About how the cricketing skills of patience and orthodox play have become subservient to the IPL's way of life, to the glitz and glamour of cricket.
About how the evil eye of spot-fixing, of administrators/big crooks (calling the shots in the game - outside the field of play and even inside), and of underworld presence too.
To a large extent, it is also true that the game has become highly commercial with such a cricketing extravaganza, the after-match high-profile parties (though not now, thanks to the pandemic-enforced restrictions) and even the way the rules, pitches and stadiums have been designed to be skewed too heavily in favor of only one skill: the batsmen.
Any Tom, Dick or Harry can come and hit sixes on his day, any team can chase any score from any position against any side, within a matter of a few balls.
True true true, all of that.
True, 20-20 cricket is not as much about patience as it is more about taking the bull by the horns and going for the jugular, right from the word go.
True, the good old values of discipline or seeing the ball off (actually, the ball is seen-off in T20s too, but that is more like a bye-bye parting from the batsmen - see ball, hit ball) are archaic in today's age of 20-20s.
But still...
For all the derision and scorn it receives, 20-20 cricket in general and the IPL in particular, gives us many things too - it attracts the best of talent, playing alongside or against each other, making it a melting pot of the world's best superstars, in a see-saw battle between teams where anyone can win from any situation on any day.
And that, is exciting.
The IPL showcases skill, gumption, daredevilry and innovation at its very best, from the very best, against the very best. For almost 65 days, non-stop.
Most matches are nail-biters where any team could come up trumps.
Rahul Tewatia, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah - these are just some of the many names that have carved their niche from the IPL.
And surely, the list will go on.
Well done to the IPL, and thanks for the entertainment!
Looking forward to the season and thrills galore - cheers!!
