The Great Game Called Cricket...

I must confess I am enjoying being a little part of a quiet new revolution in the world of cricket; of being in this wonderful and disarming global village. The Airtel Champions League T20 is an idea that is finding its feet and if you measure its success by the quality of cricket and the opportunity it is giving to the players, who were otherwise confined to narrower worlds, it has already worked. Admittedly, there are other tools to measure success and the more crucial ones are whether enough people are coming to the ground or watching at home. You can be sure those issues will be addressed because there are large investments at stake, but purely from a cricketing point of view I am excited.

There is now life beyond international cricket as we knew it and for that alone we must rejoice. There are few things that stir people's emotions more than nation versus nation contests, and that will never change, but that is a smaller, more exalted world. Sport, an indeed any pursuit in life, must allow as many people as possible to display their ability, to parade their skills and a nation versus nation contest can be restrictive.

It could never, for example, allow you to experience the combination of disbelief and joy that we saw with Alfonso Thomas of Somerset. Not many people knew much about him, we knew that he was a cricketer, no more, but against the Deccan Chargers he kept his cool, took his side home and then produced one of the most wonderfully innocent and unrestrained exhibitions of happiness I have seen. "I can't believe what I've done," he gushed, and for that moment alone I thought the Airtel CL T20 was worth it. There are two ways of globalising a game. One is to allow as many countries as possible to play it and the ICC is, very quietly, doing a very nice job. The other is to allow as many players as possible a stage on which to perform. This is what I hope the Airtel CL T20, and in the course of time all the feeder tournaments, will do.

Somerset didn't have as good a game when they played Trinidad and Tobago but I enjoyed that game just as much. Trinidad were better than the West Indies team I have seen in recent times and it showed us that Samuel Badree and Sherwin Ganga, to name just two, can play good cricket. Out of the anonymity, and the mess, that is West Indies cricket, here is a team that can play together and dream of a big prize. Our game will grow and will embrace many more on this world stage and that can only be good for its health.

I see only a couple of problem areas ahead. The first is the bond that must be created between a player and his audience. And for that to happen, a player cannot, quite literally, wear different caps. I was on air when Ross Taylor came out to bat for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Otago Volts and in spite of having seen a bit of cricket recently, I was taken aback by the spontaneity and the intensity of the welcome he received. Now should his team in New Zealand qualify for this tournament next year, he cannot walk out at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in different colours. I know these are early days but that would be cheating the fans and their affection. The Champions League and the IPL will grow on the deep connect that exists between a fan and a sportsman. We need to nurture and respect that connect because the league does not exist without the fan.

The other concern is that far too much depends on the health of one nation's economy and the investment it is willing to make in a sport. If India grows tired of cricket, or if the fans feel let down, the entire structure will collapse. And that is why it is critical, in these good times for franchise-based cricket, to invest in building loyalty. In the next 3-5 years, franchises should have started becoming global brands. Then everybody will get the confidence to invest more in franchises around the world, which in turn will lead to greater opportunity for players and more fun for fans.

But this is a good beginning. Now we only need to get more people in for non-home games. But that is for another day!