It wasn't only the subcontinent batsmen who struggled against short balls © AFP

It was survival instinct that drove players to look for cutting-edge tactics at the recently concluded Champions League Twenty20. The second tournament has been nothing short of a discovery : unsettling yet determined shots, novel field positions and a whole new bag of tricks from the bowlers to hold them in good stead. That's what made the CLT20 a good show. Despite some ordinary cricket, there were also some splashes of brilliance. Here are my observations from the tournament.

Starting with the fine-leg fielder inside the circle
Most teams had the fine-leg fielder inside the ring and pushed the square-leg fielder back to the boundary right from the beginning. This is not how teams have traditionally begun one-day innings, preferring instead to have the fielder beside the square-leg umpire save singles and the fine leg, though slightly squarer, back on the boundary.

There are three reasons to have the square-leg fielder back. First, the balls that end up in the fine-leg region are the ones drifting down leg side but bowlers, especially in Twenty20 cricket, back themselves not to err in line. Second, the batsmen aren't afraid to hit over the top and taking the aerial route over the square-leg fielder is safer than walking across the stumps to play fine or to scoop the ball like Dilshan and McCullum. Third, bowlers don’t mind conceding singles because a single is as good as a dot ball in Twenty20 cricket.

Bowling short
There was plenty of the short-pitched stuff throughout the innings. Yes, the extra bounce on South African pitches may have encouraged the bowlers to bang it in short but that's not the only reason. Most batsmen, regardless of nationality, were in obvious discomfort against chin music. While the Central Stags from New Zealand used it to good effect against the Chennai Super Kings, Dwane Bravo bowled at least a foot shorter against South Australia. The more you see matches in these conditions, the clearer it becomes that it’s not only the batsmen from the subcontinent who aren’t great players of short-pitched stuff and that they have company. No bowler can get away with bowling just one-dimensional short-pitched stuff, though, but there is no harm in making the batsman smell leather every now and then.

Playing straight
The teams from South Africa and Australia have taught a lesson in batting to the rest of the sides only if they choose to notice. While the players from these countries are good off the back foot and play horizontal bat shots, they have shown the value of hitting straight down the ground with a vertical bat, as opposed to their counterparts from the subcontinent who are guilty of looking to score only square of the wicket. Yes, there’s bounce to deal with but a half volley is a half volley on all surfaces and should be hit straight. Also, since teams keep the mid-off and mid-on fielder really wide on bouncy surfaces, there’s a huge gap in the front to get maximum value for shots. Indian teams are yet to utilise this to its full potential.

Slower ones

The slower ball is an important delivery in a fast bowler’s armoury but just taking the pace off is not enough, especially on bouncy South African tracks. One could get away with rolling the fingers across the ball in the subcontinent because the lack of pace and bounce makes it even slower after pitching. Ergo you could get away with it but that isn’t the case on bouncy surfaces. A poorly executed slower ones sits up to get hit and we have seen many disappearing into the stands in this tournament.

It was in fact the lesser-known, non-IPL teams that defied odds, and held their ground – Warriors, Redbacks, Bushrangers, et al told their counterparts that first-rate athleticism and fielding could make up for the lack of stars.

Mahela Jayawardene and Wayamba have struggled in the Champions League © Associated Press

Cricketers from Maharashtra must be wondering what Wayamba from Sri Lanka did to be playing in the Champions League in South Africa. Don’t tell them that Wayamba won their domestic championship because so did Maharashtra. You may want to remind them of the high standards of competition and their obvious lack of quality, but isn’t Wayamba looking like a fish out of water too? So even that argument falls flat on its face.

Apparently, T20 cricket bridges the gap between the good and the bad teams, thanks to its unpredictable nature and small canvas, but even then, Wayamba is looking woefully out of its depth. Obviously, Wayamba is not to be blamed, but the flawed system. Wayamba haven’t gatecrashed the event; they deserved to be there after winning their domestic tourney.

Champions League, supposedly, is a clash between the domestic T20 champions from different nations -- India being the only exception by choosing to put forward the IPL champions. To consider the IPL a domestic tournament of the standard of domestic cricket in the West Indies and Sri Lanka is grossly unrealistic. All domestic tournaments in the world have a fair representation of their states, districts or counties and that’s what makes it the level playing field for everyone involved. In the IPL we have only eight teams representing the country where 27 teams play at the first-class level. And even those eight teams have four overseas players in the playing XI further curtailing the role of Indian domestic players.

Despite having such disparity, you may have to live with it if there wasn’t another domestic T20 tournament taking place in India. But there is one, prestigious at that – the All-India domestic T20 tournament of which Maharashtra is the proud champion. And hence they have a valid reason to be gutted for not being there in South Africa right now.

The flip side to the story makes one wonder if Maharashtra, though T20 champions, yet lacklustre, and relegated to the plate division, can actually prove to be head turners in the Champion’s League? Let me share a small detail to explain how it all panned out. The knock-outs of the domestic T20 tournament overlapped with the IPL, and hence the qualifying state teams released all their key players to play in the IPL. Subsequently, the standard of the domestic tourney dropped massively, which is how Maharashtra, though average, became the champions.

