- With the advent of the cash-rich, lucrative, and extremely popular Indian Premier League T20 tournament, the coffers of the cash-rich cricket board – read as the Board of Control for Cricket in India – in the world are only getting fatter by the day. The insane amount of revenue generation associated with the well-off cricket league in the world in the form of sponsors, broadcasters, and digital media rights will ensure the BCCI mandarins do not complain a bit. As more and more sponsors flock to the party, the franchises, the players, and other support staff closely identified with the league are damn happier than ever. Such is the popularity of the T20 League that even the women’s format has also succeeded in attracting patrons.
PC: PTI
- As we are conscious, cricket in India is no less than a religion to meet an unimaginable following and enjoy unbridled patronage from the ever-burgeoning enthusiasts, shoring up the already brimming coffers. Even though Team India is classified among the top four cricket-playing nations in all layouts of the game, it is yet to be considered the all-conquering team of yore steamrolling every opponent along the way. Just recollect how the West Indies in the 1980s and 90s simply terrorized the opponents through a sheer display of an overpowering brand of cricket. Similarly, the Australian team of the 2000s played an aggressive brand of cricket that was countered by equally marauding teams on very few occasions.
- Now, with the amount of talent, resources, money-power, and heft at the disposal of the BCCI, Indian cricket in every format of the game should have been reigning without showing any signs of vulnerabilities. However, Team India has displayed glimpses of domination but is nowhere closer to dominating the world stage than the teams mentioned above. A team’s success is defined by the performances in the longest format of the game. i.e. Test matches. And then there is the 50-over format too which is an equally important yardstick for consideration. As such, ensuring top players’ peak performances in all formats becomes crucial. With cricket being played around the year, will the key players remain mentally and physically fit to deliver consistently?
PC: AFP
- The situation on the ground reflects contrarily. Top players drawing handsome money from the franchises are loath to miss the IPL. Then there are lucrative endorsements too. Cricketers playing all formats are expected to perform at their peak consistently leading to burnouts regularly. The case of JaspritBumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja perfectly illustrates how too much cricket affects fitness levels leading to crucial players missing out on marquee events. Thus, having some flexibility for key players and preserving them becomes imperative. With so much at stake, the BCCI needs to have some policy in place to guard the interests of the players, and in turn Team India as well. Otherwise, there will be too many player casualties to deal with.
