IPL 6: Oh no, not again!

So, it is that time of year again; the time for the colourful uniforms, the dancing girls, the hard hats, the endless games, the raining sixes, the razzmatazz. In other words, it is time for the IPL. Hard to believe that it has already been a year, but, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun. The longest seven weeks of the year is now upon me, and I will be celebrating on the day of the final game; not with whichever team wins the competition, but I will be celebrating that it is all over – at least until next year.

I know that expressed dislike for the IPL, and the T20 game in general, rankles many, and I know those holding such views are liable to be labeled anachronistic and snobbish. That’s fine. As long as those doing the name-calling don’t mind themselves being called shallow and superficial in return. Furthermore, it is not that I totally dislike the T20 game itself – I have enjoyed watching a few – but its overabundance, for me, is a turn-off.

Apart from the IPL, which seems to be interminably long, there is the Bangladesh Premier League, the Australian Big Bash, the England Premier League, and soon, the Caribbean Premier League. Where will it end? And how will the cricket calendar accommodate all these competitions while maintaining the integrity of international cricket? We sometimes hear calls for the ICC to grant the IPL a window. But how fair would that be to all the other T20 competitions?

Now, as much as I despise the IPL, I welcome the boon it provides for the players, especially those who would not have made an adequate living from cricket otherwise. Being able to make a good living at the IPL circus could also allow players the time and resources needed to improve their game, and might pave the way to international cricket and a more fulfilling career. David Warner, for example, first came to public notice as a T20 and IPL star before opening the batting for Australia in Tests; while West Indies bludgeoner, Kieron Pollard, long a star in the game’s shortest version, is now making serious strides towards a test place.

On the other hand, the T20 game can also be a hindrance to good batsmanship. It might now be an elitist view that Test cricket is the highest form of the game, but those who still think it is must be lamenting the effect of T20 cricket on Test match batting. More and more, we are seeing batsmen engaging in unnecessarily risky behavior. Batsmen no longer limit themselves to advancing down the track to slow bowling; they now do it to pacers as well. And whereas the reverse-sweep was very sparingly used in time gone by, it is now not uncommon to see it attempted in Test matches.

Shikhar Dhawan constructed a stupendous innings in the fourth Test against Australia, but on a few occasions, he came down the wicket to deliveries travelling in excess of 130 KPH. He was also not reluctant to top play the reverse-sweep, and even played strokes that defy description. Dhawan’s forthright method made for an unbelievable debut story, but on other occasions, such eagerness will undoubtedly lead to his downfall.

During the recent Sri Lanka/ Bangladesh Test in Galle, Mohammad Ashraful had a double hundred in sight when he attempted a reverse-sweep from the very first delivery of the day and just barely survived. Forgetting, perhaps, that he was in a Test match, he ran wildly down the pitch a few deliveries later and was stumped… needlessly.

Not that these methods have no place in Test cricket. Employed judiciously, they can be useful and can enliven proceedings. Patience, however, is normally a trait of the good Test match player, and is required during those tough patches of play when the bowling is demanding and the surface unfriendly.

Former Australian captains Ian Chappell and Ricky Ponting have expressed concern that their country’s developing batsmen are being thrust too early into the T20 arena where batting for long periods is a foreign concept. This practice, they fear, does not augur well for the future of Australian batting. The fruits of this practice might be in evidence even now, as shown by the inability to fill the gap left by the resignation of Michael Hussey and Ponting himself.

Yet, whatever the perceived and potential harm that the proliferation of T20 might inflict on the game’s longer forms, it is unlikely that Test cricket will be devoured. They will have to exist side by side. The challenge will be to avoid the traits of one diminishing those of the other. Those of us, however, who are not overly fond of the T20 game, have long realized that it is here to stay. That is fine. We just have to learn to tolerate and even enjoy some aspects of it.