According to the ‘Global Sport Salaries Report’ released by the ‘Sporting Intelligence’, today, IPL is the 2nd biggest League in the World as far as the money paid to the players per week in a season is concerned. The English Premier League, the Bundesliga, the La Liga, Serie A are all behind the Indian League. The American National Basketball Association (NBA) is on top of the list, bot mind you, is just. This shows the impact and the reputation the Indian Premier League has today in the World Sporting fraternity.
The
former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was one of the main men behind the
astonishing amounts the league produced and is producing. He came up with the innovative
ideas: the players’ auction, the batting and the bowling timeouts, taking the
IPL-2 to South Africa, the online streaming on YouTube, the public broadcasting
(in cinema halls), the IPL Nights after parties, the addition of the cheer
leading to the Gentleman's Game. These innovative ideas, no doubt,
helped the League to reach the level where it is today.
But,
after all this, the one thing which matters the most is the ‘Cricket’! The suspension of the former Commissioner, I think,
has not affected the popularity of the league. The viewers want their stars to
perform, they want them to hit the bowlers out of the park (the batsman), they
want them to knock down the stumps (the bowlers) and they want them to
take blinders (catches) on the field (the fielders). After all the glamour, the
spice, it is the game of cricket that matters the most. As I said, the former
commissioner played a crucial role in the conceptualization of the league. No
doubt about that. But, the blending together of the different cultures, the
stars from the different regions of the world, is the ultimate objective of the
league.
In
this year’s IPL, we have seen many nail biting matches, the unknown Indian
commodities performing, and this is what being a cricket lover you want to see. The glamour, I must say, is a ‘Secondary Item’.
And,
this is what the former commissioner of the IPL had to say in his tweet, “The Show must go on. IPL is a
world class tournament. It’s for the fans globally. Each game will be riveting.”
Today
is Sachin Tendulkar’s Birthday. May the ‘God of the Game’ continues to make
every Indian proud of his ‘asset’ i.e. ‘The Sachin Tendulkar’.
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