The IPL Sunday Roast 1
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By Rahul Patil
I am a self-diagnosed test tragic. After all the euphoria in whites during the New Zealand summer I am still coming to terms with the fact that there is no more test cricket to watch until the WTC final on the 7th of June. But I am also one who has made peace with the fact that for test cricket to continue and flourish it needs the financial crutches that T20 cricket provides. The harsh realities of economics are just too huge to ignore.
It’s a bit like when you have a really good political party (stop laughing…. it’s just an example) with a really honest manifesto (I know I am really pushing it now) but they don’t manage to get the majority required to form the government. They then bend a few of their principles, soften their stance on a few issues and shake hands with someone who will cause them the least amount of trouble to form a coalition government. Tests and T20 are a coalition government in the world of cricket.
India is now a country of 1.4 billion. The largest democracy in the world. A country with 28 states and 22 official languages. The fifth largest economy in the world. A country where people from many different religions, castes and sub castes have mostly lived together in harmony for centuries. Yet when it comes to relationships and marriage, Indian parents always prefer that their son or daughter finds someone who follows the same religion or belongs to the same caste.
Modern India is changing though. Nowadays if children do venture outside the unseen boundaries, parents are more accepting. All is well while the going is good. But at the first sign of stress or tension out comes the “This is why I used to tell you to find someone from our caste” dialogue. My equation with Test and T20 cricket is similar. I like bazball. I also like the fact that T20 cricket has made test cricket more result oriented. But as soon as I see batters getting out to the reverse sweep or scoop in test cricket the Indian parent in me wakes up and says “I told you so”.
IPL 2023 started on fool’s day in front of 82000 fans in Ahmedabad. Imagine a packed Eden Park and a packed Westpac Stadium together in one place. The opening ceremony was a mixture of cricket and Bollywood. Two of the biggest factors that unify a diverse country. Pavlova and hokey pokey ice cream on the same plate. The fans lapped it up.
Four kiwis have featured in the first three games so far. Conway, Santner and Southee’s teams lost their opening encounters and all three of them had pretty forgettable outings. Kane Williamson’s team, defending champions Gujarat Titans won their opening encounter but unfortunately Williamson suffered a season ending knee injury trying to acrobatically stop a ball on the boundary. Williamson who always controls his emotions in success or failure was visibly in pain as he had to be carried off the ground. Thousands of miles away it was around 4am in New Zealand but we all felt the pain through our TV screens.
The opinions are flying left, right and center since Williamson’s injury. “This is what happens when you choose money over playing for your country. He should have never gone there. He should have been playing against Sri Lanka in the home series and this would have never happened. There go our ODI world cup chances etc etc.”
For starters he’s a cricketer who suffered an injury while playing cricket. Yes, he chose to be there instead of playing for his country but at 32 Williamson isn’t getting any younger. He’s probably got about five years of cricket left in him. Shouldn’t he have the freedom to secure his financial future and maximize his returns while he can. If someone offered me more money for lesser hours of work, I know what I would do.
From a cricketing point of view Sri Lanka haven’t proved to be any competition at all for a second string blackcaps side in white ball cricket. The level of competition in the IPL is definitely top notch. Elite athletes love testing their skills against the best in the world. Williamson is no different. Injuries are always unfortunate and there is never a right time to get injured. Fingers crossed it’s not too serious and he’s back as soon as possible.
The world got a glimpse of the future of Indian batting in the opening encounter. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubhman Gill are a treat to sore eyes. They score at phenomenal strike rates playing conventional cricketing shots. The shot making is so pure and elegant that it could easily convert a philophobiac into a hopeless romantic. The baton might just be passed on in white ball cricket from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The replacements look able and eager.
This year’s IPL party is 74 games long. From whichever angle you look at the numbers are mind boggling. Commentary alone is in 13 different languages. A plethora of new rules have been introduced including a penalty for not bowling your overs in 90 minutes. The irony is that all three games so far have taken more than 4 hours to finish. Things take their own sweet time in India. Why should cricket be any different?
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