From bigstarcricket.com Jon Pierik The Indian Premier League has done a lot to mend relationships between warring players - Harbhajan Singh excluded. But don't expect any backward steps to be taken when they return to their national teams. While the likes of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist maintain they now have greater insight into life on the sub-continent after sharing a dressing room with one-time Indian rivals, you can bet that emotions will still bubble over in the next Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in October. Whatever alleged goodwill built up in the IPL will quickly be forgotten on those long, sweltering Indian afternoons when the Twenty20 circus will all be but a distant memory. Chris Gayle and Ricky Ponting were team-mates with the Kolkata Knight Riders, but expect Ponting to rediscover that Tasmanian Devil which resides within when the West Indies host the world champions this month. And Gayle, now the West Indies' skipper, will do whatever it takes to win the three-Test series. If that means having a verbal crack at Ponting, or re-igniting tensions with Michael Clarke which flared in the 2006 Champions Trophy tournament, then so be it. For that's what Test cricket is about. It's a tough, unforgiving and searching examination of mind and body. So let's not kid ourselves with all these touchy, feely emotions flowing from the IPL. Whatever spin is put on it, this Twenty20 circus is about business and money. There's no national or domestic pride at stake. Certainly not for the time being. Just a bucket-load of cash. Thankfully, that won't be the case when international cricket resumes. Tradition and ''doing it for your country'' will again be on the line. For most players, this is still what the game is truly about. Australian vice-captain Clarke and the man ready to replace Gilchrist behind the stumps, Brad Haddin, both ignored the opportunity for a short-term stint in the IPL to prepare for another hectic year in an increasingly cluttered Future Tours Program. Clarke used his time-off to become engaged to bikini model Lara Bingle and also spent time with his ill father, while Haddin was happy to freshen up and dabble in part-time television commentary of the IPL from an Australian studio. Both men, admittedly, are in strong financial positions outside of the game, so their decision to reject the lure of the IPL has to be digested with that in mind. But, in an age where the game has never appeared to be so awash with cash, their decisions were a refreshing change from the ''how much is in it for me'' mantra which pervades the game. It will also do the Australian dressing room some good. Where some players may have been a little envious of others who pocketed the easy IPL dollars, Haddin, Clarke and Mitchell Johnson have shown it's not the be-all and end-all. That may not be the case in nations such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand where national players are not as well rewarded. For those with a great memory, he was the man summoned to India to give Gilchrist a short break during the epic 2001 Test series. Haddin had a lot of improvement to make at that stage, particularly with the gloves, and now seven years later his time has arrived. Where all attention has recently been on the IPL, it will be with some relief that focus will again turn to the Test arena. Haddin will have his fair share of the spotlight as he must find a way of maintaining confidence and forging his own reputation amid unnecessary comparisons with his predecessor. Indeed, comparisons abound in the game right now. In particular, one question is on everyone's lips - can Test, one-day internationals and Twenty20 all prosper. For the IPL, the ICC and the likes of Haddin, there's much work to do. Jon Pierik is Cricket Correspondent for Australia newspaper The Herald-Sun Send in your comments on this column or any related topic to fans@bigstarcricket.com and see your feedback published © Copyright bigstarcricket.com |