If IPL has guts, it should take the game away from Tamil Nadu

It was 5 am in the morning. The phone rang at IMG Executive Director Andrew Wildblood’s house. Lalit Modi was on the line and there was a question he wanted an answer to: “Is it possible to shift the IPL (Indian Premier League) to South Africa with three weeks’ notice?” Union Minister of Home Affairs P Chidambaram had informed the BCCI (the Board for Control of Cricket in India) and Lalit Modi that India could not commit to the security of the IPL tournament unless it was deferred. Modi wasn’t one to take things lying down; he believed that the $2 billion tournament was his baby and he would do everything in his power to make things move in the right direction. Modi set up an appointment with Chidambaram to try and work out a compromise formula. But once he got there, he couldn’t wait and attempted to barge into the minister’s office. Chidambaram didn’t take very kindly to the act and asked him to leave. Modi was angry because he could see the commercial value of ‘his’ tournament heading in the wrong direction. That’s when he picked up the phone and called Wildblood. Once he made the decision, he quickly picked the right men to do the job and got the approval from the BCCI. It was a decision that he didn’t have to regret. [caption id=“attachment_677660” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Chennai are going to get an undue advantage due to the Tamil Nadu ban. AFP[/caption] Now, there is no love lost between Modi and current BCCI Chairman N Srinivasan, but it’s pretty clear that Srinivasan, who is also the India Cements boss, isn’t going to shift gears in the aftermath of Tamil Nadu saying it will not host Indian Premier League games with Sri Lankan players. The similarities between the two situations are clear. Then, Chidambaram refused to provide security. Now, J Jayalalithaa is refusing to do the same - and even saying Sri Lankan cricketers can’t play in her state. There were no guarantees in either case. Now, the IPL is a commercial entity. It isn’t in the business for charity. The tournament isn’t around to make politicians happy – it has the sole responsibility of making money by providing entertainment. But the response of the IPL governing council this time has been to tell other teams that when they play in Chennai, they cannot play their Sri Lankan players. Logically, this means that to keep Tamil politicians happy, one team (Chennai Super Kings, which Srinivasan himself owns) will play its best players, but eight other teams are being told not to use Sri Lankan players if they come to Chennai. This may make one team happy (CSK), but eight other teams may have to drop players who may be vital to their plans. At no level does this seem fair. If Tamil Nadu is going to play bully, would it not have been fairer for IPL to shift all matches out of the state? Politics can impact business, but businessmen have the freedom to decide what they will accept and what they will not. When the Tatas had trouble with the Singur project in West Bengal, after trying to solve the issue in vain they shifted the project to Gujarat. A legit business cannot allow itself to be held hostage by the government or any other party. You have to do what it takes. Another example comes from the IPL itself – in 2010, not a single game was held in Hyderabad because of the Telangana agitation. However, this time round – there hasn’t been even a hint of shifting matches out of Chennai. Now, of course, shifting matches means that the Chennai Super Kings will be deprived of home support and a ‘favourable’ pitch. But this was never about Chennai. The IPL’s latest decision, which has reportedly being taken without the consent of the other team owners, will mean that CSK – twice winners of the IPL and of the Champions League Twenty20 – will host a weakened opposition. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are captains of Delhi Daredevils and the Sunrisers Hyderabad; Lasith Malinga is the strike bowler for Mumbai Indians and has been a vital part of their team; Angelo Matthews is an all-rounder with Pune Warriors, which is already without its star player Michael Clarke; Tillakaratne Dilshan can change the fortunes in any match with bat or even as a fielder for Royal Challengers; even though Muttiah Muralitharan is 40 and can’t really run around in the field, on a turning track, he is still tough to play. The war in Sri Lanka ended in May 2009. But Tamil Nadu didn’t raise the issue earlier. Is there any guarantee that the issue will be resolved by next year or even the year after that? Is there any guarantee that the IPL won’t have to go through this again? N Srinivasan is a powerful man and he would have heard the rumblings in Tamil Nadu on the Sri Lanka issue. Surely, he could have informed the IPL Governing Council. Instead, he has chosen to stay silent, as have the BCCI and other IPL teams. Of course, it suits his interests too. But does it suit the BCCI’s interests? The IPL is a success because it has some of the best players in the world. The Indian Cricket League of the Essel Group failed because it attracted only second-rung players and didn’t cut it. But as things stand, the Pakistanis can’t play in Mumbai, the Sri Lankans are not welcome in Chennai, and the English can’t even send club teams to India without approval from the BCCI. The Aussies, the West Indians and the South Africans are still lining up but one can only wonder how long this will last before some state has a problem with them too? In 2009, in three weeks, the entire tournament was shifted out of the country. Are they now saying that shifting matches from Chennai, from one venue, is not possible? There is a time to stay quiet and there is a time to take tough decisions – and this is a time to take a stand and make a point. The IPL moving out of Chennai will hurt Tamil Nadu too. And if the state doesn’t care about it, then the IPL should do what all good businesses do: take their money somewhere else.