Posted by girisopinion on November 5, 2009
MPL (Mumbai Premier League) is the latest addition to the ever growing T20 leagues in India. This one is being launched by the Mumbai cricket association (MCA) to cash in on the popularity of the T20 format and the success of IPL. The worst part is that this league is supposed to follow the IPL next year and Sachin Tendulkar is expected to play in this league. Since this league is organized by the MCA even Rohit and Zaheer would be expected to play in the league as well.
We already have IPL, CLT20 and a corporate T20 league which hogs our calendar and most of the Indian national cricketers play in them. We all know what excessive cricket can do to a player … Ishant is a fine example. We are just a year and a half away from the 2011 WC and India does not even have a settled pool of players decided yet.
If every other state decides to have such a league then the players would not have time to play for the country. India is trying to become the best side in the world and unfortunately the biggest hindrance for that is coming from the home board. It seems like BCCI does not care how the team performs; instead they are more worried about the players being available for the IPL.
It seems very funny when the players complain about overdose of cricket as they are the ones signing up to play in the various leagues around the world. Including the Australian T20 league, which is already in place, there are going to be at least three leagues every year where international players will be participating apart from the International games which absolutely doesn’t leave them with any rest.
If the Indian team aspires to be the best in the world, the players have to stop appearing in every league they are invited to play in. The players have to pick and choose the leagues they would be representing so that they are fit and available when the National team requires them. MCA has set yet another bad precedent in India and I hope that the rest of the state boards don’t follow suit.
Posted in Champions League, Cricket, Cricket and Sports, ICL, IPL, ODI, Sports, Twenty20 | Tagged: CLT20, Cricket, IPL, MCA, MPL, Mumbai cricket association, Mumbai Premier League, Rohit, Sachin Tendulkar, T20, World Cup, Zaheer | 1 Comment »
Posted by girisopinion on October 30, 2009
Recently there have been calls in the media to scrap the 50 over format to accommodate the rising number of T20’s played around the world. There have been various theories like reducing the number of overs to 40, playing ODI in a two inning format etc. ODI cricket has been around for a long time now and definitely needs an overhaul but I guess it still has a place in the hearts of a cricket lover.
ECB recently scrapped their domestic 50 over tournament and replaced the same with a 40 over version. We did see in the media recently where the ECB has suggested the same to the ICC. We cannot fault the ECB for doing so as their National team has been pretty poor in the 50 over version. I hope that the ICC dont follow that route.
One thing I have to agree is that there is too much of ODI cricket played these days adding up to the numerous T20 leagues going around. This is where ICC needs to step up and do something about the ever growing T20 leagues. Having IPLT20 and CLT20 in the same year is ridiculous. Now since Australia is starting their own T20 league which might leave players no time to play International cricket, it’s the right time for ICC to step in. They should bring some sort of a regulation which would reduce the number of ODI’s and T20’s played in a year to sustain interest among the fans. I am not sure why the Test championship is not taking wings as it is an interesting concept. It will for sure induct lots of interest among the viewers for the oldest format of the game.
The 50 over format provides a great variation to the fans from the bang bash T20 format. The teams are allowed to strategize, plan and execute over a 50 over format. Even though IPL and CLT20 have become so successful in India, people still love the ODI’s. ODI matches in India still play to packed houses. The major problem though which needs to be addressed immediately is the player burnout.
Too many ODI’s are played these days and most of them are meaningless. A 7 match ODI series is a tad too long I feel. I guess a bilateral ODI series should be limited to no more than 5 games. The champions Trophy and ODI world cup need to be the premier multinational events. Limit the amount of other tri series which are played around the world other than the above two major events.
ICC also has to work towards reducing the number of T20 leagues which are going around these days. The ODI cricket format itself needs an overhaul to make it more interesting and reducing the number of overs isn’t the way to go. The 2 innings format is something which the ICC can look into. They have tried couple of innovations in the past which haven’t worked like the “Super-sub”. More thought needs to be put in towards that line.
ODI cricket has a rich history and has been around for a long time. ODI World Cup still remains a special event for every cricketer around the world. Test cricket as every International player would agree is the pinnacle of cricket and will remain for a long time to come. The format which needs preservation is the ODI. Players still prefer this format over T20 any day. The advent of T20 has cast some doubts over the future of this format but with some innovations, the 50 over format can hang on. Reduce the number of games played around at the moment and make some changes to the existing format and we might have a winning formula. The short and sweet Champions Trophy breathed some life into ODI’s and we hope that the ICC can learn something from this. I am a fan of 50 over format and would not want to see it die.
