IPL IPL Criticisms

[War]

On various cricket forums on the net i've seen this debate. Some have been constructive & some have been very ugly.

But as most serious cricket fans/follwers would know, the IPL has alot of issues. So lets use this thread to constructively discuss the problems with the IPL, whether it will ruin cricket (or improve it) and its general direness (or gunness).

 

[Robelinda]

Its not IPL thats the problem, its the overkill of 20/20 in general. But I dont see an answer really, he crowds flock to 20/20 matches, look at the domestic Aussie summer. But I just get a bad feeling looking 5 -10 years down the track, severe burn out is my prediction.

 

[King Pietersen]

My only issues came with the gimmicks, and this year most of them appear to have been binned. There's a reduced break in the innings, there's still a break, but it's nowhere near as bad as the dire 10 minute break of last year; I've only heard 1 mention of a DLF Maximum or a Citi Moment of Success, and both came from Ravi Shastri. It's been far more reliant on the standard of cricket and not gimmicks this year, been much more enjoyable.

 

[War]

Its not IPL thats the problem, its the overkill of 20/20 in general. But I dont see an answer really, he crowds flock to 20/20 matches, look at the domestic Aussie summer. But I just get a bad feeling looking 5 -10 years down the track, severe burn out is my prediction.

IPL(the champions league as well) is the biggest driver of T20 overkill though. The main problem with the IPL is how it was structure. The "4 international player restriction" rule is ridiculous, the IPL should have never been allowed to be created with such a rule & biased towards the Indian audience.

Thats just shows how ridiculous & unfortunate India (the BCCI) influence on the game has become & why the ICC needs revamping into a proper a strong authocratic governing body like FIFA & IOC that controls everything. The cricket community is only 8 strong nations, we dont need one nation (the BCCI) having so much power & influence in the game. So for the IPL either needs revamping or abolishing if a strong independent ICC is ever established.

Since the IPL potentially can not onlu cause player burn-out in 5-10 years. But its threatening the future of test cricket.

 

[pcfan123]

My only issues came with the gimmicks, and this year most of them appear to have been binned. There's a reduced break in the innings, there's still a break, but it's nowhere near as bad as the dire 10 minute break of last year; I've only heard 1 mention of a DLF Maximum or a Citi Moment of Success, and both came from Ravi Shastri. It's been far more reliant on the standard of cricket and not gimmicks this year, been much more enjoyable.

Sweet, the gimmicks from the last two seasons were my main beef with the IPL. If its starting to become more about the cricket that can only be a good thing.

I just don't like how the batting is basically boundary or mis-hit. Its not very appealing to the eye. Id rather see the ball beat the bat on a front foot drive than a mis- hit swing across the line, but thats just me.

 

[Robelinda]

Its funny, I cant tell you who won every ICC 20/20 World Cup, but I know exactly who won the IPL's, and can remember heaps of those games. Why is that? I must say the 20/20 world cups just dont have any credibility, hastily put together and lots of weak teams. At least the IPL teams have at least 4 world class players, plus Gilly plays!

 

[War]

I would say The two T20 World Cups had better quality cricket than IPL 08 & 09 to be dead honest.

 

[Howsie]

I would say The two T20 World Cups had better quality cricket than IPL 08 & 09 to be dead honest.

Yeah, same. Some of the bowling in the IPL is just abysmal.

 

[shravi]

Cons

4 overseas players rule: A great deal of the hype and buzz around the IPL is due to the overseas players. The allure of so many great international players playing together in one team is huge. However, the quality of the league is sacrificed to a great extent with some rather mediocre players in the playing XI. I feel a 5 player overseas rule would be much more fitting as it basically sifts through the garbage for you and makes for some much more exciting contests without some pretty substandard Indian domestic players that are terrible even outside the IPL.

Advertisements: The glitz and glamour of the IPL can get a bit annoying at times with all the Citi moments of success, DLF maximums, etc.

Interrupting the international schedule: This is quite a problem as we've seen in the past with players like Gayle and Sarwan almost opting out of playing international cricket to play in the IPL. It also creates headaches for national selectors as they can't really stop their players from leaving when there is so much money that they aren't willing or able to offer. The possibility of injuries must also be a highly worrying aspect of the IPL for selectors.

