By bringing the world’s top players to India at unprecedented salaries (one Australian player was auctioned to his new team for $1.4 million, more than most cricketers previously earned in a lifetime), and by spicing up the game through such innovations as American cheerleaders, the IPL is transforming the sport. When the traditional English cricket season opened in April, as it has for the last couple of centuries, seasoned British journalists ruefully reported that while the players and officials were dutifully present, their minds were far away, following the fortunes of the lucrative league in India.