What is a league system:
Before discussing why India needs a league system in cricket and hockey (though hockey already got the remarkable PHL), I will try to lay down the hallmarks of a typical European and American league system.
A league system comprises of multiple independently owned teams. The teams are based in certain cities with the majority of the following being among the city population and surrounding regions. That lends a regional character to a team which in turn translates to a tense and competitive atmosphere on the field. The teams are allowed to hire players for a minimum lease period (typically 5 years). The teams in the league play each other very frequently throughtout the season. On weekdays, the games are always played during the evenings. On weekends, games may be played during the day or the evenings. The system doesn’t reward mediocrity or “high statistics only” play. Every team is very focused to win. Players cannot afford to play for their individual records. It is survival of the fittest. Club owners wouldn’t care to look at a Harbhajan (mediocrity) or a Tendulkar (“high statistics only”) ; they will surely hire a few match winners like Robin Singh though. The “TeamIndia” Tendulkar rests on cult of hero worship in India, sycophant Board officials and past records (in the absense of any objective selection system). With all fairness to Tendulkar fans, a Tendulkar playing in a league will not play like the one we have gotten accustomed to see. The “league” Tendulkar will have much more mental toughness in crunch situations. At the very least he will definitely not slow down in the 40′s and 90′s. So really it is not that Tendulkar is killing Tendulkar, it is “TeamIndia” (a haha term by the way because it is copied from TeamUSA in Basketball) that’s killing Tendulkar.
I have tried to address certain possible apprehensions that people may have about a league based system. Read on to the end of this post.

Why a league system is necessary in cricket and hockey and for that matter in any sport:
Indians are spending (read wasting or slaughtering) a lot of productive time watching cricket on TV. Living in America for few years I have realized a short evening game helps you to work efficienltly during the day while also build up excitement for the evening match. Everybody wins. Players play under cooler conditions. There is a chance for more frequent games, possibly every other day, which is a bonanza for fans and viewers. On the contrary, ODI cricket is a colossal productivity loss for a huge country like India. At the end of the day those suckers lose. In any event, it is an absurd idea that a billion people should watch 11 players. It definitey is vastly more absurd and abnormal than the idea of 50000 British ruling a country of 30 crores.

Here is what is happening in cricket right now:
Board (BCCI) has a stranglehold on cricket. Board is governed by few “Babus” who have no intellectual outlook, are brazenly shameless, are possibly totally corrupt, have no philosophical commitment to the sport, have no foresight, who know their subjects (cricket fans) do not know the real issues and therefore will keep exploiting the foolishness and ignorance of their subjects. Did I just describe a typical Indian politician. They are also protecting the existing one-day format of the game in the guise of protecting the tradition of the sport. What they are actually making sure is that control stays in their hands because a new popular format (like 20-20) might result in decentralization of the sport. Perfect example of a fox guarding a henhouse. Board officials know that if there is democracy in cricket adminstration, they will either lose complete access of huge sums of money (for which there is no accountablity right now) or that a national league will bring accountabillity and transperency to the central administrating body.

Why hockey is on right path and what is still afflicting it:
PHL is the most remarkable idea to come out of India in recent years. The new playing rules are perfectly tailored to promote ingenuity on the field as well as being an exciting proposition for the TV sponsors. For example, the new mandatory time out system (modeled on NBA and NFL) allows a coach to restrategise within the duration of the game. It also helps TV sponsors an assured time slot during the game. Unfortunately the idea is too intelligent for most of the people to understand.

Here is what can be done to rejuvenate hockey and give PHL a decisive thrust:
Much to hockey’s misfortune, the game has lost a foothold among the masses. I was shocked when on multiple occasions young people in India couldn’t tell how many players there are on a hockey field. Few things that IHF can do are: (1) Reintroduce Hockey in schools. Ofcourse that requires state and central government help. (2) A bigger corporate thrust is required. (3) Instead of only a few pre-selected teams, encourage independent city based clubs who can play in PHL if they perform to certain established benchmarks.

Likely apprehensions about a League system in India and how those can be addressed:
When I talk to friends about the league based sports system in India there are some common fears that come across eveytime. Some of them are: “Cricket and/or hockey is the only unifying factor in India. If you eliminate TeamIndia, you eliminate the only source of national integration.” This is a genuine concern but also quite lame if you think about it. A result oriented system based on open recruitment will ensure that a Chandigarh team can hire a player from Coimbatore if they think that player makes the team’s chances better in the league and if ofcourse they can afford to hire him. “TeamIndia” concept may actually be counter productive to national integration because it gives room to suspicion that there is zonal bias in selection.
Another fear is that teams with most money will hire all the good players and that therefore a rich team will always dominate not so rich teams. That can be easily tackled by giving the lower placed teams in last years standings the first pick for the next years competition as they do it in NBA, NFL, MLS and various European leagues. A minimum lease period also makes sure that a not so rich team can retain a really talented player.
Yet another concern is that is hard for spectators to appreciate players who keep changing clubs every 2 to 3 years. This feeling is ingrained in Indians because we haven’t watched any sport other that international cricket. For majority of Indians, it is weird to imagine a sportsman not playing for a national team. Infact sports in India is an expression of nationalism. My dear friends, that is exactly where the cause of the sport is lost. That is why the sport in India is as pathetic as it is. A sportsman is not a military combatant; a sport is merely an enjoyable physical activity, nothing more and nothing less.

Any fixes?
There are no fixes except that some day some visionary guy can do to cricket what Manmohan Singh did to Indian economy in 1991. On a personal level, all we can do is spread the word and may be we can stop watching the ODI cricket played between nations. I realize that maybe just as hard to do as it is to ignore a McDonalds burger (good for taste, extremely bad for health). And please don’t blame me of trying to throw American league crap into the Indian milieu. Just see how successful European soccer leagues are, those games are on StarSports and Espn all the time, right?