IPL 4

IPL season 4 – is about to end not before a spat between Warne and Dixit, the grudge between King Khan and Ganguly (assumed), the pitch controversy and to top it all the viewership fatigue. IPL 4 will be remembered for more reasons than one that has drawn the fan base but in an opposite and negative direction.

To start with, the fresh auctions took place in January to shuffle the players from one team to another but the owners of the franchises did not realize the loyalties that can emerge by retaining the “fan icon players” within the same team. Mumbai has reaped the fruits of retaining their icon players (Sachin, Malinga, Pollard and Bhajji) and has now emerged as a funtastic fan base franchise. Chennai has followed the same pattern and retained the captain cool and Raina and have made their sincere efforts not to change the nucleus of the team. As a result, the loyalties of Mumbai and Chennai are not fractured and it is directly proportional to the crowds it has drawn in each games.

On the other hand, Sourav Ganguly, the face of Bengal, the Prince of Kolkata and the reason for the KKR fan base till 2010, had to be left out of the team due to many reasons (some perceived and some proved). This was not taken well from the viewers’ point of view which was evident from the empty stands at the Eden. Gambhir the Delhi boy has taken the reigns but the panache and flavor that Ganguly can bring is still seen to be fractured. Yuvraj Singh – the pied piper of Punjab – who is now a Pune Warrior has lost his Kings cap of Punjab. The team of Punjab has only one local player (Mandeep Singh) playing in the XI which is captained by an Australian, coached by an Australian! Thus there is an immediate need to retrospect the gains of IPL on whether it has achieved the goals that it was meant to achieve?

With SLPL being around the corner, too much of cricket is being played by too many players which are resulting in the “fatigue factor” not only amongst the players but also amongst the viewers. It is almost a routine now to see a cricket match being played every day but the administrators rarely think whether it is viewed? The ultimate outcome of all these will result in making cricket extinct and lose its fervor and flavor! It is high time we think on the players physique point of view and thus avoid an age where “bowling is bowled by machines” and batting done by cartoons!

Tags: Cricket, Fractured Loyalties, Indian Premier League, IPL 2011, IPL 4, Viewership Fatigue