Mohali team officially launching today
Chandigarh, India - March 31, 2008
Launching on 31st March 2008, Monday in a public area, a shopping mall, in Chandigarh, not in private rooms and big hotels like some of the others said Neil Maxwell (CEO).
Maxwell describes his first month in the job as "fascinating and frantic".
In business speak, he is at the helm of a start-up company in an emerging market in a foreign country. But the job seems vastly more enviable when factoring in the resources at his disposal - Mohali's four franchise owners splurged a staggering $US76 million ($82.9m) and are not exactly short of a quid - and the fact that Indians, millions of them, have already enthusiastically embraced a league that does not yet exist.
"I don't know if there's been anything like this in professional sport, certainly not cricket," he said. "We're putting ourselves out there as the people's team.
Just the launch of the Kolkata team was televised live for an hour and a half. Imagine what it will be like when the players are here. A huge show is about to start on April 18."
Among the interest in the inaugural IPL will be the attitude of Indian crowds towards Australian players.
"I have been coming here for 14 years, and I can honestly say that this time around is the first time I have noticed a negative stigma attached to the Australian players," he said. "Even a year ago, people here would talk with great excitement and pride about the Australian team. But it seems like the recent controversies have changed things a bit.
"I think it's something that needs to be addressed by Cricket Australia, and I'll be passing on my observations to CA officials James Sutherland and Michael Brown."
This is no sales pitch. Maxwell, in his roles as player agent and marketing executive, has long predicted cricket would gravitate towards a franchise system, where dollars (or rupees) would outweigh coats of arms in determining the location and loyalty of elite players. Only in question was the platform that would deliver the transformation. Now, from his vantage point inside the IPL machine, Maxwell is certain the revolution begins on April 18 in Bangalore.
"In just six months, the IPL has turned the game on its head, and there hasn't even been a game played yet," Maxwell said. "In another six months, it will be interesting to see just how effective this model is, and how great the potential is for this concept to branch out further afield.
"It has to [go international]. A lot will depend on the first couple of years of the competition, and the success and popularity of it. But if this thing goes ahead as most are predicting, it will transcend borders before long. Most other sports are led by clubs and franchises. I think cricket, through the IPL, is starting to head in that direction."
Maxwell is not predicting the demise of cricket's traditional formats, but rather a realignment of the international calendar. Without compromise, the process could prove painful. But, he argues, it needn't be.
According to Maxwell, the only Australian appointed to an executive position in Indian cricket, the establishment of a "window" for the multibillion-dollar Twenty20 tournament would delineate the Test and one-day season from the IPL. The concept was kyboshed by the International Cricket Council's chief executives committee but, in time, Maxwell believes it will be the only way to prevent schisms in the game.
"I think the window is an absolute necessity for all countries," he said. "If countries do not vote to create the window, they'll be leaving themselves exposed not only to individual players wanting to join up during [bilateral] series, but also unofficial leagues forming. I think that will become apparent sooner rather than later."
Source - smh - Top ^
