T20 – the saviour of cricket?

With the recent T20I bilateral contest between England and India wrapped up, the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), and the fast-approaching World Cup later this year, it’s important we look into the game’s shortest format, its franchise component, and its implications on the world of cricket.

Undoubtedly, T20 cricket is incredibly explosive and can be at times fun to watch. Getting a result within 4 hours is a revolution compared to the 7-9 hour one-day games or 3-5 day test match games. It has brought innumerable spectators to the game, and personally, enhanced my understanding and love for the sport. But after watching remarkable Test series against Australia and England, the format that brought me to the game has become almost unwatchable to me.

As I see it now, the irony is that I could never understand why people chose to watch 5-day games over one that starts and concludes in the evening – how do both spectators and players have the patience to sit and slog for 8 hours a day? But I realize now that the red/pink ball is preserving cricket, and the entertainment value of the other formats is coming at the cost of the game.

In watching test cricket and reading columns and commentary, the words resilience, character, and patience all jump off the page. To have the strength to stand at the crease, take ball after ball of a belting is a job that few spectators seem to appreciate and frankly care about. To get off the mark after facing 30 odd deliveries is something of joy and a wonder to watch – the only equivalent to T20 is hitting a maximum. For test cricket, what people don’t seem to realize is that the ‘wow’ factor is not limited to just a set combo of a boundary, maximum, or wicket. Every ball is different, and every shot played is something you would never have seen before. The contest between bat and ball is incredibly prevalent – it’s not the ‘hit out or get out’ narrative we’ve grown up in, and the random ‘balla ghumana’ (swashbuckling) scenes were are accustomed to.

I feel almost hypocritical saying this now, but the Border-Gavaskar Test series really brought out a new side of cricket for me. It is surprising having grown up watching the IPL and then finding the format uninteresting – it really is. But that just may be the effect that the competition and other franchise offshoots have had on the game.

I honestly think the IPL was a novel idea and used to contribute to the game – but now, monetary gains and politicization may be slowly tearing this game apart. Controversial as this stance may seem, new stories every day about individual players and the IPL re-affirm my belief in this opinion. In 2008, the inaugural competition brought about an unprecedented revolution – no one could have fathomed the impact this competition has, as we now know, had on the game. The current position of the BCCI has a significant role in my dislike of this competition, apart from my opinions on this format of the game. It may seem as if my claims are not incredibly relevant to the IPL, but nevertheless, these are some things I think you should know.

Power the BCCI now has over international cricket

The first Twenty20 was played in 2004 between England Women and New Zealand Women (how amazing and fitting it is to have them play the first-ever match!). Since then, the format has taken off as the biggest money-maker in sports history. After the inaugural T20 world cup in 2007, the Indian Premier League hosted its first season in the summer of 2008. The Board of Cricket Control of India hosts this league, and over the last 14 years, this league has gained a top spot in the world of competitive sports. But this fame has brought the BCCI an unprecedented amount of control over international cricket. Although this has been the case for a while, we started to see the ugly shades of one nation’s dominance over the International Cricket Council during the World Cup in 2019. While it seems insignificant, the fact that India played matches only on Thursdays, Sundays, and national holidays and that the event’s time was slotted for our convenience is a sign of this unchecked power. The creation of a coalition known as the Big Three (India, Australia, and England) within the ICC to drive viewer profits and India’s firm belief that no more than 8 teams should play the world cup is un-sportsman-like. It’s actually killing the game. The World Cup, an event that’s set to promote the spirit of cricket in as many countries, is being limited – the reason? The BCCI hoarding all income.

Another aspect of the IPL itself is the precedence it has over any international competition in the world. A few days ago, English cricketer Kevin Petersen tweeted that all cricket nations must understand the importance of the IPL and never schedule bilateral competitions at the time. This sounds absurd, but it’s the truth! The recent series between Pakistan and South Africa will see the loss of 5 of South Africa’s best players as they fly to India to play for their franchises. New Zealand’s tour of England, a test series slated to be played in early June to get the Kiwis World Test Championship ready, might just be called off due to the IPL!

I was confused when I saw the Big Bash League (Australia) clashing with India’s tour of Australia – were players going to leave? Was there going to be a break? This type of precedent the IPL takes over other competitions is incredibly unhealthy for the game! And, in case you didn’t know, Indian players are not allowed to compete in any limited-overs franchise-based tournament in the world unless they’re retired!

