Posts Tagged ‘IPL’
IPL good but ICL better
Posted on: November 13, 2008
- In: Cricket | ICL | IPL
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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.
Absolutely Ridiculous
Posted on: July 17, 2008
- In: IPL
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Everyone knows BCCI’s stand on ICL contracted players but today they have taken it to a completely different level. The current diktat issued by the BCCI is absolutely ridiculous. BCCI has barred the Indian players from signing with any English counties who have ICL players in them. This is absolute nonsense. BCCI is a cricket governing body of India but they behave as if they are governing world cricket.
BCCI has no rights to say what the ECB should be doing with their domestic tournament. Piyush chawla who is currently not a part of the Indian test squad to Srilanka was supposed to join Hampshire in the current season. Now BCCI has denied Piyush the opportunity as Hampshire has ICL linked players in their team. There are only three counties which dont have any ICL links and they are Middlesex, Somerset and Essex. This means that Laxman who was supposed to join Northamptonshire after the test series would not be able to do so either.
BCCI’s ongoing tussle with Subhash Chandra (Essel Group, Founder of ICL) is causing a major divide in world cricket. Already some good international players have been lost due to this ongoing battle. BCCI has already started their own league successfully and I dont think that ICL is causing any harm to them in terms of revenue. If BCCI open their eyes to the fact that ICL and IPL can coexist then it will be better for world cricket.
I dont understand why other cricketing nations should suffer due to this stand from BCCI. Already Newzealand has lost one of their premier strike bowler Shane Bond and Pakistan has lost players like Azhar Mahmood and Razzak. Playing in county cricket might have given young Piyush with a great opportunity early in his career. BCCI tried to stop the counties from signing up the players from ICL, when they did not adhere to their threats now they are stopping Indians from participating in county cricket.
ECB has nothing to lose if Piyush decides not to join Hampshire. Its sad to see that now Indian cricketers are also suffering due this ridiculous fight between BCCI and the ICL. BCCI have made the point with IPL and have made lots of money and I guess thats where this fight should end. The problem is BCCI has lots of ego and unfourtunately unless the ICC takes some stand on this issue the problem will never end. Being an Indian supporter I just feel ashamed of this behaviour from BCCI and I am sure that they are not earning too many fans accross the world with this latest stunt.
Absolutely Ridiculous
Posted on: July 17, 2008
Piyush not in test team
Everyone knows BCCI’s stand on ICL contracted players but today they have taken it to a completely different level. The current diktat issued by the BCCI is absolutely ridiculous. BCCI has barred the Indian players from signing with any English counties who have ICL players in them. This is absolute nonsense. BCCI is a cricket governing body of India but they behave as if they are governing world cricket.
BCCI has no rights to say what the ECB should be doing with their domestic tournament. Piyush chawla who is currently not a part of the Indian test squad to Srilanka was supposed to join Hampshire in the current season. Now BCCI has denied Piyush the opportunity as Hampshire has ICL linked players in their team. There are only three counties which dont have any ICL links and they are Middlesex, Somerset and Essex. This means that Laxman who was supposed to join Northamptonshire after the test series would not be able to do so either.
BCCI’s ongoing tussle with Subhash Chandra (Essel Group, Founder of ICL) is causing a major divide in world cricket. Already some good international players have been lost due to this ongoing battle. BCCI has already started their own league successfully and I dont think that ICL is causing any harm to them in terms of revenue. If BCCI open their eyes to the fact that ICL and IPL can coexist then it will be better for world cricket.
I dont understand why other cricketing nations should suffer due to this stand from BCCI. Already Newzealand has lost one of their premier strike bowler Shane Bond and Pakistan has lost players like Azhar Mahmood and Razzak. Playing in county cricket might have given young Piyush with a great opportunity early in his career. BCCI tried to stop the counties from signing up the players from ICL, when they did not adhere to their threats now they are stopping Indians from participating in county cricket.
ECB has nothing to lose if Piyush decides not to join Hampshire. Its sad to see that now Indian cricketers are also suffering due this ridiculous fight between BCCI and the ICL. BCCI have made the point with IPL and have made lots of money and I guess thats where this fight should end. The problem is BCCI has lots of ego and unfourtunately unless the ICC takes some stand on this issue the problem will never end. Being an Indian supporter I just feel ashamed of this behaviour from BCCI and I am sure that they are not earning too many fans accross the world with this latest stunt.
