What the IPL is going through now, I have so much to say about it, I don't know how to start.
It's ridiculous, the whole thing. Income tax department, government bodies, cricket boards, companies, players etc etc the number of people involved in whatever keeps growing by the second. And in the midst of all of this controversy, the people who have been largely forgotten are the fans. Ironically, they make or break the sport. If there is a mass fallout from the sport due to all this, cricket will die. It's not like we have some worldwide following to begin with. When I first read the article, I was deeply upset and pretty darn angry. Does anyone realise how much time and emotions and passion people spend on this tournament? It's almost to the level of passion that people show when their country is playing. These are just franchises, and YET, that level of passion is there, why? Because we love this sport, dammit, we love every aspect of the game, we are keen to see the sport taken out to the world, we want to see it progress and we want to see our favourite sportsmen play and do well. We take pride in their successes, make it our own and live off their reflected glory. And when allegations like this crop up, what of us? What of the billions who sit eagerly in front of television sets and in stadiums to watch, cheer and ultimately make the league a success? Do we take them? Do we ignore them? Even if you do clear everything up, will any of it be the same considering we now at least suspect that some of the matches we watch may be fixed? The IPL isn't the death of cricket. All this politicking and the lack of transparency are.
What I find odd is, how and why did the cricket board, BCCI, not know about ANYTHING until now? They're acting all surprised and are trying to wash their hands off the whole thing but come on. Lalit Modi IS part of the BCCI. This isn't Modi Premier League, it's the INDIAN Premier League. Don't tell me that the BCCI had no part to play in this scandal (assuming it's true). I'm saying every single person involved in the administration of the League in one way or another was probably in the know of every dirty secret. What they didn't expect was for it to come out into the open. Now that it has, they're trying to push all the blame on one person, and it has been decided that Lalit Modi is the scapegoat who will be sacrificed to save the name of BCCI, Indian cricket and India itself.
What Mum says may be true too. They can't bear to see one person be so successful. Not just the board, but people too! It amuses me to see Modi drawing flak from so many fans (even without all this scandal). Why? Do any of them have a valid reason other than "he invented the IPL and I think it's the death of cricket, hence I hate Modi"? I'm not talking about now, after the scandal came up, now I also have reason to dislike him (if everything is true), I'm talking about before all that. I can understand some part of where these people come from, but I personally feel it's a very one dimensional view to take. I'm a huge lover of the game, and I'd watch every ball of a test match if I had the time to. And I have! I mean, why else would I travel to another continent and roast in the scorching summer sun for four days watching a test match? I love every version of this game and I want to see it out there, gaining popularity for what it is. IPL has done that. It has taken cricket out to people who never even knew the sport existed. It has brought together players and fans of all nationalities, erased boundaries and built new friendships. It's a great concept, albeit a radical one, for a game that is played primarily as nations and in which support for a team overlaps heavily with patriotism and nationalistic pride. The IPL has changed all of that.
And what of the interaction it allows between players of international calibre and the national level players? Brilliant concept there too, as it allows younger, inexperienced players to learn and to have the feel of playing to packed stadiums, rubbing shoulders with the all-time greats of the sport. To have their own little fan followings and to succeed in this sport for which most would have given up their education and other job opportunities. And all this is without even touching upon the financial factor (which I won't talk about since that's what's been called into question now).
This was Lalit Modi's brainchild, this is what he's done for the sport and if ever this controversy clears up and the dark could hanging over his head rains off (or better still, blows over), I'd say he could even go down in history as a hero. And no, Modi has not paid me to write this. I don't agree with all his decisions and changes and many things about the way he runs this tournament, but hey, it brings me my favourite sport packaged in a novel, innovative way (and heaven knows the archaic rules could do with some innovation). It adds excitement to 7 weeks of my life every year and gives me something to look forward to. It allows one of my favourite(st) players to still showcase his talent and lets me watch him. It is a brilliant advertisement for this sport which has lived in relative obscurity for the most part. So all that is great. But now there's a shadow over all of that. Must financially successful things always get embroiled in scandals? Couldn't the IPL have succeeded without dodgy multi-million dollar deals and excessive amounts of cash changing hands illegally? Now Modi has to clear his name or take the blame. Mostly take the blame because in all likelihood, the allegations are true. And the worst part is, there's probably more than just him involved, it's probably the whole board. But of course, that will never be proved. What I can foresee for now is that only Modi will be "punished" by the board, and the rest will go scott free. Hello, corruption.
All I ask for now is clean-ness in the tournament, clean management for the sake of the public, for the sake of the sport and for the sake of India. It's the least you could give us, the fans. I do hope the IPL and Indian cricket will rise above this. Or it would sadden me greatly.
