Marquee IPL must serve its cause

“Mission Accomplished” stated the ecstatic KKR’s skipper Gautam Gambhir after his team successfully chased down the imposing target of 190 put on board by the defending champions Chennai Super Kings. With this sensational nail-biting finish, Kolkata Knight Riders claimed their coveted first Indian Premier League title at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Sunday. In reply to Harsha’s question on his exemplary leadership during the whole league, the Delhi southpaw said “A captain is as good as his team and also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the entire team and support staff.” While it was bad day in the office for Dhoni and his boys, it doesn’t change the fact that CSK has been the most formidable and consistent team in all the editions, making into finals for the 4th time out of 5 editions and claiming the title twice; the only team to do so while the Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders have claimed the title once.

This 5th edition of the IPL is said to be the most enthralling season with numerous last over finishes, unbelievable twist and turns, some quintessential talent for the taking and of course above all, the quality of cricket was top class. Our cricket fanatic nation was gripped under the fever of the IPL and it certainly exceeded the expectations of its viewers in offering them the quintessential blend of cricket and entertainment, with over the top entertainment and an unbelievable cricketing experience that this exciting format has provided. Let us not forget the very purpose that the Indian Premier League was introduced. The fundamental goal of the IPL was to provide a platform for young upcoming cricketers in the country to showcase their talent on global arena, rubbing their shoulders with some of the best international players from different countries.

Sadly, over the 5 IPL editions, Indian cricket hasn’t been the substantial beneficiary as one would have expected. One can count the number of players who have made it to the international circuit on their fingers. The likes of Yusuf Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Manoj Tiwary, Ajinkya Rahane etc. but some of them couldn’t handle the pressure at the highest level. Some of the other immensely talented youngsters who garnered limelight during the earlier editions such as Abhishek Nayar, Ambati Rayadu, Paul Valthaty, Iqbal Abdulla, Rajat Bhatia, Naman Ojha, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Shadab Jakati and certain immaculate talents from this edition such as Shahbaz Nadeem, Aavishkar Salvi, Pawan Negi, Srikkanth Anirudha, Mandeep Singh, Debabrata Das, Manvinder Bisla must be appropriately nurtured under the supervision of some of the greats around the world and must be timely injected into the international circuit for the substantial exposure.

The Indian Premier League was established with the idea of attracting the talent pool from various nooks and corners of the country which it certainly did, but I am not sure like most of the cricket followers in the country if there were procedures / policies / plans laid down by the founding body, BCCI, to nurture this young talent pool further and take them to the next level. As far as franchisees are concerned, they are involved only from a business perspective. They want the best players picked on the day, win matches, make money and go home. Not sure if they would take on the responsibility to nurture these players as a requisite. Of course they have coaches and supporting staff, but their work is to get the team ready for the matches. Nurturing local talent may or may not come under their ambit of operations.

The Indian Premier League, with the brand value estimated around USD 3.67 during the 4th season, cannot afford to spend millions of dollars in brand building, infrastructure, facilitating dignitaries, franchisees, players and walk away scot-free without benefiting Indian cricket in providing the resources which are ready to take on the international level by storm. After savoring the purple path in world cricket i.e. being numero uno in the Test arena and winning the coveted World Cup in 2011, Indian cricket has been in steep decline with a couple of deplorable series loses during the foreign tours. With certain greats of Indian cricket advancing at the stage of biding adieu to this game, the time is not far where the team will go through a transition phase and filling-in those voids will be a daunting task for the selectors and captain, simultaneously focusing on re-establishing the lost imposing position in world cricket.

BCCI should consider this imperative to have procedures / plans laid down to nurture such immaculate talent on display during the IPL and transform them into international players. Probably the IPL talent pool committee that is studded with some of the greats of Indian cricket can work together, or the existing setup at NDA can shoulder this responsibility to closely monitor their progress, help them acquire and develop requisite skill sets, tweak their game and develop their temperament according to the highest standards of the game. The charismatic innings by Manvinder Bisla under incredible pressure during the final against CSK on Sunday, just reassures the fact that there is talent, there is intent and little supervision, but little tweaking from here on can be life changing for such youngsters and eventually benefit Indian cricket. There is also a need for the BCCI to strongly impose code of conducts for the players during the IPL season on and off the field. It is imperative that “Cricket” stays the pivotal epicenter of a marquee cricketing event such as the Indian Premier League.

Unless strong measures are inflicted by the governing body, the IPL might well defeat the very purpose of its existence and merely head for something like a reality show on Indian television. It’s high time for the BCCI to reconcile, put its house in order and enable the ambitious IPL to serve its cause to Indian Cricket.

Long live the Indian Premier League!