Live Scores SMS for Free
|
||||||
What's Hot
- Editorial
- Controversies
- Rumours
Search Cricket360 Here!
Recent Series Archive
| Uncharted Territory for IPL |
|
|
| Pitched By Cricket360 Observer | |||||||
| Tuesday, 24 March 2009 | |||||||
|
The IPL last year was a unique and tremendously successful experiment in international cricket last year. A tournament that was supposed to be all about city or regional loyalties, as envisaged by the Indian Premier League franchisees is now to be shifted from India, which fundamentally alters the tournament which was domestic in name, but really international in nature. The team and brand loyalties that quickly formed for the different teams, will now acquire a new complexion in view of the fact that the teams not be playing at their home ground this year.
The Kolkata Knight Riders will not be egged on by their home crowds at Eden Gardens this year, Mohali will not be the epicenter for the Punjab cricket fans and the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore will not cause traffic jams due to fans thronging to watch the Royal Challengers Bangalore team this year. The colour, the fanfare, the crazy crowds of India will all be missing from this year’s IPL fixtures it would seem. The IPL, a supposedly domestic tournament which reflects international cricket in every other way, will be played abroad this year. The brand loyalty that each of the teams inspired is unique to Indian sport in that it gave cricket fans an unprecedented opportunity to root for their city or particular region while also rooting for their favourite cricket stars. If home fans went crazy watching Sourav Ganguly lead his team at Eden Gardens Calcutta, people in Chandigarh felt an equally fierce allegiance to dashing Yuvraj Singh and his band of Punjab players. Does this mean that the IPL officials were lax or shortsighted in anyway? Perhaps it was just an unfortunate coincidence that led to the IPL being shifted out of India due to the poll dates that were announced after the announcement of the IPL Season 2 dates. However the fact that these two events were coinciding was known to the IPL organisers who ought to have taken it into consideration. Whatever the reason, relocation of the IPL to distant shores is a far from ideal solution, and one that will likely set a bad precedent for the future. The ardent cricket fan in India can only hope that this year is a one off, a not to be repeated aberration, which won’t negatively impact the ability of the most cricket mad nation on earth to host international cricket events.
3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."Newer news items:
Older news items:
|
|||||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
