Till about 6 months back, this question would have been irrelevant to cricket, however with the advent of the monied leagues in India, this is being asked of it - as it has been for many years of other competitive sport. While the tournament meanders to an end this weekend, the casualties of war are already being counted and from the initial estimate these skirmishes have accounted for two generals, both battle scarred veterans, of their respective sides - Sachin Tendulkar for India and Matthew Hayden for Australia. Luckily, the forthcoming international engagements for both the sides are against the weakest teams - Bangladesh and West Indies - of the international circuit, else the shrill cry from the media on the ill effects of the month and half long jamboree would have been vociferous. Already the national media in the two countries have their daggers drawn.

The Hindustan Times, reports on Sachin Tendulkar:

“Sachin Tendulkar has not yet recovered …” began the official statement that Indian cricket lovers most dread. At this point, we don’t quite know whether the statement could have been better worded or whether India’s greatest contemporary cricketer rushed his recovery process in his eagerness to play.

Whether Sachin, who returned to the Mumbai team in their 8th match was fully fit when he returned to active duty, is a question we won’t easily have an answer to. If he was not fully fit — and Tendulkar, who has played 18 years of cricket at the highest level, has found it more and more difficult to avoid niggles as age catches up — then he should never have chanced playing in the IPL.

But people are already asking if the urgency to return to playing for Mumbai, who started badly, is the first instance of an Indian player putting such a premium on playing for his IPL team that it affected his chances of playing for his country (even if inadvertently).

while Herald Sun, does the honours for Matthew Hayden:

A Twenty20 tournament that may have transformed player payments, and be all the rage in India, but one that very few people are talking about in Australia. A tournament that, here at least, no one really cares who wins. Even the most ardent of cricket supporters would struggle to name the four semi-finalists, let alone know that West Australian Shaun Marsh is the leading run-scorer.

CA had little choice but to appease the almighty Board of Control for Cricket in India and allow its superstars to take part - albeit briefly - in the IPL. The fallout of not giving approval would have been horrendous at all levels.  Australia’s Test players wanted their cut at any cost, even though they were to receive only a portion of their bidding prices because of international commitments.  That “cost” has now hit as hard as rising petrol prices.

Hayden complained of the injury at the team’s pre-tour camp earlier this month, but it’s understood the problem is more the result of wear and tear than a sudden setback. Clearly, the four matches he played for Chennai, scoring 189 runs at 63 off 131 balls, were enough to do some damage and effectively stop the champion opening batsman from fulfilling his contractual obligations to his primary employer, CA.  That may be business jargon but, as one CA official said yesterday, “cricket isn’t just a sport any more”.

“And who is to say this won’t happen again? This could become a major problem,” he added.

Hayden remains one of the top five-ranked CA players, and would earn about $1 million a year in base payments, match fees and prizemoney. Australian coach Tim Nielsen gave cautious approval to allowing his leading men to take part in an IPL tournament that requires plenty of high-stress activity for a 36-year-old such as Hayden, when batting and in the field.

It’s a move that has backfired - badly.

While this all sounds prim and proper, I wonder what the reaction have been had the same players injured themselves playing county cricket in England? 

First Posted at Prem Panicker's on May 30, 2008.