The IPL Show Must Go On!

According to the ‘Global Sport Salaries Report’ released by the ‘Sporting Intelligence’, today, IPL is the 2^nd 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’.

INDIAN CRICKET: From 1983 ‘UNDERDOG’ to 2011 ‘FAVOURITES’!

The World Cup 2011 was considered as one of the open World Cups, where, every team had the capability and resources to become the World Champion. The strongest contenders for the cup were: the Aussies, the Lankans, the Pakistanis and last, the Indian Team which got the crown ultimately. India, a country of 1.21 billion people, is the Global Hub for cricket and many believe that their excellence in the sport can well become a ladder for them to climb the Development Everest.

The Indian Team had performed consistently well in the last two and their chances of winning the championship were bright too. But, it is not just the Cricket that matters. The load of expectations of the 1.21 billion is on your shoulders (being a player), if you are a representative of their cricket, that is a member of the Indian Cricket Team. This is what the real test is and the team which handles it well has a better chance. I remember a veteran of the game saying on a News Channel that the viewers or rather the Indian viewers have a passion attached to their game. If ‘their’ player makes a hundred, ‘they’ feel they have scored it. But, if he fails then he will be criticized seriously by ‘them’. Coming from behind and making a mark is one thing and making a mark when you are expected to make it, is a different thing. This is what the major difference between the 1983 and the 2011 World Cup win is. I am not saying that the 1983 Team hadn’t had the quality, they had, but they were not under pressure to perform and played just the cricket not the nerves. The 1983 team had a bunch of Medium Pace swing bowlers and the England conditions assisted them. They could well have been all over the places if they had played on Indian Pitches which are flat.

The 2011 World Cup side is a champion side. The decisive blend of youth and experience both in the bowling and the batting department is fantastic. The Sachin- Sehwag opening duo is undisputedly the best in the world. The CAPTAIN COOL, as he popularly known as, is himself a dangerous hitter currently #7 in the ICC ODI Batsmen Rating. Even the great Tendulkar has admitted after the World Cup win that Dhoni is the best captain he has played under.

All in all, there is no comparison between the legends of the two different eras. If 1983 was the start of the ‘Golden Age’ of Indian Cricket, then 2011 is an impetus to that Golden Run.

Congratulations Indian Cricket Team for winning the cup and the hearts of 1.21 billion Indians plus the Cricket Lovers, all over the world!

IPL= Cricket + Politics ± Bollywood!

The Cricket, the Politics and the Bollywood are completely different subjects and do not have any relation, or rather, did not had any relation before the year 2008, when the Inaugural season of the mega sporting vaganza ‘INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE’ ( Abbreviated as IPL) held. In the last three seasons what else we have not seen which ideally should not be a part of the ‘Gentlemen’s Game: CRICKET’. We have seen: Harbhajan Singh slapping S. Sreesanth, Lalit Modi’s banishment from the league, Politician Shashi Tharoor falling into controversies for having the financial relations with the  Kochi Team and, the latest, the two franchises the KINGS XI PUNJAB and the RAJASTHAN ROYALS terminated for the violation of the Ownership Rules by the BCCI and the Kochi team also getting the 10 Days to resolve their ownership disputes.

  The Teams like the Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Chennai Super Kings are characterised by their owners, the big bodies- Mukesh Ambani (Owner of Reliance Industries), Vijay Mallya (UB Group) and India Cements (N.Srinivasan) respectively, but the teams like the Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI and the Kochi are owned partly by different groups which brought the teams in collaboration. But the specific part of the team which the individual group owns is not specified. The two teams the RR and the KXIP had played the last three seasons of the league, but unfortunately, at that time all these issues were neglected, probably because of the Corruption or in fear of a controversy.

  The controversies involving Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi, under separate titles, big names as far as the Indian Politics is concerned, one famous in the world of Twitter and other for his boldness. Last three seasons of the league have been a great success as far as the 'Cricket' is concerned, and this is the ultimate goal of the concept called 'the IPL.' The gelling together of the International names and the Indian domestic cricketers has helped the former to gain some, or rather huge amount of experience. Must say, the IPL has helped the Cricket in many ways, apart from helping the media to mint the stories from the controversies involving the league!