A question for Indian cricket fans..

[manee]

I would not have any alligance to Indian players in the IPL, just to Mumbai.

 

[harishankar]

Interesting question. Personally when I was watching the Chennai Superstars (my home team) versus the Hyderabad heroes, I was desperate for our overseas players to knock the leather off the opposition team's Indian players. Which unfortunately didn't happen In fact it was the other way round

When it comes to the domestic games, I prefer overseas players of my home team to Indian superstars of the opposition. So will the concept be a success? Of course it will.

It all boils down to the context. International cricket will have its own parallel rivalries which will not get affected by the domestic scene.

And to all non-Indians on PC, you under-estimate the power of Indian regional rivalries.

 

[smssia0112]

Interesting question. Personally when I was watching the Chennai Superstars (my home team) versus the Hyderabad heroes, I was desperate for our overseas players to knock the leather off the opposition team's Indian players. Which unfortunately didn't happen In fact it was the other way round

When it comes to the domestic games, I prefer overseas players of my home team to Indian superstars of the opposition. So will the concept be a success? Of course it will.

It all boils down to the context. International cricket will have its own parallel rivalries which will not get affected by the domestic scene.

And to all non-Indians on PC, you under-estimate the power of Indian regional rivalries.

We're not underestimating it, Melbourne and Sydney have a huge rivalry in Australia. Our soccer teams are psycho when they play each other. I hate Sydney, but I wouldn't throw a flare to prove my point!

 

[vaibhav mehta]

Good point Kev..
But As an Indian fan I don't think Its matter much...I don't care if someone gets Sachin out for Duck...Although I'll appreciate it more if He would be Breat Lee..
You can't be narrowing cricket Fan...It is a sports..And appreciate everything that deserve the appreciation..

 

[handsome]

I'd cheer Sachin anyways.

 

[m_vaughan]

That is a very valid question. I dont think in India the fans are as concerned or passionate about their state/regional teams as in other countries like Australia and England.

 

[vaibhav mehta]

Ya they don't...You are right...

 

[SciD]

That is a very valid question. I dont think in India the fans are as concerned or passionate about their state/regional teams as in other countries like Australia and England.

Why. I will only tell 1 incident and it will shut up anyone who thinks Indians are not passionate abt regional players.

Saurav Ganguly not in side and India getting booed at Eden Garden.

 

[harishankar]

That is a very valid question. I dont think in India the fans are as concerned or passionate about their state/regional teams as in other countries like Australia and England.

No... only when India is playing international cricket do the fans put aside regional differences. Otherwise there's a lot of regionalism in cricket in India and particularly in administration.

Sure, the domestic competition does not always attract a lot of public attention, but I think it will be different with the high-profile IPL. I think in the Leagues (ICL and IPL) you'll find more home support for state/city teams as the tournaments progress and the loyalties become clearly defined.

As the stakes grow higher, I can see a lot more fan interest generated for local teams. Otherwise there's no way to sustain a competition like the ICL/IPL in the long term as the novelty factor of seeing International players will wear off quickly. In fact I'm already bored with seeing the International players in ICL and I bet it will be the same for the IPL as well.

International players are only the icing on the cake. The cake has got to be the domestic cricketers and fan interest in the domestic sides.

 

[sohum]

As a county fan, I'd be cheering my ass off if one of Kent's bowlers bowled, say, Pietersen for a duck in county. So my question to Indian fans is do you see yourselves caring more about your IPL team than your allegiance to Indian cricket and its superstars?

First of all, that's not equivalent. You're comparing an England vs. England rivalry against an Australia vs. India rivalry. Secondly, it depends on how it is promoted. It seems that they are trying to build franchises and if they succeed then it would appear that players would follow their domestic teams rather than player names. Of course, players of the fame of Tendulkar, Ganguly may have some partial support from other supporters.

But I bring you back to another occurring when Piyush Chawla flummoxed Tendulkar with a googly in the challenger cup a couple of years back. That was certainly a well-applauded feat by most respectful cricket fans although Sachin came back next year and smacked Chawla all over the place.

But I see the IPL as very different to the Aussie domestic scene; as the IPL are privately owned franchises and will likely have a rotating door of squads. They don't represent their local area so much as the company/consortium that owns them.

Oh yes they shall. If I understand correctly the rules limit the number of internationals and national players who can play in a team at a given time. And the squads must be made up of local players from the "catchment areas".

 

[Kev]

First of all, that's not equivalent. You're comparing an England vs. England rivalry against an Australia vs. India rivalry.

No I'm not, that bowler could be Yasir Arafat or Ryan McLaren it wouldn't make any difference to how happy I'd be.

 

[.Mob]

When playing for the Indian team, Sachin and other stars are who I will always be rooting for.

But...

When the SuperKings are bowling to him, i'd hope to god that he gets out.

I concur.

It's not International cricket, so heck, Sachin can sit in the dressing room. But if it's a neutral match, I'll support the guys I like to do well (a bit obvious but hey).

Sohum - LOL at the Sachin vs Chawla, Piyush's face when he was getting battered around was priceless.

 

[Therbs]

There's some comparison which can be made with soccer leagues. In Australia the A-League is made up of franchises. Only 1 team, Perth, had its origins in the old National league. People do get behind their local teams, no matter from where the players have been recruited. Any existing sport/social/political rivalries can be exploited by new franchises in new competitions. Any smart marketing execs will get on top of that.

 

[SaiSrini]

That is a very valid question. I dont think in India the fans are as concerned or passionate about their state/regional teams as in other countries like Australia and England.

IPL is coming to develop that passion of state/regional teams. Thats the new concept. Just becoz its not yet there, I wont say it wont work

Also as harish says, there is lot of regionalism in Indian cricket and the administration. This IPL will bring it to the fore.

 

[Therbs]

IPL is coming to develop that passion of state/regional teams. Thats the new concept. Just becoz its not yet there, I wont say it wont work

Also as harish says, there is lot of regionalism in Indian cricket and the administration. This IPL will bring it to the fore.

That's what I believe the organisers will exploit - those regional rivalries. That should bring the crowds and generate a lot of interest in India. Not so much elsewhere but that really doesn't matter. Win the locals first and let the rest catch on, if only to a small extent.