Happy Anniversary, IPL!!

Circa 2008:

Eleven years ago, the eighteenth day of April 2008, was a historic day.

For, it was a day that changed the course of not just Indian cricket but the entire landscape of world cricket forever.

Indeed, this was the day when the Indian Premier League was born. Along with the birth of millions of new dreams. Many new careers. Many new teammates and alliances. Many new mindsets.

From a rich cricketing economy to the undisputed financial behemoth that BCCI became thanks to the IPL, there are many reasons to love the event for making cricket a sporting extravaganza par excellence, rich with talent, non-stop action, slam-bang thrills, riveting finishes, and all this in the midst of having the best of national and domestic cricketers rubbing shoulders with the marquee cricketing giants from all across the globe.

Surely, like with anything else in the world, the IPL too has had its flaws but then, as we all know, a to expect anything to be perfect or flaw-free is to expect a bug-free software or a corruption-less, pollution-less world.

Despite all its naysayers, the IPL remains and despite almost every other country which can afford to host such events and replicate the IPL model, the original Indian version is likely to remain entrenched as the best and most attractive T20 league in the world, by far.

Without any doubt, the IPL has done more good than bad. By giving a platform to the otherwise-untested domestic talent in the country (who could’ve hoped for international exposure only by donning an India/India ‘A’ jersey), it has added muscle to the confidence of every aspiring cricketer to see, learn and absorb everything from the marquee superstars, learn from them, and get inspired to be the best in the business.

All in front of packed houses and the world’s best. If you can be a star in the IPL, you can be much more sure of yourself that you can face anyone, anywhere and come up trumps, because you have done it earlier, with the best, against the best.

Oh, and did I mention the financial security you now have as a budding cricketer? The uncertainties of living the life of a less-than-‘India-cap’ cricketer are well and truly over. If you have the game and talent to be a star in T20s at that level, all you need is to be spotted. Once ‘bought’/ ’sold’ and your form & fitness permitting, you can bid any of your financial restiveness goodbye forever.

In fact, on the contrary, as a budding cricketer, your performances are always likely to get more visibility for your performances even more.

Happy Anniversary then, dear IPL!!

May you live long, may you live well, and may the tribe of emerging cricketers (with skills across all 3 domains, Test cricket being the highest) only grow with each edition.