Captain courageous M S Dhoni was courageous in as much as he mouthed what seems to be his owner (CSK/BCCI/Srinivasan) may have told him to say in as far as the IPL after parties are concerned. OR, he was alluding to the “Big” stars in his side who according to some serious gossip columns, drink into the wee hours before a match and have lost it to alcoholism and all that goes along with such parties. I even heard that after 11pm, people were not allowed in and only selected few were allowed to stay till the end = next morning.
I don’t know if any of this true, and it’s a subject for the gossip columns, not this piece.
But suffice it to say that overseas cricketers were as much in these after parties as were some Indian players. MSD himself said on TV that he didn’t attend a single after party. And what he said in the after match press conference ~ a player must know his limits and manage his well being. The real reasons for the debacle are purely cricketing. Which MSD alluded to but he’s being coached by experience and some heavy weights in cricket, never to speak about team matters in the press. Your guess on who (all) coach him is as good as mine J
But I come to the real topic of this post: The IPL After parties.
The IPL and indeed the T20 format cricket is part entertainment and followed by even more entertainment. Quiz, sms contests, et al.
The best of batsmen can fail, as did Australia’s own front line bats in the semifinal against Pakistan. T20 is not the best measure of cricketing skills. But this format has brought in a huge number of new converts to cricket. That’s a good thing.
It’s provided a healthier form of entertainment than the soaps that otherwise we are forced to watch since the fare is so limited. Ofcourse, if you are a news freak like me, then the umpteen news channels are my preferred staple after the Nat Geo and Discovery kind of channels.
Entertainment costs money. Lots of money. And some one has to pay for it, since the Indian viewer doesn’t put down for it as much as those in the developed countries do. So where does that money come from?
It comes from the sponsors. Serious money. And they will naturally stay only if they get adequate exposure!
Would you buy a Rs. 5,000 ticket for watching the first ten overs of the first innings? And then be asked to leave? No! The sponsors pay for our entertainment and they in turn sell their products back to us and take that money back, over time, at a profit. That’s as simply as I can put it. Though the mechanics isn’t actually quite that simple. But it suffices to make the case.
The case for what?
The case for overhauling the BCCI and the way it schedules games – of all types of cricket.
The IPL ended far too close to the T20WC. The Team Management didn’t pull players out from IPL games to do what it ought to have done ~ rest, practice, coaching, etc. This may have been because the franchisees would have hollered like hell. But the National interest must come first. The only way to avoid it is to shorten the IPL and schedule it w/o conflict to major international tours & tournaments. This may well mean a more judicious selection of tours, too. Here is where LKM and the BCCI turned a blind eye and the other ICC members had to submit to money power. Sri Lanka even had to cancel a tour last year as its players were keener to play the IPL !
The selection of the Indian team has for long been criticized strongly. Yet, the BCCI ensures absolute opaqueness. This defeats the purpose of the IPL, Ranji, etc, which are supposed to throw up good prospects and provide solid data on performance. How was Ravindra Jadeja fit to play for India when he was “suspended” from IPL ~ a BCCI body? And why has Robin Utappa been studiously ignored for T20 format? Even for the “second” string that’s going to Zimbabwe? He did so well for India in T20 WC when we won!
There are many issues in Indian cricket…. And lots has been said and written about it all. But the central solution – the overhauling of cricket administration – hasn’t received enough coverage. Perhaps because BCCI is a source of big time revenues for TV and they won’t upset the applecart. So count TV out to help India reform BCCI.
But who is to do the needful? The Government.
Like they superseded the MCI, they should replace the BCCI with a structure that has transparency, accountability and refrain from meddling in it through a ministry – a tall order J But if the Fin Min could concentrate on cricket & IPL when inflation is raging, then they might as well do the needful and get the benefit of the support of the large Indian public that watches cricket and which considers cricket a quasi religion.
It takes a signature of the President, bound by the GOI’s recommendations.