Will the ICC World Twenty20 Match the IPL's Hype?
Amrit Mathur over at the Hindustan Times writes of how the T20 World Cup will be unable to match the hype of the IPL.
I beg to differ sir.
Sure the IPL was awesome. It produced great cricket, great entertainment no doubt. But at the end of the day it was just an Indian domestic league.
Yes it reached the international masses and we loved it! But outside India, even now after 2 seasons, fans fail to pick one team that they back and why.
At the 20-20 world cup, every cricket fan has one team that they are backing. I don't need to tell you why that is.
Mathur then talks about the mediocrity of the teams and players present at the ICC World Twenty20 and mentions who fans will be switching TV channels when Bangladesh will be playing Ireland.
Is that true Mathur?
Let me give you this scenario - say Bangladesh beat India in their opening game of the T20 world cup, what happens then? Will you still be flicking channels?
Or will the Indian fans be glued to the TV set to see what exactly they need to do against Ireland to qualify for the Super 8s?
And don't tell me that the Deshis can't beat India. Its happened before; anything is possible in cricket; moreso in twenty20 cricket!
Mathur then says something so damn outrageous, it seems as if he's living in another world. He claims that the "Kolkata Knight Riders are stronger than half a dozen teams at the world cup".
Pause.
Go back to the link if you don't believe me.
Read again.
Take a deep breath.
Yes, you read that right.
Settle down.
He can't be serious can he?
Mathur continues in the same vein dismissing the games not involving India as lifeless.
The Indian fans are not the only cricket fans in the world you know. Sure they make up 75% of the cricket watching public, but surely the other 20 odd games not involving India will attract fans.
Maybe Mathur should have mentioned that he was talking about himself and not the general Indian or cricket fans.
He then talks about the 8 IPL teams and how each of them have huge support and fans.
Uhh and the international teams don't?
What are you smoking Mathur sahab - Care to share?
Mathur concludes his article with a question that he thinks is intriguing: "Without passion, especially for non-India games, and the cutting edge of serious money, will the event keep us interested as much as the IPL?"
Firstly, there is no intrigue in that question whatsoever.
Secondly, in response to that question, HELL YEAH!
In case Mathur has not been following the cricket news, I'd like to inform him that there were a lot of people who lost interest in the IPL around the 3rd or 4th week of the tournament.
I didn't, neither did the Indians, but many did.
By that time comes, the ICC World Twenty20 will be over. I don't see anyone losing interest in the tournament, apart from you ofcourse.
You have already dismissed the non-India games. Why watch it at all then? Why even care to comment on it?
I don't see how a world cup, involving all the international cricket teams and players, that unveils a world champion within a fortnight and a bit, that does not include silly commercialization jigs with commentators uttering jibberish sponsored lines... cannot be a success!
I beg to differ sir.
Sure the IPL was awesome. It produced great cricket, great entertainment no doubt. But at the end of the day it was just an Indian domestic league.
Yes it reached the international masses and we loved it! But outside India, even now after 2 seasons, fans fail to pick one team that they back and why.
At the 20-20 world cup, every cricket fan has one team that they are backing. I don't need to tell you why that is.
Mathur then talks about the mediocrity of the teams and players present at the ICC World Twenty20 and mentions who fans will be switching TV channels when Bangladesh will be playing Ireland.
Is that true Mathur?
Let me give you this scenario - say Bangladesh beat India in their opening game of the T20 world cup, what happens then? Will you still be flicking channels?
Or will the Indian fans be glued to the TV set to see what exactly they need to do against Ireland to qualify for the Super 8s?
And don't tell me that the Deshis can't beat India. Its happened before; anything is possible in cricket; moreso in twenty20 cricket!
Mathur then says something so damn outrageous, it seems as if he's living in another world. He claims that the "Kolkata Knight Riders are stronger than half a dozen teams at the world cup".
Pause.
Go back to the link if you don't believe me.
Read again.
Take a deep breath.
Yes, you read that right.
Settle down.
He can't be serious can he?
Mathur continues in the same vein dismissing the games not involving India as lifeless.
The Indian fans are not the only cricket fans in the world you know. Sure they make up 75% of the cricket watching public, but surely the other 20 odd games not involving India will attract fans.
Maybe Mathur should have mentioned that he was talking about himself and not the general Indian or cricket fans.
He then talks about the 8 IPL teams and how each of them have huge support and fans.
Uhh and the international teams don't?
What are you smoking Mathur sahab - Care to share?
Mathur concludes his article with a question that he thinks is intriguing: "Without passion, especially for non-India games, and the cutting edge of serious money, will the event keep us interested as much as the IPL?"
Firstly, there is no intrigue in that question whatsoever.
Secondly, in response to that question, HELL YEAH!
In case Mathur has not been following the cricket news, I'd like to inform him that there were a lot of people who lost interest in the IPL around the 3rd or 4th week of the tournament.
I didn't, neither did the Indians, but many did.
By that time comes, the ICC World Twenty20 will be over. I don't see anyone losing interest in the tournament, apart from you ofcourse.
You have already dismissed the non-India games. Why watch it at all then? Why even care to comment on it?
I don't see how a world cup, involving all the international cricket teams and players, that unveils a world champion within a fortnight and a bit, that does not include silly commercialization jigs with commentators uttering jibberish sponsored lines... cannot be a success!
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