The politicization of the BCCI

Politics and Cricket have become almost synonymous in India – something I find harmful to the spirit of cricket. With the disarray that is Indian politics, cricket is an aspect of our lives we expected to stay constant.

To address the elephant in the room, the idea of renaming one of India’s oldest stadiums to Narendra Modi Stadium is truly an example of the politicization of cricket. Yes, the Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi stadiums in Hyderabad and Uttarakhand do exist. Still, they were not inaugurated by the President of India during a global pandemic during the term of said Prime Minister by his own government. Joe Root and Virat Kohli having to introduce their team members to the delegation at the cost of daylight and the associated awkward namastes will surely be something to remember from that series.

But on a more meta scale, the idea that Pakistani players cannot play in the IPL has left me wondering whether geopolitics and religion can really stop a sport that was actually the only bridge of communication between these two countries. Yes, it was relevant in 2008 to ban these players due to a very political crisis, but is there any reason to do so right now?

Out of context, but it is theoretically possible for India to lose out on hosting the T20 World Cup if Pakistani players cannot be issued visas – nevertheless, while the latter is quite possible, the BCCI would still prevail here!

Dhandhe mai bahut paisa hai!

Switching gears, I am sure everyone following the competition has heard this phrase before – translated from Hindi, it means ‘there’s a lot of money in the industry.’ Still, it isn’t as light-hearted as it sounds.

In a recent interview, South African legend Dale Steyn said that he was opting out of the IPL as he believed big money associated with the competition is corrupting the game. The IPL for Indian fans has been built up to be the year’s biggest event and its cricketer’s literal gods. To produce such an event, we see sponsors filling up every square inch of jerseys, fields, stands, and players’ obligations. Indian cricketers are used to this – but this can have a significant impact on foreigners. An observation I made during the Mumbai Indian’s PR campaign in 2020 was Trent Boult, star New Zealand pacer, asking off camera if he’s getting paid more to be part of their huge PR campaign. Now, this could have been in jest, but it was incredibly evident that he did not want to engage in such activities, but he was obligated to, to fill the contract a company had signed that sponsored his team.

Although it isn’t directly related to the IPL, there is merit in looking into something Australian coach Justin Langer said, covered in the Test documentary series. He said that a dressing room was meant to have motivational quotes, game plans, and targets to create an environment that wants his players to push harder. Instead, he saw a list of media engagements and commercial shooting sessions plastered on his whiteboard, and that a bit of part of love for the game died there. This is the case of the IPL and at a much larger level. If a condition for a cricketer to be selected to a team is their ability to engage in substantial media projects, which might be placed at an equal level with their skill, this isn’t a sporting competition anymore.

Why I will still watch the IPL

Seems rather anticlimactic to say this, but I will probably end up watching a few games this season as well. Watching and playing cricket has helped me get through the pandemic – it’s been the most effective way for me to take my mind of things that affected my productivity. Furthermore, watching these games and supporting your home team gives you a network of people to identify yourself with, a brotherhood of like-minded individuals that goes miles to help you cope with anything, even though it’s just temporary. Born and brought up in Bombay, to support Mumbai gives me that serotonin to get me through the day. Additionally, it allows me to bond with friends – this season, I vowed to myself to never watch a match alone! Regardless of seeing it on screen or live-texting a group as it happens, I aim to use this time to get in touch with as many people!

Some of my happiest memories have come from watching the IPL. Whether it was of the 2019 final when my friends were split into opposing camps, one reciting the Quran as the middle overs began, and one blasting the Ganesh Aarti on a loudspeaker after a bad over, which almost cost us the game. Or the 2017 final, where a friend flew down for the weekend to watch the match and shrieked in excitement when we won, waking up not just my household but the neighbours 2 stories above as well. Or even every aamras-roti dinner, planned weeks ahead when my parents would be stepping out.

Throughout this piece, I have tried to explain why the IPL may be killing the game, how materialism is affecting the players, and how a regional body is controlling an international organization. I concede that I often became emotional at times, and my opinions on the format could be controversial. To watch or not watch is a decision you may take – I am sure that there will be days where the distraction of the match shall tempt me to procrastinate work further, and I will abandon my assignments at the thought of 30 minutes of fun. But it would be a conscious, informed decision, and I hope it is the same for you!