Undoubtedly, if full strength state teams compete at the national level, our winners would not only be worthy of a place in the Champions League but also make waves. Imagine if Delhi wins the tournament? You’ll have Gambhir, Sehwag, Nehra, Ishant, Kohli, Dhawan etc playing. Doesn’t that prospect excite you?

But there might be a small catch in this arrangement too, and i.e. some players might have to choose between state and club. If both KKR and Delhi qualified, Ishant will have to choose the team he would represent at the World stage. But that’s only fair because most players are already facing that tough question. Kallis and Cameron White chose to stay with RCB, Nannes had opted for DD over Victoria etc. So why lose sleep if Bhajji or Ishant have to make that choice?

An easier alternative would be to scrap the national tournament because in any case it isn’t serving any purpose. In fact, to make an even playing ground for everyone involved in the Champions League, there should be leagues like the IPL in all participating countries with similar rules. Because right now it isn’t proving to be the pinnacle of domestic T20 tournaments, as a lot of people are making it out to be.

Jacques Kallis is one of the many stars turning out for Bangalore Royal Challengers © Associated Press

A quick look at the playing XIs of quite a few of the non-IPL teams in the Champions League is enough to tell the story in no uncertain terms - they are the poorer cousins of their IPL counterparts. Let’s say they are as good as a Bengal or a Baroda, but are as run down as any state team would be, when playing an international outfit. The IPL teams swanking big names and decades of experience are of course better bets.

Logically then, the local teams sans star power should not be a patch on the three Indian teams. Yet not only have they put up a good fight, but have outperformed the IPL teams - none of the Indian teams qualified for the knock-outs in the first edition of the tournament. So what is it that is allowing the lesser teams to hold sway? More importantly, a question begs to be asked — how good are our IPL teams after all?

In my humble opinion, it isn’t the standard but the sheer competitiveness that seals the deal in favour of the IPL. Most teams in the IPL are equally balanced or imbalanced and share similar strengths and handicaps. Teams have the luxury of being able to start slowly, since the league is a lengthy event. So it’s okay to start working as a unit a couple of weeks into the tournament.

But there are no such luxuries in the Champions League. It’s mandatory to hit the ground running or else you will be forced to play catch up. Since the IPL teams don’t play together year round, they find it tough to work as a team right from the beginning. Finding out out what makes certain players tick and how they will perform in certain situations consumes vital time. Of course, the local teams enjoy an edge on this account as the line-up works as a cohesive unit round the year.

Unfortunately, IPL teams have mostly banked on reputations and not on current form to bail them out of tough situations, while the other first-class teams have had in-form players to assume the responsibility.

Another major factor that has had a huge impact on the overall standing of the non-IPL teams is knowledge of the opposition. Since the IPL is a hugely watched worldwide spectacle, its players have been exposed to analysis. The other participating teams escape such scrutiny. For example T&T took everyone by surprise with a brand of West Indian cricket which was almost forgotten or absolutely new to others.

While non-IPL teams can plan and prepare in advance and hence know what to expect from the IPL teams, our teams need to be more fluid in their approach. The role of a coach becomes remarkably insignificant because it’s the captain who must think on his feet, analyse the opposition on the ground itself and react appropriately. He must back his instincts a great deal too.

The only thing that might bring parity in this year’s edition is its timing. Most teams are coming out of an off-season and might be equally rusty as our IPL teams. In spite of the IPL teams claiming to have more match-winners than the rest, it’s imperative to play as a single unit. The seasoned players are expected to adapt to tough South African conditions more easily than most first-class cricketers from around the world, but it is always a team that wins a match.

Aakash's twitter feed is here http://twitter.com/cricketaakash

The Buchi Babu tournament is considered good practice ahead of the first-class season © Sportz Solutions

I wrote this at the Chennai airport while waiting for my flight back to Delhi. It was delayed by half an hour and so it was a perfect time to pull out my laptop and mull over the matters of the past week-and-a-half. Buchi Babu Tournament has been my first assignment in the new season, as a part of a new team, under a new coach and a new board – the Rajasthan Cricket Association. It has also been my debut in the tournament itself, Delhi never having played in it. Obviously, we at RCA are fancying our chances of bouncing back into the Elite division this year, and hence getting into the groove before we hit the crease for the Ranji Trophy matches.

Buchi Babu is an invitational tournament organized by TNCA, hosting 13 state teams from all over the country. Since the first class season is just round the corner, this tournament along with KSCA tournament in Bangalore and Moin-Ud-Dowla in Hyderabad are considered to be good practice sessions for the important matches ahead. State teams use these tournaments to dry run their fringe players and also provide a good enough practice to its senior players in the longer format. After all, once the first-class season gets over, there’s hardly any tournament which is not a limited-overs one.

