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IPL’s changed dynamic

The second edition of the BCCI’s Indian Premier League, like its predecessor, exceeded expectations. Where the 2008 version — an experiment in structuring a cricket tournament with international participation along city-based loyalties — swiftly established the zeitgeist, IPL-2009, staged in another continent, validated the inherent appeal of the format. The organisers had faltered in the beginning, leading to a situation that saw the tournament relocate to South Africa. Despite foreknowledge that the tournament’s dates would clash with the elections, not enough was done to safeguard the interests of the Indian fans; it was evident that what mattered most was prime time television coverage to swell the IPL’s coffers. But once the decision to shift the tournament out of the country was taken, it was organised with speed and conducted with extraordinary efficiency and clear headedness with hardly any hitch. Although the crowds weren’t as big as they were in India, not even the most mordant critic will deny that the overall response was enthusiastic.

IPL-2009 benefited from the emergence of a narrative that the fans could emotionally connect to — a vital factor in sustaining interest over a long-drawn enterprise, particularly when the notion of city-based loyalty was compromised by the shift from India. Last year’s tournament featured the fairytale story of the Rajasthan Royals, the league’s least expensive franchise led by the wizard, Shane Warne. The second had the two bottom-place sides of the previous edition, the Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, searching for redemption, as they made the final. That they were captained by Adam Gilchrist and Anil Kumble, the two legends still going strong after retirement, was certainly of great help. The cricket itself, barring the fielding, was of a high quality. It benefited from the conditions, which did much to remedy the balance of power between bat and ball. One of the threats that the first edition posed to the sport’s future was that it appropriated the definition of entertainment to privilege a certain type of cricket — the domination of big-hitting to the detriment of the bowlers. That dynamic changed this year with a more even contest between the bowlers and the batsmen. Yet, this change hardly came through in the controlled television broadcasting where it was acknowledged, if at all, with an apologetic air. The PR hard-sell that was passed off as commentary, the extended advertising break that masqueraded as a strategic timeout were all symptoms of hyper-commercialisation, a danger that became clear when Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, went on to say that he would not be sad if Test cricket died.

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