I P L ------------> Platform of Creation or Platform of Destruction ?

                                           In India Cricket is almost considered to be a religion. Cricket has become an integral part of everyday life be it One Day International (ODI), Test Matches or even T20 Matches. Test Matches and ODIs have been there for a long time and the latest addition to it is T20. When the first World Cup for T20 took place, it stepped into the international arena in a bigger way. It is no that the concept was not there. It was very much present in the English County. This brought about a great change and slowly was born out of it a tournament in Indian Domestic Sphere popularly known as IPL.

                 Indian Premier League commonly known as IPL is the latest hot thing that is taking place in India every year during the months of April-May since 2008. It is a Twenty-twenty format. It has got itself enrolled in the list of festivals prevalent in India and it is called the Cricket Festival. The length of this tournament can have a parallel comparison with Durga Puja (5 continuous days) or even Ganesh Puja which continues for a number of days. It's not only the similarity about the kind of continuous time span but also the fact about building of new idols every year and the 'bisorjon' period after the festival is over.
                                   
                 IPL can be called the brainchild of the then IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. But the concept was taken from Indian Cricket league (ICL) which was labelled as a rebel league by BCCI and IPL was developed to crush it. But that doesn't take away any credit from Lalit Modi. He showed how  
' Desi ' talent can be bred in an International environment. Thus started the luxurious, glamorous, stunning, money wielding business called the IPL.
           
         
                We all know that every thing initially looks beautiful when the polish and shine is there. So it appeared to us that this is perhaps the best opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent while playing for their respective franchise and also to get in touch with International Players like Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Mahela Jayawardana etc. Indeed it became a great platform for them as we also got the chance to see the pool of players that our Country has in reserve. 
                1st season went by, 2nd season went by and then as the polish rubbed off the sleeping danger raised its head. From 3rd season we started to see something which we never dreamt of. Internationally renowned cricketers started to retire mostly from Test Cricket to focus more on T20, be it IPL or for their country. Another trend followed it up where players started to represent IPL sides rather than their own country.
               This trend is mostly seen now within the young generation. They are new to the game and one season of good cricket and they have started to think and dream big thing for themselves. It's not bad to dream but they seemed to have overlooked the limitation.

               IPL has given chance to several youngsters from India. We have seen the likes of Ajankya Rahane, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aoron, Virat Kohli, Ashok Dinda, Manij Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin and many others. Many of them have got a chance to represent the national team and are doing well. Many others are not so regular and many are in the waiting. Each year new talent is coming up. In that regard IPL has given a great platform. Even for foreign players this has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Many have been included in their national side after their fiery batting and bowling in the IPL. Big example is David Hussey who has now become a regular in the Australian side.

                                        But as we all know that even during the Churning of the sea along with Nectar of Life came up Poison, so also along with the upcoming of talent, every year corrosion is taking place. Money is the root of all the problems. If you have less money then also it's a problem and if you have more then also it's a problem. The young generation is seeing huge money all of a sudden and it has been noticed that many are unwilling to play even the Ranji Trophies or other domestic tournaments these days as they are paid much less in the domestic circuit even if he is of a great caliber.
                                        There is passion inside them but it is slowly getting shrouded by the lust for money. It should, however, not be considered that everybody is like this. There are innocent players also but their number is very little. After playing one or 2 good matches comparison starts even in News Channel discussion sessions. IPL should not become everybody's necessity to go high. They should work hard and take part in this kind of tournaments to get experience, see how the renowned foreign players prepare themselves. The glamour of IPL has swayed away the young minds and if it is not stopped on time then disaster for Indian Cricket is not far away.

                                       IPL has made the cricketers think about their game more than before. In a T20 match, a bowler has to constantly think and modify his bowling line and length for every ball because the batsman is always on the lookout for balls to hit to the boundary. Similarly the batsman has to play the right shot for a particular ball and so his concentration level has to be at the best level possible. It has made a captain also think more regarding bowling change and field placement though that has only a 50% advantage in this format.
                                       Simultaneously it has destroyed the class in a batsman. Now the batsmen often tries to go for unimaginable shots and succeeds also. Class batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahela Jayawardana, Kumar Sangakara and others will not be formed any more. Today we can have more players like Sehwag, Dhoni and Afridi but nobody with the temperament to play Test Matches (not only playing but also sticking to the pitch for hours) if asked to. Shots like ' Uper Cut ', ' Dil Scoop ' etc have come into forefront rather than ' down the ground ', ' cover drive ' etc. Ball is more in the air than on the ground these days. Players have lost the concentration level to a great extent which is not at all good.
                                     Bowlers have improved no doubt but with IPL, since money earning has become easier, so many are not willing to sweat out on the field for an entire day in Ranji Trophy or for 10 overs in limited overs cricket---be it for the National team or for the Domestic Tournament. That has posted a very bad advertisement and has raised several issues regarding IPL.

                                     International Players like Lasith Malinga decided to play for an IPL franchise rather than representing his country and also retired from Test Cricket to focus more on the limited overs. Chris Gayle had a long dispute with his National Board over several things, one of which was IPL, and later returned to his Team after much discussion. There are other examples also. Kevin Peterson of England decided to retire from One Day Cricket and wanted to play only in Test Matches and T20 matches and tournaments including the IPL. he was totally banished by ECB from all formats. But nobody can be seen saying : "I want to retire from T20 Cricket and focus on the other two".
                                    IPL has brought with itself both the good and the bad elements. We have identified several negative factors and it's time to rectify them. Match-fixing scandals are also been reported which is a black-spot in the name of Cricket. On one hand it has built players, on the other hand it has destroyed players. It's full of entertainment no doubt and we all want it to stay, but we would like it to be just a medium of entertainment and just a stage for youngsters to show their potential. We can only wish that it doesn't get polluted any more with sky high dreams and unachievable ambitions.


LET US ALL ALLOW CRICKET TO LEAD HIS OWN LIFE 
                     IN HIS OWN PURE WAY