MUMBAI: The stage is set for the first off-shore Indian Premier League. South Africa beckoned and presto, they are all there to re-enact what last year had been a highly successful Twenty20 cricket tournament.
Will the present one be as successful is anybody’s guess, but as far as India and the cricket buffs in the country are concerned, it will never quite be the same, what with the popular local support lacking. It will thus be akin to deriving vicarious pleasure with matches — all 59 of them — being followed on television all the way. One may argue that even when every one of these matches were played in India last time out, only about 30,000 to 50,000 spectators actually watched them in the stadium at one time. The millions still followed them on TV. But the fact that the tournament was played here and moved from city to city, created a rare atmosphere of involvement. There were various fan clubs for each of the eight teams and local groups that got together to provide local color and flavor. To draw a parallel to the present situation, it is like India and Pakistan playing at Sharjah and instead of in each other's countries. The difference is vast. Whether they go to the stadium or not, people get socially moved.
Be that as it may, the question to ask is: Will this shifting of an event lock, stock and barrel, be a precursor of things to come? In two years' time, the World Cup of cricket is to be hosted jointly by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
It will only be the very naive who will say that everything is so hunky-dory in the subcontinent as not to cause any concerns. Before this event, India is scheduled to host the World Cup of hockey and the Commonwealth Games next year (2010). Since both these events are confined to one venue or just one city, India may be able to instill a sense of confidence in the participants. The same cannot be the case with World Cup cricket, whose itinerary will be inter-woven in four countries.
In this regard, it must be said that the shifting of IPL from India to South Africa, has not sent across the right signal. The only problem is that the general elections in India are being held at the same time as the IPL and that will have entailed a needless strain on the country's security system. The event could have been postponed. But the ego and the ambition of one man, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, was at stake and he was just not prepared to buckle in. By insisting on going ahead with the second edition of the IPL, even if it meant going abroad, Modi and the Board of Control for Cricket in India may not immediately realize what consequential harm they may have done to the future of 2011 World Cup.
