IPL 4: A Curtain Raiser

By Parvathy Gopalakrishnan

Its back again. The fourth season of the slam bang version of cricket is all set to get underway tomorrow, the first match being played between Dhoni’s Superstars and Gambhir’s Knight Riders.

It will be interesting to note how the IPL proceeds without the man at the helm, Lalit Modi. The game-changer in the truest sense of the term has now been kept far away from the proceedings. Chirayu Amin, appointed by the BCCI as the new IPL boss, will find it a tad difficult to fit into the boots of the man-who-stole-the-show.

There are a thousand reasons for hurling brickbats at the man, but one cannot help but applaud the fact that he had a vision; a vision that revolutionized the game, and helped cricket wed entertainment. His brainchild also resulted in an amazing display of wealth by all the franchisees and a great platform for cricketers brimming with talent.

One of the most immediate pieces of bad news even before the show begins is that there is a 11%, or $460 million drop in the value of the IPL. However, the franchisees can breathe a sigh of relief because the brand value of six teams, except for Rajasthan Royals, King XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders have seen an upward trend. This fall in the value of these three teams can be attributed to their performance, both on field and beyond the boundary.

Amidst all the hype, hooplah and controversies, two new teams join the big fat family. Sahara Pune Warriors led by Yuvraj Singh, and Kochi Tuskers Kerala led by Mahela Jayawardene will be more than anxious to go all guns blazing in the debut season.

Among the other notable changes, this season will have less number of matches. Spanning over a period of 51 days, this season will have 74 matches, 70 league matches, and four knock-out ones, the battle being fought on 12 grounds.

However, the most obvious change this time around is that there will be no IPL Nights. Yes, you heard it right. It cooked a storm last year, with the Indian players shoving the blame on these parties for their lack-lustre show in the T20 World Cup. Is this a smart move, only time will tell.

With the franchisees’ purses being fatter this time – the cap on each franchisee going up from $ 5 million to $ 9 million – each team had full financial backing to go for the kill, and build a team of their choice. Now that the teams are in place, the viewers are all ready for some whack-it kind of cricket. When it comes to cricket, there can never be an overdose!