The Indian Premier League or the IPL has created a great amount of interest amongst cricket lovers all over the world. Some say its just too good with the fast paced 20-20 format while there are other purists who believe its killing the game.
If you ask me, I have always believed in changing for the good. And that is precisely what is happening here with the onset of the IPL. Consider a comparison between a football (and by football, I mean football for the rest of the world and soccer for the US) and our very own cricket. I agree the two games are great in their own sense and I proudly say that I am a fan of them both, but with football, isn't it much easier to watch the game for 90 mins. and get the result than to wait a whole of 5 days and maybe not get a result at all. Agreed, we do get to see some great bowling, superb batting, maybe centuries, five wicket hauls, but finally the game has no result. No wonder cricket is popularly known as the "old man's game" among the youth in England.
What the IPL is doing here with its 20-20 format, is making the game more watchable, more of a spectator sport than it ever was. And there is nothing wrong with it. Millions are enjoying it now. There are no longer the empty stadiums that were such an integral part of Ranji games, but the packed stadiums and glued eyes of millions across the world. Maybe this is the way we can market the game to places and countries which know nothing of it. People from these countires will get attracted to cricket only if its becomes more of a spectator sport and they actually enjoy it. Maybe we have found a way for stopping the West Indian talented youth from leaving cricket and turning to Basketball.
Apart from the spectator issue, one more thing that comes with the IPL is huge monetary benefits. Television broadcasting, live commentary, sponsors, ad campaigns etc. will give not only a lot of money but also help the economy grow faster. This is because, with a tournament of that stature, players, fans will throng the country and the hotel industry, shopping, tourism everything benefits. Why do you think every country involved tries to bid so hard to host the Olympics, or the FIFA World Cup or say the Cricket World Cup?
I had read a recent article stating that the IPL is a victory of the Indian passionate cricket fan or say fanatic. Why it makes a lot of sense to call it a victory is because, there was a time when teams used to tour India once in 5 or 10 years. As opposed to today, when players from other countries are cancelling their committments to get a chance to play in the IPL. Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Glenn Mcgrath, Shoaib Akhtar, Adam Gilchrist.... you name it and we have it!
This in turn is going to help India improve their performances and bench strength too, as with the IPL, many local talents who have waited ages to get into the Indian National Team, will brush shoulders with the best in the world, get experience, and on top of it get paid to do it.
Now something for our purists... Lovers of the game in its traditional form. Test Cricket is real cricket, totally agreed. It tests the mental strength, endurance, stamina like no other form of cricket. But there is no threat to test cricket, because people who love test cricket will continue loving it. All the 20-20 format and the IPL is doing is adding a new dimension to the game of cricket. Another comparison here. Football has so many variants - 6 a side, futsal (indoor version) etc, but has that reduced the popularity of the original game of football with 12 players a side??? The answer is a clear 'no'. Its the same with cricket. Whatever happens, cricket will only evolve, not die out.
So is there any doubt finally whether the IPL is a boon or a bane?
If the world's loving it, then, Kolkata KnightRiders or Chennai SuperKings, cricket is to gain without doubt!
If you ask me, I have always believed in changing for the good. And that is precisely what is happening here with the onset of the IPL. Consider a comparison between a football (and by football, I mean football for the rest of the world and soccer for the US) and our very own cricket. I agree the two games are great in their own sense and I proudly say that I am a fan of them both, but with football, isn't it much easier to watch the game for 90 mins. and get the result than to wait a whole of 5 days and maybe not get a result at all. Agreed, we do get to see some great bowling, superb batting, maybe centuries, five wicket hauls, but finally the game has no result. No wonder cricket is popularly known as the "old man's game" among the youth in England.
What the IPL is doing here with its 20-20 format, is making the game more watchable, more of a spectator sport than it ever was. And there is nothing wrong with it. Millions are enjoying it now. There are no longer the empty stadiums that were such an integral part of Ranji games, but the packed stadiums and glued eyes of millions across the world. Maybe this is the way we can market the game to places and countries which know nothing of it. People from these countires will get attracted to cricket only if its becomes more of a spectator sport and they actually enjoy it. Maybe we have found a way for stopping the West Indian talented youth from leaving cricket and turning to Basketball.
Apart from the spectator issue, one more thing that comes with the IPL is huge monetary benefits. Television broadcasting, live commentary, sponsors, ad campaigns etc. will give not only a lot of money but also help the economy grow faster. This is because, with a tournament of that stature, players, fans will throng the country and the hotel industry, shopping, tourism everything benefits. Why do you think every country involved tries to bid so hard to host the Olympics, or the FIFA World Cup or say the Cricket World Cup?
I had read a recent article stating that the IPL is a victory of the Indian passionate cricket fan or say fanatic. Why it makes a lot of sense to call it a victory is because, there was a time when teams used to tour India once in 5 or 10 years. As opposed to today, when players from other countries are cancelling their committments to get a chance to play in the IPL. Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Glenn Mcgrath, Shoaib Akhtar, Adam Gilchrist.... you name it and we have it!
This in turn is going to help India improve their performances and bench strength too, as with the IPL, many local talents who have waited ages to get into the Indian National Team, will brush shoulders with the best in the world, get experience, and on top of it get paid to do it.
Now something for our purists... Lovers of the game in its traditional form. Test Cricket is real cricket, totally agreed. It tests the mental strength, endurance, stamina like no other form of cricket. But there is no threat to test cricket, because people who love test cricket will continue loving it. All the 20-20 format and the IPL is doing is adding a new dimension to the game of cricket. Another comparison here. Football has so many variants - 6 a side, futsal (indoor version) etc, but has that reduced the popularity of the original game of football with 12 players a side??? The answer is a clear 'no'. Its the same with cricket. Whatever happens, cricket will only evolve, not die out.
So is there any doubt finally whether the IPL is a boon or a bane?
If the world's loving it, then, Kolkata KnightRiders or Chennai SuperKings, cricket is to gain without doubt!
2 comments:
ya... quite true...
But I feel there is one glitch. I hope that the youngsters don't start looking up to the game as just a money making business.
In Ranji, they were tested to limits and were made to earn a place for themselves.
But ya, it might also happen that as the whole world will see which youngsters perform better, the selectors will have a harder time "placing" the youngsters in the Indian squad...
Also, IPL will get boring after some days because of the tight schedules and coz of the same "hit and don't run" scenes, but the TRPs will surely soar again as it approaches it's final matches...
haha..so right..Actually its gonna be a Liverpool Man Utd type thing in IPL...
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