A bitter IPL

So the media is raving about the IPL, and how its revolutionising cricket and giving youngsters new opportunities to be discovered and realise their dreams and other such. I can't argue with that. Inasmuch as cricket wasn't a mainstream option as a career in the past, this is positioning sport in a new light in India... and that's fantastic. But behind all of this, something dark lurks... and is killing the cricket experience.

The cricket watching experience for one has gone downhill, and reached new troughs. I will probably never buy a Vodafone package because the annoyingly familiar tune of the girl and the dog has cut short replays and pieces of commentary in mid-sentence far too many times. In the past I've been a rabid Canon lover, but if I could, I'd fire the marketing team at Powershot for ruining the brand by having it pop up in the middle of the screen so you can't see the fielder's face.

Then there's the issue of the commentary, which again seems to have taken a nosedive. There's little value-add in anything that's said - no facts, no analyses, nothing intelligent, mostly platitudes.

Most of all, there's something missing in terms of emotional attachment. I couldn't care less whether the Deccan Chargers beat the Delhi Daredevils. Its like watching a video game that someone else is playing. A couple of guys fight it out - there's bursts of rapid action, and then you go to dinner. You don't discuss it for days afterwards... you don't relive the moments and talk about what went right or wrong.

At the end of the day... I think its too much cricket. Cricket used to be special and desperately awaited... and now its becoming a commodity.