IPL's influence on Indian Cricket

[Furball]

Yeah, that's pretty much spot on. The target audience doesn't care much now. The players obviously love it for the quick money they can make. Dhoni used to complain about player workloads. He's shut up now after it was suggested (implied, rather) that he was only too welcome to take a break during the IPL.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to crowds and local interest for this tournament. At least for the last few editions the organisers could legitimately claim that the local players were amongst the best in the world. Will Indian fans really turn out in droves to watch second rate talent like Kohli?

 

[G.I.Joe]

It'll be interesting to see what happens to crowds and local interest for this tournament. At least for the last few editions the organisers could legitimately claim that the local players were amongst the best in the world. Will Indian fans really turn out in droves to watch second rate talent like Kohli?

I don't know, tbh. I reckon Kohli's one of the better local talents, he's more of a clutch player for RCB. But I get your point. The couple of times I went was to watch Gilchrist (42 ball 100 btw), Tendulkar and Warne live, at a convenient time for me. Now the novelty has worn off, they've changed the teams completely at the last auction, there's too many games, it's a month too long, and the Indian players aren't close to being the best in the format on evidence of the last two World Cups. I guess it's a combination of all these rather than any one factor. I reckon I'd start following IPL again if they shortened it to a month and just stopped moving the players about. There's no team dynamic or loyalty. They've made even the Indian players mercenaries.

 

[smash84]

seriously......two months is extremely long for a T20 tournament.

They should keep it at 3-4 weeks at max to keep the interest

 

[shrikanthk]

It's all very well to pretend that IPL in its present form can coexist with the other formats.
Nevertheless, even the most die-hard T20 fans will acknowledge that there is a problem.

IPL is distinctly different from all other T20 tournaments for one reason only - the magnitude of money involved.

Suppose you're Zaheer Khan and you're getting paid $800K for the IPL 5 season (just an imagined figure), then you will make sure that you are supremely fit and raring to go during those two months. So, now we have Zaheer back in the test team after a long lay off. Yet, you see him bowling gingerly in the first two tests, very much within himself. Somewhere, at the back of his mind, there's the fear that he might get injured again for IPL. This prevents him from bowling without inhibitions in the ongoing test series!

You can't stop this from happening. As long as the IPL money remains as rich and humongous as it presently is, players will face dilemmas and trilemmas in sorting out their priorities.

 

[smash84]

that is a good point too

 

[Straight Drive]

Test cricket was a distant second in India anyway, behind ODI cricket and now with the Advent of IPL, it is a distant third.

IPL is definitely hurting Test cricket as the BCCI focus is elsewhere. BCCI need to focus on test cricket to improve performance, which is just wishful thinking. I expect nothing to change after another abysmal series.

 

[Daemon]

It's all very well to pretend that IPL in its present form can coexist with the other formats.
Nevertheless, even the most die-hard T20 fans will acknowledge that there is a problem.

IPL is distinctly different from all other T20 tournaments for one reason only - the magnitude of money involved.

Suppose you're Zaheer Khan and you're getting paid $800K for the IPL 5 season (just an imagined figure), then you will make sure that you are supremely fit and raring to go during those two months. So, now we have Zaheer back in the test team after a long lay off. Yet, you see him bowling gingerly in the first two tests, very much within himself. Somewhere, at the back of his mind, there's the fear that he might get injured again for IPL. This prevents him from bowling without inhibitions in the ongoing test series!

You can't stop this from happening. As long as the IPL money remains as rich and humongous as it presently is, players will face dilemmas and trilemmas in sorting out their priorities.

Haha, I don't think that's true at all tbh. It's more a fear of being injured in general rather than a fear of being injured for the ipl.

 

[Arachnodouche]

India and Indians in general have no clue about subtlety. Anything and everything associated with money morphs into a garish and ostentatious display of wealth and power. The IPL is just another example - obnoxious, bawdy, and overblown beyond all notions of decency.

 

[Jono]

India and Indians in general have no clue about subtlety. Anything and everything associated with money morphs into a garish and ostentatious display of wealth and power. The IPL is just another example - obnoxious, bawdy, and overblown beyond all notions of decency.

Confirmed when this occurred at the IPL opening ceremony:

 

[Abhishek_dada]

Pyjama Cricket
No respect in my book.