- In: Cricket League | IPL | Twenty20
- Leave a Comment
Whatever may have been the intention, the BCCI have hit the bulls eye with the IPL. The Twenty20 league has been a runaway success accross India and also among the other cricket playing nations. I was rather surprised to see few articles regarding the multi million dollar league in few news papers in America too like Washington Post and Newyork Times. This shows that anything which is packaged and presented well will appeal to the audience. Like most of people I too was little bit skeptical about the launch of IPL due to the glamour of the Bollywood associated with it. I was also worried regarding the quality of cricket to be played in the IPL.
After 21 games into the league I am just blown away by the commitment shown by the players towards this league and the competition has been top notch. The players seem to be enjoying playing with each other and sharing dressing rooms with their so called rivals just few months ago. I was always fascinated by the thought of seeing a scoreboard which reads Smith c Tendulkar b pollock, this can be a reallity in IPL. Yes there has been some controversies in the past few weeks but we can term those as a teething problem for the league.
IPL surely is a boon for cricket lovers. The game lasts only for 3 hours in total and you get to see stars from all around the world under the same roof. The games have been exciting, the players have been wonderful and overall the league has been a success. I just hope that revenue gained from the IPL is channelized in a proper way to improve the domestic cricket standards in India and making that more interesting. Well all in all this has been a successful venture by the BCCI.
So like it or not Twenty20 and IPL are here to stay.
Whatever may have been the intention, the BCCI have hit the bulls eye with the IPL. The Twenty20 league has been a runaway success accross India and also among the other cricket playing nations. I was rather surprised to see few articles regarding the multi million dollar league in few news papers in America too like Washington Post and Newyork Times. This shows that anything which is packaged and presented well will appeal to the audience. Like most of people I too was little bit skeptical about the launch of IPL due to the glamour of the Bollywood associated with it. I was also worried regarding the quality of cricket to be played in the IPL.
After 21 games into the league I am just blown away by the commitment shown by the players towards this league and the competition has been top notch. The players seem to be enjoying playing with each other and sharing dressing rooms with their so called rivals just few months ago. I was always fascinated by the thought of seeing a scoreboard which reads Smith c Tendulkar b pollock, this can be a reallity in IPL. Yes there has been some controversies in the past few weeks but we can term those as a teething problem for the league.
IPL surely is a boon for cricket lovers. The game lasts only for 3 hours in total and you get to see stars from all around the world under the same roof. The games have been exciting, the players have been wonderful and overall the league has been a success. I just hope that revenue gained from the IPL is channelized in a proper way to improve the domestic cricket standards in India and making that more interesting. Well all in all this has been a successful venture by the BCCI.
So like it or not Twenty20 and IPL are here to stay.
Strike when its hot
Posted on: April 30, 2008
- In: Cricket | IPL | Twenty20
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IPL is the hottest and most happening event in all of India for the past couple of weeks and as usual politicians have taken this opportunity to grab the headlines. Its always been the case in India where the politicians comment on things which is currently hot in the media to gain fame. This is actually pathetic but for them this is a boon to make a name for themselves.
The recent addition to such attention grabbing comments from the politicians was regarding the Cheerleading squads hired by the IPL franchices to perform in the breaks. Well the accusations from the media and the politicians have been that its offensive and abusive to the Indian culture. The media as we all know has blown it out of proportions since they are frustrated with BCCI shutting them out of IPL. Whoever says that the cheerleaders are affecting Indian culture should just speak for themselves. Being a politician doesnt mean that they are speaking on behalf of the entire nation.
As a person who loves the sport and watch the game just for the action in the middle I dont care who is dancing beyond the boundry line. I dont think that the cheerleaders are affecting or abusing anything in India. Well yeah one thing I agree is that this concept is new for Indian sport and will take time getting adjusted too. India in the past few years has experianced a phenomenal change in its outlook. Take the example of the bollywood movies which we watch with our kids most of times, isnt that affecting Indian culture? One of the comments in the media by a political leader was that Indians respect women as gods, dont we go and see movies in which heroines roam around with skimpy outfits?
