Some thoughts on IPL 2.0

First of all, Lalit Modi is God. He is the Lord and Saviour. He should be elected the Prime Minister of India unopposed a la Saddam Hussein in his pomp. And when he realises that the country cannot be run from within the country, he must be allowed to transfer the entire bureaucracy at the shortest of notices to any country that bends over backwards in subservience for the greater good. After that he should be made Secretary-General of the United Nations. He should travel to all the conflict zones around the world, with his motley crew of IPL cameramen and commentators in tow. He will bring peace to the world with merely a flash of his toothy, lispy grin and that statesmanlike single arm wave.

Now that the sarcasm is out of the way, here are some of my thoughts in random order on the recently concluded Indian Premier League held in South Africa. There are quite a few so I am going to spread it over 3 posts. Here goes,

• If there are 2 brands I am forever going to stay away from post-IPL, they are DLF and CitiGroup. That's their reward for the gazillion and counting ‘DLF Maximums’ & ‘Citi Moments of Success’. This is not one but two product placements gone horribly wrong and never to be replicated ever again by any sane minded organization. Alas
• Inspite of the majority positive response the traveling circus received in South Africa, I personally feel that the IPL has to continue to be held in India, once a year, to sustain itself and also retain whatever little soul it could manifest. Without that it would just be a Premier League.
• It is not quite the free-for-all cashpot for all foreign players that was originally perceived. Case in point Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Charl Langeveltd & Mashrafe Mortaza to name a few who spent their entire/most time on the bench wondering what role the ringmaster of the circus had in store for them. The 4 foreign players-a-side starting cap makes it necessary to nurture and unearth a second line of local talent apart from your international players.
• The advent of T20 will lead to a dilution of some skills and their appreciation by viewers, especially the new ones. A Dravid/Kallis forward defensive shot is just not that relevant anymore. Infact they rather see Dravid play the horrendous paddle sweep that got him bowled round his legs in the final.
• Also I don’t see T20 over a period of time producing great players. Good yes but not great. The majority of high performers in the T20 format are what they are primarily because of their reputations built in the Test and 50 over format. Possibly with the exception of Yusuf Pathan. It sure can act as a platform to international selection like for Pathan and Shaun Marsh for Australia. But I am sorry I cannot see the likes of Robert Quiney, Tyron Henderson, Dwyane Smith, Roelof Van der Merwe, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ashok Dhinda, etc. being remembered down the years for their exploits limited to the T20 format. It will now and then throw up surprise packages like Dirk Nannes who capture the imagination more because of their story than their talent.
• One of the reasons why we got to see a higher proportion of close finishes this year from the one before was primarily due the nature of the pitches in South Africa. In a time and format of a game which is so heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen, the pitches have to play the role of a relative leveler of skills and also not allow mediocre talent to perform beyond its merits. Unlike in India where they inadvertently or deliberately act only as a step towards another slogfest, thereby reducing the quality of the contest.
• Yes the players want it, the broadcasters want it, the sponsors want it and more importantly the viewers want it, so go ahead ICC and create a window in the international calender for the IPL. Firstly so everyone can have a fair crack at it and secondly to avoid dilution in the interest and commercial value of your own baby, international cricket, when it clashes with anything Lalit Modi.
• Also ICC please make the T20 World Cup an event every 4 years like all World Cups across most team sports are meant to be. Especially when it immediately follows an overdose of IPL. Let us not go the greed, golden eggs, hen and knife path.
• Ravi Shastri and your partners in commentary crime, please stop the rabble rousing at the start of every game. Yes all of South Africa was ready for the IPL the moment it shifted there. You do not have to ask the cringeworthy question at your loudest at every venue again and again. Also the commentators need to stop building up every game as the most seminal and every moment as the greatest ever in the history of the game. As Harsha Bhogle and Richie Benaud have ably demonstrated over the years, good cricket commentary also involves knowing when to shut up. Amongst others, stop peddling IPL propaganda aka the magazine at every opportunity. There are no awards for being the best salesman at the end of it.

To be continued........