Disclaimer: I’m NOT a die-hard Indian fan of cricket. I like and respect it for being another great sport like hockey, tennis, basketball or soccer.
Chennai’s assault against Bangalore last Thursday evening was nothing short of a stunner. So much that its joy added to the Tamil New year celebrations on Friday. Milliseconds after watching the triumph on TV, I grabbed my Mac to log into Facebook and like all the pages, wall-posts and status-updates that roared for the Super Kings.
The win obviously brought in praise from the CSK fan community online, but there were also the occasional comments by people bashing the revered Indian Premiere League. Wait, they aren’t the football-loving cricket-hating gang. These ones are from the haters-for-sake-of-hating squad. All of them whining about the evil money making machine and commercial demon that the IPL supposedly is. I’ve observed this group of people ever since IPL started, and for the most part, their argument seems logical. Not.
Yeah, you heard me right. IPL is one of the best things that has happened to India as a country lately. Bashing it purely on the basis of a few controversies is a lame thing to do. In that case, we’d have to hate mobile phones, spiritual gurus, and even sex. Because in India, controversy is part of almost everything – it’s pretty much a way of life. Although TRP ratings have fallen (marginally) over the years, that’s mainly because we’ve been suffering a cricket overdose. On that point I will concede, because even I believe that “too much of anything is good for nothing”. But saying that IPL sucks on the whole due to that is blasphemous.
Marvelous Money Machine
There is a lot of money in the game. True. And what’s wrong with that? That we don’t have this kind of moolah in hockey or soccer? On the flip side, USA has loads of cash in basketball but why hasn’t it used some of that to develop cricket there? Or Nigeria in hockey? It’s not only the pompous BCCI that is cashing in from IPL. In all nine cities, it’s spun a makeshift economic cycle. From ball pickers, to attendants, drivers, cleaners and security staff, who’d otherwise be unemployed in stadiums that mostly lie idle. It’s employed a humongous amount of blue-collar labour. I understand that a lot of it may be black money, but since our netas continually flop in trying to stop black money trading, isn’t this a better way in keeping that money translucent at least, than shipping it to someone’s personal Swiss account? Unless, say you’re of the kind who’d stop reading this now, to go and overthrow the government!
Corporate Celebration
The corporate saga of IPL, though a little overdone (only from the ad-banner point of view), still isn’t anything that could be termed a “commercial hungama”. Think rationally. Money is important and business houses back every successful sporting league on this planet. It happens right from the EPL to the NBA. And economically, that’s a no-brainer because no kind of game can generate enough money by ticket sales alone. Corporate sponsorship is great. For Indian companies, seeing their brand being displayed on an international stage must be a moment of elation. As for the multinationals, we should be proud of how almost all of them take interest in the Indian market, reaching the customer in the best possible way. Volkswagen and Vodafone are perfect examples.
Tapping the Talent
IPL has burst open a huge talent lock. For cricketers, we’ve certainly had the Ranji Trophy and the like but IPL makes it a lot more streamlined, accessible and delightful, especially the way local talent is allowed to groom and rub shoulders with international talent. Its given society a great opportunity to like international players, appreciate them, and move away from the sense of sadistic pleasure derived from laughing at the OZies for just one national ODI win against them. But IPL has moved beyond cricketers. Those adorable Zoozoo’s and the series of leg-pulling Virgin adverts were creations by Indian brains. IPL provides a recognizable platform for such display of talent.
India Inspiring
International appeal. This is by far the best thing IPL has done for us, and also my favorite argument. For a country that is always stereotyped by the international media in a negative light, IPL has stunned the world about how modern India can be as rich and exquisite too. We’re not just about curry or slumdog shitholes. We can drink, dance and party. We can have fun, and we can produce the baap of fun. We can also make more money in just five years, than you could only dream of, while having all this fun. Thus, international participants – players, officials, and technical staff – have tasted the richness in cultural diversity that we have, and not to mention, all the pampering and love. Its how we love to treat our guests, and I’m sure they’re glad about being part of IPL. It has also shown our organization capabilities. IPL is one perfect example to show the coming of Indian dominance. And I love that beyond description!
Certainly, IPL has had its problems. The principal one being the scam it created, but everyone has gotten over that. Personally, I only miss Lalit Modi as the head honcho. Yes, I love charismatic, autocratic leaders – Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Lalit Modi. They don’t sit like suit-clad wussies in AC cabins making presentations about what went wrong. They have the charisma, and they make things happen. Mr. Modi brought the IPL for us, and at least I’m happy about that.
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Born in Chennai & bred in Nairobi, Vivek lives between the two cities, and God’s own City – Kochi. Currently pursuing a bachelors’ in IT, he inclines to the virtual arena for World-Wide-Wisdom. Though of few words, he could be excessively demanding, spontaneous and a control freak. Fine craft, aesthetics, architecture & décor is what he’d extol and a select coterie of music completes the cycle. “What to do next” is the never-ending mantra in his life, and writing adds some dimension to those thoughts; perhaps!
Peta Jinnath Andersen is a freelance and fiction writer. Born in Sydney, Australia, to a Fiji-Indian father and Scottish mother, she’s a bit confused about her background, but loves it all the same. Currently living in the US, she has just had her first child, and is busy studying hard in an effort to learn more about her Indian heritage – including taking Hindi lessons – so she can teach her son about just what it is that makes an NRI special.
on April 23, 2012
at 7:57 pm
Your article is just awesome!! \m/
on April 24, 2012
at 1:33 pm
Thanks Shubhangini!
on May 18, 2012
at 8:59 am
Was bored at work when I remembered this website, so I decided to check you had updated something here. Anyway, this piece was really entertaining to read through. I must add that the arguments flow much more smoothly in this one.
Personally, I prefer football to cricket so I have not given much thought to IPL than the commercialization of a game I am not interested in. However, your arguments struck a chord, and although I might not end up watching IPL, I do not think I am going to frown upon it either!
PS. Scams are fun! India thrives on scams, it keeps our courts busy and in the limelight!
on May 18, 2012
at 1:18 pm
Thanks Anju
Even I’m not a cricket fanatic and this article was never written with an intention to pull eyeballs towards the IPL. It’s just the good we’ve got from the IPL!