Make the Ranji Trophy more lucrative by inducting sponsors and giving necessary media coverage..............................

 

[Arjun]

It's those film stars who are ruining the IPL, with an effect on the Indian cricket scene. They know nothing about running a cricket team, or Indian domestic cricketers. They're in it only for fame and fortune. The business houses are smarter, but way too conservative, and don't have enough faith in our country's cricketers, but splurge and thrust into the limelight some half-baked overseas T20 specialist. Hardly a positive message.

While India may have suffered because of the IPL and England benefited by keeping away, Australia is one country that has benefited drastically. South Africa is also catching up. Clearly, India have missed a trick.

 

[Crazy Sam]

Confirmed when this occurred at the IPL opening ceremony:

Could've gone for Meatloaf.

 

[Jono]

Haha that was such an awesome move by the AFL.

The fact so many people complained made it even better.

 

[Arjun]

Blaming the IPL is shying away from responsibility and not owning up to mounting management mistakes on the part of the BCCI and the Indian team. Just look at what really happens.

Yes, Indian players get paid big bucks in the IPL. But how many of them actually figure in the frontline? And how many Test players? Just Sehwag, Sachin, Zaheer and by a long shot Dravid. Kohli and Ashwin are new inductees, and Ojha is hardly a Test regular now. But most of them are either batting lower down the order, bowling second or third change, not completing their quota of overs, not getting a batting innings, and sometimes not even getting a game. The top internationals have a much higher workload inside of the IPL, but nobody complains. Clearly, something is overlooked.

IPL apart, Indians play very little T20. The SMAT is scheduled smack in the middle of a top international series for the Indian side, and itself wraps up quickly. The BCCI keeps Indian players out of overseas T20 leagues, while players from other countries play across these leagues and accumulate more T20 caps. England's T20 league itself is hardly short. Clearly, something more is overlooked.

 

[ankitj]

Sidarth Monga's long rant...

Sidharth Monga: Stop claiming that Tests and overdose of T20s can co-exist | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

In a nutshell, this is what he is saying:

1) Cricketers are shortchanging test and first-class for IPL
2) Test failures don't hurt as much as they should
3) No one has the balls to say that IPL is hurting the longer format

Fully agree with all of it.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Sidarth Monga's long rant...

Sidharth Monga: Stop claiming that Tests and overdose of T20s can co-exist | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

In a nutshell, this is what he is saying:

1) Cricketers are shortchanging test and first-class for IPL
2) Test failures don't hurt as much as they should
3) No one has the balls to say that IPL is hurting the longer format

Fully agree with all of it.

My god there are a lot of strawman arguments in that. This fourth paragraph is complete and total bollocks:

To those who believe the IPL is a celebration of decadence, it is casually mentioned it is played on a 22-yard pitch, with the same white Kookaburra, and with more or less the same bats as in other cricket. It seems to be almost immaterial that the duration of the game has been reduced drastically, that having ten wickets to lose over 20 overs has eliminated risk from batting, that the thrills are a result of the lack of consequence, that the bowler has been marginalised, that wickets have never been cheaper, that there isn't enough time for a contest to develop. You could argue this happens with 50-over cricket too, but it only does in the last few overs, and only if you have batted well to keep wickets in hand.

Wickets are still important in T20, some more than others, it depends on the player and their role. You're not going to get a good total if you lose wickets regularly. If you have two players going for 10-15 overs that usually puts the game out of sight. The reality is the margins are smaller in T20, so the magnitude of losing a wicket is still there because whilst it may have a lower run value each runs count for a lot more in T20.

And I'm so sick to death of hearing that bowlers are marginalised in T20. Cricinfo needs to stop coming out with this ****. Test cricket is a bowler's game. ODIs are a batsman's game. T20 has far more balance because even though the pitches are generally flat the bowlers are always in the game because they have a new ball and/or the batsmen are coming after them. There have been some amazing spells in IPL this season just gone and T20 in general. In ODIs the batsmen can just play them out and take the bowler for 0-30 off 10 because the pitches are still roads and you can get the runs elsewhere. How does that create a contest between batsman and bowler?

