My views (Pros & cons) on the IPL

BASIC INFO:The IPL is the brainchild of Lalit Modi, modeled on club football in Europe & NBA. This is the first attempt by a recognized national cricket body to commercialize the game (the previous attempt being made by Kerry Packer in the 70’s, & also another one recently by the ZEE group in the name of ICL. But ICL lured domestic players & not international ones). It seems that IPL wasn’t a proactive move, but a response to the ICL.

But IPL’s first season’s astounding popularity suggests the beginning of a new era in cricket.


Positives:
• For the first time, third parties, be it private corporations or businessmen or other money-rich individuals have an opportunity to invest in a game, maybe only for financial gains, but for some people who are passionate about cricket, money can be made through their favourite sport. They can use their cricketing knowledge to build a team & revel in its success, & make money along with it by using their business acumen & marketing strategies.
• The pay-scale of participating cricketers is now directly proportional to their performance like never before. Good show in one season can increase their bid amount for the next one, & vice-versa. So performance motivation would be high.
• Its good for retired international cricketers, since they can still be a part of mainstream cricket watched all over the world by participating in the IPL. They can make quite a lot of money in IPL which will be played for only 1-2 months each year, & enjoy their retired lives in the remaining months.
• Indian domestic cricketers get an experience of playing with the world’s best, which can lead to lot of improvement. Already many players have got recognition through the IPL & have made their way into the Indian national team.
• These matches are very interesting & less time consuming. So they make for great entertainment after office hours.
• As the teams represent cities, it can help promote the culture, tradition, spirit & heritage of different Indian cities & states throughout the world.
• It might increase cricket’s popularity in the American continent. T20 is a good platform for introducing new countries in cricket as it doesn’t require that much skill as ODIs & test matches.

Negatives:
• Overdose of T20 cricket has the potential to reduce interest in traditional one day & test matches.
• Young cricketers may be lured by money & might tend to give preference to IPL over national teams.
• Youngsters might focus only on T20 cricket, which just requires powerful batting & economical bowling. So they might not fare well in longer versions like test matches, which require a lot of patience, technical skills & stamina.
• It might underrate highly reputed players, who are more skilful in the longer versions, but aren’t as aggressive & suitable for T20, & hence may be paid less than explosive players,

I think that overall IPL has so far proved to be a winner for cricket. Its critics accusing it of monetary extravaganza in times of recession must remember that IPL doesn’t guarantee money. Investment in IPL, like any business, has to be cautious & carefully planned. After the first season, 6 out of the 8 teams suffered a net loss. And the team with the least capital investment emerged as the winner. So, it provides a healthy level-playing field for franchisee owners to compete with one another & prove their superiority. The bid amounts for players, though seemingly quite big, are negligible when compared to the payments to European club footballers.
And anyways, spending is the only way out of recession ,right??

Only into its second year yet, it will soon face its most important challenge with IPL-II being planned in South Africa. We all know it was a rage in India in 2008 & would probably retain its stature in India, its outsourcing would help everyone measure its international following.

Also, already some issues & controversies have evolved, which if taken care of, can ensure its success & benefits in the long run. First of all, BCCI’s hostile treatment of the ICL shouldn’t have happened, because it doesn’t own Indian cricket. It didn’t allow ICL to use its cricket grounds. It has forced other cricket boards to desert their international players participating in ICL. As a result, many international players are now banned from representing their countries. (Although boards of some countries like Sri Lanka & Pakistan have removed the ban.) It should remove all restrictions & compete with ICL. Still it will be able to comfortably outplay ICL because it has more renowned players & is backed by the ICC.

Also there should be a separate window for IPL so that it doesn’t clash with other international fixtures, because then players are in a fix & as they should, they prefer to play for their national teams. As a result, they are unavailable for their IPL teams which isn’t good news for team owners. But it doesn’t seem possible given the already packed international calendar, & similar leagues like EPL being planned in England.
So challenges are a plenty & still a lot of thinking needs to be done by the IPL bosses, but so far so good!!!!!

