In 1977, when he announced the breakaway cricket league, the Australian TV moghul Kerry Packer did not only play havoc with the existing international cricket order, he also made a super selector of sorts out of me.
All of 13-years old then, I used to doodle in my notebooks names of international players who squared off in dream teams selected entirely by me. I made the teams as balanced and evenly matched as I could, in the hope that they could produce rousing contests.
I thought ahead of Packer. For me there were no national boundaries, issues like Apartheid took a backseat as the lost generation of South Africa's golden greats -- Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Mike Procter and Garth Le Roux -- were part of my teams.
Thus, Sunil Gavaskar and Gordon Grenidge opened for one side, and Barry Richards and Des Haynes opened for the rivals. One team had Viv Richards in the middle order, the rivals had Greg Chappell. One was skippered by Clive Lloyd, the opposing team was led by Ian Chappell. Team A had David Gower, so Team B had to have Graeme Pollock.
And then there were the mouthwatering all-round talents of Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev to choose from. Dennis Lillee led one side's pace attack, the opponents relied on the liquid pace of Michael Holding.
Oh if only they had played against each other. What amazing contests they would have been, between sides selected on the basis of cricketing merit alone.
I am no longer 13, nor do I doodle names of cricketers any more. But my adolescent dream is about to come true, in a rather dramatic way. Next month on, world's best cricketers would take part in what promises to be the most glamorous cricket league in the world.
The big names have been gobbled up. But the eight teams in the fray still have to opt for their mandatory four under-19 signings, also choose players from their catchment areas.
Following the players' auction, the most powerful sides to me appear to be Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh and Kolkata.
Hyderabad is led by the charismatic VVS Laxman. Ironically the man so regularly overlooked for the shorter version of the game by India, would now lead a side of powerpacked hitters like Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs. Add the Kiwi Scott Styris and Laxman himself, and the young Indian tyro Rohit Sharma to that mix, and you have the most explosive batting line-up in the inaugural IPL.
The Hyderabad side would excel in the field too with the likes of Symonds, Gibbs and Afrid being rated among the best fielders in the world. Compared to batting and fielding, the side looks a wee bit short in bowling riches. Among the big names is only the old pro Chaminda Vaas.
Another IPL side that looks impressive is the Chanigarh side led by the mercurial Yuvraj Singh. The side has signed on the redoubtable Sri Lankan duo of Kumar Sanghakara and Mahela Jayawardane, apart from West Indian Ram Naresh Sarwan and Australian Simon Katich. Though overlooked by his national side, Katich has been in prime form in domestic cricket in Australia.
The bowling too looks rather impressive in the form of the classy Brett Lee, all-rounder Irfan Pathan and S Sreesanth. Romesh Powar and the young leggie Piyush Chawla provide the spinning options.
As powerful a side as any in the IPL is the Chennai team with the iconic MS Dhoni leading a team that can rely on the firepower of the big Matt Hayden and Jacob Oram, apart from the stylish Stephen Flemming, and the equally classy Mike Hussey. It is backed by the bighitting option of South African Albie Morkel and the homegrown talents of lefthander Suresh Raina and keeper Parthiv Patel.
Also in the Chennai ranks is a gent answering to the name of Muttiah Muralitharan. Makhaya Ntini is the premier fast bowling option, then there is the utility player, Joginder Sharma who did his reputation no harm in the T20 World Cup in South Africa.
The Kolkata squad has roped in John Buchanan as their high profile coach. The big question is can Buchanan turn the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Shoaib Akhtar into sprightly fielders. In a game that is as much about fitness as about cricketing skills, it remains to be seen how well players like Ganguly and Shoaib adapt to the new format.
The side's batting looks impressive with Ganguly, Australian captain Ricky Ponting, the explosive Windies opener Chris Gayle, the fiery Kiwi wicketkeeper batsman, Brandon McCullum and Australian David Hussey. A possible opening batting combination of Gayle and McCullum is a mouthwatering prospect.
Indian speedster Ishant Sharma, so impressive in Australia, would lead the bowling with senior pro Ajit Agarkar. An important signing is Umar Gul, who was the pick of the bowlers in South Africa during the T20 World Cup.
If the players' auction that took place in Mumbai yesterday is anything to go by, one thing is certain we are in for interesting times. That Mahedra Singh Dhoni, one of the finest one-day cricketers of our generation and the skipper of the inuaugural T20 World Championship winning side, would be the most sought after and thus most expensive player in the auction of international players for the Indian Players' League came as no surprise to anyone.
But some signing amounts did raise a few eyebrows. Dinesh Karthick commanding a higher price than Ricky Ponting, or Ishant Sharma (the young lad is very good, mind you) selling as the most expensive bowler in international cricket is a bit of a much, if you ask moi.
Needless to say, the inaugural edition of the Indian Players' League is going to be more about hype than about substance. And the players' auction, despite the megabucks and some hardnosed businessmen involved, was part of that hype. Not all signings made business sense or cricketing logic.
One hopes though once the tournament starts and the focus is back on cricket, sanity will return to the proceedings. And you can bet, before the next season begins, the wheat would have been separated from the chaff and the bidders would have realized the merits of choosing a Michael Hussey over a Manoj Tewary.
