Much has been written over the last year about fans deserting Indian cricket. I have written a lot on the subject myself and expressed my anxiety. I was rather surprised to see last October that Eden Gardens was only half full during the India-England one-day international. It was at best two-thirds full during the T-20 match that followed, and the India-West Indies Test match a month later presented a real dismal picture. There weren?t more than 1,000 people in the stadium, at the start of the Test match, for the first time in the history of cricket at the Eden Gardens. Is the cricket market shrinking in India? Is the overkill affecting Indian cricket?s most resilient community?the passionate cricket fan? Will it affect the cricket business going forward? All of these questions have been asked by critics and analysts over the past one year.
Eden Gardens, on the night of its first IPL game, season 5, offered a perfect rebut. The conditions were anything but ideal. As the clock struck 7.30 pm, toss time at the Eden, a powerful norwester hit the city and its surrounds. Strong winds swept, followed by a torrential downpour. It was time to feel anxious. Was the weather god playing foul? I, for one, did not make it to the ground feeling deflated.
But clearly I was in a minority. For, 56,000 fans from my city had made it to the Eden braving the weather, most of these men and women sat through all the disruption, to enjoy their first taste of IPL in season 5. The Eden Gardens spirit was at its very best that night.
Finally, when the match started at close to 10 pm, it was fantastic to see the huge crowd support the Knight Riders at full throttle. Every hit was cheered lustily and when the Knights lost to the Daredevils past midnight, the crowd was still there to appreciate the heroics of Irfan Pathan.
This resilience, clearly Indian cricket?s biggest strength, makes the sport that much stronger in India. The first night of IPL at the Eden Gardens has given brand IPL a much needed fillip.
It hasn?t been a great start to the tournament in season 5. The first match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings was a damp squib and the Kolkata match was cut short by rain. Enough to deflate fan spirit at a time the game is surrounded by negativity. India hasn?t done well at the international realm for close to a year and there was an apprehension if the downward spiral will have an impact upon the IPL. Kolkata, the first night has proved, stands tall as an aberration. The kind of support the Knights received in front of their owner and the chief minister of the state was simply spectacular. And if they perform to potential, no reason why they can?t, the support is only expected to grow in the days ahead.
This leads me to suggest that the most important thing for the IPL going forward will have to be its focus on fan engagement. Newer ways via the mobile and Internet will help expand the tournament?s support base. Indian consumers today consume media while on the move?browsing, messaging, consuming voice applications, e-mailing, downloading, etc. In the future, media consumption promises to be more fulfilling with media experience becoming richer through emerging devices such as tablet PCs, smart phones of multiple screen sizes. The mobile universe in India of over 800 million is far larger than the 150 million-odd satellite and TV households. It is this constituency that the IPL needs to engage with. Coupled with the passionate fan support at the Eden, these fans, once brought into the ambit of entertainment, will make the brand far more robust.
With the tournament in its fifth year there ought to be a correction sooner than later. The curiosity over T20 isn?t a reality any more. Bollywood, too, isn?t the draw it once was. Rather, it is time to bank on the time tested mechanism of quality cricket, which is good enough to lure the passionate fan base to the game. We need the best players to play at their best. Fans, like what we have seen at the Eden Gardens on the night of April 5, will do the rest.
The writer is a sports historian