The battle of the cities is up in the cash-rich Indian Premier League. Hardly been given the time for the World Cup win to have soaked in, the Indian players as well as others from abroad have donned the shirt of their respective franchises, ready to battle it out for the league title, where friendships among compatriots will be forgotten and partnerships will be formed between players holding different passports.
However, the IPL seems to be more like the Indian Metro League, as six of the ten franchises are just of the metro cities. This leaves no scope of interest in other regions of the cricket-crazy nation, each of which wants to see its city represented.
It is hard to understand why the state of Maharashtra needs two representations and why there should be a team of Kochi when cities like Ahmedabad and Kanpur have no representation. This makes it look more like a political gimmick, which can be explained by the fact that the former BCCI head and the now ICC President is from Maharashtra and the Kochi franchise was the outcome of a game by the Kerala minister who seems to have an obsession with twitter.
If the IPL has to live up to its real objective – to promote new talent in the country, then this absurd format that destroys the meaning of a ‘league’ should be abandoned and more teams should be introduced. The traditional league format followed in football will provide the real scope of competition and not a knockout in which one or a couple of bad days will overshadow a month and a half of effort and perseverance.
Furthermore, the addition of the cities – Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Indore, Cuttack, Jamshedpur and Guwahati will add to the craze. Like the football leagues, it would be sensible to introduce a two-division league of eight sides each, with the promotion-relegation system.
However, for now it seems as the IPL will remain just a businessman’s gimmick and a fast-money venture for the cricketers. As an ardent cricket fan, from Orissa, I still have no stake in IPL and take least interest in who wins, unless a Cuttack franchise pops up giving me reason to take interest. I am sure my brothers and sisters in Gujarat, UP, Assam and MP will be thinking the same.
However, the IPL seems to be more like the Indian Metro League, as six of the ten franchises are just of the metro cities. This leaves no scope of interest in other regions of the cricket-crazy nation, each of which wants to see its city represented.
It is hard to understand why the state of Maharashtra needs two representations and why there should be a team of Kochi when cities like Ahmedabad and Kanpur have no representation. This makes it look more like a political gimmick, which can be explained by the fact that the former BCCI head and the now ICC President is from Maharashtra and the Kochi franchise was the outcome of a game by the Kerala minister who seems to have an obsession with twitter.
If the IPL has to live up to its real objective – to promote new talent in the country, then this absurd format that destroys the meaning of a ‘league’ should be abandoned and more teams should be introduced. The traditional league format followed in football will provide the real scope of competition and not a knockout in which one or a couple of bad days will overshadow a month and a half of effort and perseverance.
Furthermore, the addition of the cities – Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Indore, Cuttack, Jamshedpur and Guwahati will add to the craze. Like the football leagues, it would be sensible to introduce a two-division league of eight sides each, with the promotion-relegation system.
However, for now it seems as the IPL will remain just a businessman’s gimmick and a fast-money venture for the cricketers. As an ardent cricket fan, from Orissa, I still have no stake in IPL and take least interest in who wins, unless a Cuttack franchise pops up giving me reason to take interest. I am sure my brothers and sisters in Gujarat, UP, Assam and MP will be thinking the same.
