When Brett Lee looks back at the Indian Premier League auction in 10 years he will judge it as a “massive landmark” that changed the game. Lee was picked up by the Mohali franchise for US$900,000 during the bidding and is looking forward to “having a bit of fun” whenever he has a chance to appear in the tournament. While Lee, whose participation depends on the tour of Pakistan, is convinced of the importance of the competition, he does not believe it will usurp the game’s traditional format. “It’s completely different from Test cricket, it’s completely different from one-day cricket,” Lee said in the Daily Telegraph.

“I’ve always enjoyed putting the baggy green cap on and I’ve loved playing one-day cricket, but since Twenty20 cricket has come in it’s been pretty exciting. To me we take it serious and enjoy it, but it’s also having a bit of fun.”

The auction of players, which was held in Mumbai on Wednesday, was approved by Lee. “It’s definitely history,” Lee said. “If we look back in 10 years this is going to be a massive landmark in cricket I think. It’s a bit like when the World Series started.”

Matthew Hayden, who was picked up by Chennai for $375,000, said the players were excited to be part of an event that would “ignite cricket”. “I get the feeling that the IPL and other Twenty20 competitions will lead to significant changes in cricket, not dissimilar to the way Super 14s has moved rugby forward,” Hayden told the Australian.

“This is going to have significant implications in the way cricket will be viewed and played. If I was a consumer of the game I’d want to go and see it because it’s bloody exciting. It’s still got all the skills. When players start to really get amongst this game and start specifically training for it, it can only get better.”

SOURCE : CRIC INFO