Well there might be less number of T20 matches compared to the number of one day internationals and test matches played. But, the number of mega tournaments that involve the T20 format of the game are extremely high. This was more so after the inaugural edition of the world T20 happened to be a major success in 2007. This was boosted after the finals of that edition happened to be the arch rivals namely India and Pakistan, between whom any sort of contest is not only welcome but also viewed by most part of the world and not restricting only to the two sub continent nations mentioned.
Added to that, it was India who won the inaugural T20 world cup by beating their arch rivals Pakistan which boosted the fan following the T20 format of the game to much higher level because India is the nation that stands apart when it comes to cricket crazy people. And with such a cricket crazy nation making it big on the biggest stage can draw more people to the stands and in front of the television sets. This craze was first cashed in by something called as the Indian Cricket League which started a parallel league which was opposed not only by the BCCI but also by all the cricket boards over the world.
The BCCI couldn't rest in peace as long as the ICL breathed its last. As a result of this, the BCCI came out with a similar format of the game when it decided to launch the multi million dollar Indian Premier League in early 2008 with an attempt to rival the ICL and partly to take the game forward. And, needless to be said, there have been so far three editions of the Indian Premier League every time drawing more crowds to the stadiums and also forcing more people early back from their jobs to enjoy the action in front of the television sets.
And then, there is this third edition of the world T20 being held in the Caribbean which is just a year later since Pakistan lifted the trophy last year in June. And then since the year the IPL was maunched, the world's major cricket governing body namely the ICC comes out with the idea of holding the Champions League T20 tournament which considers the top three domestic teams from all major cricketing nations. The one scheduled at South Africa this year should have been the third one had the inaugural edition been taken off successfully. This stripped the Rajasthan Royals from a chance to take part in the tournament.
However, one thing that is to be noticed from the above stats is that everyone being initiated by the Indian cricket board are interested in bringing the T20 format of the game not only forward but also to such an extent that people go sick over this and one fine day stop watching the same.
Showing posts with label Indian Cricket League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Cricket League. Show all posts
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Is ICL A Lost Episode?
With sponsors of each and every team ready to pour in millions of dollars by bidding each Tom-Dick & Harry, irrespective of his caliber in the sport called T20 cricket, even in the third edition of the Indian Premier League that is due to start on the first of March and thank god it is in India this year, the success of the same can well be guessed. However, at the same time, the so called rebel league by the BCCI and also the ones that laid the foundation for a league of its kind in India-the Indian Cricket League, is found nowhere making news whatsoever.
The last time the ICL was in the news was, on November 26th 2008, when the ICL sponsored ICL World series was in progress and had to end abruptly after the great 26/11 took over the news headlines. The last match until then and also till date was the one between ICL Pakistani vs ICL World, the result of which not being of great importance. From then onwards, ICL has only been history. Neither has any ICL sponsor came out with any new ideas nor were they slammed for not taking the leagur forward by the board members. All people who had voted and fought for the ICL are now found running for covers.
One reason for such a decline would no doubt be the BCCI who at first named the ICL as a rebel league, following which players featuring in the league were banned from international contracts by the BCCI. After the BCCI, every international cricket boards started following suit and started banning players from their international contracts as well. All these despite the ICL sponsors ready to release the players for their official duties. Following that was lack of the quality of cricket played in the ICL. There was hardly any sort of big hitting (that forms the funda of T20 cricket) or skill display from the players.
All that could be seen was the batsmen waving his bats which sometimes saw the ball cover the ropes. Second to that was the quantity, where there was just one season being played in a year. And during the remaining parts of the years, the player would have had to cool his heels at home, which is difficult at times for players who are love to sweat it out on the grounds. Stupidity lied at its peak when a so called world series in ICL consists of just 4 teams namely Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and the Rest of the world. With all these, players start pulling off from ICL to join the their respective teams and also feature in IPL.
Now, the only next thing to happen is that sponsors who had bid on a team in the ICL also follow the players and come out to invest for a team in so that they don't waste funds anymore on worthless things like the ICL. But, what if the BCCI bans sponsors from the rebel league in investing in the IPL???
The last time the ICL was in the news was, on November 26th 2008, when the ICL sponsored ICL World series was in progress and had to end abruptly after the great 26/11 took over the news headlines. The last match until then and also till date was the one between ICL Pakistani vs ICL World, the result of which not being of great importance. From then onwards, ICL has only been history. Neither has any ICL sponsor came out with any new ideas nor were they slammed for not taking the leagur forward by the board members. All people who had voted and fought for the ICL are now found running for covers.
One reason for such a decline would no doubt be the BCCI who at first named the ICL as a rebel league, following which players featuring in the league were banned from international contracts by the BCCI. After the BCCI, every international cricket boards started following suit and started banning players from their international contracts as well. All these despite the ICL sponsors ready to release the players for their official duties. Following that was lack of the quality of cricket played in the ICL. There was hardly any sort of big hitting (that forms the funda of T20 cricket) or skill display from the players.
All that could be seen was the batsmen waving his bats which sometimes saw the ball cover the ropes. Second to that was the quantity, where there was just one season being played in a year. And during the remaining parts of the years, the player would have had to cool his heels at home, which is difficult at times for players who are love to sweat it out on the grounds. Stupidity lied at its peak when a so called world series in ICL consists of just 4 teams namely Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and the Rest of the world. With all these, players start pulling off from ICL to join the their respective teams and also feature in IPL.
Now, the only next thing to happen is that sponsors who had bid on a team in the ICL also follow the players and come out to invest for a team in so that they don't waste funds anymore on worthless things like the ICL. But, what if the BCCI bans sponsors from the rebel league in investing in the IPL???
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