Good, bad and ugly of IPL-8

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, May 25

Another season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has ended, with its share of carnival-type tamasha, celebrations and controversies.

If the crowds at the venues and the advertisements on TV are a barometer, then it seems a new crop of enthusiasts have got hooked to this three-hour format.

On the field, IPL-8 will be remembered for Brendon McCullum’s hurricane 56-ball 100 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, AB de Villiers’ magical 133 off 67 balls against Mumbai Indians and Mitchell Starc’s 4 for 15 against Kings XI Punjab.

The season was also marked by a match-fixing approach reported by a Rajasthan Royals player; an ugly on-field spat between Robin Uthappa and Sarfaraz Khan; and the breach of Anti-corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) protocol by Virat Kohli to meet his girlfriend Anushka Sharma during a match.

The event grabbed eyeballs for its off-field antics as well as the on-field exploits of the players.

Divided opinion

Despite entering its ninth year, the IPL continues to divide opinion among its supporters and critics, with the usual round of debates centered around the league’s popularity. IPL’s intermittent brush with controversies and the misdeamours of some of its franchise owners have taken a toll on the league, which is evident from its dwindling viewership over the years.

According to a report, the IPL brand, as a single entity including all the stakeholders, was valued at $4.13 billion in 2010, when the tournament was at its peak. By mid-2012, it had slid to $2.92 billion from $3.67 billion in 2011. It’s now valued at $2.80 billion.

Hurting ‘real’ cricket?

It’s ‘cricketainment’, and the highly paid army of commentators – they can also be called cheerleaders – are encouraged to leave critical thinking at the doorstep of the studio. The negativity and controversies are simply brushed under the carpet. Thus, officially, IPL is promoted as a hugely successful and desirable phenomenon of Indian cricket.

However, there are many coaches, players and fans who believe that the T20 format hurts the ‘real and tough’ cricket, Test cricket. They say that the IPL will hurt the national team because T20 cricket weakens a player’s technique. Also, it reduces his motivation because IPL can make him a millionaire at, say, 20 years of age.

“Indian cricket has not benefitted from the IPL. There is no parity between bat and ball as the format has only resulted in the loss of technique and temperament,” said Tarak Sinha, the highly respected coach of Delhi’s Sonnet Club.

Sinha is among the rare people who don’t care for the money flowing from the IPL and speak their mind. “These days, the young kids are only interested in getting an IPL contract; they are least bothered about representing the nation,” he added. “They just want to emulate the shots played by de Villiers and McCullum. They don’t realise that these stars first established themselves, then started experimenting with their shots.”

“My advice to the BCCI is that it should come out with a policy that no cricketer below the age of 25 shall apply for the IPL contract,” he said.

Fans of IPL

There are also some ardent fans of the IPL. They have their own reasons to support it, and it has to be noted many of them gain financially from the IPL. According to them, playing alongside international stars has been a huge bonus to young domestic players. Not only do they get to showcase their talent, they also get a huge monetary benefit.

In addition, there are mentors and coaches like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gary Kirsten, Stephen Fleming and Ricky Ponting from whom a domestic player can learn much about playing the game.

“IPL gives these youngsters a chance to share the dressing room with big players,” said former India captain Rahul Dravid. “They can learn a lot from them. It gives them a chance to play in front of large crowds even before playing for India. The IPL performance could also make for a strong case for national selection.”

India’s Test specialist, Cheteshwar Pujara, had this to say about IPL: “IPL is the perfect platform for young cricketers to play alongside senior players of different countries. It gives youngsters a chance to learn a lot from experienced players.”

Pujara echoes the voice of India’s cricket establishment – this voice is highly magnified because it’s powered by money. Opinions such as the ones expressed by Tarak Sinha are overpowered by it.