THE SPORTS OF FAME!!!!!!!

Though I love cricket more than other sports & cherish its popularity in India, I have often dwelled on the reason why it has left other sports far behind in terms of fan-following in the country. Actually, there is a trend not only limited to cricket in India, but far more general. In almost every region, there are one or two sports that comfortably belittle others. These are the “SpOrTs of FaMe” of their respective regions.If in America, NBA and rugby steal the show, in Europe, football is the rage. Infact, even cricket in India doesn’t come close to the fanaticism enjoyed by club football in Europe. Within these larger areas, there are smaller areas & villages where some other local sport (think kabaddi in India) rules the ‘Home Turf’, & these often have little presence on the international arena. And then there are many examples where a particular sport isn't much popular in its place of origin, but is favourite in a land far away.

So the question is basically what all affects the status & popularity of any sport?? There are many obvious answers. And then there are numerous complex factors too. The obvious chain of events in the build up to popularity starts with performance, which generates interest & craze, which lead to infusion of money & more infrastructure creation….. which will further enhance popularity, performance, interest & so on. So an ideal ‘popularity cycle’ feeds on itself. But Indian cricket is a distortion of this ideal cycle in a way that interest sustains (if not increases) independently of performance (team India can suddenly deliver a debacle). But cricket wasn’t born like that, hockey used to be our pride. Having started from ground zero like its peers, why has it outplayed them so ruthlessly in the not-so-long run of 25 years? Again, for obvious reasons, hockey’s flop-show & the unexpected cricket WC’83 win have played their part. But what outside factors have given cricket the required fillip? And to what extent have the other sports doomed themselves?

Talking of the complex issues, they are mostly demographic, i.e. dependant on the lifestyles, interests, basic health & habits of the population. Conditions like climate, soil, economic situation and functioning of the sports control authorities also have an impact. So, India can’t have ice hockey, because it simply cannot be played here.
Also, for a game, generating interest is far more important than getting financial aid and facilities. Our domestic cricket, despite having dead wickets, produces good international cricketers. I feel people like those games with which they can identify themselves, those they play themselves, or want to play. They dream about being heroes for their teams. Glamour & panache have become important today to feel associated with a sport. That is why urban youth don’t want to play kabaddi, coz it isn’t very elegant, though I think it could make a very competitive international sport. (A picture that comes to my mind is Tendulkar scoring by sliding under the legs of Hayden & Symonds.)
Then there is also the congenital physique & stamina, and dietary habits. Asian people usually aren’t as tall & big as others. So even if football was given proper support & funding in India, I doubt if we could really excel in that. (Though I believe if India could someday manage to be in the top 20, football would run cricket out in popularity.) For similar reasons (height), it would be tough for us to compete with NBA guys. But still, we can play basketball among ourselves, can't we??
Cultural inheritance is also a factor determining our liking for a particular sport. We the Indians respect our traditions & moral sensibilities, and aren’t as violent & aggressive by nature. Hence we might not encourage sports like WWE & rugby, atleast on a scale as large as that existing for them in the US. There will surely be political hue & cry about them, with puritans (read fundamentalist right wings) leading the charge on the grounds of ‘safeguarding our culture’.

