Regular readers of this blog will know that many of the contributors are passionate cricket fans. (For our American readers, that’s the mysterious game that, in its purest form lasts five days and can end in an exciting draw!) Our fanaticism for the game is shared by at least 1 billion Indians. The world’s largest democracy has just had an unprecedented auction for international cricket stars, for the newly formed Indian Professional League. In the league, a number of Indian provincial teams get to “buy” international super stars to play with them. Each team can only have a maximum of 4 of these stars on the field at any time. They must also have four players under the age of 22 from India in the teams. The rest of the team is Indian. The bids in the auction will be paid to the player as a salary (I think I saw correctly that the Indian players in each team will be paid the same as the top paid international super star in their team). The contract is for three years.

Nice idea. It’s for 20-20 cricket, so will be a great spectacle too. I can’t wait.

But, the really fun thing has been to see how the Indian teams have used their (unbelievable) amounts of cash, and who they have valued. Regular readers of my cricket musings will no doubt understand that I am baffled (and even appalled) that Jacques Kallis is the highest paid South Africa. He will make $ 900,000 each year for the next 3 years! Good for him. But I think that finally there will be a world stage that shows he is not cut out for short versions of the game, and his team will regret their signing!

Let’s leave that issue alone for now, though, because the point of this blog entry is to comment on Ricky Ponting’s ludicrously low auction bid. He will only get $ 400,000 a year. OK, it’s still better than a slap in the face with a wet fish, but it isn’t anywhere near what his form and on field talent deserve.

The only explanation is that the Indians are punishing Ponting for his attitude in the recent Indian-Australia test series. Under Ponting’s leadership, the Australians have become (even more) brash, arrogant and bad sportmen. There are a few individual exceptions (Gilchrist’s insistence on walking, and Lee’s praise of opposition players are good examples), but in general the current Aussie cricket team is an unsavoury crowd who are bringing the game into disrepute. And worst of all, they don’t seem to have a clue that they are doing so! Ponting, as the mouthpiece of the team has (maybe unfairly) been targeted by Indian cricket fans as the major cause of Australia’s ugly attitude, and now they have hit him in his pocket.

The lesson for talented people everywhere - your technical skill and ability is only part of what makes you attractive to a potential employer. Your attitude, ability to get on with others in a diverse workplace and the atmosphere you create around you are all also critical factors to your long term success. Talented people need to spend as much working on the “soft” stuff in their repertoire as they do on the “hard” skills and abilities that got them noticed in the first place. Eventually, the market WILL decide!

(By the way, I wonder how long it will be before a trading market opens up for talented professionals.)