IPL THE SIX POINT PAIN

It’s the IPL season again and with it brings a whole lot of new surprises. Getting first to the strategic break where the break of around 5 min has been reduced to two strategic breaks of 2.5 min each. Which the team takes only when it is mandatory. This is the most lamest tactic of earning quick bucks through the advertisements.

Secondly the ball by ball advertisements further adds to the agony of the viewers who still are much interested in the match. As it is with the overdose of the T20 cricket, people still don’t go for the entire 40 overs. Instead they are more interested in the first fice and the last five.

Thirdly the constant spotlight on the celebrity reaction too is a bit of a nuisance for a purist like me, where it is much better to watch the action replay of wicket fallen instead of SRK or a Priety (I never get her spelling right) cheering for no apparent reason. Damn they have earned their due.

Fourth the mongoose bat by Hayden. Now tell me why does HAydos need a mongoose. Already a giant of a man with the talent of a genius, come on now show us poor Indian bowlers some mercy we too are coming here to play not just be spectator of some of pretty hard mongoose hitting.

Fifth and the most important What the hell is DADA doing at the crease. It looks like a Jackson moonwalk everytime he tries to clear midwicket. Even his fielding has gone from worse to even worse. And moreover he has tried every position in the KKR batting lineup ,but to no avail.

Sixth our Indian team is getting injured like a bunch of oldies. We have to remember that we have T20 world cup coming up, with Gambhir, SEhwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni all having to visit the quacks things are not all looking bright for the Indian T20 squad. Do we have to bear another early exit from a major tournament.
And yes lastly with the way Sachin is batting I think he still has it in me to make it to the T20 squad. Any supporters???

EPL VS IPL

AS we move to the final stages of the UEFA champions League we find that an increasing dominance by the English teams have taken charge of the championships.Take for example since Liverpool had turned the tables on AC Milan on that eventful day at Istanbul when their talismanic captain Steven Gerrard had taken the coveted trophy that had eluded them for so many years.Yes the English had it in 1999 when United beat BAyern Munichen but that was it.This time again last year we have seen an increasing number of English teams clearing the league stages quite easily and securing the semifinal and final spots.But what is the reason of this sudden increase of English teams performance in the Champions League.

One major contributor could be the money involved in the game.It seems unlike the past years where you got star players in mostly a Real Madrid or a AC Milan.Now there is a slow but a very definite shift in power between Europe.You can see top players want to wear the English club jersey come what may.England too instead of taking their old and conservative stand have welcomed players from abroad with open arms.It could be very evident from the RooneyCristiano Ronaldo issue.Moreover Ronaldo staying at ManU dropping Real Madrid,Robinho's concern over Real Madrid,defines only one thing that England is now the strength of European football.However coming to today's tie between Manchester United and Porto ,given the momentum that Man United are riding on they should quite easily put this out of the window.Even though they had survived a scare against Villa last week ,but that in itself shows the confidence that the team is riding on,and of course not to mention the character it has shown during crucial times in the past.

Seeing the success of the EPL over the last few years and the success of it in attracting mass coverage around the world,there is a lesson to be learnt by the IPL,the Indian Premier League that is.For years the ICC has tried to reach out to the other world countries to spread cricket in the even the remotest of areas like Papua New Guinea.But what they are missing here is that they have an excellent opportunity at hand now.They have the most spectacular bonanza that cricket has ever seen starting from April 18,so they could make use of it in a much more efficient.I think one rule that the ICC has to scrap is the 4 foreign player rule.I think unlimited number of foreign players should be allowed to participate in a team,so that teams would go out that extra mile in buying players from lesser known countries but are quite talented.This will lead them toexposure to the international level and such players when they go back they can show a determined fight in the World Cup.Lets face it no country like their players to lose no matter how inconsequential the match is.The case in hand is our national football team.Football is largely not famous because we have not won a major tournament since ages and people really
dont like losers.So if we give the IPL franchisees to take up players from lesser known countries they will learn a lot and will come back stronger and better.Once these teams start giving a tough fight in International tournaments then their respective countrymen would start taking them seriuosly and gradually interests would start growing insuch countries which would take cricket on a different level altogether.

PARADIGM SHIFT -IPL

Shifting of the IPL could be one big factor which could decide the winner of this years cricket bonanza. Starting from the 18^th the IPL has been shifted to South Africa which had successfully held the T20 world cup. The new venues could create problems for the teams heavily dependent on local talent. For example Rajasthan Royals could this time find it quite difficult to retain their championship crown. A quick look at their team and we could see the obvious. Lots of huge heavers and agricultural stroke players, but except a few like Smith and Watson we don’t find any quality striking prowess in their ranks. You have Yousuf Pathan the find of last year’s IPL. But how successful would he be on pitches are not entirely bating friendly. As we found out in the T20 in Africa. The score of 160 is said to be a competitive score over here. Instead of in India in which 160 is hardly competitive. The pitches here are bouncy with swing taking place in Durban which is closer to sea. In the nights it becomes impossible to score on. How the local Indian players who re fed on flat tracks over here in India, only time will tell.

The team to look out in this edition are Chennai with Dhoni at the helm and quality players like Hussey, A Morkel,Ntini,Hayden,Oram,it seems that Dhoni is all set to take home the country gold. Apart from these players the others to look for are David Warner,Owais Shah, Flintoff,Peitersen,Tyron Henderson and others alike. However its been strange that not many teams have concentrated on their bowling department. I think they are happier to do away with their bits and pieces bowlers who can stop the flow of runs and give them their bonus wickets. Shaun tait has been a fresh entry.Players like Johan botha ,Brett jeeves etc have not been considered seriously. Of course the change in the venue comes as a big surprise to everyone, but you got to have the right balance.

The other important matter to look into is that the Indian Board is going to lose a lot in the stadium rights and revenue.However the major chunk of their revenues comes from Television rights and sponsorships,but still its loss for them and India.The younger brigade would find it tough to adjust to the African conditions of pace and bounce although we are sure that the organizers would do enough to ensure flate decks.However even if the decks are juicy and responsive it is an excellent opportunity for the selectors to pick good quality stroke players who can adjust to the home and away conditions as well.Another thing is that over here in India lots of our bowling talent gets murdered even before it has a chance to get into the international arena.However it is a great opportunity for our local bowlers who might find ti helpful to bowl on such responsive condtions.

Whatever might be the case we are sure to enjoy it as many people are actually looking forward to it.With success of the first edition ,this time with the entry of English players into the setup things are certainly looking rosy ahead.