Posted in Champions League, Cricket, Cricket and Sports, Entertainment, ICL, IPL, ODI, Sports, Twenty20 | Tagged: Champions Trophy, CLT20, Cricket, India, IPL, ODI, One day cricket, Super Sub, T20, test cricket | Leave a Comment »
Posted by girisopinion on July 13, 2009
Captains of the ICL teams posing with the Trophy
BCCI have achieved what they set out to do couple of years back when the ICL was launched. ICL was launched in 2007 by Zee Enterprises as their bid to telecast couple of International tournaments was denied by the BCCI. When the ICL was launched lots of International players were excited and expressed interest in the same. Big names such as Shane Bond, Abdul Razzak and few other retired players joined the league.
BCCI obviously was not thrilled and called it a “Rebel” league. The BCCI also said that any player joining the league will not be allowed to play for India. BCCI’s power in International cricket is now a known fact and this caused all the other nations to follow suit and ban their players joining the so called “Rebel” league. BCCI did not stop there, they came up with their own T20 league and launched the IPL in 2007 and signed up all the big stars in the International arena.
Once the BCCI did that everyone knew that ICL would stand no chance against the financial powerhouse of the World cricket. The IPL season 1 was a big hit and the combination of International superstars and Bollywood superstars made the league is super duper hit in 2008. Even though ICL has been fighting for their rights against the BCCI and the ICCI for recognition over the past two years, there was no doubt in everyone’s mind that this league will not survive for long.
There were lots of talks between the two parties but were unable to reach an amicable solution. In 2009 the recession had caught up with the ICL and they were unable to have their league which put lots of doubts on their players and slowly they started to part their ways with the league. Players like Shane Bond, Abdul Razzak and Mohd. Yousuf are already in their National sides and the BCCI have also given a second chance to the Indian youngsters to sever their contracts with the ICL.
It seems like the end is nearing for the ICL. Even though Kapil Dev (Chairman) had repeatedly told the media that both leagues can survive together, the possibility of that happening looks bleak right now. Even though I am not a avid supporter of the BCCI’s methods, I am happy for the International players who can now play test cricket and advance their careers. Shane Bond especially is a brilliant bowler and would be a great boost for a struggling New Zealand team. Mohd Yousuf coming back to Pakistan test team also will give them a huge boost.
BCCI have been arrogant and they said that the Indian players parting with the ICL cannot be considered for India for a year at least. The players though will be happy that they will at least get an opportunity to represent India in the future. Most of them are pretty young and 1 year would not be a big deal. The ICL might still go on as there are some retired stars still in the league but will lose its charm. BCCI have achieved what they wanted and ICL might eventually die down.
Even though it’s unfortunate for the ICL, I am just happy that some great players will again get a chance to play for their countries. The youngsters who were caught in the cross fire would be happy that in the future they can play for their country. ICL was good but was started for a wrong reason. Even though BCCI is no saint, I am just happy that this fight which was dividing world cricket is nearing its end. International teams have got back their stars and India has got back their youngsters.
Posted in Cricket, Cricket and Sports, ICL, IPL, Languages and Politics, ODI, Twenty20 | Tagged: Abdul Razzak, BCCI, Cricket, ICL, IPL, Mohd Yousuf, Rebel League, Shane Bond, Zee Enterprises, Zee TV | Leave a Comment »
Posted by girisopinion on November 13, 2008
ICL provides more closely fought games than IPL
We have seen so many articles in past couple of years about ICL but there have been very few based on the actual action on the field. The so called “Rebel” league enjoys very less space on the media due to its status. Well keeping the political standpoint aside lets for once concentrate on the actual cricket. I have watched two editions of ICL and the inaugural edition of IPL earlier this year.
While IPL is all glamour and glitz, ICL is more about cricket. Even though I loved watchin IPL’s first edition earlier this year I would rate ICL higher in terms of action on the field. ICL provides more close contests than what I saw in IPL earlier this year. We might put that down to IPL being in its first season and ICL has already completed 2 editions. IPL was enjoyable but there was a overdose of bollywood stars in the first edition. It was exciting in the beginning but later in the tournament it became little bit irritating and annoying.
Every four or a six from the Kolkata Knightriders was followed by the camera focussing on Sharukh khan dancing on the stands with his esteemed bollywood friends. The purpose of the league was lost on the same. The cricket was good but it was unable to sustain the hype for too long. ICL on the other hand does not have the burden that IPL has, its sans hype and media attention. Not many high profile bollywood stars are involved which shifts the focus on cricket. I have seen few bollywood stars here and there but none dancing in the stands regularly for all the games.
The franchise system is a good attempt in cricket and it was highly successful in the first edition of IPL. But the organizers need to be careful as the focus can easily shift from cricket and the league can become one big budget bollywood movie. The stars are fine as they own some of the teams but while there is a cricket match going on, the focus should remain on the ground rather than on the stars in the stands. IPL was good as an overall entertainment package but as Kapil put it ICL is definitely better in terms of quality of cricket.
Posted in Cricket, ICL, IPL | Tagged: BCCI, Bollywood, ICL, IPL, Kapil Dev, Kolkata Kightriders, Shahrukh Khan | Leave a Comment »
