International Cricket Vs Domestic Cricket – What is the future of Cricket?
There was once a time when people only used to watch cricket on the days when India were playing bilateral series. The interest would hype up when the ICC tournaments such as the World cup would approach and it was celebrated like a festival for the religion: Cricket. Now that festival is replaced by another celebration called IPL.
The idea that cricket is religion is not limited to India, it has spread to various other countries and we are seeing that just like there is a need for a jamboree for theology to grow, similarly there is a rise in the number of domestic leagues that are being celebrated across the world.
In 2008, India gifted the world a new baby called IPL. Now the baby has turned into an unscrupulous influencer that has its wings spread across the globe. There are now numerous leagues such as Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League, Global T20 Canada, T20 Blast, UAE Cricket League and so much more. This is not at all negative, rather it talks about the power of what cricket can do to its fanatics.
Even though the nationalism associated with the game will not be diminished because at the end of the day you side with the player who makes your national team wins the matches most of the time and is your ultimate hero. The question is, how much influence the Domestic Cricket Leagues will have in the cricket sphere, and will the franchisee, that have made themselves the giants through IPL, own everything and try to move towards a monopoly?
Recently we have heard the news of various IPL franchisees taking it in their stride to own various teams in different leagues, be it CPL, UAE League, or CSA League and this has concerned many critics. Adam Gilchrist has clearly stated that “It’s getting a little bit dangerous the grip that it’s having to monopolize that ownership and the ownership of the players and their talents and where they can and can’t play”.
“It’s the new younger player coming in that starts to make those noises where it’ll be really challenging,” he added.
This sums up the danger of having only domestic cricket, which brings entertainment, celebrations, money, fame, and celebrity culture that may influence the viewers and younger generation of cricketers. Are we ready to just watch ‘cricket influencers’ playing in the domestic league and forget the feeling of celebrating our favorite cricketer for hitting it out of the park in the final ball of the match to win it for the country? Something to ponder on.
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