Where is IPL heading to?

(Originally written in May 2008)

A television commercial termed DLF Indian Premier League as ‘manoranjan ka baap’, another stated it to be ‘Cricket weds Entertainment’. And surely, BCCI’s new buzz, DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) has so far, by all means, lived up to the expectations of the cricket fanatics, if not that of the organizers.

Eight state based teams, big shots like Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya, Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta et al paying handsome packages, buying the best men for their franchise, glittering promotional events and videos, enrolling superstars and the newly adopted concept of cheerleaders- this added tinge of glamour to India’s favorite game of cricket has proven to be a true entertainer with all the ingredients of a hit Indian entertainment recipe—movie stars, cricket demigods their blind hitting and of course the controversies.

By segregating one Team India into eight teams, the organizers aspired to provide a huge opportunity to the players, both seniors and juniors alike, to showcase their talent and also gain experience by including overseas players. The basic motive behind BCCI’s multi-crore endeavor was to generate a pool of players for the very competitive form of the game.

But alas! In the opening stages itself the sheer fun and joy was marred by a couple of controversies which have rocked the cricketing extravaganza— one due to the lack of adaptability of our political gurus and the other due to the lack of discipline amongst the players.

With just the inaugural edition of the action packed, adrenaline pumping contests on the field so far, and there have been numerous ‘issues’ related to it off the field. The cricketing action would start in the evening and the controversies it created help keep the media and the audience in its grip all day long. Unfortunately cricket took the back seat and controversies grabbed all the attention.

First the Maharashtra MLAs objected to the concept of cheerleaders. For them, those firangi, scantily clad girls, doing nothing more than their mere job, should be banned for obscenity. For those leaders, the cheerleaders are violating their cultural ethics. The leaders have been poking their nose into any thing and everything which is not even distantly related to their portfolios.

The basic idea behind the introduction of the cheerleaders was to motivate the players, to pep up things and create some buzz on the field. Rather than welcoming and adapting to the new concept, these leaders, are debating it’s compatibility to India’s culture. If somebody could ask them, please, that if a foreign concept of T-20 could be well adopted then why not that of the cheerleaders? Are the politicos genuinely concerned about the moral upliftment of the masses or just feeling left out of the IPL glamour?

And then the two poster boys of young and aggressive Team India landed the BCCI and themselves in an embarrassing situation. The Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth spat made headlines after the former slapped the latter after losing the match between their teams. Another controversy was sparked off between Sourav Ganguly and Shane Warne in the later stages of the first round. Public displays of such emotions or rather aggression shows the psychology of the player. Such players misuse their celebrity status, their behavior clearly underlining the dangers of nurturing the star status system in the land of cricket fanatics. Such cases should be severely dealt with.

No doubt, IPL would help to enhance the competitive spirit amongst the players but would the players be able to shed their king size egos and gel together as Team India? The experience, exposure and pool of players generated would be of no use if the players carry forward their IPL bickering to Team India.

Again there were news of some of the franchisees firing the local players who had not been used in the tournament that far. The motive behind the launch of the event was to nurture the young, local talent and help them showcase their talent. Yet the owners of the franchise would not care enough for them and only banked upon the aged ‘stars’.

These controversies were of no good, and ended up hampering the motive, spirit and aspirations with which the mega event was launched. With the turn of events so far it would not be far from reality to state that this way, in the long run, IPL would only ruin the spirits of the Indian Cricket team.

Although quite early to say, yet with just a single edition into the cricket carnival and the way these controversies took the center stage, the question looms large that—where is the IPL taking the Indian cricket to? With all the added glitz and glamour, has cricket moved from being a game to an entertainment package?