Tym Glaser

WELL, WHOEVER would have thunk you could make a cool million bucks (US$ not Ja Monopoly money) playing curry-goat cricket.

Amazing, I tell ya, absolutely amazing.

Yep, on Wednesday, the Indian Premier League (IPL) held an auction of players for its Twenty20 tournament and India's one-day skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds went for the king's ransoms of US$1.5 million and US$1.35 million, respectively.

Toss in the fact that designated 'icon' players Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh will pocket more than a 'mil' each and all of a sudden curry-goat cricket has soared to a whole new level.

Heck, even our own Chris Gayle was pocketed by the Kolkata franchise for a useful US$800,000.

I'm just trying to work out now if these ridiculous sums are going to be good for the overall game of cricket.

great idea

Sure, the players aren't complaining and the concept of a mixed-team competition is great.

Just think, Ganguly, Gayle and Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting of Kolkata doing battle against the likes of Mohali's Yuvraj Singh, Australian speedster Brett Lee and Sri Lankan star Kumar Sangakkara or Mumbai's Tendulkar, Sri Lankan slugger Sanath Jayasuriya and South African legend Shaun Pollock.

The abbreviated encounters should be great to watch and hopefully foster a new spirit of camaraderie in the cricket fraternity as old foes become teammates.

However, the eight-team competition swings away in April and that will clash with scheduled Test series involving eight nations - South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, Australia, Pakistan, England and New Zealand.

It's not hard to imagine, contract or not, that some of the players in those sides may be tempted to accept their full swag of money in India over national obligations.

less stressful

And, let's face it, three hours of 20/20 is a lot less stressful and tiring than five days of a Test. Already, New Zealand paceman Shane Bond has quit the Test scene for the rival Indian Cricket League (ICL).

"Some people are always going to think that you're a traitor and I can live with that," Bond said of his decision.

"I find it strange, though, that in any other job people accept that you try to improve your circumstances and get in a better position for your family, but it's almost like you're not supposed to do that in sport," he said.

Bond is by no means the only international star stuck on the horns of a dilemma, but he was one of the first to choose cash over country and set a tricky precedent.

Well, all I know is that I'm dusting off the pads this weekend and reforming the Lime Cay Lobsters. We are not aiming at India and those untold millions just yet.

Nope, we'll set our sights on next year's Stanford 20/20. I'm sure one of us can pull off a blinder of a catch and win a few 'thou' and the worst we could possibly do would be to reach the quarter-finals; I mean The Bahamas? Bermuda? Nevis? Gimme a break.

Ahhh, if only I was about 20 years younger and paid more attention to coach Shakes, I could be rolling in green now.

Oh well, so much for 20/20 hindsight.

Later ...

tymglaser@gleanerjm.com