Skip to main content

Has 20:20 killed the spirit of the Gentlemans' Game?

The Indian Premier League has completed 10 glorious years this season. 10 years of cheerleaders gyrating on the sidelines, 10 years of watching "Six hitting machines", 10 years of flat, lifeless pitches, 10 years of the bat dominating the ball and not the best 10 years in the history of cricket if you ask me.
       Sure, the sport is popular like never before. Cricket is more accessible now, there is an endless supply of talent coming through from all the corners of the country. There has been more cash in the sport in the last 10 years than the previous 100 years. The question I would like to ask is, has the spirit of the game really changed over these last few years?
       Name 5 bowlers from the last decade who have made an indelible mark on your minds. Do you remember any fast bowlers who instilled fear in the hearts and minds of the batsmen? Or any spinners who rattled the cages of the batsmen facing them? Well, your might argue that Ashwin is a world class spinner. I agree, he is an exception. But by and large, the bowlers are merely there to complete the proceedings in a match.
      The rules are in favour of batsmen. More power plays, free hits, decision reviews. Everything is happening so that more runs can be scored. But is that what cricket is all about? I fear not. There has to be a balance in everything in the universe. If the balance is upset, the entire system goes for a toss.
This is true in all cases, no exceptions. Taking the game away from bowlers is doing exactly that. Upsetting the balance of the game that is called cricket.
      Its time someone should realize what is going on here. It may already be too late for that, but corrective measures must and have to be taken. Else, in another 10 years, there will be bowling machines taking over. I am glad I grew up when both the bat and the ball were equal. The Tendulkars and Bradmans will always dominate. But, I am glad the Donalds, and the Akhtars and the Warnes of the world played an equal part.
    Does anyone reading this post agree with me? Or is my opinion singular? You are welcome to post your opinions in the comments section.
Although I have spoken about mostly about cricket in the Indian context, this holds true elsewhere in the world also.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dhruva v/s "The form"

I, recently having tricked someone into employing me, am going to get paid for my efforts. Hence I find the need to open an account in a bank. I have a wide choice of 2 banks to open an account with, namely HDFC and Axis bank. Excellent. Since I tend to run as far away from any geometrical sounding terms, naturally I shirked away from Axis and went in for the other choice. That is where it all began. How hard can it be to get yourself a silly piece of paper called an “ account opening form ?” Well the answer is Very with a capital V! My poor mum was the first person to have unsuccessfully tried to acquire the said form; she came back flustered not having remembered the name and address of my company. And hence I was personally required to get short leave and get myself a form. Fair enough, I did so at the next opportunity I got. Asked my HR executive where the nearest HDFC bank outlet was and I was on my way. Alas I was informed that the systems in the bank were down and ...
1 comment
Read more
Have the Japs missed out on the quarter litre party in India? I was born in the early 80's, i know, you are probably formulating adjectives like ancient, or  antediluvian and laughing your guts out . However, that apart, in those times a motorbike was simply a means of hauling your 'arse' from Point 'Á' to Point 'B'. We had a wide choice of 4 motorbikes to choose from, viz. Bajaj (made the KB100), TVS-Suzuki(made the AX-100, IND-Suzuki) and Hero Honda (made the CD100 of the fill it, shut it, forget it fame). If you look closely the integer 100 is the HCF. Circa 2016, Indians have woken up to the fact that motorbikes are not simply for getting you from home to office and back. You now see bearded 20 year olds wearing t-shirts with quotes like, four wheels move the body, but two wheels move the soul. If you see a new motorbike, the first question they ask you is probably how fast does it go as opposed to "kitna deti hai" (whats the average petro...
Post a Comment
Read more

Microlearning!

If you are familiar with the story of David and Goliath, you would probably know that David was tiny while Goliath was a giant. However, David with his slingshot brought down the mighty giant. Moral of the story: A small but effective solution can overcome even a mighty problem.                 Coming swiftly to the point now, I propose that the exact same principal can be applied to adult learning. Micro learning - training broken down into short yet informative bits has proven to be beneficial to the learning needs of the millennials. This concept embraces teaching a concise topic which is then tested or applied immediately afterwards.                 Research suggests that 90% of all information taught in a traditional classroom setting is lost within 12 months!  To counter this, micro Learning rejigs your training progr...
1 comment
Read more