Indian Premier League (IPL) is a tournament of teams privately owned and consists of members from all over the world. This shorter and more dramatic format provides a real challenge to the most traditional format of the game – the Test cricket. It has also increased the viewership of cricket compared to other games such as football, tennis, hockey, etc.
The IPL even before it was introduced started making headlines for the huge amounts of money involved, sale of the players, controversial cheerleaders, glitter and glamour, which increased manifolds with the coming of celebrities.
Since the focus is on making profits through entertainment, each player is used to the maximum. The players have to play large number of matches in a relatively short period, involving high level of practice and long-distance travelling. This may have an adverse impact on their capabilities and performances.
IPL is dependent on celebrities – filmstars, businessmen, glamorous politicians. It has also come up with a much highlighted idea of cheerleaders.
So, IPL openly directs towards minting money and profits rather than any noble motivation to play. The fantasy world of sports appears to be fascinating enough to capture the interest & imagination of the wide group of cricket-watchers.