Salary Cap: As I understand, players are now only allowed to earn a maximum of $750,000 with any additional money received from the bid going to the IPL? Quite unfair imo.

Number of matches: It starts off great but interest really wanes as the tournament progresses. It just drags on and with 8 teams, it's quite excruciating at times. This is being made worse with 2 more teams being introduced. This problem also ties into interfering with the international schedule.

Players retiring: This is a huge issue although it can be argued that this is not really the fault of the IPL. Players like Brett Lee and Andrew Flintoff really weren't going to be playing much more test cricket anyways with all those injuries. That isn't because of the IPL. One feels that that they would have had to make that tough decision with or without the IPL. However, there is the threat that players may start to retire at an earlier age in order to preserve themselves for the shorter formats and earn some money in the last few years of their careers.

Hypocrisy: Many of the Indian players complain of workload and an over-demanding international schedule yet have no problems putting their bodies on the line for 6 more weeks if it involves a massive paycheck.

Strategic Timeouts: People watch T20 games because they are fast and flow really well. This just breaks the flow for the spectators and the momentum for the players.

Media Coverage: The rules are simply far too strict and need to be eased. More media coverage of the IPL really can't hurt Modi's cause ($$$) so I can't really see the reason for all these restrictions.

Pros:

- Player vs Player battles
- Seeing all those players in one team
- Players getting good salaries
- Improving relationships between international players
- Giving Indian domestic stars a chance to shine on a bigger stage and learn some very valuable information from their idols
- There would be no Champions League if not for the IPL. The Champions League is a fantastic idea. I only wish that the non-IPL teams didn't have to pay a fee to keep their players.
- Youtube. It isn't a fantastic stream but it is a great idea in theory and really helps spread the game around the world. This tied in with the 3D experience shows that IPL is moving with the times and knows how to expand in the day and age of technological advancement.
- Gives the chance for some older players to show that form is temporary and class is permanent and that the best players can adapt to any format.
- The one U19 player per team rule
- U19 player of the tournament award
- Non-cricket related initiatives (educational, environmental)
- Good place to test out new ideas such as the Mongoose (although it has already been seen, many people are yet to see it), strategic time out, pink balls

 

[irottev]

I hate these strategic time out things. They're so disruptive.

I also agree with most of the points above

 

[sifter132]

How about Pros: cheerleaders?

I hope in future that they really limit national teams playing 20 over cricket. It should be limited to states and franchises in my opinion.

And I think the IPL is too long. Each team should play each other once and it shouldn't go longer than a month. It just drags once you get to the 3rd, 4th and 5th week I find.

 

[srikarr12]

As the stakes rise......so does the professionalism and quality of cricket imo. Teams are getting down straight into the business end trying to grind out wins from day 1. And IPL taking up the Green Initiative and reducing timeouts is also a positive.

One thing I would like to see is make the timeouts optional or can only be used once by a team during the whole game.

 

[Cricketman]

How about Pros: cheerleaders?

I hope in future that they really limit national teams playing 20 over cricket. It should be limited to states and franchises in my opinion.

Finally, someone who feels the same way! I hate international T20 matches. Just seems pointless to have one off/two game series'. Having T20 be domestic-only would bring focus to the domestic circuit, keep the 'fun' in T20, and not clog up the international schedule with pointless games.

 

[Iridium]

And I think the IPL is too long. Each team should play each other once and it shouldn't go longer than a month. It just drags once you get to the 3rd, 4th and 5th week I find.

It's going to get longer with 2 new franchises being introduced next year. But I must say that I have noticed the gimicks and such are featured less this season than the past two. The games have been close (so far). Overkill is always going to be hanging over the IPL.

 

[drainpipe32]

I'd much rather the competition if it wasn't an Indian domestic one....Defo need more international cricketers in sides, otherwise the IPL is just stealing them away from their homes and benching them for entire tournaments ala Andrew McDonald, Paul Collingwood, etc.

Shorten it down to 7 matches per team, semis and a final. That's just 31 games, and it can be finished in about 3 weeks.

I like the concept of the Champions League, but to have both, the IPL really needs to be shortened.