Snubbed and hurt
So it is quite understandable that the veteran of 15 seasons with Mumbai, Amol Muzumdar, who has scored almost 10,000 runs for his city, is quite disappointed that he doesn’t qualify as a Mumbai Indian. The Ranji skipper says: “It hurts to be sidelined when you have given your best to the city for so long playing domestic cricket. When it is time to get recognition and money, I am not part of it. But that’s the way it is,” says the Ranji skipper.
There are many who say that with a number of players from the city — some even without any first class experience — signed for IPL, Muzumdar’s reputation as a leader might suffer in the coming season. But the Mumbai skipper dismisses those talks. “I have always tried and developed an attitude in my team where seniors and juniors don’t matter. We all play to win. So I don’t think an awkward situation will arise. From my side I will still give my best and demand that from my team mates. I don’t how they will look at me,” he says.
If Muzumdar is hurt, Delhi speedster Amit Bhandari is shocked about not making it to his city franchise. “Seriously, I am not able to understand why I haven’t been asked to join. I am only 29, definitely not too old, and my economy rate and wickets speak for themselves. I have 311 wickets in just 94 matches. Tell me how many would have these statistics? I think that after all this, I surely deserve at least a year’s contract. Is that too much to demand? I haven’t yet reconciled to the fact that I will not be a part of the IPL,” he says. “What pains even more is that some players who are not even a regular part of their state sides have been signed up.”
But it seems there is no place for such sentiments in this market-driven league. The men responsible for recruiting domestic cricketers in IPL teams choose to remain tight-lipped on the issue. They confess privately that this is business for them and domestic cricketers don’t sell. “See, it is simple. Our first priority was to take the big names in Indian cricket, followed by international stars. After that we got the junior World Cup-winning boys. Beyond that it doesn’t matter,” says a franchise point-man with a Jerry McGuire tone.
But even within the BCCI there are a few voices that are concerned about the cold shoulder to the senior domestic cricketers. Anurag Thakur, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association president and former junior selector, says he is shocked to see many deserving players being ignored. “I think the IPL needs to be more considerate towards the interests of the Indian players. I think the focus on juniors is great but at the same time, we can’t ignore what the seniors have done,” he says.

... contd.