The World Test Championship (WTC) final a few hours away, India to take on England in a hugely anticipated series and yet, the news of Nicholas Pooran and Heinrich Klaasen retiring from internationals is also making headlines. Who cares if they don’t play for their countries? Pooran of the West Indies never played a Test and Klaasen the South African played four. Do they even count?
They do and impose themselves massively in cricket’s marketing arena. Both are huge names in white-ball cricket and top draws in the franchise leagues across the tiny cricket globe. They command millions in remunerations, ply their trade in the T20s, T10s, 100s and what not, where tickets are sold because of them. Post recession and pandemic, fans pay to watch them. They provide the entertainment at the end of a daunting day at work.
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It’s not a surprise and neither are they first ones to choose this path. The late Andrew Symonds decided against playing for Australia, Sunil Narine seldom represented the West Indies and AB de Villiers quit playing for South Africa at his prime and switched solely to the slam-bang, evening entertainment industry. Pooran and Klaasen are the latest additions to the list. There will be more. Not in India, but wherever cricket is not the primary sport, this is inevitable.
It gives them daily bread and butter of course. Even in countries where the cricket establishments are not as influential as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), cricketers make a living. The point now is, they want more. And they deserve it because what they provide others cannot. Nobody can smash as many sixes from impossible postures as Pooran or turn a defeat into conquest like Klaasen. They are proven show-stoppers. And that is why they prioritise what they want.
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Playing for the national team, by average estimates, requires a minimum level of commitment. This includes dedication, faith towards maintaining fitness and doing the back-breaking exercises every day come what may. The pay is not as rewarding as in the franchise leagues where you slog for eight weeks and not do a tremendous amount of work for the rest of the year. Of course it requires attention, but it is not as intense as it is when it comes to playing for the whole year.
The franchise leagues are the perfect destinations for these super-talents like Pooran, Klaasen and others. Don’t forget. They can afford to shut one direction out and move towards another because they are sought after. They possess supreme abilities, which could have enriched international cricket. Their departure makes them richer and some poor fans poorer. Cricket in Modern Times!
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