Huw Richards in International Herald Tribune:
If there were any doubt about the India Premier League’s being a major international sporting event, it was ended this week as the league and the news media staged one of those stand-up arguments about coverage and intellectual property rights that have become an invariable part of the prelude to World Cups in all sports.
Not that there was ever much doubt about the league’s status. Ever since the owners of the eight franchises threw vast sums at the world’s prime talent at the IPL player auction on Feb. 20, it has been a given that cricket world would never be the same again. The only debate has been as to whether the change will be beyond recognition or not.
Scyld Berry, editor of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack and one of the most historically aware journalists, argued in his newspaper column last week that Friday’s opening day – when Bangalore Royal Challengers entertain Calcutta Knight Riders – marks the beginning of a fourth phase in cricket’s long history.
Lights, cameras, dancing girls and cash? Ready. Now for the action . . .
In The Times, UK, Alan Lee reports from Bangalore:
A vast placard gazes down on the shrieking traffic outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. “Born in Bangalore to thrill the nation” it declares amid moody images of the players who will launch cricket’s latest revolution tomorrow. Near by, a small, sober poster reminds us that it will also be World Heritage Day.
If cricket had a similar occasion, a movement to protect its sacred customs, it would rail against the Indian Premier League (IPL). It may also ponder the irony of such irreverence being the product of a country whose population used to see the traditional game as a temple.
Get ready for the cheerleaders
From The Times, UK:
The thud you can hear is the sound of jaws dropping at MCC: India’s first cheerleading squad is about to high-kick its way into the venerable sport of cricket.
On Friday the Washington Redskins cheerleaders, usually found urging on the American football side of the same name, will make their subcontinental debut when they take to the field for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, the newly created cricket team.
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I read this really good article written by an Indian marketing analyst as to how the IPL is not getting fans involved or excited, inspite of the big bucks and film stars. Read the article on http://www.winningedgemagazine.com/blog/index.html
But cricket doesnt really need any transformation. Being a purist, I believe that we need to stick to the format of Test cricket and not look at the IPL as something that transforms the great sport
Harsh
http://www.mantrablogs.contentmantra.com