Can the fans warm up for the challenge?

Before the World Cup began, there were a lot of questions against the longevity of the shorter format of the game, but in truth it has surpassed all the expectations. With the three subcontinent teams making it to the semifinals, the tournament has been a huge success and has drawn a lot of eyeballs towards the television sets especially after disappointing in the WC 2007. The World Cup final, which has been one-sided since 1991, was a game where both the teams fancied its chances. Eventually, it ended in a in a happy note for the home fans, with Team India winning it after 28 long years.

Now the Indian Premier League is upon us. It has just been a week since the team has won the World Cup. The celebrations with a lot of ebullience are taking place in different parts of the country. The World Cup, especially this one, has instilled a sense of pride even to those who maintain a distant relationship with a game. So now the challenge has shifted its target place from the ODI format to the T20s especially the Indian Premier League. Can the format’s smarter cousin live up to the challenge?

Every edition of the IPL so far, has given the audience a taste of everything. It has changed the way the game was looked upon. The strategic time-outs giving the sponsors a lot of reason to smile about, the cheer girls bringing the audience to their feet every now and then and the movie stars have taken a different way to reach out and entertain people. For the audience who were frustrated watching stereotype-masala movies, this league gave them something more than what the movies do.

The opening game saw the Chennai Super Kings taking on Kolkata Knight Riders. The opening ceremony wasn’t as grand as it used to be. There was a lot of buzz around the ground, for Chennai are the defending champions but it was noticeable that the part of the stands was filled with vacuum. The challenge has got even bigger now! If the defending champions cannot fill out the seats in the stands, then what is the USB of the other teams contesting?

I agree the tournament will take sometime not only for the players but also for the fans to warm-up. And it is also apt to say that someone with a charisma of a Tendulkar could fill the stands single handedly wherever he goes.

It will also get interesting to see how the fan base shift their loyalties to their local teams as opposed what they did a week ago. The tournament’s success will lie on how quickly the players and the fans get acclimatized!

Tags: Chennai Super Kings, Cricket, Indian Premier League, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders, World Cup