IPL-The New Face of Gentleman Sport-Can It Entice The Gentleman Fans of The Game?

Life in this 21st century has been changing a lot and we have started to run with time. Change in pace changed the ways and means of entertainment as well and these have undergone a drastic makeover. Gone are the 8-ball over in a cricket game that we saw as children and the 6-ball overs took them over with 60-over games. Later came the 50-over matches and people seem to be not satisfied with it, rather have no patience to sit for 100-long overs of a match. Now came the 20-over innings and the 40-over matches in what are called as league matches, probably someone who watched soccer and hockey matches a lot would have conceived this shorter version of cricket match. Lets give the credit to him and jet set to watch these dwarfened matches? Are they interesting at all?

Amidst heated arguments on controversy and hype this gentleman’s game, has transformed to a new bonsai version at Bangalore in the form of IPL or Indian Premier League. Along the same lines of county cricket, the Indian Premier League was split into several teams, which are then auctioned. Each team has players from different cricket playing nations. Business behemoths such as the Ambanis and the Mallyas and celebrity personalities including King Khan and Preity Zinta sweated out to own the teams. Then the respective team managements selected players from all over the world forming a great Asianafrican and Australian-English mixture. Leave the fact whether they teamed together well or not……the T20 season of cricket started raising cricket fever and fervor across the world.

8 teams are sweating out for the past 30 days under the floodlights for the coveted title of T20 IPL champs. IPL prompted Cricket Australia to start similar league and it pronounced that by next summer they are there with a similar one. But we will have to wait if people would entice this version of cricket. After all they are just an evening affair and so far people are enjoying the cricket and sidelights of it as well. The cheerleaders with their twisting abs are taking a center of attraction at the grounds and people going crazy as and when they start their way of cheering their team members.

Teams too are getting extra kicks by way of jaadoo ki jhappis and IPL brought women into the dressing rooms as well (Preity Zinta paid a surprise visit to the dressing room of Punjab XI Kings). Slaps and bans are the adverse effects if we can say any of the IPL. Best part is that there is no waste of a casual leave to watch a match. Instead of a whole day affair, IPL has made it an evening affair where one can enjoy the game after a day’s hectic daily chores.

Having said that IPL no doubt involved BIG MONEY... from the vaults of biggies and a turn of game can make them mad; whether Vijay Mallya lamenting on Dravid or firing Charu Sharma for the team’s poor performance or SRK’s continuous frowns (not made at a cosmetic clinic for sure. They seem to be manifestation of his reaction to Kolkata Knight Riders performance) or pretty Preity Zinta’s never ending hugs to her team are just examples. For a commoner though it is no doubt a game that always gives thrill of an edge-of-seat and he can enjoy the game to the hilt but time can only say whether this game will enthrall the gentleman fans.