Jottings

1. Why is it so difficult for the rest of the world to understand that their opinion vis a vis the IPL matters not a jot! The only people who can make or break the IPL are the Indians. More specifically, the Indians residents in the 8 cities that make up the ICL teams.

2. If the BCCI had the kind of clout to browbeat other Boards to toe their line ( vide all the talk surrounding the IPL), why are they unable to get IS Bindra elected Chief Executive?

3. Test Cricket is not dead. And it will not die in any hurry anytime soon. What will precipitate its demise is not the IPL or the ICL but the kind of wickets Chennai produced. Think back to the 80s and the bore-a-thons we were subjected to. Continue in that vein and Test Cricket is a goner.

4. The BCCI and the individual franchises are going to have a pretty hard time selling the game to their constituents. And not because of the marquee names. The ICC World XI was full of marquee names and we all know what happened to the Super Tests. For the next two years, with the team rosters already set, I wonder what the degree of attachment will be for a team comprising of fewer local and national players and more of international players.

5. ODIs worked with the Indian public because, at the end of the day, there was a result ( an unfortunate side effect of the bore-a-thons of the 80s). Twenty 20 works because there is a result in a shorter period of time. But there are only so many sixes and fours that people can sit through before fatigue sets in. What people like is a contest. Like the one between India and Australia. Contests are the only thing that can sustain continued interest in the IPL.

6. How many of the International players selected for the IPL will
a. be available for the course of the season over the next three years
b. Exert themselves and maintain the intensities on display when they are playing for their countries?
and how will that impact the attachment the locals feel for their franchise teams?

7. Here is how an ODI generally looks like in India - people crammed in like sardines, sitting cheek by jowl on wooden benches that have seen better days and are on the verge of breaking ( or have already broken). There are no toilet facilities to speak of and even getting water is a minimum 40 minute chore ( trying to make your way through the crowd, hoping not to stamp on anybody, queuing up for the water/ cola, paying an exorbitant amount of money for watered down colas and/or half glasses of water and then wading back through a sea of humanity with paper cups/sandwiches etc in your hand). And this, in 40 degree heat with not much protection from the sun. And it is even worse where there are concrete blocks in place of wooden planks.

And it is far worse ( with a lot more monotony) during Tests.

And yet, people endure. Time and time again. Because there is passion for the game. And it is this passion that generates eyeballs. And it is for these eyeballs that advertiser fall all over themselves . And it is because the advertisers fall all over themselves is the reason why the BCCI generates its millions.

And so, it is particularly galling when commentators of all hues seem to disregard the Indian public in their assessment of the IPL. Why is it taken as a given that Indians will accept whatever is fed to them in the name of cricket?

8. There was talk in the round table discussion between Scyld Berry, CMJ, Simon Barnes and Patrick Kidd on the cost of tickets and how businessmen are taking over the Cricket, the cost of tickets and how the game is alienating itself from the people. Throw in cable TV ( ahead of free to air TV) carrying the telecasts and the alienation is complete. Add to that the fact that Sophia Gardens gets an Ashes Test ahead of Old Trafford.

And yet, it the BCCI that gets called greedy. Fact of the matter is, money makes the world go around. And some Boards are more clued in on the different avenues for making money but have no PR to speak of. And other Boards have a formidable PR machinery with limited sources for generating monies.

And the real debate concerning International players in the IPL is not so much about the BCCI's clout and its ability to throw its weight around as much as the inability of certain Boards to match the monies forked out by individual franchises to individual players. And that inability is not because India has a more robust cricketing system compared to other test playing nations or that the Indian cricket fan is more informed than the others.

9. Finally, Sportsfreak on the IPL teams. A good read.