Is the IPL digging its own grave?
As ashamed as I am to admit it, I'll come right out and say that I was a massive fan of twenty20 cricket when it was still in its infancy. Of the generation of instant gratification, fast living and a penchant for anything that screams excitement but no long-term commitment, the shortest form of the game and I are a match made in heaven. Or at least we were on the face of it.
I blame the IPL for our marital discord; initially it fostered our mutual admiration but of late the unrelenting slogfest has become all too much for me to bear. It's not the cricket itself that's the problem but rather the constant bombardment of advertising; it's both over-bearing and for the majority of the world irrelevant.
While the Indian market is of course the primary target for the ads with the likes of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gamhbir displaying the latest range of mobile phones on offer , it's incredibly annoying for everyone in the 195 other countries in the world to be bombarded by commercials that have no relevance whatsoever. That aside the unbelievable frequency of the ads is enough to drive one to insanity. Forget a replay of a great piece of cricket; one's instead subjected to an advert between balls. I'll say it again for those of you who haven't seen it: adverts between balls. Admittedly not between every ball but it's enough to make one question whether one's entirely superficial following of the Kolkata Knight Riders is really worth it.
But it's not only in terms of advertising that the IPL seem to be getting a little too big for their boots.
With two new teams, next season's IPL will exceed the 90-match mark, many are already saying that's over-kill but the question that really needs to be asked is when on earth are all these games going to take place?
The 2011 World Cup is scheduled for February through March, meaning that next year's IPL can occur in April at the earliest. The problem is that while IPL mastermind Lalit Modi would be happy to go on without most countries, according to the ICC's future tours program India themselves are scheduled to spend much of April and May in the Caribbean.
The national team has a break in June, but the issue of the sweltering heat aside, England, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe will all be involved in various series. The trend continues for the remainder of the year with no break in sight; it's hard to see where one will fit the 51 days Modi says are required for the 2011 edition.
The point is that while Modi may be squeezing as much as he can out of sponsors and new franchises, has he underestimated the even vaguely discerning cricket-watching public and sheer number of days in a year? Only time will tell.
