Post by smartray on Apr 27, 2011 9:37:12 GMT -5
Do not worry about the title, I am not going to talk about 401K, AAP and other retirement related stuff. I am as bad at it as Sreeshant was with his bowling in the world cup. Well, I am talking about the IPL (Indian Premier League) and the future of one of the sports that I love to watch and play. One person made me love this game and no guesses there but it is worrying me that the way things are going it will soon be retirement for the longer versions of the game. No I am not talking about Test cricket(it is on ventilator right now), the 50 over format has become a longer version (which is on crutches already) when compared to the T20 even tho' we had a fine 50 over world cup tournament.
Recently, one of the articles said "Thank God for the IPL" and continued "it gives security for players retiring" which is perfectly true when you look at it from that side of the prism. But the light is not that colorful when you look at it from another angle. That is, if the dessert becomes the entrée then people are left hungry or fall sick by over eating the dessert. The impact is 3 fold -
Firstly, look at what it does to the fans - 4 days just before the IPL started when India won the world cup people felt a sense of unity, started looking at the flag with a little more pride and there was euphoria not only in India but where ever an Indian cricket fan has set his foot on this globe - and suddenly you see these same men are pitted against each other. That definitely ruined my appetite ! I don't know about you guys, but atleast I am not watching or following the IPL as I want to still savour the world cup victory for a few more days.
Secondly, this event moulds the youth who are eyeing to be the future cricketers to be more of swatters and sloggers than make them learn to play a proper front foot defense or a back foot nudge for a single. The T20 is killing those delicate cuts and flicks, the thrills of putting a batsman to test on a lively green top and make smell the leather or grit of playing out of your skin with 6 fielders around the bat appealing every ball bowled at the batsmen. The emoluments that come along with this is making sure that the cricketers of tomorrow focus on brandishing power over timing, brutality over finesse, slog over class and longevity over skill ! Make no mistake, T20 definitely requires skill but the fine art is lost in that process and what you see is a different ball game altogether.
Lastly, the toll it would take on the players .... The fatigue by playing so much cricket is shortening the 'life span' of a cricketer. You see Malinga, Vettori cutting short their careers so that they can prolong their T20 careers (Flintoff was the unlucky one, he had to end all form of cricket). No it is not the problem of the players doing this. It is the problem of those who do not play the game but sit and make these decision and draw these schedules with their minds switched off and without letting the players switch off mentally and give players' minds and body a break.
It is so disappointing to see that these people have no respect for the game and just want to churn out money out of every minute / seconds if possible. Also, I would partially place the blame on the players. The Dhonis, Tendulkars, Strauss, Pontings and the likes should stand up to this and protest on such tough schedules rather than just stating that it is part and parcel of the game. No it is not. At least I do not want so much cricket !
To summarize, my grouse is not against T20 but against the amount of cricket played these days. Agreed that T20 is a great way to spread cricket to other nations but T20 is not all what cricket has to offer. It would be like describing India as a land of elephants and snake charmers to the West. Too much is too bad and it is not helping the cause and instead of enhancing and nurturing talents the organizers are accelerating the retirement of Test and One day games and killing the interests of those who follow ! I'd say - force retire the organizers. What you say ?
Recently, one of the articles said "Thank God for the IPL" and continued "it gives security for players retiring" which is perfectly true when you look at it from that side of the prism. But the light is not that colorful when you look at it from another angle. That is, if the dessert becomes the entrée then people are left hungry or fall sick by over eating the dessert. The impact is 3 fold -
Firstly, look at what it does to the fans - 4 days just before the IPL started when India won the world cup people felt a sense of unity, started looking at the flag with a little more pride and there was euphoria not only in India but where ever an Indian cricket fan has set his foot on this globe - and suddenly you see these same men are pitted against each other. That definitely ruined my appetite ! I don't know about you guys, but atleast I am not watching or following the IPL as I want to still savour the world cup victory for a few more days.
Secondly, this event moulds the youth who are eyeing to be the future cricketers to be more of swatters and sloggers than make them learn to play a proper front foot defense or a back foot nudge for a single. The T20 is killing those delicate cuts and flicks, the thrills of putting a batsman to test on a lively green top and make smell the leather or grit of playing out of your skin with 6 fielders around the bat appealing every ball bowled at the batsmen. The emoluments that come along with this is making sure that the cricketers of tomorrow focus on brandishing power over timing, brutality over finesse, slog over class and longevity over skill ! Make no mistake, T20 definitely requires skill but the fine art is lost in that process and what you see is a different ball game altogether.
Lastly, the toll it would take on the players .... The fatigue by playing so much cricket is shortening the 'life span' of a cricketer. You see Malinga, Vettori cutting short their careers so that they can prolong their T20 careers (Flintoff was the unlucky one, he had to end all form of cricket). No it is not the problem of the players doing this. It is the problem of those who do not play the game but sit and make these decision and draw these schedules with their minds switched off and without letting the players switch off mentally and give players' minds and body a break.
It is so disappointing to see that these people have no respect for the game and just want to churn out money out of every minute / seconds if possible. Also, I would partially place the blame on the players. The Dhonis, Tendulkars, Strauss, Pontings and the likes should stand up to this and protest on such tough schedules rather than just stating that it is part and parcel of the game. No it is not. At least I do not want so much cricket !
To summarize, my grouse is not against T20 but against the amount of cricket played these days. Agreed that T20 is a great way to spread cricket to other nations but T20 is not all what cricket has to offer. It would be like describing India as a land of elephants and snake charmers to the West. Too much is too bad and it is not helping the cause and instead of enhancing and nurturing talents the organizers are accelerating the retirement of Test and One day games and killing the interests of those who follow ! I'd say - force retire the organizers. What you say ?
. I am more of a purist and still love Test Cricket. I would still prefer a re-run Viv Richards's test innings on TV than this IPL. My kid has become a big fan of IPL, so kind of forced to watch it.