IPL success driven by quality, not just money
It baffles me that in some places the IPL is still being seen as a financial rather than as a cricketing phenomenon, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express .
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
It baffles me that in some places the IPL is still being seen as a financial rather than as a cricketing phenomenon, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express.
The money in Indian cricket has not been earned by thuggery and its colour is the same as that from other respectable enterprises around the world. It amused me no end that last year it was pooh-poohed by players who thought this was another form of beach and beer cricket. The auction was ridiculed and it still is but one of the great advantages of sitting on a distant couch is that you don’t always have to present an alternative. In course of time the auction will cease to be important but in the first year it was essential. Already there are fewer players up for grabs since teams are more or less settled and we will slowly move towards a trading system as exists in the more established football leagues. Just as those who ridiculed Kerry Packer were the ones who looked stupid in the end, those that choose to ignore, or choose not to understand, the Indian consumer and Indian markets will become irrelevant. Those that close their eyes can only see darkness.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo