Ablaze with effervescence

The Indian Premier League is like a carnival. Going by strict definition, a carnival is fun and frolic in open places where enjoyment is the theme. The cricket’s summer fair is no different as the first fortnight of the IPL 2023 has been lapped up.

What is different in the 16th edition of the IPL, getting fatter, purely in money and marketing terms? Well, each edition has seen innovations, some technical, some as fan engagement. The best, this year, is undoubtedly getting to watch the matches at prime time even if you are travelling. For plenty of professionals in various walks of life, getting to watch cricket live without being necessarily in front of the television set is a bonus.

Agreed, there is a massive competition between those who handle TV and the Jio Cinema app. None can say that the download on the modern cell phones has been a disaster, like it was during the FIFA World Cup last December. If anything, the app has created an altogether different kind of viewership, numbers of which various data analysts continue to crunch every day. Data analytics is a dense topic for those who are uninitiated. As much as cricket stats are crunched, viewership pattern is also a different science to understand.

Perhaps, the pessimist or the pervert will suggest something like ad rates are dropping or less ads are being seen in the IPL. For the cricket fan, or to be precise, the IPL fan, what is important is to watch the action without the hassle of having to locate a TV set. That one change in the summer of IPL has helped chronic IPL fans, even though he or she may not be in any way addicted to the surrogate betting platforms which continue to exist. After all, even the vegetable vendor on the street in your neighbourhood will tell you in the morning if he enjoyed the game or not. His ‘Dream 11’ may have been fulfilled on a certain night or gone bust.

The majority of IPL viewers are passionate. What began as a domestic T20 league today sends shivers down the spines of those who are wondering what will happen to bilateral Test series etc, and how the FTP (Future Tours Programme) of the International Cricket Council will unfold. Accept it, the IPL has redefined cricket viewing. Even those who are not compulsive cricket addicts will still talk about something from last night’s IPL.

Well, that’s an impact, really, without going into the Impact Player Rule of the IPL, which still befuddles many. Some of the changes in the IPL are still flummoxing, but one has to accept that this is pure league cricket and changes here do not require approval from high priests in the highest office which govern laws of cricket!

From the viewpoint of a social connect, the IPL second week roared due to one young man, Rinku Singh. Jeez, this 25-year-old kid from Aligarh was in the Tyson Fury mode as he went about hammering those five sixes to seal a win for Kolkata Knight Riders. This was manic batting, this was a left-handed batter at work, hand-eye in perfect coordination, sweet timing and numbing the senses of all during that one over. Sadly, the bowler who suffered at his hands, Yash Dayal, was distraught. For Rinku to execute this kind of lusty hitting has been compared with many big hitters from different generations. Well, each generation sees new maestros come and go. Maybe, this one knock left even Rinku in a daze. Yet, the boy who learnt most of his batting in Uttar Pradesh in the company of Suresh Raina “bhaiya” is humble.

The attention he got from King Khan, as well as from the regular KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer — now out with an injury — has been massive. Has Rinku become a celebrity? Yes, he has. Has success got to his head? Does not appear so, for Rinku did text Yash, almost apologetic for launching that onslaught which is still being watched again by many. There have been many sixes hit before, including the infamous Javed Miandad one against Chetan Sharma, the sacked chairman of the BCCI selection committee. There have been six-hitters like Chris Gayle in the IPL and there have been belters like Raina himself.

Each new version of a batter who has mastered the hammering skill needs to be appreciated. With the full-throated roar from the crowds reaching a crescendo, the entire glare on two people — batter and bowler —becomes a sort of life-and-death situation. Perhaps, it’s like how in football, the guy taking the spot kick feels tons of pressure. One wrong kick and he gets kicked by the entire world.

Rinku has won lakhs of fans not just in India, but all over the world where cricket is consumed. Even nations which do not have a rich cricket history loved watching this boy. The question is, how does one perfect this six-smashing art. It is difficult, indeed. You can launch a couple of white balls into orbit, but to hammer five brings out great concentration, willpower and wanting to seal victory for your team. The boy trended on Google and social media for days.

Everything about him is known, how he comes from a low middle-class background. His father Khanchandra Singh earned bread for the family by carrying LPG domestic gas cylinders for distribution. Rinku had no hesitation in telling the media what his social background is. He has gone through the process of making both ends meet the hard way. The IPL will change his life, though he is not talking about riches at present.

His focus is on the IPL and not fantasising about playing for Team India. All that will come in good time if he can continue to focus on the present.

If you have a 25-year-old starry-eyed kid being a newsmaker, what does one say about MS Dhoni, Thala, as he is referred to in Tamil Nadu. At 42, when he can be making more money by wearing a neck tie and jacket and holding the mike, Dhoni has preferred to be in the thick of things. The word mentor is used in different ways in various fields. Perhaps, the best mentor demonstrates through his own methods. And that is what MS Dhoni, winning captain of the T20 World Cup in 2007 and the ICC ODI World Cup in 2011, is still doing.

What keeps him going? If there is anyone who says he knows Dhoni, treat it as a joke. As much as this man smiles, laughs, may even put his arms around you during the first meeting, he does things only which his heart says. The love affair with Chennai Super Kings has become more romantic. Some stars look romantic in their youth. This man has given 16 years to CSK, though there was a two-year break in between for wrong reasons.

With the IPL 2023 returning to home-and-away format, playing at home has its own charm. Black-market ticket prices in Chennai were soaring for the match against Rajasthan Royals. Well, that’s a demand-supply gap, really, and how much people love this side. Dhoni’s lusty hitting against Rajasthan Royals in the last over against Sanju Samson’s side was a bit inadequate but in his 200th match as CSK skipper, he continued to show the same energy and the same passion. He has a knee niggle, so to keep wickets and still come out blazing with the bat has been enchanting.

It’s fine to see Dhoni in blazing form, even if his stay at the crease is short. But what does one say of how Dhoni, coach Stephen Fleming, and the CSK think-tank have managed to convert a purist into a marauder. One is talking of Ajinkya Rahane who, in his present version, looks turbo-charged, ready to roar. Like Ripley’s ‘Believe It Or Not’, when Rahane hammered that 18-ball half ton against Mumbai Indians, it was simply unbelievable.

The man known for the conservative cover drive and on-drive, rarely shows emotions while batting. Perhaps, that burst against Mumbai, in Mumbai, was a signal how much he has been wronged. As stand-in captain of Team India many times, he has been treated shabbily by the BCCI. If this was Rahane’s shot at retribution, he has done well. The Mumbaikar never opens his mouth, unless needed.

When he was dropped from the Indian Test team for the Border Gavaskar Trophy Series, it did hurt him. He kept quiet, continued to lead Mumbai/Bombay in the Ranji Trophy and did well. After the match against Mumbai Indians, Rahane spoke of how he had not expected to be in the playing 11. Well, if one knock is a fluke, Rahane again showed intent and aggression, though his 31 off 19 balls may have been short. The willingness to adapt at this stage in life marks Rahane out as indeed special.

A purist, a traditional batter who is the epitome of discipline in red-ball cricket, adapting to the demands of T20 cricket (white ball) is a big deal. You would have imagined youngsters doing this, as this format of cricket is very demanding, physically and also in terms of frequent travel and ruining the sleep cycle. Well, Rahane has shown, he still wants to stand up and be counted.

The IPL is seasonal, but certainly not the romance in it. You can love it for sheer entertainment or feel happy when you see Romantic Relics like MSD and “Jinx” Rahane still grab eyeballs. Be sure, there is a lot more in store in IPL 2023.