So why all of a sudden raise concerns about the cheerleaders in Twenty20? If we are talking about the TV viewing public then wasnt this a part of the Twenty20 worldcup also? Well the reason for all this unnesessary concern about the Indian culture is to make hay when the sun shines. All these politicians know that if we say something while one of most important event in the history of Indian sports is going on they can grab the headlines. They have also used the media’s frustration on the BCCI very cleverly to their advantage.
As a follower of cricket I seriously dont want to be a part of this hypocrisy from the politicians. I dont care if the cheerleaders are dancing or not dancing, covered up or skimpily clothed as long as there is a hard faught cricket match going on. I guess most of the cricket lovers around the world will share my sentiments on this but again this is my opinion I am not speaking for anybody here.
Strike when its hot
Posted on: April 30, 2008
IPL is the hottest and most happening event in all of India for the past couple of weeks and as usual politicians have taken this opportunity to grab the headlines. Its always been the case in India where the politicians comment on things which is currently hot in the media to gain fame. This actually is pathetic but for them this is a boon to make a name for themselves.
The recent addition to such attention grabbing comments from the politicians was regarding the Cheerleading squads hired by the IPL franchices to perform in the breaks. Well the accusations from the media and the politicians have been that its offensive and abusive to the Indian culture. The media as we all know has blown it out of proportions since they are frustrated with BCCI shutting them out of IPL. Whoever says that the cheerleaders are affecting Indian culture should just speak for themselves. Being a politician doesnt mean that they are speaking on behalf of the entire nation.
As a person who loves the sport and watch the game just for the action in the middle I dont care who is dancing beyond the boundry line. I dont think that the cheerleaders are affecting or abusing anything in India. Well yeah one thing I agree is that this concept is new for Indian sport and will take time getting adjusted too. India in the past few years has experianced a phenomenal change in its outlook. Take the example of the bollywood movies which we watch with our kids most of times, isnt that affecting Indian culture? One of the comments in the media by a political leader was that Indians respect women as gods, dont we go and see movies in which heroines roam around with skimpy outfits?
So why all of a sudden raise concerns about the cheerleaders in Twenty20? If we are talking about the TV viewing public then wasnt this a part of the Twenty20 worldcup also? Well the reason for all this unnesessary concern about the Indian culture is to make hay when the sun shines. All these politicians know that if we say something while one of most important event in the history of Indian sports is going on they can grab the headlines. They have also used the media’s frustration on the BCCI very cleverly to their advantage.
As a follower of cricket I seriously dont want to be a part of this hypocrisy from the politicians. I dont care if the cheerleaders are dancing or not dancing, covered up or skimpily clothed as long as there is a hard faught cricket match going on. I guess most of the cricket lovers around the world will share my sentiments on this but again this is my opinion I am not speaking for anybody here.
Go Kings Go!
Posted on: April 28, 2008
The Chennai Superkings(CSK) under the captaincy of Dhoni has now won 4 out of 4 to remain the only team to be unbeaten in IPL. Today the CSK defeated the sorry Bangalore Royal challengers by 13 runs to hand Vijay Mallya’s team their 3rd defeat in 4 games. The team captain Rahul Dravid made his second duck in consecutive games to make things worse for his team. The main problem for the BRC is that they dont have any player in the team apart from Ross Taylor who looks like a Twenty20 specialist. Even though the Royal challengers beat Mumbai Indians (The other struggling team in the tournament) they still look out of sorts and the captain seems to be running out of ideas.
The absence of a renowned big hitter in the team is costing the BRC’s a lot. The role played by Dhoni for the chennai team today is what that is lacking for the Royal Challengers. Martin Crowe and Rahul Dravid have to sit together and come up with a better strategy to make optimum use of the available resources. The Chennai Superkings though have done exceedingly well in this tournament and at the end of the first week they are at the top of the table. Great performances by the inexperianced bowling line up and consistancy at the top of the order has helped them to succeed.
