Many who believed that cricket should focus national commitments often frowned upon the IPL, in its initial years. In fact many cricketers also did not like the new structure as all players were mixed into regional teams.
Take the example of Ricky Ponting who had opted out after the first season and had returned after a brief retirement from international cricket. This shows that the IPL has a very laissez faire aspect that it has and the future of cricket.
An Inner Tale
There are several new avenues as well. For example, many of the Twenty20 men are participating in the several leagues that are popping up across the globe and many of the younger players who failed in making it to national team’s have made them selves available anywhere.
The IPL has offered more opportunities and the choice of the individual has become the main thing. This can also be viewed as detrimental to the original structure of cricket in which a bilateral series were important-but in a world that is quickly changing, cricket as a spectator sport has to evolve.
So can these two formations in sport co exist with each other? We have seen that it is quite possible in the world of football, but cricket will require a sense of accommodation among the different stakeholders and a strong statesmanship coming from an influential quarter.
The IPL is the biggest development in cricket’s history; it is a combination of big business, show business and sport. Obviously there is plenty of cash involved and it is a global platform on which sports men can showcase their talents.
This concoction has attracted many players since the creation of the IPL and many more young hopefuls- so the generation of interest in the game is one of the biggest things of the IPL.
The Last Laugh
Conservatives in this industry see the IPL as a vulgar and grotesque display of the game that has destroyed both the fundamental techniques and the ethos of the game. Many others think that the IPL is relevant to modern times.
The participation of players has proved that they can cope and the fact that the IPL has affected the techniques of the game is still being debated. So while the IPL is a grand commercial marketing move, it is not always about the money but about facing new challenges.