As for me, I have got myself a box seat in front of my television set, poured two perfectly shaped ice cubes in my Smirnoff, and am waiting for my first look at a scorecard that could very well read :
CHRIS GAYLE caught KUMAR SANGHAKARA bowled BRETT LEE
All of 13-years old then, I used to doodle in my notebooks names of international players who squared off in dream teams selected entirely by me. I made the teams as balanced and evenly matched as I could, in the hope that they could produce rousing contests.
I thought ahead of Packer. For me there were no national boundaries, issues like Apartheid took a backseat as the lost generation of South Africa's golden greats -- Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Mike Procter and Garth Le Roux -- were part of my teams.
Thus, Sunil Gavaskar and Gordon Grenidge opened for one side, and Barry Richards and Des Haynes opened for the rivals. One team had Viv Richards in the middle order, the rivals had Greg Chappell. One was skippered by Clive Lloyd, the opposing team was led by Ian Chappell. Team A had David Gower, so Team B had to have Graeme Pollock.
And then there were the mouthwatering all-round talents of Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev to choose from. Dennis Lillee led one side's pace attack, the opponents relied on the liquid pace of Michael Holding.
Oh if only they had played against each other. What amazing contests they would have been, between sides selected on the basis of cricketing merit alone.
I am no longer 13, nor do I doodle names of cricketers any more. But my adolescent dream is about to come true, in a rather dramatic way. Next month on, world's best cricketers would take part in what promises to be the most glamorous cricket league in the world.
The big names have been gobbled up. But the eight teams in the fray still have to opt for their mandatory four under-19 signings, also choose players from their catchment areas.
Following the players' auction, the most powerful sides to me appear to be Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh and Kolkata.
Hyderabad is led by the charismatic VVS Laxman. Ironically the man so regularly overlooked for the shorter version of the game by India, would now lead a side of powerpacked hitters like Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs. Add the Kiwi Scott Styris and Laxman himself, and the young Indian tyro Rohit Sharma to that mix, and you have the most explosive batting line-up in the inaugural IPL.
The Hyderabad side would excel in the field too with the likes of Symonds, Gibbs and Afrid being rated among the best fielders in the world. Compared to batting and fielding, the side looks a wee bit short in bowling riches. Among the big names is only the old pro Chaminda Vaas.
Another IPL side that looks impressive is the Chanigarh side led by the mercurial Yuvraj Singh. The side has signed on the redoubtable Sri Lankan duo of Kumar Sanghakara and Mahela Jayawardane, apart from West Indian Ram Naresh Sarwan and Australian Simon Katich. Though overlooked by his national side, Katich has been in prime form in domestic cricket in Australia.
The bowling too looks rather impressive in the form of the classy Brett Lee, all-rounder Irfan Pathan and S Sreesanth. Romesh Powar and the young leggie Piyush Chawla provide the spinning options.
As powerful a side as any in the IPL is the Chennai team with the iconic MS Dhoni leading a team that can rely on the firepower of the big Matt Hayden and Jacob Oram, apart from the stylish Stephen Flemming, and the equally classy Mike Hussey. It is backed by the bighitting option of South African Albie Morkel and the homegrown talents of lefthander Suresh Raina and keeper Parthiv Patel.
Also in the Chennai ranks is a gent answering to the name of Muttiah Muralitharan. Makhaya Ntini is the premier fast bowling option, then there is the utility player, Joginder Sharma who did his reputation no harm in the T20 World Cup in South Africa.
The Kolkata squad has roped in John Buchanan as their high profile coach. The big question is can Buchanan turn the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Shoaib Akhtar into sprightly fielders. In a game that is as much about fitness as about cricketing skills, it remains to be seen how well players like Ganguly and Shoaib adapt to the new format.
The side's batting looks impressive with Ganguly, Australian captain Ricky Ponting, the explosive Windies opener Chris Gayle, the fiery Kiwi wicketkeeper batsman, Brandon McCullum and Australian David Hussey. A possible opening batting combination of Gayle and McCullum is a mouthwatering prospect.
Indian speedster Ishant Sharma, so impressive in Australia, would lead the bowling with senior pro Ajit Agarkar. An important signing is Umar Gul, who was the pick of the bowlers in South Africa during the T20 World Cup.
If the players' auction that took place in Mumbai yesterday is anything to go by, one thing is certain we are in for interesting times. That Mahedra Singh Dhoni, one of the finest one-day cricketers of our generation and the skipper of the inuaugural T20 World Championship winning side, would be the most sought after and thus most expensive player in the auction of international players for the Indian Players' League came as no surprise to anyone.
But some signing amounts did raise a few eyebrows. Dinesh Karthick commanding a higher price than Ricky Ponting, or Ishant Sharma (the young lad is very good, mind you) selling as the most expensive bowler in international cricket is a bit of a much, if you ask moi.
Needless to say, the inaugural edition of the Indian Players' League is going to be more about hype than about substance. And the players' auction, despite the megabucks and some hardnosed businessmen involved, was part of that hype. Not all signings made business sense or cricketing logic.
One hopes though once the tournament starts and the focus is back on cricket, sanity will return to the proceedings. And you can bet, before the next season begins, the wheat would have been separated from the chaff and the bidders would have realized the merits of choosing a Michael Hussey over a Manoj Tewary.
As for me, I have got myself a box seat in front of my television set, poured two perfectly shaped ice cubes in my Smirnoff, and am waiting for my first look at a scorecard that could very well read :
CHRIS GAYLE caught KUMAR SANGHAKARA bowled BRETT LEE
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