Making fools of viewers 'strategically'
Cricket does not embrace change easily, but seldom is there widespread condemnation of an experiment
In order to do that the IPL needed to leave no stone unturned in their quest to raise extra money. Had they admitted this was the case, and transparently sold the extra advertising spots created by the strategy breaks, there might have been some sympathy. After all, the Indian public’s response seems to suggest that they do want the IPL to go on, no matter what, and the strategy break, just like the shift of venue to South Africa, might have been tolerated.
In public, coaches are talking about making the best strategic use of the interval. Privately, though, they will tell you that their first concern is just keeping players warm. As we move into May, and the start of the South African winter, the backroom staff may well be forced to drape blankets around their shivering charges. And this in a tournament whose go-getting slogan is "Feel the heat".
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo