Indian Premier League: India’s Greatest Gift to Cricket?

The Indian Premier League is half way through its inaugural season, and I must say, it has been more than just a hit thus far. The games have been exciting, new talents have emerged, and most importantly, the crowds for every game have been excellent.

Jaipur, or rather The Rajasthan Royals, have been by far the best unit, with Chennai, Delhi and Punjab being probable contenders for the semi final spots at this stage.

On the other hand The Bangalore Royal Challengers have been a disaster. With dirty linen being washed in public, things seem to be getting worse for the Dravid-led team. Kolkata looked like the team to catch up to at the beginning, but departure of heavy weights like Ponting has hit them hard.

Arrival of Akhtar, Gul and some good local talent has seen a revival of their fortunes, and they have looked strong under Ganguly.

The most interesting has been the case of Mumbai. The team has been under fire by the local media for everything from the players bought, to the name of the team, Mumbai Indians. When you don’t win, everything seems to go wrong, and that pretty much sums up this case.

Unavailability of the Little Master hasn’t helped. Yet, with the likes of Nehra finding the kind of form that saw him take a six wicket haul against England in the World Cup half a decade ago, and emergence of youngsters like Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni and Yogesh Takawale (it’s truly the most “Indian” driven side of them all), the team has turned a corner.

Three wins on the trot stand testament to that. Of course having veterans Pollock and Jayasuriya at the helm has contributed too. Pollock especially has been scintillating with his all-round show, being by far the best performer in the side. Bravo has been the most vital asset in the side. It’s no coincidence that the team turned to winning ways almost immediately after his (last minute) inclusion.

Tendulkar’s return against Chennai on the 14^th on bolsters this side’s dynamics and they may yet make a sudden leap.

The batting, as expected has been top class, with the likes of Gilchrist, Hayden and even McCullum being the stars with some memorable innings. Ganguly, Sehwag and Dhoni have provided a few sparks, but all are yet to churn out consistent performances like Gambhir and Rohit Sharma.

Fielding has been exceptional. Truly the IPL has been host to the greatest cricketing extravaganza yet.

Now hold on! I’m missing out on something. What is it? We have discussed the crowds, the teams, the batsmen, the fielding. The cheerleaders? Ah, the bowlers! How silly of me.

The reason I feared the IPL during its formative stages, and indeed so did many others, was that T20 would reduce cricket to a swing-your-bat-and see-if-you-are-lucky kind of a game. The bowlers would be dumb spectators, was the word going around.

Well, what we have is quite to the contrary. I mentioned that the IPL has dispelled some of the myths of the IPL. The place for bowlers in the shortest format of the game has been defined. They aren’t human bowling machines. As far as I can see, the game revolves more around their performances than around the batsmen's.

Thus far, teams with the most lethal bowling units have been the most consistent. Jaipur are the number one side on the table. Just look at their bowlers. Sohail Tanvir leading the way with record figures like the six wicket haul, Watson chipping in with wickets in almost every game, and Munaf Patel and Siddharth Trivedi providing the edge to the pace department. The evergreen Shane Warne has bowled as if he were 25!

He has been economical, and though he doesn’t have many wickets in the kitty, he has been a very vital cog in the Royals’ scheme of things! Glenn McGrath, too, has been a revelation. His bowling has almost single handedly put Delhi to their current position.

Of course Gambhir, Dhawan and Sehwag have been there. But batting on flat tracks isn’t the challenge teams face. Ishant Sharma has been spectacular as well. Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, and Nehra have been stars for their respective sides.

The find of the tournament, undoubtedly has been Manpreet Gony, of the Super Kings. The tall, Punjab bowler hits the deck hard and maintains a good line and length. V.R.V. Singh has done much the same for Punjab(Kings XI).

Brett Lee, whilst he was here, was by far the best bowler in the tournament.

Extracting pace, bounce and sing from the deadest of wickets, he carried the fortunes of the Kings XI on his muscular shoulder with seeming ease. Not too long ago, Ian Chappell stated that fast bowling was at an all time low. Well, behold, the IPL has put together one of the greatest shows of fast bowling I have ever witnessed.

Not only have current greats proven their worth, new gems have been un-earthed as well. Tonight’s performance by Shoaib Akhtar epitomizes this fact.

Point to note: look up the best bowling figures in the IPL so far. On the dry, spin friendly tracks of India, the number of fast bowlers on the list is mindblowing!

Fast bowling is not the only thing that’s seen renaissance in the IPL. T20 was always going to be a game for the allrounders and the so called “utility players”. The likes of Watson, Pollock, Bravo, Laxmi Shukla, Oram, et al have only proven the fact.

The League is certainly off to a dream start. But will it be sustained? Can it? How suitable will the future tours program end up for this event? These questions will hold the key for Modi & Co.

From the fan’s point of view, this has been a ride worth every penny invested by the people involved. But how far will it affect the game? I doubt test cricket is dead. Yet, is there any room left? Is the ODI dead? T20 is certainly the format that can revolutionize the way the game is perceived.

Cricket may soon rival football in terms of international popularity. Cricket may yet live.

The IPL It’s fast turning out to be India’s greatest gift to the game. It’s revolutionized the T20 in India. Will it revolutionize the game on the world stage? Indeed will it revolutionize the sport as a whole?