chennai Super Kings, where Dhoni has always encouraged the inclusion of lesser known local players into the team. And the best example of utilization of local talent stands in the form of Shane Warne’s Rajasthan’s win in the inaugural edition.

While it is a proven fact that the foreign players have hogged the maximum share of the limelight in the IPL so far, there also have been quite a few supporting reasons to it. The best of the elite group of foreign players are distributed among the 9 teams and these players are busy and regular candidates in the international circuit as well. And with no more than 10 foreign players allowed in each squad, this policy also ensures that almost all regular international T20 XIs are plying their trade in the IPL too. Moreover, we have witnessed that the tag of a ‘foreign player’ also helps the B-grade non-Indian players to bowl their complete quota of 4 overs, or bat higher up the order. On the other hand, the domestic players get their chances when their foreign top orders fail.

If the IPL is a domestic league, then there is no question over the permission of allowing more than 4 foreign players in a playing XI. The answer is a straight-forward NO. Although minimal outputs provided so far, the IPL has produced a few good cricketers for India who can take their game to the international level. Had this tournament not been there, we wouldn’t have found an Ashwin to replace a struggling Bhajji in that floundering Test line-up. Although marketed as the platform for the growth of local cricketing talent in India, the IPL has largely been a lopsided affair for the domestic fraternity. The inclusion of more than 4 foreign players in a playing XI will further worsen the situation.

If entertainment is not the sole purpose of this extravagant league, then NO is the answer. If development of Indian cricket is objective, NO is the answer. It is indeed paisa vasool to watch Chris Gayle open the innings for Bangalore, but it would also be a pleasant exercise to watch a Chetashwar Pujara get a few more knocks under his belt. It is a heartwarming sight to view Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron breath fire, on the pitch, in tandem and Ajinkya Rahane tear apart bowlers with sheer elegance and subtle touches.

In a country where sport was never really a career option for many, a tournament like IPL brings hope along with opportunity. It is a platform which allows the ‘not-too-good, not-too-bad’ to share the same dressing room with the modern legends of the game. So, let it be.