Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
I know it is blasphemous to say so , so early in the day, but the undeniable truth is out of the dark closet; IPL-II has bombed. And I am not just referring to the disappointing TRP ratings over the first week-end; it's the general lackluster cricket, indifferent crowds, forced bravado of stake-holders, that "distant feel", and the over-hyped coverage by an irresponsible media , which in fact, has back-fired like a hard-hitting boomerang. " It's thanda" and lacks the fizzy bubbly of a rollicking entertainer. The IPL organizers are paying a huge price for their humongous hubris.
I don't want to repeat the obvious, but the fact of life is that IPL Commissioner is a BJP sympathizer ( that is a personal predilection, no problem with that ) , albeit who unfortunately enough, brought in his personal vested interests into the sport. It was shockingly asinine of him ( and his BCCI President ) to indulge in petty politicking on the IPL issue, when it was evident that national security was a matter of grave importance during a sensitive election period. Mr Lalit Modi, of course, had other priorities, and thus practically bulldozed his franchisees with the South African safari. Modi thought he was killing two birds with one stone; embarrassing the ruling political formation, and secondly, sustaining his insurmountable " recession-proof" business model. Just a few days old, and IPL-II is already on a massive roller-coaster ride headed singularly in one direction---southwards. If the highest opening week-end TRP was about 3.5, expect the average to settle in anywhere between 2.3 to 2.75 at best, which is abysmal with a capital A. Continue reading below
The bottom-line is that IPL-II could have been staged in India itself , in a reworked calendar, but Modi was hell bent on proving his personal point, especially after the RCA elections fiasco. And all this talk of how Modi has done a remarkable feat by staging the tournament in record-time is gross exaggeration and over-generous. India controls the purse-strings, and practically everyone is willing to lay out the red-carpet. Moreover, there is a standard operating check-list and procedure for event management, and as long as commercial terms are fine, all services are easily outsourced. Moreover, since the IPL is the ultimate moolah for the "star"players themselves, they will never protest about such " flimsy issues", like a tournament venue shift. Everyone is on the same band-wagon; you scratch my back, I will scratch yours with even greater relish. So it looks like a big jamboree. But fortunately or unfortunately , the numbers don't lie.
The IPL circus is hell-bent on introducing strange creatures as part of the show. The IPL novelty has already worn-off , so these silly " strategic breaks" of 7.5 minutes duration make their stellar debut .It is such an atrocious money-making invention , I am stranded speechless by this creative ingenuity. It is actually a " brake" , as it halts proceedings, instead of giving it further acceleration. I am awaiting the pious perfectionist Mr Sunil Gavaskar's " honest ,patriotic and technically sound " sentiments to unfold on this preposterous deviation. Trust me, Mr Gavaskar will adroitly duck this problematic bouncer. As for IPL, and especially the cricket players, it is a monumental shame that they are just accepting anything in the name of commercial experimentation. Only Sachin Tendulkar has so far at least voiced his displeasure on this mind-boggling farce.
Let me be brutally honest ; If IPL-II sinks it will be because of the massive weight of someone's arrogance , rather than an iceberg hit on it's supposedly infallible body. Maybe it is time for Modi to take a break, tactical or strategic.
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