Indian Premier League (IPL)

When we first saw it, we knew it was a revolution. Today, it has become a habit.

The Indian Premier League has been the biggest upheaval the game of cricket has ever seen. With time, the formats reduced from the Test matches to One-Dayers and then, the latest, 20 over games, the shortest format of the game till date, which is packed with full throttle entertainment, excitement and energy.

Taking a cue from ICL, BCCI successfully capitalised on the idea of city based rivalry and brought to the fore the rivalry that was only spoken of but never witnessed. The IPL 2008 entered the history books of the game and Indian Premier League 2009 is expected to repeat the success.

No sooner had the inaugural season ended, talks had already begun as to when the IPL 2009 will begin, which players will be traded, who will replace MS Dhoni as the most expensive player and so on and so forth. The craze for the profligate tournament can be weighed by the ripple effect of the rumours of it being cancelled had. IPL was everywhere, the news channels carried it as ‘Breaking News’, the newspapers as their ‘Headlines’ and magazines as their ‘Cover Story’. Eyes on television and adrenalin pumped in anticipation of the tournament’s fate. The shortest format of the game started to be known as IPL Cricket rather than T20 cricket.

The first edition of the lucrative and extravagant tournament saw what the gentleman’s game had never seen, or let us say, took notice of. The IPL news was everywhere. The ‘Big Daddys’ of the international arena came together to play for the same team and a Delhi resident supporting the home team, Delhi Daredevils, cheered and celebrated when Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed. Such has been the impact of IPL on international cricket that an Indian prays for Andrew Symonds’ century and a third umpire decision in favour of Shoaib Akhtar. What more can be said!

No matter what players have to say regarding their ‘priority’ to put their country before IPL, money is undoubtedly a criteria for everyone and the T20 League by the BCCI provides plenty of that. It is only in this country that cricket is a religion, its citizens the worshippers and players their demi-gods. India is the hub of cricket and its land, the route to monetary benefits from the game, the airlines the carrier of players to bring in here.

Who would not look forward to a match where Sanath Jayasuriya would open the batting with Sachin Tendulkar versus a team comprising of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi and Andrew Symonds?

If, on one hand, IPL forced Indian supporters to cheer for the Symonds and Watsons, it weaved the cricket playing nations closer too, and it undoubtedly did. After the Sydney fiasco, who would have thought Indians would be cheering for Ricky Ponting’s success?

Would Swapnil Asnodkar have, in his wildest dreams, thought of sharing the dressing room with the King of spin, Shane Warne? The answer to this question is either a ‘No’ or a ‘No’. IPL indeed puts the stars of the future under the right guidance of the legends of the game so that they are shaped to perfection to carry the load of their respective nations besides supporting them financially and rewarding them for their non-stop struggle in domestic circuit.

The Indian Premier League can well be related to the English Premier League football where the concept is the same. Players from every country are traded for huge sums to play for various clubs and thus every club comprises of the giants of the game from different countries and states. This has provided the perfect platform to players on the domestic circuit to showcase their talent and prove a point to the selectors of the national team which, otherwise, remains in the backdrop. Not everyone follows the domestic level of the game and thus limelight evades them which is not the case with IPL.

The ICC has always strived to put cricket on a global stage. They gave Bangladesh a Test status, included 16 teams in a World Cup edition, but all of its initiatives to put the game on a global platform failed, and failed miserably. The IPL in South Africa might just be a start to ICC’s goal achievement programme.

An example could probably help the ICC. Suppose Bhaichung Bhutia gets a contract with Manchester United. People in India will then gain further interest in football and start rooting for Manchester United. Similarly, if the IPL authorities or the franchisee spot a cricketer from Holland, or a country where cricket is not as famous, and give him an IPL contract, people in that particular country will start viewing the game, thus popularising it.

In this fashion, who knows, maybe someday, ICC’s so-far failed objective of globalising cricket might just come true and we get to see the gentleman’s game in the Olympics too!