The IPL and Blah blah blah...
The third season of IPL starts off with much anticipated hype and promises to create rivalry among the otherwise united states of India which exist together in harmony and peace just like the different political parties that rule them. And this time the IPL returns to its homeland carrying with it a lot of controversies and issues - the security of the players being the most discussed one. I don't want to go into details of all those controversies as they were discussed, debated and forgotten by everyone. And again for the umpteenth time, it opened up a stream of debates whether this format is good for the players or not. I don't want to discuss that either because the players themselves don't have any issues as they are getting loads of money and I don't have any issue as I am getting loads of entertainment. Let us leave that discussion to the age old people who love classic cricket and those who really care for the game. All we people in India need is entertainment. Period.
So, what do I want to talk about? Nothing concrete. Just Blah.. Blah.. Blah. Throw in some flat pitches, Rope in stars from Bollywood, Attract some Hi-Fi players and here is the future of Indian Cricket right before you providing non-stop entertainment for everyone. Players are happy, BCCI is happy, Commentators are happy (they get to throw some jargon like DLF Maximum, Citi Moment of Success, Karbon Kamal kaa Catch etc in their otherwise boring commentary) and the viewers are happy. Why worry about players’ fitness when each player earns more money by playing just 14 matches than all the matches combined in one year? Why worry about the hectic schedule when more matches can generate more money? Why worry about the charm of the age old classic cricket when Bollywood and Corporate companies can provide the charm that the game is losing? Why worry about future of Test Cricket or for that matter future of Cricket itself when so many are happy and busy counting their money?
Let's hail the money spinner of our times. Let's hail the ultimate entertainment engine. Let's hail the Indian Premier League.
BTW, I could not resist this piece from one of the articles in Cricinfo. This article was written after the match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi DareDevils.
"Gambhir pointed out how crucial the home fans would be for his team tonight, even going as far as to say they would be the 12th man, but the crowd's reaction to each run Tendulkar gathered made it sound more like Dadar than Delhi. When Tendulkar clipped three runs, collecting the ball from outside off and working those wrists, the fans showed their appreciation. When he walked down the track and put Farveez Maharoof away for four, they went wild. And when Tendulkar steered a lovely four, opening his hands and placing it past the infield, well that was just what you'd expect from fans of this man. Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, had spoken before the first season of how he had envisioned city-based loyalties. That's not going to happen anywhere in India when Tendulkar is batting."
And it goes without saying that I support Mumbai Indians. Let the fun begin.
So, what do I want to talk about? Nothing concrete. Just Blah.. Blah.. Blah. Throw in some flat pitches, Rope in stars from Bollywood, Attract some Hi-Fi players and here is the future of Indian Cricket right before you providing non-stop entertainment for everyone. Players are happy, BCCI is happy, Commentators are happy (they get to throw some jargon like DLF Maximum, Citi Moment of Success, Karbon Kamal kaa Catch etc in their otherwise boring commentary) and the viewers are happy. Why worry about players’ fitness when each player earns more money by playing just 14 matches than all the matches combined in one year? Why worry about the hectic schedule when more matches can generate more money? Why worry about the charm of the age old classic cricket when Bollywood and Corporate companies can provide the charm that the game is losing? Why worry about future of Test Cricket or for that matter future of Cricket itself when so many are happy and busy counting their money?
Let's hail the money spinner of our times. Let's hail the ultimate entertainment engine. Let's hail the Indian Premier League.
BTW, I could not resist this piece from one of the articles in Cricinfo. This article was written after the match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi DareDevils.
"Gambhir pointed out how crucial the home fans would be for his team tonight, even going as far as to say they would be the 12th man, but the crowd's reaction to each run Tendulkar gathered made it sound more like Dadar than Delhi. When Tendulkar clipped three runs, collecting the ball from outside off and working those wrists, the fans showed their appreciation. When he walked down the track and put Farveez Maharoof away for four, they went wild. And when Tendulkar steered a lovely four, opening his hands and placing it past the infield, well that was just what you'd expect from fans of this man. Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, had spoken before the first season of how he had envisioned city-based loyalties. That's not going to happen anywhere in India when Tendulkar is batting."
And it goes without saying that I support Mumbai Indians. Let the fun begin.
- Venks
posted by Venky @ 2:37 PM
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