The IPL has changed the game of cricket, there is no doubt about that.
Millions of dollars splurged onto players each year, not just rewarding the players for honing their craft but changing lives forever.
But it seems the league has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball – in fact, this season there is no battle at all.
In terms of dollars, the Indian Premier League is without question one of the biggest tournaments on the planet.
The latest broadcast rights going for more than 8.6 billion dollars – as US media Juggernaut Walt Disney and India’s Reliance Industries claimed the rights.
David Warner of the Delhi Capitals. (Photo by Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
I’m a fan of the IPL, controversial l know, but looking at the evidence provided, the BCCI has taken the literal approach that the league should be an actual TV show rather than a contest.
Just over halfway through the season and there have already been 11 scores over 220.
It’s not every day a team scores 267 in a T20 match and can say they lost comfortably by 25 runs, but for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru they can.
World Cup hero of 2023 Travis Head is certainly loving life in the IPL, averaging 54.00 in six games with a healthy strike rate of 216.
The South Australian jokingly mentioned the possibility of scoring 300 in an innings which highlights how ridiculous these matches have become in recent times.
Even West Indian spin bowler Sunil Narine decided to wind back the clock this season. The veteran turning 36 next month, has tuned out an average of 40.86 striking at 176.54 and adding a century to his resume.
World-class quality bowlers have been given the treatment. Mitchell Starc is a player who prioritised Test cricket for eight years and was bought for a whopping 4.43 million dollars by the Kolkata Knight Riders. However, he has been carted for plenty of runs this season.
From a cricket and statistics perspective, the Aussie quick may have rethought his nomination with hindsight. He has produced an economy rate of 11.54 in his first seven matches getting hit for over 50 on three occasions.
In some matches, you can even see the despair in the face of a bowler who is completely lost for answers on pitches that give absolutely nothing in return.
A six in a match is supposed to be one of the most exciting parts of any white-ball game for fans, but in the 16th edition of the IPL, a six provides little excitement.
Is this what cricket fans want now?
Call me a dinosaur, but what about the days of Mitchell Johnson terrorising the England side in a heated 2013 Ashes series?
The 2023 Ashes was certainly the right kind of television show where every ball was a contest, an even stoush between bat and ball matched with an electrifying atmosphere.
The ICC should be cautious about the direction they want the game to go before it turns into a circus.
The concerning part about all of this is that the governing body protecting the sacred game doesn’t seem to know where the game is going either.
CEO of the ICC Geoff Allardice is adamant that T20 cricket is the pathway for the growth of the game.
As the focus seems to be lost for associate nations given the recent cancellation of the Ireland and Australia white-ball series due to the host nation not having adequate funds for it.
At the end of the day any cricket is good cricket, but when it compromises the best part of the game – the battle between leather and willow – then what are we actually watching?
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
How many headlines do we see stating a bowler's great achievements, or has broken yet another record? Very, very few. Death bowling is when bowlers go under the micro scope. 2 overs of 20.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Or at least limit the amount of wickets allowed to be lost or punish teams for wickets with a run deduction (like indoor cricket). Or limit the number of overs one partnership can go for (like indoor cricket). :cricket: :thumbup:
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
they should make it 9 a side. that will tip the balance back a bit.
McNo
Roar Rookie
I'd call you a dinosaur, but then would be labelling myself as such also. I haven't been to a T20 in quite some time, pre-Covid in fact. Even then, at the SCG, 4's were just this sort of ho-hum affair. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I know that money talks so for now the train will keep rolling. In time the contests will hopefully level out some. If not, then perhaps a bowler going for an average of 10 an over will be considered good...¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Even though I'm not really watching and I guess, am therefore not the target audience, I can see the appeal. In our own Big Bash for example, the number of games that go down to the wire, and regularly to the last ball or two is quite high. It seems like a much more compelling offer than many other domestic sports competitions around the world. Sure it lacks nuance, but if you want nuance watch test cricket or Daniel Day Lewis. All that said, I do feel there will be over-exposure and it may wither on the vine, and suspect many modern day cricketers know this and are happy to make hay.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Bumrah has stood out as a bowler in the stats. Its not like they dont pay the bowlers , they pay them more, so is it a bit like being a stripper for a bowler in the IPL . Narine is the best value IPL player he is one of the best in batting and bowling. Starc cant complain.
