Blogs IPL2 Finally Gets Going but is it Still an Indian League?
April 25th, 2009 by calypsoAfter a lot of initial hiccups, it appears as if IPL2 is finally taking shape in the form of the cricketing extravaganza it has been marketed to be — finally the matches are getting interesting and the stadiums too are a bit more occupied. For a change, most of the matches held in the last three days were closely-contested affairs and this is what has raised the interest levels in IPL’s second coming.
While the Royal Challengers Bangalore continue to sink further after their initial victory, the likes of Delhi Daredevils continue to roll-on, unstopped yet by any opposition. Dhoni’s men look defeatable this season, having lost two out of the three matches they have played. Further, now they have lost the services of Flintoff as he hurries back home to get an operation done — is there any part of his back or in the anatomy of his legs that hasn’t been operated upon yet?
God knows what Mr. Mallya would be thinking now that Pietersen is failing miserably and Dravid is the leading run contributor for the team. Just imagine how much dough Pietersen gets paid, literally for every 10 minutes he spends on the ground. It is just unbelievable what the IPL has done to the game and now it appears that the Indian connection is fast going to be eroded.
The fact is that most teams are realizing the utility of having more international players in the team. You don’t have to think hard why — you cannot expect regular domestic players to perform as well as those who are playing for international teams. This is where things could get a bit messy for the domestic Indian players — IPL could soon evolve as the International Premier League and in all probability, only Indian internationals would be seen.
In a strange way, it does make sense too — how can a league retain the name of being Indian when it is held outside the host nation? In fact, this hosting of IPL outside India could become a normal practice, as the chances of the sub-continental political/regional atmosphere cooling down appear quite bleak (I hope I am absolutely wrong about this viewpoint).
