Lalit Modi's laundry

The Indian Premier League has finally come to an end and now begins the analysis

25-Feb-2013

The Indian Premier League has finally come to an end and now begins the analysis. The Hindu editors believe the most heartening facet of the IPL was the opportunity it allowed domestic cricketers.

The recognition and the riches were welcome; the experience was priceless. For long consigned to second-class status, India’s domestic cricketers were granted a stage to parade their talent and a reference to measure it against. Just as significant was the access they were given to the world’s best cricketing ideas and practices. Ironically the BCCI’s brainchild is an indictment of the way domestic cricket has been administered.

Also check out their cartoonist's take on the end of the IPL.

The Hindustan Times editorial says what the tournament showcased was that a well-oiled, terrifically publicised popular event like cricket, when tweaked to its maximum in terms of spectator sport capabilities, can be a blowaway entertainment.

Meanwhile, in the Indian Express Sandipan Deb wonders how Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner who was attended most of the matches, manages his laundry stuff.

Because he was wearing a different suit every day. Did he buy clothes every time he landed in a city? Did he rent them? Can you rent suits? Did he ever become confused about which city he was in, like, land in Kolkata and tell his driver to take him to the Wankhede Stadium (I have a friend who took four flights on four consecutive days and started making STDs to his own phone)? Does he know where he is right now, or is he filing a missing person report about himself in a city he flew out of last Wednesday?

Sixteen years after he started his international career and one-and-a-half after he finished it, Warne finally rules over the hearts and minds of Indian cricket fans, writes Kunal Pradhan in the same paper.

Unlike many who were skeptics at the start of the IPL tournament and then fell in love with the format, my journey was in the opposite direction, writes Suresh Menon in dreamcricket.com.

Indian Premier League

Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo