The league of Cricket

The hammer had come down on the winning bids; Millions of Dollars exchanged hands to determine the owners of the IPL teams. The year 2008 was given the luxury to give birth to a tournament which every cricket fan dreamt of. Every Indian cricket fan had another team other than the Indian national team to root for. Cricket meant business is every way possible.

The gentleman’s game had a few questions unanswered from its younger generation of followers. A freakish quick fun form of their beloved game was the forefront of their demands. Promptly catering to their demands, and much more, T20 cricket originated. Cricket could now very-well serve fans with five intensive classy days or bundle that all up into one or even make it a 3 and a half hour dug-out watch. The IPL was born in the latest format and gave cricket its version of the EPL. Young fans thrilled with only speed, now not only had Soccer, but also a faster-than-soccer version of Club Cricket with IPL.

As a die-hard fan of cricket from my childhood days, I most welcomed the club form of cricket. Cricket with only 10 odd competing countries on a regular basis needed a bit more diversity on the field. The circuit of tours became routine and nevertheless felt repetitive within the 10 countries. Unfortunately for a fanatic who thrives for variety in his sport, countries like France and China remain on a cricket field only as The French cut and the China-man.

As someone who sees the game with a classical eye, I needed the display of different skill sets on the field to keep me spell-bound. Only that in-fact would do justice to the beauty of the game itself. Naturally one can only expect different geographies to bring different dishes of food to one’s plate. The Windies are heavily built by body and are good athletes in nature helping them to exhibit a raw form of adamant cricket. So they run up and bowl fast, hit the deck hard, with a carefree attitude towards batting and a celebratory mode of athletic fielding. The Australian mindset is to dig-in, be gritty and bring in their die-hard ways into the field. The Asians love to keep things easy, not run around too much. Rather their natural physiques doesn't allow them to as much as the Africans. So the intend to fox with spin, play with wrists, display elegance more than arrogance. The inventors of the game are quite different as well; they play flamboyantly even as they stay true to their coaching manuals by playing technically correct. The pitches and weather also have helped in the evident differences in the playing styles of the different countries as well. To my delight, the IPL has filled this void of not many cultures in the game by mixing up cultures and creating new-brands of cricket on the field of play. To me personally, this is the best gift that the IPL has given the game’s followers.

You now have a team set fielding benchmarks, while some others set those for team-effort, strategies and the like, in more scales than just the 10 different ways by the teams in the international scene. All this boils down to add to the interest levels of the millions of the game’s lovers. 

Ultimately every sport is a business. Rather every move on earth, when looked with a microscope, is made with a business motive. I see international cricket being a business as well. There is no place for pride. How can it be in a case when it isn't an international event like a World cup, or a champion’s trophy? Mere repeated bi-laterals are just no fodder to playing for pride under the country’s name. They are just planned and aimed at turning over revenues for the respective boards. In India’s case, BCCI is not even a government entity. It is using its tag as the country’s cricket controlling board, as appointed by the Sports ministry of India, to name the team as a national team and generate revenues with the sport for the nation. So let IPL be commercialized the way it is; being commercialized will only do well to the game in the country.

For a fan, I would say, commercialization of the league would help to engage him better with the game. He would follow the business transactions of his team. The picks they opt for and the prospective worthiness of the bid would drive crazy the business mind of a cricket geek. He feels he owns the team. He buys their merchandises, plays their songs, and wears a thinking cap on him to help his captain on the field through his TV room. All his team needs to owe him back is, to play spirited cricket on the field.The IPL prospers in developing new friends, and foes too. The fellow Indian team fan would now have turned a competitor when their teams take on each other. It all adds to the fun and intensity of club cricket. I atleast hope, one day IPL like EPL would dominate international fixtures; the reason only being, it engages its viewers a lot more than the mere namesake pride riding on an international game even if it originally wasn't meant to be a battle for pride.  But for now, the IPL is here to stay and stay in our hearts forever.

Cheers and regards,

nagappstheblogger!!!