The global economic meltdown and last years terror attack in Mumbai has left this famous tourist destination reeling from the losses it suffered during a forgettable tourist season that is on its last legs. The shack owners,like their beach-front property,have an empty look on their faces and the five-stars are not embarrassed to woo budget tourists by slashing their rates. But even in these days of slowdown,it was tough to keep a count of the number of times Lalit Modi uttered the words million dollars in Goa on Thursday. As Indian Premier League commissioner Modi rattled off figures with multiple zeroes and spoke about the 25 per cent increase in budget for the season,he tried to convey that the city-based tournament was immune to the global financial scenario. IPL is recession free, was his proclamation on the eve of an auction in which the eight franchises will have $13.5 million to spend on the 50 available players. But the day didnt have a promising start,with the news trickling in that Australian all-rounder Michael Clarke who had a reserve price of $1 million was pulling out of the auction race. Explaining the reasons behind the sudden development,Modi said that no franchise was ready to spend so much money on him. The IPLs efforts to convince the Aussie player to lower his initial price were wasted, he said,before hastily dismissing questions that it meant there was reluctance among the owners to buy big-ticket players. Optimistic mood As representatives of the owners started pouring in for the auction,the same mood of optimism was evident among them. Its not that people are not willing to spend a million but they dont want to spend on Clarke, said one franchise representative. With him out,the bidding to buy the England stars Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen will become more intense. After last season,people have become smarter. Asked about cost-cutting measures,TA Sekar of the Delhi Daredevils said things werent really so bad. It is different for everyone,but for our franchise its not an issue, he said. It remains to be seen if the teams will be forced to cut corners in other spending as the IPLs second season will get closer. A day before the players go under the hammer,England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff who has a base price of $9,50,000 was proving to be the MVP. Though Kevin Pietersen is the player with the highest reserve price of $1.35 million,There are chances that a few franchises will try to spend their entire kitty on Flintoff, said a representative. If the indications are anything to go by,the auction will start with the teams preferring to buy Flintoff as the first choice,and then going for Pietersen. The third and fourth names on the shopping list appear to be South African JP Duminy and England batsman Owais Shah. After this,there is likely to be a scramble to sign a paceman since most of the teams are desperate for new-ball bowlers,especially with players such as Umar Gul,Shoaib Akhtar,Shaun Pollock and Sohail Tanvir out for the next season. The deep pockets have arrived with shopping on their minds,but not of the variety that wouldve helped the tourist destination this winter.
