Is IPL hurting Indian cricket?

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In the bid to make IPL a global sporting brand, is Indian cricket the casualty? Aabhas Sharma and Akshay Manwani try to find some answers More... Two years ago when the Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched amid fanfare, its organisers were clear that they didn't want something that was just a local phenomenon. They wanted a global brand, perhaps not in the league of the English Premier League or the National Football League, but close. There were enough sceptics, however, both on the cricketing as well as business front, who raised doubts at the sums of money being thrown around for team ownership and players, for ad rates and TV rights. The first season of IPL held in India was a runaway success. TV ratings were promising, stadiums were packed, advertisers loved it and it was hot property with marketers. IPL-2 showed that the crowds would come, whether a match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals was held in Chandigarh or Cape Town. Advertisers would follow wherever the IPL bandwagon went. "IPL has entertainment value, as it is unpredictable, fast-paced and riveting," says Shailendra Singh, MD, Percept India Limited. On paper, the IPL looks a winner. But scratch the surface and you can see the cracks. In a subtle criticism of IPL, former India captain Rahul Dravid recently said that youngsters today lack passion for Test cricket. "There is no all-consuming desperation for them like there was for me or cricketers of my generation to do well in Tests," said Dravid. Dravid has a point. While cricketers talk about Test cricket being the ultimate 'test', they are happy to showcase their talent in the IPL extravaganza. Has IPL thrown up new talent? However, the bigger question is - have our players benefitted from this commercial juggernaut? Have cricket lovers been enriched by Lalit Modi's brainchild or have we been hoodwinked by the hoopla? For instance, other than Manish Pandey's unbeaten knock of 114 in IPL-2, which Indian player has stood up to be in the reckoning for the national squad? Distinctions in the batting or bowling department have been grabbed by established heavyweights such as Brendon McCullum, Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist or Anil Kumble. So the chances of a young player laying claim to be the future of Indian cricket on the basis of his IPL performance look bleak. As former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi says, "They are happy to be part of the glitz and aren't willing to work hard to earn a place in the Indian team." Performing well in a few IPL matches does ensure that the player makes it to the national team for a couple of One Day and T20 matches. But this is not enough. "Youngsters these days want to play for an IPL team more than they want to play for India," argues Roger Binny, a member of the 1983 World Cup winning Indian team. From IPL to India XI In India's recently concluded two Test series against South Africa, Wriddhiman Saha was included in the national team solely on the basis of his performance in the earlier editions of IPL, but the selectors came under fire for including him ahead of the more solid Dinesh Karthik. Then there are Gautam Gambhir and Amit Mishra, who have had strong showings in the IPL. But these two are not just the byproducts of the tournament that until now has done precious little to further the skills of budding cricketers. By all accounts, Gambhir will be the mainstay of the Indian team for the next five years. But he made rapid strides in all forms of the game after the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, while Mishra made his presence felt at the selectors' door with strong performances in domestic cricket. Fast forward to the One Day series between India and South Africa - the two top Test teams - and here, at least, there is some succour for IPL patrons. From among the playing XI that took the field for India at Jaipur, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ashish Nehra and Yusuf Pathan have used their IPL performances as a launch pad for the 50-over format. However, it remains to be seen if all four will merit a place in the Indian squad for next year's World Cup. Even if they do, will they be the fulcrum around which a billion plus hopes will revolve? With the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag almost guaranteed to play the World Cup, that question has an obvious answer. Test cricket vs IPL What then do we make of the hullabaloo accompanying each season of the IPL? The glamour quotient aside, almost everyone laments the fact that the series with South Africa was limited to only two Test matches. Instead we are faced with an IPL routine that promises to get longer next year, with the proposed addition of two more franchises. Nine years ago, India and Australia's battle in March gave Indian cricket perhaps its finest Test series ever. Who knows whether we would have had another hum-dinger of a series had a third Test been scheduled in the absence of the IPL? Reports of Test cricket suffering because of IPL might be exaggerated but there is no doubt that it is depriving discerning fans of more Test cricket. When raw talent rub shoulders with the stars This is not to say that there is no merit in the IPL. Its financial promise to aspiring Indian cricketers is immense - so even more parents will want their children to take to the game. It also offers players on the periphery of Indian cricket, the opportunity to share space with some of the finest talent in world cricket. It is not every day that a young Ashok Dinda gets to rub shoulders with Shane Bond. As IPL commissioner Modi reiterates, it provides Indian cricketers a platform to showcase their talent. But these advantages are not good enough reason for either the IPL to gain precedence over Test cricket or for it to be considered a nursery that grooms talent. Budding cricketers ought to come up from a robust domestic cricket league. And while the money in the latter has improved tremendously over the last 20 years, it still pales in comparison to the lucre on offer in the IPL. In the run-up to March 12 and later, there will be plenty to debate. Ex-cricketers will serve out expert opinion across news channels and reams of print will be dedicated to the matches. There will be breaking news as much as there will be scores of reruns. But in the end, will Indian cricket be better off?

[IKnowU]

What was the problem before IPL was present?

[achilles]

Some Indian legends have always criticized the IPL and then have picked a favourite team and supported it. Its just a matter of time before everyone is on the same page.

[thevortex]

I dont know how a case could be made out for IPL hurting Indian cricket. Perhaps a case could be made out for it not contributing to Indian cricket, sure. But hurting in my opinion is taking things a bit too far.

[achilles]

^ Yes. But the legends, they have seen a different world. They've come up the hard way. I think the APT word to describe this situation is - GENERATION GAP.

