Just a quick note, this thread is also directed at Twenty20 in general.
Certainly didn't appear that way considering that you attacked the IPL from the first sentence to the last.
Any true cricket fan would much, much rather watch a Test game than a hit and giggle, waste of time, Twenty20 game.
Irrelevant to the topic. I don't see how you can say conclusively that one form of cricket is a waste of time whereas another isn't. Would you rather watch a 5-day match on a flat track where only two innings are completed or a close T20 match that comes down to the last ball? And if we are in the process of defining a "true cricket fan" I will go ahead and say that any true cricket fan would enjoy watching any form of the game. Most people don't grow up playing 50-over or Test cricket. When I was a kid we used to play informal 14-over-a-side games.
Dear god, don't get me started on more Twenty20.
ICC World Cup... you know. Like the one that was held in West Indies? And the one that will be held in the Indian subcontinent in 2011?
That's not the point. If you have a big test series coming up, and you do an injury (it's not hard to do an injury that isn't pressure) when you are running, or batting, or bowling, or something, that's not the fault of a pressure build up.
You cannot really predict when an injury is going to happen... I mean you could fall down the stairs one day after choosing not to play in the IPL. There is no correlation. Yes, there is a higher probability of getting injured, but then there is also a higher probability of being in nick when the series' comes around. It's really up to you if you want to take the risk, and no one has made it mandatory for players to play.
Pfft, great entertainment it is!
I see you are speaking on behalf of the hundreds of millions of Indian cricket fans, now. Great! When were you nominated to this post?
Could I please have a link to where the member who did it admitted it?
Search around. I believe it was Leggie who came up with it originally. It was sometime during the last Twenty20 World Cup. I'm sure he'd be happy to come in and make his statement again if necessary.
Of course I'm trying to get a "reaction" - isn't that the point of an internet discussion board? To get people to reply?
You misunderstood my point. When I say you want a 'reaction' I mean that it appears that you are specifically targeting the IPL when there is nothing relating to the IPL in the news right now, in order to evoke unsavoury responses from those who actually enjoy it. Your viewpoint in the opening posts quite clearly demonstrates that you have already made up your mind about the IPL and just want to have a gripe about it, whereas, personally, I'm sick and tired of seeing the IPL being dissed in threads all over the forum.
It is just adding unnecessary cricket to the calendar.
Again, there is nothing mandatory about the IPL. If you want the cash and you are willing to take the risk, you play the IPL. If you're not, then you don't. It comes down purely to choice. The IPL is not this big bad body that has a gun to the back of your head and is forcing you to play. If you're willing to deal with the consequences of playing, then you get to play. Otherwise you can rest and wait for the international season to begin. The IPL is not at fault for providing an opportunity for those players who want to play more cricket to play it.
While I'm on that note, it'd be an interesting idea to compare this to a free market economy. Going by the trend of
most international players, it appears that they value the money and glitz of the IPL more than the pride of playing for their national side. Again, I don't think it is the IPL's fault for uncovering this truth. The fact is that players value their trade as being worth more than their national contracts and hence they are looking at other ways to maximize their profits. If the ICC had spent the last decade constructively looking at the way cricket must develop (aka, fixing the Test calendar to make it more competitive and meaningful) we wouldn't have reached this crossroads. Instead, they threw money at associates, poorly organized tournaments (2007 Cricket World Cup), unnecessary tournaments (Champions Trophy) and the like.
In comparison, the IPL stepped in and tapped into a lucrative market and released a product that was unlike anything cricket has seen, which is why they are rolling in the cash while the ICC is scratching their heads and wondering why players aren't interested in playing by the ICC rules anymore.
Note that I'm not saying the IPL is this perfect incarnation of cricket. There are a lot of negatives that have grown from the IPL (but they would not support my argument, now would they?
). It's just unfair to blame the IPL for many problems that are more the faults of the ICC, national cricket boards and player priorities.
