IPL has done for cricketers what no other pension scheme or benefit scheme could have done for them. It has created a need for a great pool – 10 teams X 9 players means the top 90 Indian players get to earn at least 20-30 lakhs a year. This is not bad in a country like India where Rs. 30 lakhs per annum is a Senior Management salary in most industries (except the financial services Industry where this is a junior management salary).

So people like Badani, Ajit Agarkar, Joginder Sharma, ….and quite a few others have got a fantastic lease of life and some extra money to be used in their old age (ok non playing years).

IPL has also been a blessing for BCCI – the selection process is likely to get simpler. Of course success in IPL is not a guarantee of success in International cricket, but there is something to look at. It sounds quite foolish to announce a squad for a T 20 or a ODI tournament 5 weeks in advance when you could have waited for the T 20 to play out. Look at the form of younger players – there seems to be no justification for a Ashish Nehra to be in the team. Robin vs. Yuvraj? Ashwin, Murali Vijay are all knocking real hard on the BCCI door. Yuvraj, Sehwag, etc. better watch  out – the game is getting younger.

funnily, happily or sadly the older guys are performing well – Jack Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Hayden….better watch out…..