One of cricket commentators' most repeated cliches is: "Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties." Though that may be true for all other formats of the game - Test, One-Day International and international T20s - it certainly isn't true for the Indian Premier League. The IPL is T20, so to speak, but it has become such a monster that it deserves to be called a separate format of the sport. When you carve out a special window for what is actually a poor imitation of the National Basketball Association or the European Football League, it surely deserves to be called a separate format of the sport.
The IPL is actually a big circus, a tamasha where people come to be entertained. They come to see the drama - mostly manufactured - and do not care much about the quality of the sport. If N Srinivasan hadn't been forced out of his job by the Supreme Court, I would have imagined him to do a Russell Crowe from Gladiator and scream, "Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?", to the fans, the media and the so-called experts.
Glorious uncertainties in the IPL? No. There are many things that are certain to happen in the seventh edition of the IPL, which started on April 16 in Abu Dhabi. Two Indian players will indulge in a moment of sledging, and the likes of Ravi Shastri and Harsha Bhogle - with a certain pride and smugness in their voices - will tell us, "They [the players] are teammates when they wear the Indian jersey, but such is the competitive nature of the IPL that once you cross the white line … blah blah blah."
There will be at least two or three former cricketers - the smart money should be on Bishen Singh Bedi being the first - who, over the course of the tournament, will say, "The IPL is rubbish; all it brings out is greed and it is corrupting the youngsters." Imran Khan, too, will condemn the unfair treatment being meted out to the Pakistani cricketers and say, "The biggest problem with world cricket is now the IPL."
Talking of former cricketers, don't rule out the Chappell brothers - Greg and Ian - slamming the Board of Control for Cricket in India as well as the IPL. We can also expect that from English cricketers who may appear to be lamenting the decline of Test cricket but are actually bewailing the fall of England being the power centre in world cricket.
Now that he is retired, you would expect that Sachin Tendulkar won't be gracing your television screens any longer. You couldn't be more wrong. Tendulkar is "mentor-in-chief" for the Mumbai Indians. So every time the team is playing, the camera will focus on Tendulkar at least 10 times and Messrs Shastri and Bhogle will dish out pearls of wisdom on "what a great thing the IPL is as it gives youngsters a chance to be in the same dressing room as the great Sachin Tendulkar".
And the same drivel will be repeated when an Indian player and an Australian player will celebrate at the fall of wicket: "Oh, the IPL is so brilliant, where else will you see sworn enemies celebrate like long-lost brothers." Really, Ravi Shastri? They're being paid millions of dollars; they would perhaps dance on request too if you asked them to.
Since half of the tournament is being held outside India, we will see a host of celebrities rush to Abu Dhabi to "support" their teams. The team owners - such as Nita Ambani, Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty - will get as much camera attention as the players. Most IPL "fans" are perhaps now used to the fact that the league is as much about sport - it actually isn't - as it is about entertainment.
The teams have spent a lot of money on manufacturing passion for the IPL and for themselves, but what they seem to have forgotten is that a league-based format works mostly where there is tribalism. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist in Indian sport and among Indian fans. Most people living in Manchester will support either Manchester City or Manchester United. In Madrid, they will support Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid. In India, someone living in Delhi might well support Chennai, Bangalore or Mumbai for different reasons. The marketing gurus of the IPL can try as hard as they can, but tribalism cannot be created by putting out huge advertisements in the newspaper.
Controversy is an integral part of the IPL; you name a controversial issue and it has happened in the past editions of the IPL. Drugs? Check. Sexual assault allegations? Check. A player slapping another player? Done. Match-fixing? Done. Another certain thing about this game of "glorious uncertainties" is that it will once again generate some controversy - and we will be told that controversies will come and go but the IPL is here to stay. And that arguably is the most unfortunate thing in the world of cricket.
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
