The IPL Sunday Roast #2

By Rahul Patil

The IPL trophy has the Sanskrit words “Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi” inscribed on it. These words in English mean “Where Talent Meets Opportunity”. True to its motto for the last 15 years the IPL has been providing a platform for cricketing talent from all over India to come and express themselves on the biggest stage of them all.

Traditionally Indian cricketers always came from the big cricketing centers i.e. Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Calcutta and Chennai. The lack of cricketing infrastructure and good quality coaching meant that the smaller centres never had a pathway for young cricketers.

Thanks to the IPL, talent is now being discovered in every nook and corner of the country. Every franchise now has scouts watching cricket played all over the country to identify the next Virat Kohli or Ravichandran Ashwin. The financial freedom provided by the IPL has allowed the BCCI to invest in cricketing infrastructure in every state of India. When you don’t have to think about every dollar spent then life suddenly becomes very enjoyable.

India regulars like Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav & Hardik Pandya are all products of the IPL (and I didn’t use the word ‘products’ because they are bought and sold like commodities in an auction…. or did I?)

The pressure of the price tag is something that gets discussed in every IPL. Let’s analyze this with the example of Sam Curran. Curran was bought by the Punjab Kings for a whopping NZD $3.6 million. The Punjab Kings can hypothetically play a maximum of 17 matches in IPL 2023. If Curran plays all 17 games and bowls his full quota of 4 overs in every game, he will bowl a maximum of 68 overs i.e. 408 deliveries. This means that every time Curran runs in to bowl there is roughly about $8800 riding on him. Scary aye! If someone told you that every time you sent an email at work, there would be $8800 riding on it how many times would you check it before pressing that send button?

The pressure of the price tag could be one reason why some players find it difficult to replicate the success they get in international cricket on the IPL stage. The other major factor could be adjusting to constant change. Take for example the case of Ben Stokes. A phenomenal international cricketer in every format of the game. Always commands a high price in every IPL auction. Yet his IPL record is nothing to write home about. Could it be that the IPL lifestyle is too demanding for some players while others take to it like a fish to water.

For starters you are on the road every other day for two months. You are living out of a suitcase, checking in and out of hotel rooms, catching flights and getting used to sleeping in a new bed practically every night. Especially if you are an overseas player there is a lot to get used to apart from the time difference, food and weather. Most games are played at night, and that means you hardly ever get to bed before midnight. Following a game day is a travel day, followed by a practice day and a game day. The franchises are all very active on social media so apart from sponsor commitments you have to be ready to contribute to creating online content pretty much on a daily basis. Yes, you get paid tremendously well for it all but it can be a long lonely couple of months if you are not scoring runs or picking up wickets.

At our work places we get used to routine. The same train every morning. The same road from the trains station to our workplace. The same colleagues, the same coffee mug, the same food court for lunch and the same toilets at work. Cricketers are no different. They too love their routines. But the IPL and routines are like those distant family members who only exchange pleasantries at Christmas and Easter. How would we perform at our jobs if change was the only constant?

One kiwi who keeps delivering year after year for whichever franchise he plays for is Trent Boult. His IPL 2023 figures so far read 12-2-88-5. Average of 17.60 and an economy rate of 7.33 per over. Left arm pace bowing of the highest quality. Since giving up his central New Zealand contract every time Boult does well and the Blackcaps don’t, the cloud around his unavailability for New Zealand seems to raise its head again. David White and Trent Boult should hold a joint press conference one day to put to rest all the rumours. We are yet to come to terms with life without Kane Williamson at the ODI world cup. If Boult doesn’t play it would be like trying to win the 2011 and 2015 rugby world cups without McCaw and Carter.

Meanwhile a 41-year-old M S Dhoni is still producing magic with his bat, gloves and captaincy. 26 runs of 10 deliveries with 1×4 and 3×6 @ a strike rate of 260 are just mind blowing numbers for someone who plays literally no cricket other than the IPL. In Chennai Dhoni is affectionately called “Thala” (a Tamil word which means leader or master). We love worshipping our cricketing idols in India. First it was Tendulkar. Now it is M S Dhoni and Virat Kohli. Gill maybe next.

The IPL is like a Netflix series with a new season out every year. Although its early days the 2023 season seems to have it all. Action, emotion, drama and edge of the seat thrills. I am a hopeless romantic though and coming from the state of Goa I don’t have a team that I can call mine. Which is why I always support the team that has never won. RCB, Punjab Kings and LSG. Could this be the year? The warriors are definitely playing like it is J

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