THE STORY OF THE INDIAN PREMIERE LEAGUE

- BY ANIRUDHA R NIJAGAL

11th June 2023, Team India under Rohit Sharma fell short in yet another ICC event. The last time we can remember India winning an ICC trophy, it dates back to 2013 when India won the ICC Champions Trophy under MS Dhoni.

Winning ICC trophies isn’t easy as MS Dhoni made it look like. MS was a champion skipper who knew how to dominate the opposition calmly. He used to get into the heads of the opponents without actually being involved in any of the so called ‘verbal spats’.

Unlike MS , Virat Kohli is someone who always plays with his heart on his sleeve. He believes in dominating the opposition with his aggression. Which worked for Team India. India went on to become the most successful test team under Virat. But it is tough to believe that such a champion skipper neither has an ICC trophy (as captain) nor an IPL trophy to his name.

During the Sourav Ganguly era in the BCCI administration, there were a series of controversies between the captain and the administrators. But eventually the captaincy in all formats was taken back from Virat Kohli. It was the start of Rohit Sharma era as captain of India in all formats. But come the 2022 T20 WC under Rohit Sharma, India failed to even qualify for the semifinals in the ICC event. Since the 2013 Champions trophy Team India have failed to capitalize in the ICC events like 2015 cwc, 2016 T20 wc, 2017 Champions trophy, 2019 cwc, 2021 wtc, 2021 T20 wc, 2022 T20 wc & 2023 wtc. All of them were opportunities missed by team India from being the World Champions.

2020-2022, It was times when Virat was going through a tough phase. But just when India needed the services of his former skipper, come the Asia Cup 2022… though India’s campaign ended up in the super 4s, It was Virat Kohli’s comeback that was treasured more than anything else. He broke his century drought to score his most awaited 71st century in the least expected format of him to have scored a 100. He also had a match winning outing against Arch rivals Pakistan both in the Asia Cup and the World Cup 2022. The 23rd of October 2022, Virat scored the best knock of his career. The chase-master showcased a masterclass chase.

That knock scripted the comeback of him. He had a pretty decent 2023 IPL too. But the 2023 IPL was a tournament that announced the future superstars of Indian Cricket. Players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal played like they are here to play and dominate in the International level. Shubman Gill in particular destroyed the opponenets with every single shot in his armory. He looked unbeatable and seemed a proper x-factor for the forthcoming 2023 WTC Final.

Team India yet again fell short of getting their hands on the ICC mace. But this time, the Indian fans have been furious. There are many reasons for the Indian fans to show their rage upon… first one being the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing 11. Excluding him considering the conditions and the pitch seems foolishness because he’s someone who can adapt and pick wickets on any track. It was also so strange when Rohit said that playing 3 match series to decide the winners of WTC would be ideal rather than playing 1 match. He said playing 1 match will deny them from showcasing team’s character of coming back from setbacks. He also said they didn’t have enough time to prepare and train properly for the Final. But it was clearly visible how prepared Australia were, come the Final. It was certainly because most of their players had skipped IPL to train for the ultimate test. Skipping IPL to train for the Red Ball Final is so obvious. But for the Indian Cricket team, playing franchise cricket has seemed more important. The money-rich tournament is now being hated by Indians because it has become an evident reason for India’s failure in the Final of WTC23.

Players like Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli who were in some form during the IPL failed to make their mark. Pujara who had a superb stint with Sussex both as captain and as a batter, failed to score runs, Skipper Rohit Sharma couldn’t get back his lost mojo. Neither Shardul, nor Umesh had the required steam in their deliveries that could threaten the Aussie batsmen. Shami and Siraj were inconsistent at times. India were ruthlessly beaten by the Australians. It was the character and temperament showcased by Rahane and the heroics of one & only Sir Jadeja saved them from an innings defeat. Shardul was good with the bat but Ashwin in place of Shardul or Umesh would have made a lot more sense.

IPL takes a lot of blame this time because it was visible that the players were tired after a long tournament. They were not in a good physical health to play the Final of an ICC event. It’s high time BCCI should now seriously look into scheduling. The scheduling of IPL especially this time has been very poor.

IPL THROUGH THE YEARS

It was back in 2008 when this tournament was kicked off to a start. It was looked at as a tournament which would enhance Indian Cricket. It did happen so. But IPL has now become a money dominated event. It’s India’s pride to host such a magnificent league. Players from across the World come here and compete, receive the hospitality of Indians. Many foreign Cricketers have loved India and its culture. People have also paid back the love. There are foreign players in India who are loved. But the viewership and the hype of the tournament now-a-days has made IPL the primary talent scout. It might be one of many talent hunting events. But definitely not the primary talent scout. Hype of the tournament has now taken the limelight off Domestic Cricket. The Domestic circuit in India has the right infrastructure to give the national team the able players for the future. But “IPL performances” are being give importance. Yes, IPL does give a lot more exposure than Domestic Cricket…. But traditional Indian domestic tournaments like the ‘Ranji Trophy’, ‘Vijay Hazare Trophy’, ‘Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy’ were introduced for talent scouting.

To summarize, BCCI should consider Domestic Cricket as a mainstay talent scouting event over IPL without hyping the IPL performances. BCCI also should start looking into the scheduling of IPL and the bilateral series by giving proper time for the players to remain fresh for the ‘National Duty’. The players should also start prioritizing International Cricket and start serving the country with their hearts filled. The fans love them for the same then, now and forever…!!!