Well Said Akash. But more than players earning less, I like the equality for players under all Franchise. Even though the numbers are less its a good money. I have heard of gully cricketers directly brought in for a very cheap rate.

I like the concept of doing well in Domestic, earning a national cap and getting more... BCCI is thinking well.

Now they have set the issue straight to franchise saying that players are more important than you.
IPL may gross less, some franchise may quit. But this for greater good and a streamlining.

KUDOS to BCCI after a long time.

well said Mr. Aakash.. i feel that the new rule of salary cap and player contracts through BCCI is good.. In the last three seasons where lot of allegations regarding money and this new rule will help to avoid those things. Also it will make the players feel the importance of playing for the nation instead of just mad hitting in flat tracks. Also the scheduling of the event may help to reduce the so called player burn out. but its also the responsibility of top notch players and their franchises to keep the player fit and free from injuries by player rotation method.. so that when the IPL season 4 gets over the players will be available for national duties and not in rehabilitation centers (till the next IPL).. but we have to wait for the results of the new rules and schedule.. hope so it will do good because some senior ex - cricketers were involved in the process rather than franchises and business people..

I totally agree with the fact that to earn big money you have to have represented India. I also like the fact that domestic players are being indirectly told that first class cricket is still the most important form of cricket. This is also important for player development.
Hopefully the BCCI will continue to make better decisions in other cricket areas (i.e. mandate sporting pitches in domestic matches and a uniform, consistent youth player, coaching and umpire development program). Lack of attention in these areas are holding india back from being the best cricket nation in the world, thus giving passionate Indian fans a very raw deal.

What I don't agree with is that seniority in domestic cricket matters. It should be player ability.

i think the new teams should not be introduced

I agree with this article as the player fee should actually be defined by market forces instead of seniority.

J

I definitely agree Akash. Why there has to be a salary cap? it does not make any sense for me. The domestic players are the ones who need to earn more. But in this case it will be the other way round. What they were thinking before making this format? it is so complicated. many people who does not watch cricket wont understand this. it wont be entertainment for all people now. i believe that the most questioned part is-why do you have to play 4 from the other group once and one team twice? it just could have been playing all of the five teams once. now the question comes whose venue to use? now if that is done by lottery what if all the ten teams played each other once and the venue of that would be decided by a lottery. in this case to be fare with all the teams. the next year would be the other venue automatically. why do we have to have a salary cap? can't it be like big football leagues? without any cap? this does not make any sense? again i should say what they were thinking?

As much as I don't appreciate T20 in general and IPL in particular, the above ruling does not make any sense. It does not allow the free market rules to apply. It's like Beckham's Club cutting his salary because he no longer represents England.

In my opinion, this is an excellent move. This change (as like any other change) will be -ve to some players and +ve to other players, but cricket will definitely gain

IPL will now prove catalyst to improving domestic competition. This will also avoid very raw youngsters getting jackpot just based on one or two innings in front of franchise owners and reduce disonnance among consistent performers.

Interesting piece. If it means that some players get hit because of the largher objective of promoting national colours then so be it. I think the tendency of more players joining the likes of Andrew Symonds is a challenge that needs to be addressed and nipped in the bud for youngsters at least. I think the IPL is seriously going to affect players interest and performance in other forms of the game as evidenced by the poll with Australian cricketers some time ago. Given the sort of money that IPL pays, it seems logical for professional cricketers to put their lot where the money is , country be damned! I do hope that all the concerns of spot fixing and match fixing that have dogged the game do not rear their ugly head again in the IPL, for that would mean a serious body blow to the game which seems to be lurching from one crisis to the other.
Ramanujam Sridhar

@Masum Aman, there are are quite a few sports leagues that use salary caps and I personally like those leagues more than the ones who don't use it. The reason why? It makes everything even. Deccan only won the year after essentially because of the salary and maybe the unpredictability of T20. But you will never see Wolves win the Premiership or something similar happen in the American leagues. If there is no salary cap, the final of the IPL would always be between Mumbai and Bangalore. How do you think Rajasthanis and Punjabis would feel they come last every year. They won't watch it and the IPL will collapse.

The reason why the EPL, etc. don't collapse is because they are rich clubs in other parts of Europe too which can compete with ManU and the others, AND that internationally most fans only support one of the big 4 teams. But in England I assure you even supporters of teams like Tottenham are quite sad. They feel like they won when they come 5th. What kind of achievement is that?

I actually welcome the idea of salary cap. If a player performs well then the team management can hand out a bonus amount that is good for that season. So no one is resting on past achievements.

@ Gizza. I was just giving my point of view. sorry if i hurt your feelings. Answer me one thing. Do people stop watching English Premier League, because year after year only Man U, Chelsea, Arenal and Liverpool are the top 4? The players of the IPL deserve more money than what they are getting. A professional football player may laugh at the income of a cricketer (not counting exceptions- Tevdulkar, Dhoni etc.), so the income of cricketers need to be increased thats what i am saying.