IPL: Pied Piper at the gates of dawn

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: It was thirty years ago that Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer took a step that was a giant leap for world cricket. The pyjama party of select high performance cricketers playing intense cricket under lights with coloured clothing shook cricketing sensibilities across the world. Big boys played at night!

Ace television production, replete with mikes on the ground, compensated for empty stands and ensured that the limited-overs day and night theme made an impression. The game never remained the same. And at a time when the official version of Packer’s World Series Cricket, now known as the Commonwealth Bank Series, a tri-nation one-day tournament is coming to an end, the new revolution Indian Premier League takes over.

If one goes by the hype and hoopla created by IPL in its early days, Kerry Packer’s circus will look jurassic. There is no doubt the league will redefine the way the gentleman’s game is played. But before comparisons are made, it is pertinent to remember that Packer’s move was not merely revolutionary in establishing a new format for the game, but went beyond that.

It also established the possibility of a term called ‘cricketing professional’. This was at a time when ace cricketers had to earn a living doing other work when not playing cricket. The great Dennis Lillee cleaned offices through his office cleaning business, Rodney Marsh, his buddy behind the wickets, was a promotion guy. The Aussie team players earned $3,000 in the late seventies for a two-month tour of the West Indies. Packer rebelled and went against the establishment and made a statement. It also raised the level of the game, and the sportsperson’s skill level.

IPL will not be a rebel tour. It’s an out-an-out commercial venture. Following for the T20 game has grown and its tribe will only multiply. Viewers around the globe will see combinations that they probably had thought about, but never imagined possible. The television screens will light up with Dada and Ponting stealing quick singles for Kolkata, Sachin and Jayasuriya blasting the leather to all corners of the field for Mumbai and Dhoni tapping keeping wickets to the wily Murlitharan — heady stuff.