Entertaining yes, but is this cricket?
The IPL has been a terrific spectacle, wonderfully entertaining, only don't call this cricket, says Soumya Bhattacharya, writing for Hindustan Times .
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
The IPL has been a terrific spectacle, wonderfully entertaining, only don't call this cricket, says Soumya Bhattacharya, writing for Hindustan Times.
It was all utterly enjoyable. The Indian players were all fit: no ankles giving away, no concussions, no complaints about an overly loaded, burdensome calendar ... Sachin Tendulkar, having abdicated the captaincy of Mumbai Indians to Harbhajan Singh (where, but in the IPL, can you imagine Harbhajan as a captain?), prowled pantherishly in the field, and smiled while doing so. Harbhajan bowled in a televised match. It made me nostalgic. Suresh Raina, full of aplomb and swagger, showed us again why playing cricket (which is to say, playing for India against Australia in Australia) should not be confused with being an IPL bully ... It was wonderful entertainment. (Although, if you ask me, I’d much rather watch The Chariots of Fire again, but who am I to talk?) Only, don’t call this cricket. Please. How does Buck Buck Bang Bang sound?
Pradeep Magazine, in the same paper, says despite every trick in the trade having been exploited, the IPL finds itself on shaky ground today.
Nikita Bastian is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo