NEW DELHI, APRIL 5: On the surface of it the news that Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble will not be available to play for their state, Karnataka, in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals, should not cause any ripples. What is new about Indian stars not playing in domestic cricket. India's international commitments have seen to it that our stars don't get the time to play for their state teams. Today the focus, because of India's embarrassing performance of the past few months, has changed a bit and a lot of people are now saying we should improve our domestic structure and prepare our international calendar in such a manner that all the top players get the time to play in Ranji and Duleep Trophy matches.In Dravid and Kumble's case things are a bit different. India have no international engagement when Karnataka play Hyderabad from April 11 and for the two super stars of Indian team to not play the match but instead opt to play in England in that nations domestic cricket sounds crass opportunism. A clear case of the lure of money overriding all factors of loyalty to the state and Indian cricket.Their and Indian captain Saurav Ganguly's playing in County Cricket also shows these players in somewhat mixed shades: On the one hand the players are complaining of overdose of cricket and on the other hand a few of them chose to play hard professional cricket at a time when they can rest and nurse their bruised and aching limbs.From the players' point of view, any money to be made - the contracts from counties must be good - is welcome, and in the profit-driven world playing for teams which offer mullah in return is any day better than playing for a side the association with whom would be of only `sentimental' value in the absence of any monetary gains.It becomes imperative here that the Board steps in and lays down some ground rules to be strictly followed. But unfortunately, the Board itself has no `moral' authority to take hard decisions. The players can get up and say: When it suits the Board and their money-making ways, they make us play day in and day out. That time they are not bothered about domestic cricket. When some of us get the chance to make more money - may be even fulfill a dream of playing in England county circuit - why should they stop us from doing that.In this vicious circle of arguments nobody can be a winner. When the hand that rules is also the hand that gets `electrified' only at the touch of money, why blame the players alone.
