'Aussie fans missing IPL'

Mumbai: The Aussie influence on the Indian Premier League (IPL) cannot be denied. The two front-runners for the Player of the Tournament award in the inaugural season were from Australia. However it appears like Cricket Australia (CA) is trying its best to keep some of its young, promising stars away from the lucrative league.

‘Keep them out of IPL’ seems to be the agenda. Eyebrows, filled with extreme dislike for India’s money spinning affair, were raised when the Australian media started to blame the IPL for the downfall of Queensland superstars Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden.

One glance at the current Australian set-up, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle and Phillip Hughes are tipped to carry the legacy forward. Ironically it is these talented players who have voluntarily pulled out of the event.

Having ditched cricket’s greatest sensation ever for a second year in a row, stand-in captain Clarke on Sunday said "All of us are very happy to be playing Pakistan.” He was, very obviously, pointing out that his players aren’t missing the' party in South Africa.

However former Australia fast bowler Damien Fleming plays down this assumption, saying that Cricket Australia is highly supportive of the IPL.

“Clarke and Johnson pulling out is solely a personal choice. Johnson is the future of Australian cricket and wants to ensure that he stays out of injuries and remains fit for the Ashes and the World Twenty20 in England,” Fleming tells cricketnirvana.com

Fleming reckons it would become a little harder to keep the Aussies out of IPL in season 3, since the league would have grown bigger, more popular and truly a world class event.

“At the moment the Australian public is still happy to cheer for the national team playing in Pakistan. However there is a section of the audience that loves Twenty20 cricket beyond any other format and are surely missing their players from the event.”

The Aussie fans are still cheering for individuals more than teams, which has affected the league’s popularity to a certain extent, Fleming says. “Currently they don’t have one particular team to support. They are supporting individuals. However during the Champions League they will find Victoria and Queensland to cheer for.”

“In the contrary, there will be a point when the IPL grows to such an extent here (in Australia) that the fans won’t look at it as ‘Indian’ Premier League but just a world class Twenty20 event which is not just for Indians. That day is not far away,” he concedes.

Fleming echoed fellow Victorian Shane Warne’s request to the ICC to create a window for the Twenty20 event staged by the BCCI.

“I want to see a calendar for the event. The best players should be available which will in turn get good crowds and there must be good payments for the players. Cricketers are professionals these days and IPL can transcend them to the next level.”

So is there a conspiracy after all? Are Australian authorities keeping players out?

"To some extent there is a feeling that young players may get lured by all the big bucks. But the system in Australia is good enough to take care of all that. Country always comes first."

“The IPL is so new and we are still forming opinions about the event. Besides, the league is not as popular in Australia when compared with other nations. Having said that, it is the future of cricket and cannot be kept away in the near future,” Fleming said to sign off.