Ponting

Feb. 21: The impression is that Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting won’t be available for the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), from April 18 to June 1, but a key official has said he’ll be wearing the Calcutta colours in “some matches” at least.

The IPL has the home-and-away format and, so, each team will feature in a minimum of 14 Twenty20 matches.

“My understanding is that Ponting will definitely be there for some matches, after Australia’s tour of Pakistan and before the trip to the West Indies,” former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Inderjit Singh Bindra told The Telegraph on the morning after the stunning players’ auction.

The IPL is being promoted by the BCCI and Bindra is one of its architects.

He added: “In fact, as far as I know, Justin Langer (who has retired from international cricket) is the only Australian who won’t be seen in action in edition No.1. He has personal problems.”

Langer, a key member of Australia’s Test team for years, has been bought by Jaipur.

Ponting, by the way, is disappointed that he fetched no more than $400,000 at the auction (when even little-known compatriot David Hussey got a whopping $625,000), but the bidders had a clear-cut strategy.

The younger lot, especially from India, got big sums as the team owners can use them over a period of time. The same, perhaps, can’t be said of V.V.S. Laxman.

“Things could’ve been different had the focus been on just one year and not three. For, then, the owners would’ve looked at gains in the immediate future only,” explained somebody associated with the IPL.

Hyderabad pulled off a coup by out-bidding Mumbai and bagging Andrew Symonds, for as much as $1.35 million, but they could afford to go very high as there was no icon-factor to hold them back.

The icons, after all, had to be paid 15 per cent more than the highest-priced player and that would’ve eaten into the $5 million cap on each franchise owner.

Whatever Hyderabad's arrangement with Laxman, who was set to be their icon, the strategy was brilliant.

“Chennai could also bid for the biggest players, and successfully (topper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for example), because they too didn’t have an icon... Clearly, much thought went into the entire process,” pointed out somebody else associated with the IPL.

The team names are also being chosen smartly. For example Bangalore, bought by tycoon Vijay Mallya, is being called the Royal Challengers.

One needn’t guess why.