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The youngsters must stay on even keel

I always worry when too much happens too soon in the life of a young, promising cricketer, writes Steve Waugh

I would not be too surprised if the batsmen around the world are working hard on their bowling while bowlers are working on their batting stance and off-side play. Multi-taskers like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Andrew Symonds became millionaires, thanks to their versatility, while the likes of Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden got a lot less for being masters of just one trade.

That is perhaps the only pattern that came out of the amazing auction that took place between various IPL team owners in Mumbai last week. While Ponting and Hayden went for surprisingly low bids, I was equally taken aback by the amount of money that was put on the table for Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis. The former is in his late 30s and not the explosive cricketer that he was a decade ago while Kallis was not even in South Africa’s team for the Twenty20 World Cup.

Quite expectedly, some of the biggest bids were for the Indians, and I hope some of the young cricketers will be able to keep their head on their shoulders after their value went through the roof. I worry for the likes of Ishant Sharma, who went for a surprisingly high bid even though he is not even six months old in international cricket. I might sound like an old-timer but I always worry when too much happens too soon in the life of a young, promising cricketer.

Striking decisions

Which is why two different yet striking decisions gladdened me amid this multi-million-dollar bonanza: one was V.V.S. Laxman’s decision to not become an icon for his Hyderabad team. If he had agreed, he would have outstripped the prize put on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, thanks to the rule that an icon gets 15 per cent more than the highest-paid player. However, he was happy to live without that incentive, and perhaps that is why his team could win Andrew Symonds for $1.3 million.

VVS has always struck me as a man of principles and his decision will no doubt add to his stature within the IPL Hyderabad team dressing room.

The other person who impressed me was Michael Clarke, who opted out of the IPL to spend time on his cricket and with his family. ‘Pup’ is the top dog of Australia’s Twenty20 team, and is seen as future vice-captain in other forms of the game. Any cricketer will be tempted by the riches on offer, but Clarke decided to stay away for the moment.

Dhoni, Symonds and Brett Lee are three of the most loved cricketers in the world at the moment. They all have multiple endorsement deals and seeing the prices they went for, it’s clear that cricketing ability was not the only criterion at the auction.

The differing, unpredictable trends at the auction will hopefully not have an impact in dressing rooms and, like I said earlier, I hope the younger lot can handle the big bucks with equanimity and remember that the greatest honour in the game must still be representing one’s country. Amid all this excitement, it is hard to remember that a cricket series is going on. To be fair, the cricket on show has not been too impressive save for the good form of the bowlers in all sides.

None of the teams have been impressive with the bat, and while some wickets, like the one at the MCG was unsuitable for ODI cricket, it’s lack of application from the batsmen that has been disappointing.

No wonder then, that the stadia have been quite empty so far. That Australia is winning with embarrassing ease and regularity cannot be good for gate receipts either.

Gameplan

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