Don't judge IPL as Black and White

This edition of the Indian Premier League has been fantastic. It has produced some great cricket. The games have been tightly contested and have been played in front of capacity stadiums. These fans who turned up in large numbers got to see some incredible cricket. Whether it was the incredible fielding by Steve Smith, the brutal Chris Gayle or the elegant Rahane. There have been many facets to this fantastic competition.

I have always been a fan of IPL. It is a great platform for the lesser known players to showcase their talent. It is a rare opportunity for them to rub shoulders with the legends of the game, interact with them and become better cricketers. It is just an incredible platform. Never would have someone like Ajit Chandila got an opportunity to play in front of a full-house along side players like Dravid, Watson and against players like Ganguly. It is with the advent of IPL that such things are possible.

Sometimes, some people are born in the wrong era. For instance, two really good Indian spinners, who were in wilderness were Padmakar Shivalkar and Rajeder Goel. Sunil Gavaskar in his book 'Idols' mentions that if they were born in any other era they would have easily made to the Indian team. Had the concept of IPL had been there since then Shivalkar and Goel would not have been lost. They too would have got a platform to be recognized and appreciated. If one looks back at cricketing history, in every era there are players who are equally talented  but fail to make to the big stage. If we go back further in history, Salim Durani would have been a player who would reveled on a stage like IPL. How many wicket-keepers would have missed out despite being really talented, during the eras of Farookh Engineer, Syed Kirmani or even Nayan Mongia?

In the current era, India is flooded with batting talent. Getting into the Indian team as batsman is a near impossible task now with the kind of line up India posses. Some of the talent like Ajinkya Rahane is finding it hard to make into the Indian XI. It is a grave mistake not to allow that kind of talent a recognition it deserves. With IPL coming batsman like Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Naman Ojha, Mandeep Singh, Venugopal Rao, Ambati Rayadu and many others are getting a platform to perform. Such players are getting a chance to be recognized and to compete with the very best in the world. If not for IPL, there would have been a myriad of Shivalkars and Goels in today's era as well.

It is not just the batsman who are benefiting. If you one looks at the talent pool of Indian bowling, one finds that there are many bowlers of similar talent. It has given Lakshmipati Balaji a chance to come back and bowl well for the KKR (He is in serious contention for getting a WC call). Aaron and Yadav got an opportunity to bowl alongside Morne Morkel. From Punjab we have found a talent in Awana. No where else would have Awana got an opportunity to bowl to likes Tendulkar, Dravid, Kallis or any other great. The story of Veer Pratap Singh is a very inspiring one. The young lad from Bihar now has got an opportunity to bowl along side Dale Steyn.

Another aspect of IPL which is fantastic is that it promotes innovation. Batsman are finding new methods to score runs faster. They are ready to try out shots which otherwise they would not have even dreamt of playing. In the process they have realized that the shot which actually seemed risky is not really a risky shot. The Dil-Scoop, the reverse lap shot (by AB Devilliers) are product of this innovation. The bowlers are innovating to reduce the flow of runs. The captains have realized that opening with a spinner is not as risky as it was perceived to be.

Evolution is the key in almost every aspect of life and it holds true in sport as well. Sport has to evolve with changing ages. IPL and T20 cricket are helping cricket evolve. In summary, IPL is great platform which gives an opportunity to everyone. Any initiative which increases the number of opportunities has to be supported wholeheartedly.

Corruption and allegations of match-fixing have marred the face of IPL lately. But that is no reason for us to discard IPL. Corruption is there is almost every walk of life. Any big undertaking which involves huge money is bound to have corruption. For instance, if there is a lot of corruption in a project for construction of road, does it mean that we discard the use of roads? No. We need to find solutions to the problem. That is the similar case with IPL. We need strict anti-corruption laws. Further, these laws have to strictly implemented.

I have read many purists writing that, IPL is not 'cricket'. Despite being an ardent fan of test cricket (In fact one of my blogs was about the beauty of Test Cricket: http://cricketadithya.blogspot.in/2012/04/why-do-i-love-test-cricket.html), I believe that it is really wrong to say that T20 cricket doesn't require skill. It requires a completely different set of skills. People may not required to leave a swinging ball outside the off-stump or sway away from a lethal bouncer. In T20, the players are required to be innovative with their short making. A result we have seen some spectacular shots which have been breathtaking. Fielding skills have to be brilliant and so has to be running between the wickets. We were able to see some unbelievable developments in the fielding department. The six saved by Steve Smith will always be etched in the memories of those who had seen it. The catch which involved Johan Botha and Rahane was a spectacle which had never been seen before.

There is another aspect of IPL which people have not liked. They say that it does not give time for a bowler to get settled and thus produce a great spell. It is true that in T20 we will not see 3 slips and two gullies. But, it is certainly not true that we do not see great spells. Few of Dale Steyn's and Morne Morkel's spells have been exhilarating to say the least. Some of the death bowling has been a treat to watch. Death-bowling is an an aspect which has come to cricket thanks to the shorter formats of the game. It is different from Test cricket, but a different genre of great bowling which is also worth appreciating.

I am also not fond of attributing India's disastrous performance in test matches to the IPL. India had lost the test matches because our famed batting lineup did not perform. These are not the IPL products and I am certain they are far too good to be effected by IPL. Ironically, the silver lining for India in the Australian tour was Virat Kohli - an IPL product.

Despite being a great fan of IPL, there are a few things in this IPL that have not particularly liked.  It is non-cricketing 'masala' that goes around this. I am not mere alluding to cheer-leaders in the game. That is not only the major problem I have, although I do believe the IPL is much better without them. My major concern is with the way the IPL is broadcasted.

My first issue is with the quality of the pre-match shows. I am afraid, the amount of cricket discussed in this program is really less compared to the other nonsense that goes around in the show. We firstly definitely do not need dancing girls in studio. The entire point of having a pre-match show is to have constructive discussion about the game. The prerequisite for a constructive discussion to take place is to have a good host. The pre-match show is neither a place to play a commentary-game or to promote a movie.

IPL as I have already mentioned is great platform to play the game of cricket. It is place to play some serious cricket. It is not a place for anything except that.

I am a big fan of IPL but only a fan of the cricketing aspect of the tournament. I strongly believe that IPL should divorce itself from anything that is non-cricketing. My point is if the IPL needs all the above non-cricketing stuff to survive, then I am afraid it is not good enough to stay.