KEY POINTS:
Cricket's version of the Karaka Yearling Sales takes place on Wednesday when the Indian Premier League's (IPL) player auction begins in Mumbai. Back here, debate still rages as to whether this ushers in a brave new world, or if it is the thin edge of a destructive wedge.
At the same time as the auction, International Cricket Council member nations' chief executives will meet in Malaysia to set a schedule. Top of the agenda will be a 'window' in the international calendar for the IPL.
"There are pros and cons," Justin Vaughan, New Zealand's representative, told the Herald on Sunday. "We want our best players available for all forms of the game and we want them to have opportunities outside of the international game to play in the likes of the IPL."
A four-week window would most likely take out April but Vaughan could see that as a big issue for the West Indies and England whose seasons are underway.
Heath Mills, boss of the Players' Association, sees it as a big issue for all member countries. "This is the thin end of a very big wedge.
"We already have a packed international schedule, so where is the room? Do we decrease the amount of international cricket? If so, I have a huge concern over that because that is where we gather most of our revenue from."
Mills argues that a window for the IPL will benefit nobody except the BCCI, India's controlling body. "Already the IPL has generated something like $2 billion revenue through sponsorship, broadcasting and third-party investment. We don't see a single cent of that money."
More than 80 international players will feature in the auction. Each of the eight franchises has a cap of US$5m ($6.4m) for foreign players.
The inaugural 44-day IPL starts on April 18 encompassing 59 games across eight cities.
The IPL has been officially endorsed by the ICC but players cannot compete if there is a clash with international duties.
"I'm confident that it won't expand further," Vaughan said. "Also if we still get as many opportunities within the FTP [Future Tours Programme] to play international cricket then you could see some potential benefits to a window. But a lot of detail needs to be worked through."
Vaughan's premise that the IPL won't expand could be seen as wishful thinking going by quotes attributed to IPL co-founder, Inderjit Singh Bindra. He was reported as saying: "After three years, we will be adding teams." He expected the IPL eventually to double.
Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, insisted the FTP would remain the paramount document.
"The IPL is here to stay and I am sure it is in everyone's interest that it carves its own place. That does not mean we will play less bilateral cricket. We will all continue to fulfil our commitments to the Future Tours Programme [which is] the most important for all countries and most definitely for the BCCI."
Mills remains a sceptic.
"We have the IPL, the ICL and the Stanford competitions with all this money coming into the game. These might become the aspirational pathway for our young cricketers and that has to be a real concern."
The IPL has tried to work around that with a woolly-titled 'No-Objection Certificate'. This essentially means a player cannot be signed until he has been retired for two years, unless cleared by his board.
Stephen Fleming and Scott Styris have been cleared and it is difficult to see how a board could prevent a retired player from seeking earnings without facing prosecution for restraint of trade.
One thing is for certain: Twenty20 is not the flash in the pan many critics predicted. More likely it will become the game's great revenue earner as one-day cricket has been for the past 20 years.
"To me, possibly the best way of controlling it is to get a prescribed window and you don't move out of that window," Vaughan said.
It's a window critics worry will keep expanding. Remember, it was mooted that Australia, South Africa and England run similar Twenty20 leagues - New Zealand would play in the Australian league - with a Champions League-type tournament in October.
"There's a lot of big words and a lot of big numbers being thrown around but we still haven't seen if people like it," Vaughan said. "The IPL is still untested."
