The Standpoint

Clash of Champions

By

Abhishek Mukherjee

Since the past two years, the micro mini form of the game has taken everyone by storm. If the Indian Premier League was any indication, excitement and popularity for cricket is expected to reach peak high with the much anticipated Champions League scheduled to begin in a few days. If you have had enough of Knight Riders, Challengers and Royals, there will be nine new world-class teams from six other nations with big names the world over. Expect a clash of titans.

The fortnight long tournament will have the Otago Volts from New Zealand, Cape Cobras and Diamond Eagles from South Africa, Sussex and Somerset from England, New South Wales and Victoria Bushrangers from Australia, Wayamba from Sri Lanka and Trinidad & Tobago from the West Indies apart from the three best Indian outfits in the Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils competing to be the best of the best.

Commenting on the Champions League initiative, Mr. James Sutherland, CEO, Cricket Australia, said, “These are truly exciting times. No other sport is embracing opportunity and the future like cricket is. More people are watching the sport than ever before as it consistently delivers massive enjoyment to its billions of fans world-wide.”

The floodgates opened since the reluctant participation of India in the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 – with India eventually going on to win the title. Surge in popularity meant that the Indian cricket board, from being not in favour of the 20-over format, became its prime patrons. The power packed punch to the Indian Cricket League with the extremely lucrative IPL followed, and since then there has been no looking back. The Champions League, too, primarily backed by the Indian board, expects to rake in millions.

Many of the local players from teams from around the world will be eying the tournament as an opportunity to impress IPL team owners to have them earning a money-spinning contract, apart from the overall prize money of six million US dollars.

However exciting it may be, it is wondered why such marketing cannot be done for the other formats of the game. After speculation over the future of Tests, the 50-over format has recently come under scrutiny for dwindling interests who have mainly shifted to following the IPL and T20 tournaments. A suggested world Test Championship and a four-innings format of the 50-over version are suggested remedies; but unless marketing is proper, it may not so much have a long term effect.

From the eighth however, the flavour of cricket is sure to be a spectacle. On the lines of Champions League football, the tournament is definitely a huge step forward for the overall popularity of the game across the globe.