Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
1) It is difficult to understand the vociferous arguments put forth by supposed veterans ( read retired cricketers) on the growing list of injured players in the IPL. Obviously since most are in the hefty payrolls of TV channels everyone is collectively singing hosannas about IPL's greatness and how the broken limbs are " part and parcel" of the game , player burn-out be damned ! MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Graeme Smith, D Mascarenhas etc are in the illustrious list of early casualties. I am sure there are several others carrying growing niggles which will later rather than sooner surface and explode in our faces like a botched fried omelet , as did Virendra Sehwag's shoulder injury post-South Africa last year.
2) The post-match IPL parties have become another revenue stream in the business model of the IPL. Here gatecrashers have been given a legal recourse, legitimizing their entry by paying a cover charge for late-night partying. Frankly, I find it insufferably cheesy. Albeit the petite MTV hostess who was interviewing Wasim Akram and Sourav Ganguly the other day was a paragon of perkiness , poor Ganguly came across as a cardboard character distinctly uncomfortable at the casual in-your-face-intrusive riddling. I thought I saw him blush as he sneakily scooted away at the first opportunity. Akram , now a seasoned hand, seemed to quite relish the meaningless trivia. But the frivolous nature of the IPL shines incandescent when you see Shane Warne bonding with blonds after a third successive defeat for his royal highness! Continue reading below
3) Can't blame Lalit Modi for behaving like the ubiquitous Indian sparrow. After completely hijacking the IPL as his brain-child he is now keen to perhaps brand it as Indian Premier Lalit . Anything is possible !
4) Since IPL is "engineered" to create close-finishes, a sense of déjà vu quickly seeps in; seen it seen that kind of stuff. I don't know the exact stats, but over 90% of matches are decided in the last over feeding the hedonistic hunger of an entertainment-starved nation. But the question to be asked is; at what cost? I will not repeat the old arguments.
5) I have not checked TRP numbers, but let me be frank; no event in India gets such year-round publicity, TV advertisements and endless programs pre and post-match, brand endorsements of cricket players, full-page print ads and front page daily news headlines, SRK, Katrina Kaif and insane Bollywood engagement, and of course, rich industrialist's bored housewives watching their paid khiladis justify their millions. Honestly, the media space given to IPL is the height of irrational exuberance. It is bizarre. You have to look at TRP's from that perspective, and then one does not have to have an IQ of 200 to know that IPL is far from the success it is made out to be. With that kind of feverish exposure even Pyaar Impossible would have been an all-time blockbuster! In fact, it's TRP has actually already peaked and now seems to have plateaued , as early as even just the third season itself. From hereon, there is only one significant traction possible; downward.
I admit that the IPL has carved out a loyal audience during prime summer holiday time (after all, remember, it is a virtual freebie for households), but these are still early days. The addition of new teams next year will pose a Himalayan challenge in sustaining interest in the IPL as it will be reach the stage of self-actualisation, suicidal excess. The fatigue-factor has certainly set in and there is a laboured façade of bustling enthusiasm on display all-around.
For the moment, sit back and watch some thrilling action tonight with the stupefying expectation of knowing that it will be finish in the last dramatic nail-chewing over. Wow! I think IPL caricatures the oxymoron most appropriately.
