Is the Buying and Selling of Players in the IPL the New Model of Slavery in India?

chillibreeze writer — Rajat Kumar

The collective, diseased mind of humanity, obsessed with the twin magic words of “more” and “now” has found a new avatar for the manifestation of its egotistical gratification – the Indian Premiere League (IPL). This new cricketing body backed by the BCCI and established for promoting, or rather milking the new Twenty Twenty cricketing format is the new golden calf to be worshipped. Nibbled to its last morsel, the cricketers are its fodder, harvested to fill the coffers of the powers that be in the world of cricket.

What is the IPL?

The brainchild of BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, IPL is a cricket league established on September 14, 2007, based on the lines of the English Premier League and the National Basketball Association (NBA).1 Franchisees (individuals or corporate) will own eight teams through the bidding process and can run their own teams in their own style, even bring in their own sponsors and list their teams on the stock exchange. The BCCI has already signed up 80 international players, who will be put on auction soon.2

What’s wrong?

“Players in the auction pool will be graded (category A-F) depending on skills. Names of players from each category will be put in a bowl. One player’s name will be pulled out and the bidding will take place. The player will be handed over to the franchise owner with the highest bid.” 3

- Lalit Modi

If you’ve missed watching how bidding and slave trading of humans takes place in one of those swords and sandals saga, you now have the opportunity to be a part of history by following the shenanigans of IPL on February 20, 2008 with cricketers replacing the booties of war. Celebrities and Corporate Czars with millions of dollars invested and earmarked for purchasing teams and players will be shouting hoarse for acquiring these latest gizmos needed for that ever-necessary ego trip.

What is happening to the pride of playing for the country? It will soon be replaced by a misdirected loyalty to one of these corporate/ celebrity teams, which is revenue and TRP driven. The megalomania of buying and selling brand name cricketers as power statements will become an industry in itself. And given the way things are shaping up, it may not be surprising that the cricketers may set themselves up for the sale. The IPL is ushering in a new era that is not only changing the game, but systematically eradicating everything that it stands for.

The New World

Slaves know when they are slaves, regardless of the words used to describe their slavery.4 Cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and their contemporaries were flatly refused from owning teams in the IPL despite their deep pockets and technical expertise. This tells us something - the development of cricket is not the core focus here, something else is— an economic hierarchy where the servant of the game can never be its master.

Since these ‘main acts’ cannot be offended, a special ‘icon’ list is created that would prevent such super cricketers from being auctioned as a way to salvage their egos. The junior and second-tier players have no such privileges and will be treated blatantly for what they are: SLAVES.

The Indian panache

The Indian psyche, completely at home with the abhorrent caste system has found its new model for this century and a profitable one at that! The franchisee owners are the new Brahmins, and the cricketers are the new Shudras. Your favorite cricketer, who is today an epitome of spirit in action and healthy individuality, will soon be relegated to the status of a plaything that does its owner’s bidding, including being bought and sold to other Brahmins. The Indian commodities scenario never looked so good.

Concluding

“I mean to tell you. We have killed him, - you and I!
We are all his murderers”

- Friedrich Nietzsche

We are to be blamed for the current state of affairs; after all, as cricket aficionados we shape the market system that has hijacked our game, replacing it with a counterfeit sport. This kind of “entertainment” will only grow bigger with time. If you missed riding the bull with India shining at the sensex, there exists still another domain for your “bread and circus”. Once upon a time that domain used to be called Indian cricket.

Works Cited

1. IPL: Billion Dollar Baby. 16 February 2008. <http://premierleaguecricket.in.>
2. Who are the franchisees. 16 February 2008. How is different from football and hockey leagues in India. 16 February 2008. <http://premierleaguecricket.in.>
3. The Hindu. IPL player’s auction of Feb 20. 16 February 2008. <http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/10/stories/2008021051111600.htm>
4. Hartmann, Thom. The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004. 184.

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