Ever wondered how Adam Gilchrist keeps fit after retiring from international cricket? It’s child’s play for him.“I’ve got three kids to run after and they keep me fit all the time,” Gilly quipped when a scribe shot a question about his training. “Believe me, they keep me sharper than facing anyone out in the middle,” he added. On a more serious note, he said he was “quite blessed to be part of this new-age cricket after having played the traditional game” and turn out in his “best condition.”
Players are safe
The federation of international cricketers association may have raised concerns over the safety of players during the IPL but Gilchrist is more than happy with the security arrangements. “I have been thrilled with the security levels we have had here since arriving. I know that as the tournament gets ever closer, that’s where the test will come and teams are moving – the logistics are so detailed and there are big crowds at grounds. But so far, the hotel security has been absolutely second to none and I have utmost confidence in what we have seen.
Success of IPL is no urban legend
The rise and rise of the Indian Premier League will soon be part of folklore. The league may be built around eight Indian cities and would appear to pander to tribal loyalties. But its success is no urban legend. It is real and since live cricket beats any reality show hollow the league can expect to go from success to success as it comes back to its Indian roots once again for season 3.
Lalit Modi, who is better known as the super marketing guru of cricket leagues (IPL and Champions League), can be accused of being ambitious. But he does mean business when he says he wants IPL to aspire to be the dominant sporting league in the world. In a revealing interview, Modi claimed that there were 3.8 billion eyeballs for IPL-2 although it was played in South Africa.
The men who measure eyeballs for television may have different parameters for judging their TRPs and so on. Modi’s way of projecting each visitor to a match on TV is testimony to his enthusiasm. He says each game had at least 100 million eyeballs last season. The projections for the coming season should beat that hollow if the number of global visitors to YouTube and television networks in foreign countries is finally computed. The availability of virtually live action (somewhat deferred from real time, of course) on YouTube as well as on mobile phones through video streaming will bring in so many eyeballs that season 3 should be able to boast of a figure closer to 8 billion. Add those who may prefer to take the action on giant screens in multiplexes and the sky could really be the limit.
Taking on the English Premier League soccer may seem an overweening ambition on the part of the IPL commissioner. The global game that has had a head start of several decades has a footprint much larger than its cricketing cousin, the principal patronage for which lies mostly in the Commonwealth and among expats, especially Asian. The fact is cricket is at least in a position to try now for a global reach thanks to the explosion of technology.