The fundamental importance of the IPL for an Indian cricket fan is its potential to throw up new talent, men who are on the threshold of breaking into the international fold, adding to India?s bench strength, essential in this day and age of excessive cricket. IPL-4, from this standpoint, has been a complete disappointment. Players of ability, who had made their presence felt in the third edition of the tournament, seem to have lost sheen, adding to the misery of the franchise owners and fans alike. Except for Paul Valthaty of Punjab and to some extent Ambati Rayudu of Mumbai Indians, there has not been one young Indian domestic player who has been able to make the IPL his own. On the contrary, the list of underperformers is really long.
Leading the list of underperformers are Manish Pandey of Pune Warriors, Naman Ojha of Delhi and R Sathish of Mumbai. Others like Bharat Chipli, Mohnish Mishra or Anirudh Srikant have been consistently inconsistent. In bowling, too, Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra and the like haven?t done their reputation any good so far. Ishant Sharma, with one standout performance against Kochi Tuskers, has somewhat redeemed himself, but his performance is hardly comparable to the likes of Malinga or Bollinger, men who have consistently shouldered the burden of their respective teams.
Rather, it is the tried and tested war horses, Gautam Gambhir, Subramaniam Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, to name a few who have done their reputations no harm. The problem is it is expected that they will perform at the IPL stage, especially with competition of a far lower level compared to the international stage. The fact that there are seven Indian domestic players in each team is evidence enough that the standard is a couple of notches lower than the international level?reason why IPL stars like Ravi Jadeja failed to make a mark at the international level when they first burst into the scene.
While there is reason for India?s World Cup performers to be labouring with the hangover of the victory and hence to be somewhat less motivated perhaps, the youngsters mentioned above should have been doubly motivated at IPL to stake their claim for a national call up, especially with a tour of the West Indies just round the corner.
That IPL is fast losing its viewers and is a victim to falling television ratings is also because of this simple fact that cricket in IPL-4 has been mediocre at best. Despite all the glamour and the entertainment, it is the high standard of cricket that has sustained the tournament in its first three editions and it is in this singularly important realm that IPL-4 is falling short. If one is asked to remember IPL-1, the Indian performances that continue to stand out are the ones of Yusuf Pathan and Ravi Jadeja, which got them both national call ups and led Rajasthan to victory. Talking of the second season, it is impossible to forget the Manish Pandey century, while in season three Murali Vijay?s reinvention as T-20 batsman and the resurgence of Pragyan Ojha remain definite talking points. Season four, so far, seems light on this front with only Paul Valthaty among Indian youngsters being the stand out performer.
The question to ask then is why? Is it to do with the after match parties that continue to happen in a covert manner in their new avatar under a sponsor?s banner? Is it to do with the monies that the players are being paid, figures that have now doused the fire in them to perform? Or is it simply a case of player fatigue and the losing charm of the IPL and the T-20 format?
Frankly, there is no single answer. Suffice to say rather that the IPL is fast going down the route of saturation and unless new innovations are thought of, in the not too distant future, this distinct Indian invention might soon turn into a loss making proposition. Unless it throws up exceptional domestic talent, its principle cricketing purpose is defeated, and with dwindling spectator interest and a drop in television ratings, it is only a matter of time before the franchise owners start cribbing about diminishing returns on investment.
Perhaps it is time to go back to that cursed saying about Lalit Modi. Whatever the man has touched turns to dust in three years. Only, this time he will not mind one bit, with the IPL having successfully forgotten him.
The writer is a sports historian