IPL
I am sure I am the last person to say that IPL has been a huge hit. In every match, stadium is jam-packed. Some really exiting cricket is being played. Controversial cheerleader issues seem to have gone to sidelines. Cheerleader or no cheerleader, people are watching matches. (Delhi Daredevils have sent them back).
Cricket played so far has been a great equalizer in the true game spirit. Starless Rajasthan team has done better than all other teams, whereas full of star teams Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers are still struggling. Money has started showing its teeth with Vijay Mallya firing team manager Charu Sharma and criticizing Rahul Dravid. Who can afford to sit out Misbah-ul Huque in a T-20 game? Now, a lot of people can differ on the issue of commercialization of cricket. I feel it's like democratization of the game, you don't play well, you are out. It is not like good old days, when nobody can take a player out if he is from some particular region or favorite of some particular selector. No performance, no perks. One has to to understand that so money coming in, transparent is the least thing one can expect.
I guess it is right time to say that I always believed that IPL was going to be a Hit :). I always believed when big businessmen are putting their money in, they will market the whole thing in an altogether different way. Howver, I am still to see too much innovation in that apart from dancing and all. The only two things in India which sells in India like anything is Cricket and Bollywood so IPL becomes deadly poison for Indians. It has to work. We, Indians, want cricket every day, every hour, every minute, we can play, eat, drink cricket anytime. There was always this possibility. It was just a matter of finding a way to exploit. With so much money pouring in, who knows it, might go EPL way, Players putting more for this than for their respective national team. Or may be international matches will get less. But that's too far.
In case somebody checked BBC these days, well, these people are not happy. Their own county cricket is doomed. No money, no charm. BBC has run a series of negative publicity on IPL. They have tried to defame it in every possible way, be it the issue of cheerleaders, Bhajji controversy or Mallya thing. Even BBC Hindi is doing the same thing, sometimes in the name loss of purity of game sometimes else. But hey, who cares... As long as we can enjoy the game, it is fine with us.
IPL rocks...and it will keep on rocking.
P.S. Some of the links of BBC Hindi articles are here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/05/080513_malya_prabhashji.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/04/080419_ipl_ceremony.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/05/080503_pradeep_ipl.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/04/080426_pradeep_column.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/04/080424_cheer_leaders.shtml
Cricket played so far has been a great equalizer in the true game spirit. Starless Rajasthan team has done better than all other teams, whereas full of star teams Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers are still struggling. Money has started showing its teeth with Vijay Mallya firing team manager Charu Sharma and criticizing Rahul Dravid. Who can afford to sit out Misbah-ul Huque in a T-20 game? Now, a lot of people can differ on the issue of commercialization of cricket. I feel it's like democratization of the game, you don't play well, you are out. It is not like good old days, when nobody can take a player out if he is from some particular region or favorite of some particular selector. No performance, no perks. One has to to understand that so money coming in, transparent is the least thing one can expect.
I guess it is right time to say that I always believed that IPL was going to be a Hit :). I always believed when big businessmen are putting their money in, they will market the whole thing in an altogether different way. Howver, I am still to see too much innovation in that apart from dancing and all. The only two things in India which sells in India like anything is Cricket and Bollywood so IPL becomes deadly poison for Indians. It has to work. We, Indians, want cricket every day, every hour, every minute, we can play, eat, drink cricket anytime. There was always this possibility. It was just a matter of finding a way to exploit. With so much money pouring in, who knows it, might go EPL way, Players putting more for this than for their respective national team. Or may be international matches will get less. But that's too far.
In case somebody checked BBC these days, well, these people are not happy. Their own county cricket is doomed. No money, no charm. BBC has run a series of negative publicity on IPL. They have tried to defame it in every possible way, be it the issue of cheerleaders, Bhajji controversy or Mallya thing. Even BBC Hindi is doing the same thing, sometimes in the name loss of purity of game sometimes else. But hey, who cares... As long as we can enjoy the game, it is fine with us.
IPL rocks...and it will keep on rocking.
P.S. Some of the links of BBC Hindi articles are here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/05/080513_malya_prabhashji.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/04/080419_ipl_ceremony.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/05/080503_pradeep_ipl.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/04/080426_pradeep_column.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/sport/story/2008/04/080424_cheer_leaders.shtml
posted by sawan at
6:53 PM
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