Dhoni’s captaincy has again been very precise and his cool head under pressure situations has helped the team from Chennai. Dhoni has got great response from his inexperianced bowling line up and the inclusion of Albie Morkel and Makaya Ntini will sure bolster the same. Elsewhere the Mumbai Indians crashed to their 4 consecutive defeat of the tournament and remain the only team to have not won a game yet. Their team looks in total shambles in the absence of their icon player Sachin Tendulkar and Harbajan recently due to his row with Sreesanth. Rajasthan Royals continue to impress with their 3rd consecutive win and are in second spot behind the CSKs.
Punjab Kings X1 also overcame a dissapointing start to the tournament to win two games in a row to put them back in contention. Adam Gilchrist’s fastest IPL century gave the strong Deccan Chargers their first victroy of the tournament against the hapless Mumbai attack.
The first week of cricket was really interesting and entertaining. When IPL began I was little skeptical regarding the same due to the involvement of the bollywood and the kollywood stars but after the first few games the focus has shifted to cricket. Cricket has been really fantastic only the Harbajan and Sreesant row has taken some sheen of a good week’s cricket. Harbajan has plead guilty and has been handed 10 games ban from IPL whereas Sreesanth has been let off with a warning. I guess Sreesanth needs to be handed a more serious punishment than just a warning. His behaviour on the field is still questionable. The fact that Sreesant cried and made a scene in front of millions of viewers accross the world should not excuse him from the ridiculous behaviour in that match when he was bowling. Behaviour like that in the name of aggression should not be tolerated in any sport.
Go kings Go!
Posted on: April 28, 2008
- In: IPL
- Leave a Comment
The Chennai Superkings(CSK) under the captaincy of Dhoni has now won 4 out of 4 to remain the only team to be unbeaten in IPL. Today the CSK defeated the sorry Bangalore Royal challengers by 13 runs to hand Vijay Mallya’s team their 3rd defeat in 4 games. The team captain Rahul Dravid made his second duck in consecutive games to make things worse for his team. The main problem for the BRC is that they dont have any player in the team apart from Ross Taylor who looks like a Twenty20 specialist. Even though the Royal challengers beat Mumbai Indians (The other struggling team in the tournament) they still look out of sorts and the captain seems to be running out of ideas.
The absence of a renowned big hitter in the team is costing the BRC’s a lot. The role played by Dhoni for the chennai team today is what that is lacking for the Royal Challengers. Martin Crowe and Rahul Dravid have to sit together and come up with a better strategy to make optimum use of the available resources. The Chennai Superkings though have done exceedingly well in this tournament and at the end of the first week they are at the top of the table. Great performances by the inexperianced bowling line up and consistancy at the top of the order has helped them to succeed.
Dhoni’s captaincy has again been very precise and his cool head under pressure situations has helped the team from Chennai. Dhoni has got great response from his inexperianced bowling line up and the inclusion of Albie Morkel and Makaya Ntini will sure bolster the same. Elsewhere the Mumbai Indians crashed to their 4 consecutive defeat of the tournament and remain the only team to have not won a game yet. Their team looks in total shambles in the absence of their icon player Sachin Tendulkar and Harbajan recently due to his row with Sreesanth. Rajasthan Royals continue to impress with their 3rd consecutive win and are in second spot behind the CSKs.
Punjab Kings X1 also overcame a dissapointing start to the tournament to win two games in a row to put them back in contention. Adam Gilchrist’s fastest IPL century gave the strong Deccan Chargers their first victroy of the tournament against the hapless Mumbai attack.
The first week of cricket was really interesting and entertaining. When IPL began I was little skeptical regarding the same due to the involvement of the bollywood and the kollywood stars but after the first few games the focus has shifted to cricket. Cricket has been really fantastic only the Harbajan and Sreesant row has taken some sheen of a good week’s cricket. Harbajan has plead guilty and has been handed 10 games ban from IPL whereas Sreesanth has been let off with a warning. I guess Sreesanth needs to be handed a more serious punishment than just a warning. His behaviour on the field is still questionable. The fact that Sreesant cried and made a scene in front of millions of viewers accross the world should not excuse him from the ridiculous behaviour in that match when he was bowling. Behaviour like that in the name of aggression should not be tolerated in any sport.
IPL – First Look
Posted on: April 21, 2008
- In: Cricket | IPL | Twenty20
- Leave a Comment
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