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IPL needs to be nurtured

Anand Philar


So, the Indian Premier League 2008 is done and dusted with. If anything, the T20 tournament could not have asked for a tighter and more thrilling finish with the Rajasthan Royals chalking up a last-ball win over the Chennai Super Kings in the final in Mumbai. The event might have concluded, but for sure, the after-effects of this cricketing tsunami is bound to be felt in the coming months.

Of course, it was a huge gamble on part of Lalit Modi and his team that put together the IPL. As he admitted during his speech on the eve of the final, the concept was not exactly new as it was in the works for quite sometime and in fact, the Indian Cricket League (ICL) successfully conducted a similar venture earlier this year; but being a “rebel” and without the blessings of any of the official bodies, it suffered in comparison although there was no lack of action.

As for the IPL, that offered mega bucks and “cricketainment” over 44 days, one must admit that it was an unqualified success in more ways than one. The world’s best cricketers, barring those from England, rubbed shoulders with their Indian counterparts in a pot-purri of eight franchise teams to offer unbridled entertainment to millions of viewers.

Of course, the purists have not stopped frowning, alleging that the IPL has robbed cricket of its very essence as a sport. But then, at the end of the day, it is the paying public that decides the success or failure of a venture, and if that is used as a yardstick, then one can hardly pick fault with the IPL.

True, the cheerleaders, the bands and music, besides a generous dose of Bollywood glamour lent IPL a different hue, something most of us were not accustomed to. In the event, it took a while to come to terms with the new age cricket.

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Last year, when the inaugural T20 World Cup was played in South Africa, there were not many takers. The absence of top stars like Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid, somewhat cast a long shadow on the Dhoni-led Indian team. However, when India won the Cup in a telling fashion, there was no looking back and it provided T20 a solid base.

We might feel that the salaries offered to the players cannot be justified, but then the cricketers are obviously not complaining. Rather, the higher the salaries, more the pressure to perform. As I had mentioned in one of my earlier columns, the 2008 IPL has served to expose the players in terms of their valuation.

Before the IPL, the likes of Shane Watson, Asnodkar, Yusuf Pathan, Matthew Hayden, David Hussey, Brendon McCullum, Sohail Tanvir and their ilk barely attracted attention. Rather, the focus was on the established stars such as Ponting, Symonds, Dhoni, Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, Gilchrist….the list goes on. However, on conclusion of the IPL, there are enough reasons to revisit the salaries paid to some of these players.

From purely an Indian perspective, the IPL threw up quite a few talented youngsters. Of course, the performances have to be viewed in the perspective of T20, but it bears repetition that the ability shown by some of these youngsters was a revelation.

In many ways, the IPL represents new age cricket offering tremendous scope for expansion. A few cricketing nations are already contemplating similar leagues in their own countries, but I doubt if they would be able to match the IPL in terms of scale of operations and of course, the financials.

To give the devil its due, Lalit Modi and his henchmen did a wonderful job in getting the IPL on stream. The logistics involved were mind-boggling given the amount of travel involved, the infrastructure and co-ordination of the telecasts. We might accuse Modi and his men of crass commercialisation of cricket that is being “sold” on the back of Bollywood and cheerleaders, but regardless, the IPL, I believe, is here to stay.

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If anything, we have been promised a better and bigger show next season as just about everyone involved would learn from mistakes committed and fine tune the project. The danger lies in greed and yielding to temptations that could well kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs.

In this context, it was heartening to note that the restrictions on number of teams and salaries would continue for another couple of seasons. With just eight teams, the IPL has been a long drawn-out affair and there is every danger of it suffering from over exposure should it be decided to host two IPL in one year as is being mooted in some quarters.

Modi has already stated that he would like only one IPL season a year for at least another five years before looking at other possibilities. I feel that would a step in the right direction. As of now, the IPL property is hot in terms of its marketability. With a bit of tweaking in its scheduling and sorting out issues, especially regarding Media coverage, the IPL can only grow further.

In the meantime, we will continue to hear scathing criticism of the IPL. But I am convinced that the IPL, as a concept, has tremendous scope and possibilities. There might be issues regarding the commercial side of the league, but purely from a sporting angle, the IPL deserves kudos.

Like it or hate it, you cannot ignore the IPL.