They feasted on Shubman Gill’s explosive batting in the second half of the league and Mohammed Shami’s uncanny skills with the new ball. They groaned with disappointment that Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis could not secure their team a berth in the play-offs. They gasped in awe at some of the brilliant catches that were held in the past few weeks.
It is not as if the fans were merely filling up the galleries nearly each night across the country over the past eight weeks, watching their favourites and others to see if they shook hands with one another or not. And, yes, it cannot be forgotten that fans of some leading cricketers waged a pointless but bitter war on social media.
Yet, when we look at the more beautiful aspects of fandom, this season would be memorable for the yellow shirts filling up the stands each time Chennai Super Kings were in action. There can be no greater endorsement of their power than in their convincing the decorated Mahendra Singh Dhoni, him of 41 summers and a dodgy knee, to try and extend his IPL career by one more season.
The return of home and away games was the biggest highlight of the IPL this season. The hungry Indian fan, returning in full strength after three seasons of either no spectators or only a limited number in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that swept the world, lapped up the cricket on offer with a rare eagerness.
The cricket in the IPL has seen incremental shifts in the recent years, with batter and bowlers reinventing themselves while seeming to stick to the basics. And it makes for a heady potion for those who watch it, as does any human endeavour that encompasses body, mind and spirit. Yet, unlike a lot else, the IPL has embraced the intense participation of the fan in the festival.
Truth to tell, Cricket has been an opium for the masses for many years now, but it has recently introduced a sibling which is as heady, if not headier. Fantasy Cricket used to inhabit an unseen world but, over the years, it has surged so much that not only has there been a blurring of lines but also a convergence with mainstream cricket.
I was always fascinated by how the IPL economy found a life of its own, apparently unconnected to or concerned by the ebb and flow of the larger Indian economy. From recession to a pandemic, from issues with adding new teams to the original eight, to the league’s very existence being threatened by the dark clouds of match-fixing, the IPL economy has remained unaffected.
We saw the signs of IPL growing bigger and stronger as early as in the second edition. So what if some Pakistani players were not free to travel to India during the competition? And so what if some English cricketers were available only for a short while? The IPL had already started rolling as a behemoth.
But this year has been even more stunning, given how fantasy cricket has wormed its way to millions of homes as the IPL’s official partner and with relentless advertising during games. Even if you have little interest in playing super selector, it is hard to escape the relentless marketing that does imprint itself on your mind.
With broadcasters promoting fantasy cricket – including the warning: “This game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk” – some estimates say fantasy cricket has close to half the base cricket itself has. It will not be long before it sweeps past the following for the game itself.
My own belief is that Fantasy Cricket has taken something out of the art of spectating. As more people with not-so-deep understanding of the nuances of sport engage with the online game, the response of fans to the failure of some players in certain games assumes aggressive tones. Honestly, cricket and cricketers are getting adept at insulating themselves from such influences.
It can only be hoped that the booming of Fantasy Cricket, including the element of skill as also the financial risk, is diverting some money away from the illegal betting market. It must also be hoped that the cricket itself remains pristine and pure despite the blurring of lines, and the active association of some of the Fantasy Cricket platforms with IPL teams.
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