IPL new Avatar

IPL4 has come up with a new avatar and this time it has come without any controversies as compared to earlier seasons of IPL.

There has been no buzz this time. It has come down smoothly and has been going on in the same manner. Even though, the face of IPL has very much changed from its first version, it no longer enjoys the trademark controversies like Test vs Twenty 20 or ODI vs Twenty20, youngsters vs the legends like Dravid/Kumble, or cheerleaders' culture. No more FakeIPLPlayer, no more Preity Zinta hugging Kings of Punjab. And no more Lalit Modi's press interviews. We also miss Vijaya Malya dancing after a boundary. Where are the MRF blimps?

The players have been reshuffled and two new teams have come. We also do not have our Dada in KKR and no one is cribbing any more, their attention now focused more on Sachin and Dhoni, thanks to the latest World Cup victory. All the illogical things like the Pune team, not having a home ground, playing in Mumbai and Indore stadiums, are hardly cared by anyone.The captains of half of the teams are now foreigners, a "taboo" in the first IPL but now been happily accepted by our cricket crazy IPL loyal nation.

The live telecast of the auctions was the only one that generated some noise and since then, no one seems to care about who are losing and winning.

Have the audience had enough of cricket or Has the IPL become so ingrained part of cricket that it cannot be questioned any more or No one now gives a damn about the direction IPL is taking since we have now won the CUP and we need to take a short break from cricket?

The loyal fans have been decreasing and many now don't keep a count of how many matches a team has one. What we now remember is that when we go back home and turn on the TV, there's going to two teams and we just don't care who wins, yet we do watch the entire match.

Perhaps after May, when the TVs would go blank in the evenings, we would fill an emptiness in the house as if some guest has just left the house. Till then, we will keep saying 70 matches are too many.

The other side of IPL

When the first IPL had started, there was a lot of hue and cry about it being a threat to cricket (Test matches and ODI). Many had apprehensions about IPL, regarding killing cricketing talent in the country, specially about the bowling and Test match specific skills. Some people couldn't keep off their eyes off the huge money involved and always cribbed about one thing or the other. When there was nothing left to complain, they started criticizing the cheerleaders, as a threat to Indian culture and traditons.Every one wanted to be a part of this drama and entertainment, right from the media people and bollywood stars. In the midst of all these, IPL-1 was successfully conducted as well as entertained in all parts of Indian subcontinent.

This IPL-season 2 is no different from the first one, in the sense that it also had its own share of arguments and controversies and uncertainities,exactly before its start. No one can forget the security concerns raised during the scheduling of the matches. The matches got postponed, rescheduled to different venues and finally got shifted out of the country. The cricket fans (or rather IPL fans) got emotional and argued "How can Indian Premier League be conducted outside India?". Some politicians, knowing it was election time, used this opportunity to argue for poor security provided by the government. Many were sceptic that this IPL wouldn't be as hit as the first season, attributing the cause to the lack of ground support in SA. People had got so busy in these controversies and discussions that they failed to view "the other side" of IPL, which I intend to put forward, further in my post.

First and foremost, the message that I get from the government's decision of not allowing IPL to be conducted during election period is that the Indian government will not bow down to the pressures of IPL, where huge money and big celebrities are involved, thus compromising our security. We, as Indians, have known our limitations in security and hence have not risked our lives just to provide entertainment by a private association, however rich that might be. It has sent a strong message to the money minded business guys.

The next positive thing to notice is that the pitches in South Africa are bowler-friendly. This is unlike the last year where Indian pitches enabled huge exaggerated scores and gave little choice to bowler's strategies and tactics. Now as the matches are going on, we can see the more action coming from bowlers'quarters. Hence, this IPL avoids giving undue advantage to the batsmen gives a fairer deal to all players. This will also help in reducing the general misconception that Twenty20 is just a do or die game. We see many senior players, who couldn't do much last year, now performing well. Apart form these, there are many young Indian faces that have got a chance to test themselves outside India. Thus, they will truly get a taste and exposure of international pitches and weather conditions. Some might argue that rains in SA have affected most of the matches, but it's also been raining in Bangalore in most of these days. Besides, rainy weather is also part of the match.

Finally I come to the last topic of cheerleaders. Here in a foreign country, there would be no controversies to their attire and they have the complete freedom to carry on with their jobs.

Anyways IPL will continue to go on parallely with other forms of cricket and will keep coming back, once in a while, to give us some entertainment and critics will crib and complain all the while.

England –The pioneer in sports

Although recently England has lost badly in both One Days and Tests, that doesn’t stop me from appreciating their innovativeness in sports. If not for the English people, there would not have been so many different outdoor varieties of sports today. Almost all the sports, widely known today, have been invented and popularized by the Britishers, be it football, cricket, hockey, tennis, rugby, basketball or badminton.

