Has IPL destroyed the soul of Indian Cricket? Is IPL a boon or a curse for Indian Cricket? IPL and the degradation of the Cricket. Being a cricket fan if these are some of the questions running in your mind again and again especially after the poor performance of the team India in the recently concluded T20 World Cup then you are not alone. Many cricket fans are pouring their anger on the IPL for the degradation of the Indian cricket team. Well, we understand that IPL has given us many stars and because of them, India has won in many places. But it does come with a cost. And that cost is not winning any international trophy since 2013.
There is no point in having such a great team and a talented bench strength if you are not able to win with it. This is the golden age of Indian cricket as we are witnessing some of the finest young talents. The list of talented cricketers in India is probably endless. In Fact, no player wants to sit out even if they are injured, because it will cost them their place in the playing eleven. Well, even after having so many great players, we need to find out the reasons why we are not winning anything for a long time now.
Yes, as a cricket fans we have observed that IPL is like chink in one’s armor. It was started for the betterment of Indian cricket but now it has become a money market in which everyone involved is loving it. You thought this was an early Mike Tyson fight that only lasted 45 seconds? No, we came with some insurmountable questions for which we need to find answers as soon as possible. So, without wasting another second let us start this discussion.
Too Many Matches
Yes, that’s our first of many concerns. Every team that consists of the top Indian players plays almost all 14 matches excluding playoffs. Now imagine how tiresome it can be handling the pressure of winning all the matches, giving your best, traveling with a team at multiple grounds, captaining the team that is an amalgamation of foreign and domestic players, and much more. We are sure that it played its part in team India’s mentality before they start their T20 WC campaign.
From the next season, IPL has added two more teams in the tournament. That means each team plays a minimum of 18 matches. Now IPL will be a 2-month festival and at the same time team, India is not playing any international cricket. But the other nations are giving their best and preparing for the next ICC trophy. The same happened with the latest IPL season. None of the Indian players planned to sit out of the tournament or a few matches and give themselves some time for the world cup. And maintaining a bio bubble environment also played its part being the crux of the biscuit.
More money Getting involved
As mentioned earlier, IPL has become a money-making industry. So, don’t be amazed if you witness less international cricket and more commercial cricket in the near future. Just like any other top football league, ICC and BCCI have chosen this path for the development of Cricket all across the globe. Well, seeing it that way it’s sure a great plan but at the cost of hurting the team’s credibility at the same time then it’s not.
Earlier, players have to play Ranji and fight for their place in the team India. There was less money involved and players needed to struggle a lot. But the money showered on the players took them off their feet. The domestic players are not that much enthusiastic to don team India’s jersey as they are already earning handsome money. The fringe cricketers know even after playing 5 years of domestic cricket, the money they earn will be nowhere near 3 seasons of IPL.
We understand that players performing must be awarded and we have many superstars like Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bhumrah, etc. but it’s also because of the money that we have seen the ugly face of cricket – spot-fixing. Even for the best current Indian team players, they are earning enormous amounts of money and because of which it becomes impossible for them to say NO to their private team owners. There is no denying the fact that more money will be involved in cricket but we hope team India performs irrespective of the situation.
Back in the 90s and early 2000s, we have seen cricketers like Tendulkar, Dravid, Kumble, Ganguly playing county cricket in England to perfect their skills. But surprisingly, there are many players now that are taking early retirement from Test cricket to play more days of IPL. It means only one thing, you are prioritizing money over your national duty and honor. When you are representing your country you stand there until your last breath.
BCCI giving preference to IPL over international cricket
You may be wondering where we are going with this? Well, we are going exactly as you are thinking. Being an Indian cricket fan I also want the BCCI to be the richest cricket board in the world but only until team India keeps on winning the big tournaments. As said earlier, there is no point in having such great players and this big tournament if you are not getting anything out of it.
Recently, India was playing England overseas. Because of many speculations made by many experts, a question does arise. Is it possible that team India postponed the 5th test for the sake of the IPL? To be honest, we do not want it to be true but, players not giving preference to international cricket and moving straight away to the UAE for the second leg of the IPL does raise some eyebrows.
Endnotes
These are just some views which we think we all need to ponder. Every one of us needs betterment of cricket and most importantly wants team India back winning the international trophy. It’s true that IPL has given us some amazing players and we hope we will have many new talents because of it. But if it has started hurting team India then we really need to find a solution. We hope you liked this article. Until next time, Goodbye!