Having written what I feel to be the reasons behind a sport's popularity, I would like to mention that cricket’s dominance in India worries me. Going by present scenario, other sports don’t seem to have much chance. Consider England, where football is more common, but still cricket matches witness very good crowds. This is because each sport has a dedicated fan-following. But in India, the followers of other sports are diverting towards cricket. The media loves it, giving much greater coverage to cricket than others, even for less significant matches. During the IPL, the viewer ship of other programmes & bollywood suffered. And about hockey & other sports, only some know. We are performing well in lawn tennis, chess and have some good players in golf also. But they are generally unable to hog headlines, & even if the do, they can’t sustain the popularity & are soon forgotten, even sooner than the romantic link-ups of the cricketers . True even in case of Olympic winners. Ask yourself, in which case will you be more happy: India beating Australia in cricket or in hockey. The ‘former’ I guess, though the latter would be far bigger an achievement going by present developments.
I don't know why I find cricket more interesting than basketball, football or badminton. Is it just my liking for cricket, or there is another reason?? Do most people in India like cricket more out of personal interest, or is the game inherently more interesting than other sports around us?? But then if the latter is true, why is it not that popular in other parts of the world?? Why don't we try baseball, which is the American equivalent of cricket?? Has cricket's influence incapacitated our minds to try anything else??

Let us believe, if we want to, that cricket provides more interesting watching & playing. But "all its goodness, the inherent shortcomings of other sports, & the various basic & complex issues" not withstanding, our sports ministry must urgently give a ‘BOOSTER’ dose to the NEGLECTED others. This ‘STIMULUS PACKAGE’ for the ‘RECESSION’ facing sports needs to be much more than just economical. There has to be a complete overhaul of the functioning & composition of the ruling body (taking a leaf from BCCI’s book), infrastructure, promotion among youth & maybe some innovation also. And be rest assured, cricket will still be the leader, but only there would be more options for spectators & players to choose from, and greater chances for our country to excel in sports.

What lies ahead

Greetings!!!

It felt nice to see a decent turn out at the sports field for the flag hoisting ceremony on the occasion of Republic Day. A large number of people came after the national anthem was sung and the flag was raised. They entered the Sports Complex at the time when sweets were being distributed but then let us not doubt their intentions. Let us believe their reasons and ask no further questions.Not surprisingly final year students formed a major part of this gathering. It's kinda a strange situation where in the final year students want to be part of each and every event that is being held in college. There are too many 'lasts' that we get to hear these days - 'Last year', 'last sem', 'last music nite','last Republic Day in college', 'last synapse' just too many of them...we probably need a break from this may be for a month or so. I mean to say that we all know this is the last year in college but we don't actually have to repeat it again and again every time we sit for dinner or every time we are attending an event. Okay, I am getting bit wayward right now. This blog is meant for cricket and I should stick to it for the time being.

The race for the top position at the international level have never been so interesting before. Australians have dominated rankings for decade or so with virtually no resistance (well, a little bit from India and perhaps from the Proteas as well) to their supremacy. With Australia playing a series oppositions enjoyed better stats only in the betting circles. When it came to field there was no match to Kangaroo's dominance in any department bowling, batting, fielding or even in sledging. Australians simply were the best.But now as their cricketing heroes have started saying adieu to cricket the Australians are looking more and more vulnerable. Ricky Pointing is looking more and more like former President Bush.On the other end Smith or Dhoni might emerge as Obama(s) of the world cricket. Both these men have potential to influence the results by sheer force of their captaincy.And they certainly have stats to speak on their behalf.

But statistics at times hide more than what they show you. The position of a team in rankings depends not only on the total number of matches played by that team in a calender year but also on how matches their counterparts played. For e.g. if South Africa play more number of matches than India then they certainly would have a better chance of succeeding Australians as cricketing leaders but that will only be possible if Australians fail to recover from the slump they right now are in. Australians would be touring South Africa this year and at the same time the Indians would take on Kiwis down under. Both these clashes will determine who would rule the rankings. India's tour to New Zealand will also determine Dhoni's position as a leader in
comparison to his South African counterpart Smith who has won accolades for his tactics (and his stint with his broken arm) in Australia. Another team to look forward to will be Sri Lanka. They had couple of tough matches against Bangladesh but they literally savaged Pakistan few days after that and importantly Srilankans always have been unpredictable. England are themselves to blame for their dismal performance in India and with captain coach controversy still fresh their chances to win back Ashes are still bleak. West Indies need some Harry Porter kinda a magic to come out of their graves. There is little point talking about Bangladesh. They, at times play good cricket but they are still very far from earning respect as a test playing nation. They still have to cover long distances before opposition consider them as a potential threat.With IPL,T20 world cup and Champions trophy (if at all it takes place) 2009 will belong more to the shorter versions of the game than the Test cricket.And we have seen in the past that teams that perform well at the Test level usually are hard to beat in ODIs and T20s as well. There is too much to look forward to in'09.

