I was a skeptic of the Indian Premier League. I always assumed that people would lose interest in it after a few seasons. Cricket is considered to be a boring game; T20 cricket and IPL may change that. I have a feeling that it will.
Cricket relies on goodwill. It is the only game where the home side has a say in the playing conditions; it's legal to mess around with the surface to suit the home team's strengths. Goodwill ended the day Hitler decided to gas the Jews. There's been no goodwill ever since. The Indian Cricket team is unbeatable in India because of the pitches that we prepare. Any sign of grass and moisture on the pitch will have the subcontinental teams wetting their pants.
T20 cricket evens it out. The bowler only needs to last four overs, and hence he can can go all out without the need to conserve energy. The pitch may assist the batsman like the SS assisted Hitler back in the day; it's very easy for the bowler to counter that advantage because conserving runs is a high priority. There is no need for attacking bowling; starving the batsman of runs can frustrate him into a rash move where he throws his wicket away.
Likewise, the batsman needs to get a couple of hits over or across the boundary and he's got the advantage. A batsman doesn't need to last more than twenty overs. Ten overs of blitz is sufficient. The contest between the batsman and the bowler isn't as dependent on the conditions as it used to be. It's extremely unpredictable; mystery is good. The most memorable games are the ones that go down to the wire and IPL has a lot of them.
None of this would make any difference if the tournament was being hosted in the USA. Indians are crazy about cricket; the only other thing that they really care about is Bollywood The IPL has Bollywood in it too. Many teams are owned (partially) by film actors and their likes. Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta in slow motion have a charming effect on the TV audiences. The broadcast of Dhoni's innings on television consisted mostly of his wife smiling into the camera. Indians love glamour and IPL has lots of it.
The IPL is a business. A business will do well if it's a win-win situation for all parties involved. The IPL offers a great channel for advertising; the media loves the excitement. It promotes cricket too, albeit in a weird manner. It doesn't encourage traditional cricket; but in this age of batting pitches, shortening the game balances the game. There are more teams, and hence more opportunities for players to get noticed. Getting noticed in T20 cricket and delivering in other forms of cricket are like oranges and apples. But it does provide more opportunities for players and that's not a bad thing at all.
Opportunities aside, the players get to make a buttload of cash for two months work. That's not a bad deal. A couple of hits or a couple of tight overs and one could be the man of the match. Its got a lot of money, and the players get to take home handsome amounts of money.
The audience gets their money's worth too. For a few hundred rupees, the general public gets to watch players from all around the world. There's room for improvement though; the stadiums are filthy, the general public is treated like cattle.
The IPL isn't something that I like, but I guess you get used to it. I don't know if it will help spread cricket; that's debatable and only time will tell. The IPL has a lot to offer; good cricket isn't what it offers though. What it offers is good entertainment and that's always appreciated.
Cricket relies on goodwill. It is the only game where the home side has a say in the playing conditions; it's legal to mess around with the surface to suit the home team's strengths. Goodwill ended the day Hitler decided to gas the Jews. There's been no goodwill ever since. The Indian Cricket team is unbeatable in India because of the pitches that we prepare. Any sign of grass and moisture on the pitch will have the subcontinental teams wetting their pants.
T20 cricket evens it out. The bowler only needs to last four overs, and hence he can can go all out without the need to conserve energy. The pitch may assist the batsman like the SS assisted Hitler back in the day; it's very easy for the bowler to counter that advantage because conserving runs is a high priority. There is no need for attacking bowling; starving the batsman of runs can frustrate him into a rash move where he throws his wicket away.
Likewise, the batsman needs to get a couple of hits over or across the boundary and he's got the advantage. A batsman doesn't need to last more than twenty overs. Ten overs of blitz is sufficient. The contest between the batsman and the bowler isn't as dependent on the conditions as it used to be. It's extremely unpredictable; mystery is good. The most memorable games are the ones that go down to the wire and IPL has a lot of them.
None of this would make any difference if the tournament was being hosted in the USA. Indians are crazy about cricket; the only other thing that they really care about is Bollywood The IPL has Bollywood in it too. Many teams are owned (partially) by film actors and their likes. Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta in slow motion have a charming effect on the TV audiences. The broadcast of Dhoni's innings on television consisted mostly of his wife smiling into the camera. Indians love glamour and IPL has lots of it.
The IPL is a business. A business will do well if it's a win-win situation for all parties involved. The IPL offers a great channel for advertising; the media loves the excitement. It promotes cricket too, albeit in a weird manner. It doesn't encourage traditional cricket; but in this age of batting pitches, shortening the game balances the game. There are more teams, and hence more opportunities for players to get noticed. Getting noticed in T20 cricket and delivering in other forms of cricket are like oranges and apples. But it does provide more opportunities for players and that's not a bad thing at all.
Opportunities aside, the players get to make a buttload of cash for two months work. That's not a bad deal. A couple of hits or a couple of tight overs and one could be the man of the match. Its got a lot of money, and the players get to take home handsome amounts of money.
The audience gets their money's worth too. For a few hundred rupees, the general public gets to watch players from all around the world. There's room for improvement though; the stadiums are filthy, the general public is treated like cattle.
The IPL isn't something that I like, but I guess you get used to it. I don't know if it will help spread cricket; that's debatable and only time will tell. The IPL has a lot to offer; good cricket isn't what it offers though. What it offers is good entertainment and that's always appreciated.
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