Making fools of viewers 'strategically'

Cricket does not embrace change easily, but seldom is there widespread condemnation of an experiment. In this case, both winners and losers, players and coaches, have come together to make their feelings on “strategy breaks” crystal clear, writes Anand Vasu in the Hindustan Times.

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.

It is a good thing, from the Indian Premier League's perspective, that the franchises are paying their players and coaches so well. Because if this was any normal tournament, there would have been no end of grousing about the chaotic nature of the opening weekend, writes Simon Briggs in the Daily Telegraph.

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".

The opening weekend of the IPL was not quite the utterly overwhelming success it was predicted to be. The matches were entertaining, the crowd charged up although the stadium did not look not sold out, despite the claims of Modi. There were locks of open seats in the main stand, although it is understood those seats were those given to the suite holders who took the King's shilling and gave their boxes over to the IPL, writes Kevin McCallum on iol.co.za.