Whilst flicking through Twitter earlier, I saw some tweets from Lalit Modi speaking of how great this year's IPL has been. To be perfectly honest, I have lost all interest in the tournament. Even Cricinfo, who had pictures, reports and comment on the IPL plastered over the front page for the first 8 months of the tournament have now news on the county championship. Which has been where my attention has been.
For the first part of the IPL, I was aware of what was going on. I dipped in and out of matches, but knew the scores, tables and results. I knew David Warner was in good form and that Michael Lumb was flattering to decieve. I knew that the Mumbai Indians were on top and the Kings XI Punjab only had a fat bloke and had no chance. I even had a favourite team; the Delhi Daredevils. I got into the IPL spirit; watching the awful karaoke video (and blogging about it). I had grown used to the constant adverts, the DLF Maximums, and even the MRF blimp. While I wasn't the IPL's biggest fan, I was more of a fan than most, and was sort-of enjoying it.
On Friday, the county championship started. On Saturday, Steven Finn took 9/37. Also on Saturday was the golf from Augusta, and Chelsea playing at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final. The IPL was relegated so far down my list of sporting priorities that it no longer registered. I didn't know who was playing, and to be honest, I didn't care.
The IPL has gone on far too long, and while many matches = many millions in Lalit's pocket, the simple equation of many matches x start of county season + boredom = lack of interest in the IPL. The IPL as a tournament could be brilliant; it has the best players in the world all playing together for a prolonged period of time. However, if the competition was not focussed on making money, and instead it was focussed on being a great tournament, it could be the best cricketing spectacle ever. If the number of games was halved; with 3 or 4 played a day, it could be crammed into a neat 2 week slot, with semis and a final at the end. The overkill of the IPL will continue next year, as two new teams have been added to the roster. Two new teams = 36 more games = even more boredom. The shelf life of the IPL is unknown, and while India will always be fanatical about it, the rest of the world is in danger of switching off. And this = bad times for Lalit.
Dont know about bad times, every match is always sold out. So Lalit must be making money there. But yes, the tv ratings might suffer.
ReplyDeleteGuess it's a question about the future of the IPL - or whether it is designed to get the Indian audience (who will always sell out every game irregardless) or to attract the international audience. But fair play to Lalit; he knows how to make money!
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