PS - I had a great time representing my wing in the inter wing cricket tournament. Was out on duck but took a stunner to dismiss the so called 'best batsman' of the opposition camp. Felt great. Aaah!! it was last cricket tournament in DAIICT :(

PROLOGUE: Dipen's Take

This blog is conceptualized by two ‘common’ Indians. Common though for only one reason, because they share a thing with most other Indian males…. a fascination for CRICKET (If you put ‘ers’ after cricket, you might include females as well). Being childhood friends, it was this game that carried their friendship forward through their early years. It gave them new friends to play with, new challenges to conquer on the playing field and new rivals to beat. It gave them reason to talk when they had nothing else to say. Off-field also, they became ardent followers of cricket, and competitors in their own right…. Who can devour more stats……. Who was able to watch more overs in the last match.

Life continued as such for years, until they became adolescents, when they stumbled upon a common Indian problem that accompanied growing up…..studies and career. The free evenings and mornings gradually disappeared. Friends and rivals moved away. As a matter of fact, these boys’ homes also became farther than they used to be. Limited by time and pressured by other engagements, the passion for cricket started diluting………and before they could realize it, Alas! ‘The Golden Period’ had suddenly ended.

The two gentlemen have now grown from young school toddlers to adults…… in pursuit of a dream future. The ‘players’ in them have become more or less sedentary, but the ‘follower’ genes are still active. Maybe the process of dilution will continue further…but deep down, the spark will always exist, waiting for moments to ignite into a fire.

‘The Cricket Diaries’ is the pitch where these two ordinary gentlemen will play through words, & pen down their thoughts about this ‘extra-ordinary’ game, which has been a prominent part of their lives. These thoughts will be of all kinds, from the silliest to the most esoteric….those that suddenly strike them when they think cricket!!!.......those that have accumulated over the years they have spent playing & following the game, and much more.

It will have cricket-involving incidents from their lives, their memories of the past matches, their views on the present happenings, their takes on changes in cricket, their expectations from the future…… practically everything they feel about the cricketing world that is worth writing down. It will also look at the larger picture, i.e., the impact of cricket on Indians, on Indian economy, on our international relations and on other sports, loopholes in the Indian cricket system, relations between various cricket boards, steps to be taken to popularize cricket in the west etc. etc. These posts will all be randomly organized, rollicking between different time-zones, from the distant past to the ultimate future.

Having presented the Third person view, from now on THEY will become WE, THEIRS will become OURS & THEY will become US.
The two of us, dipen007(dipen) & gravity(harshal) dedicate this DIARY to all cricket fanatics, especially fellow ‘common’ INDIANS.

TO THE BLUE BILLION..................…..CHEERS

“India doesn’t need cricket as much as cricket needs India.”

For now, the weather is bright and clear!!!

PROLOGUE: Harshal's Take

The cricket diaries is started by two individuals who have grown loving the wonderful game called 'Cricket'. Cricket, the game that has brought smiles to their faces on innumerable occasions along with an occasional tear in their eyes. Cricket, the game that motivated them to finish their homework early or at times to leave it incomplete. The game that miraculously made scorching summers worth waiting for and the game that made them curse winters for its early fading light. The game that made them feel proud as Indians and the game that burdened them with a sense of disdain every time their team did not do well.

With time their passion for the game started falling. The reasons..well we will take it on some other day. For now they are back in the cricketing world. Hope you enjoy their company.