Brendan Taylor and the Kolpak rule: Not just Zimbabwe’s loss

Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Boyd Rankin, and others made the switch from playing for their home nations.

By Baiju Joseph

Watching Brendan Taylor bat gives us immense joy. Being from one of the minnow nations playing cricket, the brand of cricket he plays brings us belief that cricket is thriving and has good outreach. But his decision to go Kolpak comes as a shock to the cricket fans world over, as this would probably be the last we see of him. It’s unfortunate that Zimbabwe is losing another of its star performers just when they were beginning to muster enough international experience after their long self-inflicted sabbatical from Test cricket. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Boyd Rankin, and others are just a few names from recent cricketing history that made that switch and made it big in their adopted nations. Though this system brings individual windfalls and a bigger audience, it deprives their mother nations the opportunity to compete at the international level, especially when the said person has played international cricket for them for a considerable amount of time. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

The absence of Taylor — who was Zimbabwe’s best batsman, wicket keeper and Test captain — will deprive them of at least two or three years of progress, where they would now have to seek out an able replacement from their desolate domestic system, invest on the prodigy and hope that he does not turn Kolpak as his predecessor. Sadly no such restrictions can be put on the future cricketers as the money part will always remain a problem in a country like Zimbabwe which has been facing a chronic economic crisis. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Now there are three things a professional cricketer desires: opportunity, recognition, and money. Unfortunately the lower ranked teams can afford none of these, thus forcing players to represent alien clubs, counties, or nations where all the three are available. Till the time the system generates enough resources to retain players, the lure of money and recognition will keep depriving such countries of priceless talent. This will again deepen the economic and talent divide among the cricketing nations, resulting in more bias and a dwindling fan base world over. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Pool-wise Team Standings

If cricket has to develop into a top sport then its minnows need to be empowered, such that they can at least retain their respective talent pools. Countries like Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh still produce quality players even with the limited resources at their disposal. With such huge amount of money being generated, the ICC can at least allocate a decent sum for the development of these fringe nations. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

It can start by giving Test status to countries like Afghanistan and Ireland. Secondly clubbing of tours can also benefit these nations. Afghanistan plays most of their international cricket in UAE, as does Pakistan. Ireland has sufficient resources to host their own cricket and is just a few hours air travel from most cricketing venues in England. Similarly Zimbabwe has a geographical closeness with South Africa.

Teams touring UAE, England, and South Africa could perhaps play a Test and two ODIs each for these minnows before they take on the bigger nations. Also this arrangement need not be a permanent fixture because if this model is implemented for a single FTP period, I am sure that these nations will have enough money and resources to call in international tours on their own. Plus it will give a big push to the cricket in these countries, inducing a stronger domestic structure, which can hence produce a competitive group of cricketers over a period of time. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS

If this takes off, it will truly go a long way in globalizing cricket and turn in a bigger audience for bilateral and multinational events. A bigger audience results in improving fan base and attracting more and more non cricketing nations towards it. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE

It’s time the ICC gives a serious thought about its priorities. As a governing body finance is of utmost importance. However the finances can only stay as long as the game is healthy and has an evolving fan base. And we need a lot of nations to play cricket for that. With issues like talent drain, I am not confident that such a future awaits and I fear for the day when only a few teams get to play, and cricket would hence reach a stage of oversaturation, which would result in a drastic decrease and ultimately the death of this lovely game. For the sake of cricket, let’s hope no more Taylors have to make the decision to leave their own country to play elsewhere. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage

(Baiju Joseph is a Bangalore-based Junior Scientist at a Bio-Informatics firm who is deeply passionate about cricket and likes to bowl fast whenever he gets an opportunity to ply his cricketing skills)

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