We have seen 3 editions of IPL till now. I had my reservations when it started basically because of the fact that the teams were made up of players from different regions in India and overseas players. The Kichdi nature of the teams made me wonder whether there will be sufficient intensity in the matches. I have been proved wrong in all the 3 editions. The intensity and drama of the matches was a great revelation to me. It again proved my point tha the players at leat the Indian ones are basically mercenary innature and if the money is good, they will play well.Money and more money is the only motivation for the players. It was amusing to see some of the Indian players who would be playing for India glare and swear at each other. The overseas players would also have been amused at this show.
IPL 3 had its own share of the drama. NO I am not talking about Mr Lalit Modi. I will talk only about cricket. Ravindra Jadeja who plays for India mostly on account of the support of the selector from West Zone was banned from playing in the IPL. The reasons for his suspension are still not clear and whatever has surfaced only adds to the drama ans suspense. Our so called superstar Yuvaraj Singh had a miserable outing and it was evident from the way he played that he was deliberately under performing. He is the most luckiest player in India after Ravi Shastri.Yuvaraj has been given lot of opportunities and the reasoning is that class is permanent and form is temporary. What is the use of class when you do not score. The fielding standards of Yuvaraj has also gone down considerably.
I had a feeling that many of the matches were fixed. I was particularly disgusted about the final. What was Tendulkar trying to convey by sending Harbhajan ahead of Pollard? Does he think that Harbhajan is a better batsman? If Pollard had come earlier, the match would have been won by Mumbai Indians. As a supporter of Chennai Super Kings, I was very happy but as a cricket supporter, I was dismayed. Why did Tendulakar allow the IPL 3 Title to be grabed by the Chennai team when it was his for the asking particularly when he had Pollard at his disposal? I am surprised that nobody thought it fit to even investigate. If the captain was anybody other than Tendulkar, there would have been a hue and cry. Tendulkar, the God that he is, went scot free.
The addition of 2 teams for the next edition of the IPL also caught the headlines for reasons other than cricket and an able man like Mr Shashi Tharoor had to lose his job. As it is the IPL is a long tournament with 8 teams and the addition of 2 teams will only add to the duration of the tournament. However, money is the sole criteria of IPL and the organisers will find a way for the bonanza tournament. The addition of 2 teams means that there will be a shift of players from teams. The players will again have to acclamatise to their new colleagues. However, they will do so given the money involved.
Let us look forward to a more competitive and fixing free IPL 4.
