IPL Mania

This was the telecom I had last night seconds after the last ball of DLF IPL finals was bowled and Sohail Tanvir hit Balaji for a four and Rajasthan Royals went on to win the series.

S: "Hey!! Yipee. My team has defeated yours, I'm so happy.. hurray"

Me: "yea.. congratulations."

S: "cheer up don't be so disappointed"

Me: "hmm.. its ok. But I would have preferred an Indian captain to take the trophy."

S: "chal chal.. its not patriotism; your idea reflects a very shitty mentality with zero sportsman spirit. Warne deserves every bit of it.. la la la"

Me: "true.. but its not that im against good cricket, its just had dil hi dil main, I get a little patriotic and cheer from Indians, be it Sania up against the William sisters or Naren battling out with Ferraris and McLarens"

S: "haan. Theek theek. Raat ko bhaashan math de. Rajasthan has won, I m happy"

Me: "hmm.. congratulations once again. It was really a good match"

S: "yea.. true"

Me: "so have a nice time tomorrow.. Another treat from u then ;) "

S: "hehe.. sure.. bye. Good night"

Me: "good night"

It was a little tough to me to think for a topic to restart blogging. After being in a state of hibernation for over 9 month (because of numerous reasons), now I am all set to get back to my old passion of posting my views on various issues.

Of late blogging has become a glamorous art in India, with lot of Bollywood (though Indian film industry deserves its own identity; but now we can't do much after being tagged by this name) stars like Big B, Aamir Khan and a few others, are using this as a medium to get associated with public (fans or otherwise) and even criticising their colleagues in such open forums.

And talking about film stars the next thing that comes to my mind is the Indian Premier League. I remember telling my Economics professor that cricket and movies are indeed two very big unifying factors in our country and it would be really great if we had something which would bring them together. There were a number on movies based on cricket like Chamatkaar, Lagaan, Iqbal etc but then unarguably nothing comes close to the success of IPL. Thanks to the BCCI and its marketing techniques, almost all teams were even, all facilities were spot on and the entertainment associated with game was just mind blowing.

The format was simple and easy for people to understand. Eight city-based franchises owned by different genre of people ranging from liquor barons to media houses, infra structure developers to our very own Film stars. Slowly formed the team, under eight internationally renowned coaches and national and international players auctioned for huge amounts. All the players were very professional to patch up as a team and perform towards a common motive – VICTORY.

It took a little time for the audience to form loyalties with these teams and supporting a player of otherwise a rival nation to knock down the wickets of most your national players. Indian audience did their role, they came in numbers and supported good cricket. They cheered for both the sides, but silently prayed for their city team to win the match. This is best reflected in the telecon I quoted above: "my" team, "your" team. I believe the ownership of the teams are no longer restricted to the people like Mukesh Ambanis or Shah Rukh Khans but number of cricket enthusiasts who formed loyalties with their respective sides.

It was also a good occasion for all young Indian players to showcase their talents, who otherwise need to strive hard for selectors to notice them. They got an opportunity to learn from all top players and coaches in the world.

And yeah how can I forget the cheer leaders, and as always we Indians like import items more than the local ones ;) Also the format especially because of the shortened length, increased excitement, loud music, drew huge crowds, all popular movie stars, industrialists all over, even in the players' den ;)

Its popularity was not only restricted to India; but it had good viewership in all cricket playing nations and also nations which otherwise not even aware of all cricketing rules.

As a management student it is also a lesson for us; how well the IPL with such huge investments managed not only to break even but also reap good profit in its very first session. Some franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals earned double their investment.

So now it definitely looks to grow bigger with coming years and we would surely see more skilful players, better infrastructure , fierce competition and an ultimate entertainment for all. People have already calling this as the cricket equivalent of the Barclays Premier League, so may be some day this would become the most popular and challenging format of cricket.