On March 19th, Dinesh Kartik and Suresh Raina walked out at the Firoz Shah Kotla for a toss, as captains of two IPL teams. The sight was pretty pleasing to say the least. But it was second only to that of Jayasuriya and Tendulkar walking in to open the batting for Mumbai Indians. Any apprehensions as to how engaging would the IPL format turn out to be, were put to rest the day when this happened – Sanath and Sachin walking in as opening batsmen for the same team. Cheerleaders, live music, colour, pomp, glamour and extravagance – IPL was presented as a celebration of cricket and has lived up to be that way.
When two of the world’s most destructive opening batsmen are playing together, it makes for quite a sight, isn’t it? Although, I am sure that the bowlers of the opposite team will have a different opinion. And when this happened, I felt that all the hype and marketing buzz created around IPL was finally worth it. Now, picture this. Raina captaining the likes of Hayden, Murlitharan, Morkel and Kemp. On the other side, Kartik marshalling the likes of Dilshan, Sehwag, A B Diviliers and Dirk Nannes. Two young Indian players – one who has almost cemented his place in the Indian team but still has a lot to prove in the long run; and another, a much improved wicketkeeper-batsmen but has been in and out of the Indian team – getting this opportunity to wear the captain’s arm band and lead their sides. This augurs well not only for the future of Indian cricket, but for cricket as a whole.
What’s more, this format throws up a lot of intriguing mini-showdowns of its own – Gilchrist clobbering Shane Warne, Dhoni punishing Zaheer, Murlitharan bowling a wrong one to Jayasuriya, Steyn bowling a sharp one to Gibbs, Yusuf Pathan padding-up to Irfan Pathan – all this and more, in one sumptuous buffet of exciting slam-bam cricket. The format has also raised the levels of cricket by a few notches – sharp singles, breath taking catches and of course towering sixes have now become the norm, even in a fifty over match. A lot of young cricketers have thrown caution to the wind and lapped up the opportunities coming their way. Besides, one has witnessed innovations like free hit for a no-ball (over stepping) and commentators chatting up with players on the field in the thick of live action.
With all this, there is also a concern of too much of cricket and burnout; not all of which might be unsubstantiated. An India-Pakistan encounter doesn’t anymore generate the same kind of euphoria that it once used to. To that extent cricket sure has become a bit casual and an everyday affair. But this phenomenon is not limited to cricket alone. The glut and overexposure syndrome now spans all areas of our lives – from just one national TV channel to over a 100 to choose from now, at least 10 different makes of car to select from in a given category, from one phone connection in the entire block to almost everyone carrying a personal cell phone now. The pace of human race has increased exponentially and correspondingly the span of attention has reduced almost the same rate. Thus, this explosion of and in cricket, is inevitable.
So let’s put other things aside and enjoy this celebration of cricket. And while we are at it, let’s relish the run feast as the Matara marauder and the master blaster mercilessly beat up anyone who bowls at them!
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