IPL Moves Out Of India-A Perspective

Sunday evening(22-3-2009) saw the end to a news story that had been dragging on for such a long time-the fate of IPL 2009.The IPL governing council had finally decided to move the tournament out of India after the IndianGovt. and a few State Governments refused to provide security for matches held in their states whose dates clashed with the General Election dates.
This brought the curtains down on the IPl 2009 potboiler.Let me clarify,I'm not talking about the tournament though,its definitely on and thats for sure.I'm talking about the Great Indian Speculation Series that had been going on in the media for the past few weeks.It had occupied a considerable amount of airtime in Indian news channels over the past few weeks,though it didnt deserve that kind of attention according to me.Come on guys,its just a cricket tournament!!!
Yes,you would argue with me that this was India and cricket was next to a religion here.But I would like to differ.If cricket was indeed a religion,then let me ask you, how many Indians turn up at a Ranji Trophy match featuring no international players?And I dont need to answer this, you know for sure the sight of empty stands during domestic cricket matches.And i'm not talking about gully cricket here,I'm talking about such tournaments like the Duleep Trophy,Ranji and the like.Come on,this is also cricket.
You know,the fact of the matter is,Cricket is not the actual reason behind the love for cricket in India,though this surely sounds ironical.Let me explain.What people are obsessed with is the celebrities,star power.And yes,dont mistake me,I'm not referring to the Bollywood stars who own the franchise(though that may be a part of the reason for peoples' interest in the IPL,thats an altogether different matter)I'm talking about those big stars like sachin,saurav etc,who make the prospect of cricket very enthusiastic for Indians.Surely,cricket in india wouldnt have survived without the big stars.
This is also the reason why the IPL has also become very popular-Big stars both national and international players on one big stage,together,sharing the same dressing room,same dugout and so on.......doesnt this Though adding to the popularity Qoutient are the Bollywood icons who own the franchise.
I sincerely get an inkling that i am boring you out about the reason behind IPL's popularity.I think i have said enough
Let me return to the main question though,was it possible to have the IPL in India?Yes,maybe,after the elections when security forces would be available(this would be highly unlikely because of the packed calendars of international cricket).But I surely think that the General elections are more important than the IPL in terms of who deserves security.There wouldnt be a drastic effect in your life if the IPL didn't happen in India,but there surely would be one if the General Elections didn't go off properly because of inadequate security.
I fully appreciate the Government on this.A few greedy politicians would certainly have allowed it to happen(after filling their coffers secretly in return though) with inadequate security.But imagine what would have happened if any mishap had occurred in IPL due to inadequate security.India would be perceived like Pakistan,an unsafe place which is too dangerous for foreigners.Though I can say this is completely false.We are not as volatile like PAK.International isolation in cricket could have been one of the outcomes.
Now,having it outside India with adequate security is certainly better than having it in India with the above outcomes.I have to confess though,I was sincerely surprised to see our politicians behave with so much responsibility and see what has happened,it has resulted in a win win situation for all.Franchise owners are happy,Government is happy,IPL is happy,only a few greedy politicians(like Narendra Modi who politicized the issue) and some fans(the like of which who i discussed above-celebrity obsessive) do not share the same emotion.
Now,you'll ask me that why did I spend such a long time writing this article if I considered it not fit for the IPL to deserve so much media attention at the first place.I confess I'm not a big cricket fan and my decision to write this one didnt have a thing to do about my perception of cricket.I was sweetly pleased by how our lawmakers(the ones whom we criticize so much for their selfishness,greediness,incompetency.........) had thought by their minds and not by their greed and how actually they had stuck to their decisions.
And on a passing note,let me confess,I sincerely hope that people do not lot interest in the IPL and cricket so that they read my article out of their love for cricket.I too am a beneficiary of the IPL's popularity,how can i complain!!!!!