This tournament also gives you an insight into the seriousness of the association with regards to the upcoming season. While some teams travel sans a proper coach, trainer and physios, others travel with the entire entourage as they would for a first-class game. Some associations have also gone a step further to arrange overseas tours for their state teams in order to broaden their horizons. Personally, I’m not too sure if travelling abroad and playing limited-overs cricket in alien conditions is the ideal way to prepare for a grueling first-class season in Indian conditions. But since playing some cricket is always better than playing no cricket at all, the effort should be lauded. Also, there might be a feeling among the players to go that extra yard to keep up the name of the country, and the association which made an effort to provide them with the opportunity.

Coming back to the Buchi Babu Tournament, this year’s matches were unfortunately marred by incessant unseasonal rains which resulted in only 3 games going the distance in the league stage. Rains, but more importantly the reluctance to tweak the rules to get a result, meant that the two semi-finalists were picked by the draw of lots. This is perhaps the most ridiculous way of ascertaining the winners, sadly though it was the case. Originally the match was to be played over 2 days with 90 overs-a-side which I think provides a big enough canvas for most players to prove their mettle. But once the rains played the spoilt sport, the rules left a lot to be desired.

If the match started on time on the first day, the number of overs wouldn't be reduced regardless of the rain which in effect means that one team might just field without getting a hit. So if there were clouds lurking close by, players would pray that it starts raining before the first ball was bowled. Also if there wasn’t any play possible on day 1, the match would be reduced to 50 overs-a-side. Even this rule had an obvious shortcoming because regardless of the delay on day 2 the overs wouldn't be reduced further. We, Rajasthan, found ourselves in a similar situation against Madhya Pradesh. Since there wasn’t enough time to get the required 100 overs in, both captains agreed to call off the match instead of playing an inconsequential match which would have provided batting practice to only one team.

The problem with a Buchi Babu match is that it is not an all-important Ranji Trophy game. And so there seems to be no intent to give it a much needed face-lift. Redundant rules must be done with to hold on to the reputation it enjoys. The tournament serves as a reality check for most participating teams, and hence the aim is to perform and not warm the benches. Only if the organizers had been swift enough to react to the situation, Buchi Babu would’ve been a better show.

Aakash's twitter feed is here http://twitter.com/cricketaakash

The fourth edition of the IPL is expected to be ‘fatter’, with a larger purse for every team to buy players, and ‘bigger’, with the introduction of two new teams and 14 more matches. Ironically, though, despite the franchises having more money for distribution, the players might end up earning a lot less than what they did in the first three seasons, especially the first-class cricketers.

For the first time, a salary cap has been introduced for the uncapped players (first-class and under-19 cricketers who haven’t played for India yet). Now their IPL salary will be decided by their seniority in the domestic circuit and not by their performance. There were quite a few domestic players, especially the ones who came back to the BCCI fold from the ICL, who were raking in twice or even thrice as much as the new salary cap. These guys came in with a big reputation of being T20 specialists and hence demanded, and also got, mega bucks. Even the domestic cricketers who performed consistently in the IPL got a considerable hike after every season, which was again at least double the amount of what they stand to earn now. And no wonder that, until the new rules came out, they were negotiating a similar deal for the fourth season.

Now the dynamics have changed completely and instead of passing judgment on its merit, I’d put forth the arguments for you to decide.

Ideally, a person must get what he deserves for his services and that should be decided mutually by the employer (IPL franchisee) and the employee (player). His cricketing status with regards to whether he is good enough to play for India should not hamper his earnings in a domestic league. Also, why should the year of his first-class debut matter while taking a call on his capabilities as a player? Is it even mandatory to be a good first-class cricketer to be a good T20 cricketer? And more importantly, how would you explain to the same player, despite doing ever so well, earning X amount for one season and 1/3rd of it the next season, while the earnings of everyone around him goes up every year. Last but not the least, since he isn’t playing for India and perhaps won’t in the future too, he isn’t earning as much and now it will only come down further.

Perhaps, the idea behind the new rule was to ensure that the importance of playing and doing well in first-class cricket is not wasted on the younger lot. This ruling would ensure that players don’t chuck their first-class careers or dreams of playing for the country to make moolah in the cash-rich IPL. Hitherto, astronomical sums exchanged hands and were promised to even the domestic cricketers, enough make them one-dimensional. This new salary cap tells you in no uncertain terms that you have to don the national colours to earn top dollar and there is no alternative. Besides, IPL 4 may now escape the wrath of the cynics, unlike its precursors, blamed for indulging young cricketers in steep sums.

Also, all the contracts going through the BCCI means that there’d be a standard players’ contract and different franchisees won’t have different rules. A lot of teams have been guilty of riding on players’ ignorance of the laws and paid a lot less than they’d agreed on.

IPL lacked a rule book, and hence an overhaul was imperative to ensure a smooth run for both play and commerce. The redrafting may have settled some contentious issues and answered some basic questions, yet in the process, it may have popped up some more questions of serious concern.