The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the latest jackpot from the Board of Cricket Control in India.
Contemporary to the phenomenal English Premier League, the Indian Premier League is just the starting. Though a cricket league, the popularity and format is just the same as football has not gained enough popularity in the country as yet.
IPL is BCCI’s reply to ICL started by Kapil Dev. Earlier players who were part of ICL were banned from playing for India. But with IPL, they not only get to play with international players but also a strong arena to get into the national side.
There are eight teams in the league. Chennai Super Kings owned by India Cements, Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab of Priety Zinta and Ness Wadia, Bangalore Royal Challengers owned by Vijay Mallya, Mumbai Indians by Mukesh Ambani, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers owned by Deccan Chronicle, Rajasthan Royals by Emerging Media and Lachlan Murdoch and Delhi Daredevils by GMR holdings.
This is another venture where Bollywood and cricket have come together. Two teams are owned by bollywood’s biggest names.
Large amount of money is involved. In the player’s auction, Mahendar Singh Dhoni was bought for the highest bid of 60 million rupees for the Chennai Super Kings.
Controversies always follow with something of this magnitude. Because the inaugural IPL season coincided with the County Championship season as well as New Zealand’s tour of England, the ECB and county cricket clubs raised their concerns to the BCCI over players.
The ECB made it abundantly clear that they would not sign No Objection Certificates for players-a prerequisite for playing in the IPL. Chairmen of the county clubs also made it clear that players contracted to them were required to fulfill their commitment to their county.
Currently, Knight Riders and Super Kings are the leading teams in the tournament, winning all matches played.
The excitement and energy surrounding the launch of the IPL has been an amazing fillup for international cricket. Twenty20, despite what purists may say, has been the greatest step forward for the game. The enthusiasm and sheer noise of the Indian crowds shames our sleepy and half filled stadiums.
Media coverage of the IPL in the British press has largely focused on how this new revolutionary competition threatens to eat away at the heart of the game – how the tournament itinerary clashes with and undermines international and English county cricket.
In doing so it has presented a relatively negative portrait of the Indian Premier League. And in one sense, the trepidation of the British media is valid.
County cricket in England is low on excitement, low on image, and low on sponsorship and television cash injection.
And to make matters worse, the IPL has come along and signed up world stars such as Shane Warne and Shane Bond – players who have lit up county cricket in recent years as part of the one foreign player per team rule.
Fans are now even less likely to follow county cricket when they can watch on Setanta Sports the world’s best compete in Twenty20 matches that are high on quality and entertainment.
Perhaps the IPL is as dangerous phenomenon. It auctions off players to the highest bidder. Players are missing international competition, lured in by astronomical paydays. And it serves as further proof that cricket is giving in to quick, easily digestable two hours matches.
Tradition is giving way to entertainment and ceremony.
But consider the other side of the coin. Cricket has taken off with the introduction of limited over Twenty20 cricket over the last five years. The Twenty-20 World Cup was a huge commercial success and a great boost to the image of the game.
Cricket needs that kind of boost. It needs kids to be entertained, to be inspired to pick up a bat and ball and take up the game for themselves – and on a worldwide scale.
Only then can cricket expand to more nations and become a more competitive game on the international stage.
The IPL can help this happen.
Look at the football Uefa Champions League, where the world’ best players represent the world’s best domestic teams. Success in the competition matches success in the World Cup, and television money and public interest are staggeringly high.
The IPL could well be cricket’s answer to the Champions League.
Cricket is a game of tradition, and that is part of what makes it special. But if it is to live on and flourish in the new business-orientated world of global sport, then it is initiatives like the IPL that need to be embraced.