They don’t stop after inventing a game. They keep on researching and are always on the lookout for new rules, different strategies and techniques. They always keep on trying different ways to make the game more interesting and enjoyable to the audience. Cricket can be a good example to prove all the above statements. When the English invented cricket, it was Test type of cricket. Then they refined it and shortened it with new rules and developed One Day International form, which was gradually accepted by all the cricket boards of other countries. But they went on further to shorten it to a Twenty20 format game, which is yet to find acceptance by all, including country officials and critics.

Even within the cricket game, they continuously researched and found out better techniques of batting, bowling out, etc. For example, the famous controversial “BodyLine Technique”, was also as a result of innovative British ideas.

Today England still gives lot of respect to its traditional and purest form of cricket, namely Test Cricket. People still find time and turn out in large numbers to enjoy this sport. We can always find young English ladies and gentleman out there in the stadium under a sporty umbrella passionately watching and enjoying cricket. Now there is talk of cricket being included as a proper sport in Olympics. “When so many sports are already there, then why not the popular cricket” is the typical argument of Britishers. I am sure when the next Olympics 2012 is hosted in London, cricket definitely would be an Olympic sport as well, thanks to the British Olympic organizers. Perhaps cricket being in Olympics would give them a sense of achievement and satisfaction.

Even though England has never won the World Cup in both One Day and Twenty20, it still holds cricket in high esteem. It still plays all formats of cricket and enjoys them. That would never happen in India where a defeat or victory decides the fate of sport. The domination of cricket over hockey proves it. We should learn from England where despite defeats, all games are still alive and very much popular.

Is IPL promoting or killing cricket?

The Indian Premier League, or rather, IPL has given a new dimension to cricket. And the good part is that it has happened in our country. With suddenly the whole nation and the world taking so much interest in the shorter version of the game, there is bound to be lot of controversies and disinterests.

This is the first time ever that in India, the cricket is so much hyped. Why not utilize it, rather than criticize,ridicule or even mock at it? Everybody knows that cricket is the most popular sport here. Every child down the street can be seen with a bat and ball, claiming to grow up like Sachin or Dhoni. Ask that child as to who is Narain Karthikain or Dhyanchand, and he looks at you dumb.Not even bollywood movies like Chak De, Goal or media discussions on promoting other forms of sports could make any effective change in those games.

Now considering these circumstances, one would be a fool not to escalate this game into a really big show. After all, everybody is business–minded in this competitive world of the survival of the fittest.

So, it is very much obvious that it is because of our cricket associations and boards that cricket continues to be the dominated game and the interests of the masses. Otherwise our cricket (because of which India is known as global giant) would have long been lost and faded. If you donot believe this, kindly read the following paragraph, unbiasedly.

Post 2007 world cup, Indians and Indian media had lost interest in Indian cricket owing to the bad performance of our squad. There is another lesson to be learnt from this. Our media and fellow people praise and ridicule our playing men almost at the same time. One moment, they will say “Kudos to the Boys in Blue”, and immediately after one defeat, they will complain about BCCI, scold the players who endorse brands or walk on ramps, which is indeed very surprising. Coming back to my post world cup scenario, when all interests had faded, people thought cricket was going down. All the sports crazy fans had started to seek tennis, football, racing, etc. The various reasons were the duration of the game and the poor performance by Indian team. Having analyzed all these, the immediate solution was to redefine cricket. Make a newer shorter version of cricket that would not take much of time. The matches would be more close and the audience would have to stick to the TV’s till the last ball. Needless to say, it succeeded. The Twenty20 worked, India won the world cup and brought back the cricket fans.

Having said that, now if the BCCI is trying to escalate this success by bringing the concept of IPL by mixing it with Bollywood to create even more interests, why make the fuss about it? Of course, everybody is business minded as I mentioned earlier. So what’s wrong if one makes millions, or spends millions. It is their money. Bet me, if you had money, you would have done the some.

All those, opposing IPL and seriously wishing IPL to flop, are taking the excuse that the sporty nature of cricket is lost. They complain that cricket has become commercial and true spirit of game is lost. Common man, do you think all those people who sweat out there on the field lack spirit? It is us, the audience that lack spirit and enthusiasm because somehow we just don’t want to ignore the huge money involved. If we are keen to watch only the sport, it will always be a sport. Why do you want to watch the glamour? Remember, glamour is just a side show. If you want to watch that, then I suggest you go for bollywood awards function or Page3 parties. If one needs to watch dance, go to bars. Why pull cricket in all these controversies?

For those who say, it will destroy the bowlers, I say it is a mere excuse. If the bowlers are beaten up every now and then, then it is the same for all the bowlers. And then the bowling economy of 7 will be considered a good one. I am sure that bowlers will adapt to this new form and deliver better performances as the game develops. It is too early to say anything or disregard anything. After all, cricket, or for that matter, any sport is relative.

If you have seen the squads of the teams, you would have seen a lot of new Indian young faces that have come out. It is a chance that the world pays attention to them. In return they get chance to play with players like Ricky Ponting, Mathew Hayden, Gilchrist, Sachin,Shane Warne,etc. Isn’t this a great opportunity? I am sure this is a dream for them that has just got fulfilled.

Do you still think IPL is killing cricket? On the contrary, it has revived it, given it a new life.