Ace
Roar Rookie
Don't have to be old Polly. Besides there is a lot of difference between pitches and boundary size and value on your wicket and how restricted the bowler has to be in T20 against tests In tests you can tempt batsmen by bowling wider of the wickets ..try that in T20 Totally different concepts
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Ashes Tv rights are not sold seperately. If they were would it not be about a billion over 2 series in Australian dollars.
Linphoma
Roar Rookie
Have you played baseball? The nuances are there but apart from that the thing I like about baseball and prefer over other winter sports is how consistent it is. There have been tweaks recently introduced which have enhanced the experience but left the traditions in place and in some instances improved on the way the game has developed along power lines like cricket. The modern player is the same as the old timer. If Babe Ruth came back now he'd pick up a bat and go to work like it was 1927. He wouldn't dominate like he did but it is the same game. If Don Bradman came back and went out to bat he wouldn't be able to lift the thing he has to bat with now!
Liam Cole
Roar Rookie
I’m not talking about the Indian crowd in the stands who love any cricket. I’m more talking about the average cricket fan I’d say.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
"Its hilarious how old men keep trying to tell young people that T20 is no good, and blocking and letting balls go for 5 days is more exciting" Ah, you see, this is where you mess it up. It's not driven by "excitement". It's driven by patience for the contest and how you have to really work at the game to come out on top over an extended period. And it is that, which is ultimately rewarding. A bit like life, really. Think you just exposed yourself re the desire for instant gratification being the only thing that matters.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
yes.
Laurie
Roar Rookie
He didn't say T20 is no good. He said the IPL is the biggest tournament in the world and he's a fan. The article is about flat pitches.
Blink
Roar Rookie
You're a bit challenged going back to 2013 and Mitch Johnson. More recent was Archer terrorising the Oz team in particular targeting Smith. There is no comparison to IPL. Check out the TV rights for the Ashes. How many billions? None. Quite obviously to most, IPL targets a different market. You must be watching a different IPL because the 6s are great and hugely applauded. But it must be getting dangerous being in the crowd above the fence height.
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
The only thing holding a bowlers interest in the IPL is money. The bowler goes through an ‘ endurance test’ of being flayed to all parts of the ground for six weeks ,with the only motivation being an increase to the bank balance. Of course many will argue that is enough, with the money on offer. Grin and bear it for six weeks. The commentary is about the highest run makers and their strike rates.bowlers hardly rate a mention. History I believe will show that bowler’s careers in the Test arena will be shortened through being flogged as workhorses in the IPL through injury and burnout. No bowler truthfully wants to be relentlessly flogged on roads . So you get bowlers going through the motions only because of the IPL cheque. That is truly burnout territory.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
Since it's inception, I've found it hard to see this as real cricket, period. I'm sure both of us couple point to many memorable Tests, Test match days, etc >Ditto with ODI's, but I can't think of one T20 game, innings, bowing performance etc, that sticks in the mind. The rules you mention about shortened games having a result makes this even more meaningless, when a side might have to bowl 5 overs to get a result but the batting team can lose 10 wickets in a chase and the bowling team can have one bowler at most delivering more than 1 over. I'd also suggest having a company like Disney involved in the IPL broadcasting is sending a message that they see this as an entertainment and not a sport too.
Liam Cole
Roar Rookie
I love T20 cricket Polly but this IPL has been a joke.
All day Roseville all day
Roar Guru
I am finding it extremely difficult to take seriously a format in which- * a side's fourth- and fifth-best bowlers each must deliver a minimum 20% of their team's overs * a result can be achieved (on DLS) if the side batting second (and if necessary both sides) has faced as few as 5 overs.
Hawk
Roar Rookie
I always laugh at "cricket becoming baseball" thing. A dull t20 has way more big hits than baseball and always has. People making that comparison have seem to have never actually watched baseball which is repetitive and dull
Polly
Roar Rookie
Its hilarious how old men keep trying to tell young people that T20 is no good, and blocking and letting balls go for 5 days is more exciting
Hawk
Roar Rookie
Very good article. I took my wife (cricket novice)to a BBL game last year, she was getting bored with all the big hitting (became monotonous) but loved it when a spinner took a 5 for and changed the game. Its a massive mistake to think more 6s=more excitement. Its like anything in life, if it becomes routine you lose the interest. A balance with bat and ball is essential to longevity of t20. Unfortunately I do not think the BCCI thinks about the long term health of cricket at all