 

[ankitj]

Didn't expect an English fan to come out in support of IPL

A couple of hyperbole here and there aside, the basic point is that test cricket is not being taken as seriously now because of IPL. Applies to varying degrees to players from most of the test playing nations. This is quite hard to deny; dozens of example to substantiate that. You might argue that's the natural course of evolution for the game, but the denial and fussing over the issue is what Monga is coming down heavily on.

 

[ankitj]

Oh and just noticed the tiny column to the right...

Myth The IPL has unearthed Indian talent that would otherwise have gone down the drain.
Reality Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin were established first-class players. Manpreet Gony, Swapnil Asnodkar and Paul Valthaty were IPL finds. RP Singh was once brought back based on IPL performances. The selectors have since learned their lesson.

Myth The IPL has made India better chasers in ODIs.
Reality When India put together their record streak of successful chases, the IPL was years away.

Myth The IPL and Test cricket can co-exist, like football leagues do.
Reality Football leagues don't shorten the game of football to 20 minutes, thus hampering the development of skills for the prime format.

Myth Kerry Packer faced similar, misplaced, resistance.
Reality Packer organised some of the most exciting five-day matches too. The IPL is keeping Indian cricketers from giving their best in Test cricket.

Myth The IPL is making domestic cricket ***y
Reality The IPL is taking from Indian domestic cricket and is giving back nothing. In fact, coaches say it is becoming increasingly difficult to teach kids the basics.

A bit of an angry outburst, I agree. But I am glad that someone comes out and vents his frustration, something that none of the famed commentators do for obvious reasons. It can't be that none of the yesteryear Indian test cricketers are saddened by the influence IPL is having on test cricket.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Those myths are strawman arguments or come with a hugely selective 'reality'. People will say IPL and Test cricket can co-exist, but they're not going to compare it football. That would be nonsensical. They're chalk and cheese. I can't think of any good comparisons because I can't think of any other sports that allow for such diversity in format whilst retaining popularity. ODIs and Test cricket co-existed for decades. The reality is cricket boards need money - without it there is no cricket. ODIs subsidised Test cricket to a large extent. Now T20s are involved as well. Whilst the BCCI had plenty of money anyway more of it is a good thing for Indian cricket. It is the way of the world. Yes more will be wasted on bureaucracy and so on, but a fraction of the pot will filter through where it will do some good for the game.

There will always be kids and overgrown kids who have the cricketing mindset of a Shahid Afridi. The talent will come through eventually and hopefully the players will mature along with it. IPL has gone a long way to improving fielding standards in India. If someone has raw ability you'll see it in IPL, You can't blame the IPL for players becoming more limited overs orientated so they provide a good lifestyle for themselves and their family. Making Test cricket an appealing career choice is down to the BCCI, they're the ones that have the money. It's not down to the IPL to promote Test cricket.

 

[Sanz]

IPL/T20 is here to stay, the sooner we accept it the better off Test Cricket is. I like Test Cricket and I think the fear that It will be a lost species of Cricket because of IPL(or T20) is totally unfounded and illogical. But lets for a moment assume the worst and accept that that IPL/T20 is hurting Test Cricket and eventually cause its demise.

So What ? If a Cricket format can not survive on its own, can not take care of its cricketers i.e. pay them enough to allow them to pursue cricket as a viable career option, it will become extinct sooner or later no matter how we try to protect it. Remember years ago Test Cricket needed ODIs to Keep it alive (at least in the Subcontinent) and future cricketers intersted in pursuing Cricket as a career). Look at the condition and state of Field Hockey in India/subcontinent, No amount of protectionism is going to stop Hockey from becoming an extinct sport. We need to accept the fact that Test Cricket will not be able to survive on its own and it has to learn to co-exist with IPL/T20/ODIs or whatever other format that is going to keep the fans/Future Test Cricketers interested in the game.


Coming back to Mr. Monga's point, I think similar fears were raised some 50 years ago when ODIs were introduced to the world but in hindsight we can safely say that Test Cricket benefited from the emergence of the ODIs. It brought the masses into the games, attracted new generation of cricketers (e.g. Tendulkar who was drawn to the game after our 1983 WC win and rates 2011 WC win as his biggest achievement) and above all has allowed cricket to become a professional sport.