[meloveindia]

sponsors are happy, general public is happy, government is happy, players are happy where is the problem

[thevortex]

^ Yes. But the legends, they have seen a different world. They've come up the hard way. I think the APT word to describe this situation is - GENERATION GAP.

Well, I must confess Achilles that I am not a huge fan of the IPL myself :). I do not like the focus on activities other than cricket in the entire exercise. I mean, look at those advertisements. Does it have one scene depicting the enjoyment a fan can derive out of a cricketing moment in the stadium? None at all! I find that highly disturbing. That apart I must also say that some of the action has been enjoyable. Especially so with the edition that took place in South Africa.

[vvvslaxman]

Hope the national players don't take it seriously and pick up an injury.It is a very long tournament. Hope they don't encroach upon Indian regular domestic schedule in the future. Those are the tournaments that gave us Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid, Gambhir, Sehwag et al.

[ensd2]

we will have a answer after the T20 world cup

[thevortex]

Talking of long touranments, I hear that next year Modi has planned for this tournament to have 90 odd matches. If that is true, that is really senseless. I hope the BCCI have the sense to not kill the goose which lays the golden egg and the courage to stop Modi on this.

[diegovegaz]

talking about hurting, it is hurting to see our bowlers not getting a hand of death bowling

[Bublu Bhuyan]

My problem with the IPL is with the established Indian players taking part into it. What is there to gain from that? Personally they'll make a good sum of money is a short time, but what does the Indian team gain from it other than those established players missing International matches due to injuries sustained during the IPL matches? On the positive side it does give domestic players a platform to showcase their talent, but then again how many players have been able to make a partin the previous two editions of the IPL other than Yusuf Pathan? I was so pissed off last year when Sehwag and Zaheer Khan had to miss International cricket due to the injuries they sustained in the IPL. Missing Sehwag was one of the main reasons for India's early exit from the Champions Trophy last year. Of course Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan's absence played a big role too.

[Chandan]

I dont know how a case could be made out for IPL hurting Indian cricket. Perhaps a case could be made out for it not contributing to Indian cricket' date=' sure. But hurting in my opinion is taking things a bit too far.[/quote'] No it is not taking it too far, especially after having seen how it messed up with Indian domestic cricket schedule. Just because CL ate first 2 weeks and IPL starts from March 12 itself, less than 5 months were available for our domestic cricket tournaments which resulted in getting excessively cramped schedule. During Ranji trophy, there were just the gap of 3 days including the travel time, between the two matches. It put too much of pressure on the players and teams, which generally play 7 FC matches + semi + final + duleep trophy FC matches, were reluctant to go for outright victory as it increased the workload of bowlers with no time to recuperate, hence increasing the chance of injuries. This in turn, skewed the mindset of bowlers who looked to do restrictive bowling rather than thinking of taking a wicket. If this is the way it'll go, India won't produce a single strike bowler, be in pace or spin department, a 5 years from now. Is it not hurting Indian cricket or will hurt it in long run? Because of lack of time, few tournaments have been reduced to joke as if BCCI doesn't care for them and is simply looking for the IPL to arrive. Just look at the Deodhar trophy schedule this year and you'll know. 4 matches in 4 days and the tournament is over. What on earth has Indian cricket gained here? Has its 50 over cricket not been compromised for IPL? Will it not hurt Indian cricket?

[someone]

If I was do a very simple correlation test. Since IPL has started, we have improved and become the best team in tests

[EnterTheVoid]

Those things that hurt Indian cricket before the IPL, do they still hurt ? You bet.

[Sachinism]

Regarding next years tournament and the number of matches, Modi has said the tournament will last 6-7 weeks max. which means 7 weeks

[cowboysfan]

in the short term i woudl have to say Yes,mainly due to injuries sustained in the tournament(it can be argued that its the same for all teams now). i see potential benefits long terms as it could revolutionise cricket and provide unknown indian cricketers a lot to play for.

[thevortex]

Very valid point, Chandan. I fully agree about the scheduling and administration aspects of the IPL. I was talking more about the event itself and the game it promotes. Yes the scheduling does have its bad points and for starters it has put the Challengers Trophy out of contention! That was a domestic tournament almost all cricket fans here tune into!

[Sachinism]

No it is not taking it too far, especially after having seen how it messed up with Indian domestic cricket schedule. Just because CL ate first 2 weeks and IPL starts from March 12 itself, less than 5 months were available for our domestic cricket tournaments which resulted in getting excessively cramped schedule. During Ranji trophy, there were just the gap of 3 days including the travel time, between the two matches. It put too much of pressure on the players and teams, which generally play 7 FC matches + semi + final + duleep trophy FC matches, were reluctant to go for outright victory as it increased the workload of bowlers with no time to recuperate, hence increasing the chance of injuries. This in turn, skewed the mindset of bowlers who looked to do restrictive bowling rather than thinking of taking a wicket. If this is the way it'll go, India won't produce a single strike bowler, be in pace or spin department, a 5 years from now. Is it not hurting Indian cricket or will hurt it in long run? Because of lack of time, few tournaments have been reduced to joke as if BCCI doesn't care for them and is simply looking for the IPL to arrive. Just look at the Deodhar trophy schedule this year and you'll know. 4 matches in 4 days and the tournament is over. What on earth has Indian cricket gained here? Has its 50 over cricket not been compromised for IPL? Will it not hurt Indian cricket?

Good points raised, I thought it was in my head that these domestic tournaments were flying by, there was always a game on.

[vvvslaxman]

If I was do a very simple correlation test. Since IPL has started, we have improved and become the best team in tests

How about after Dhoni becoming captain. India has solid experienced, ripened test players. That is why we have improved not because of IPL. IPL stars have a long long way to go.