Tailor-made for TV, IPL rain rule leaves stakeholders fuming
Any forecast of rain during the Indian Premier League playoff matches is bad news. Everyone involved with the games in Bangalore --- from the ground staff to the players and team management --- starts sweating the moment they hear about a gloomy forecast.
The weather in Bangalore during the past week has hardly enthused anyone with Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir going to the extent of saying he aged almost 35 years thinking about the outcome of the rain-curtailed tie against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Gambir wasn’t exaggerating. It turned out to be a virtual nightmare on Wednesday for all with the game finishing at 1.27 am and the players stuck in the stadium till 2 am for the prize distribution ceremony and post-match press conference.
At least the players had the luxury of packing up and leaving in luxury buses, but what about the spectators, who braved the rain, with no public transport available at that unearthly hour.
For others involved in the staging of the game --- officials, vendors, media, security personnel et al --- the ordeal had just begun.
The playoff matches in Bangalore may have been affected by rain, but even then 8pm starts are just too late to be a happy outings for all and sundry.
The Indian cricket board seems to have taken note of the mayhem on Wednesday, with the BCCI honorary secretary Amitabh Chaoudhary, who experienced the situation firsthand, conceding to HT that, “I agree, it gets too late (the 8 pm starts) and we will look at the timings of the matches.”
Clearly, the BCCI top brass has realised how tough it is, but whether they are able to convince the broadcasters for an earlier start remains to be seen.
During the first edition of the IPL, matches had a 7pm start, and on double-header days, the early match used to commence at 3pm.
But, during the third IPL edition --- with Lalit Modi at the helm --- the BCCI changed the timings to 4:00 pm and 8pm, because supposedly 8pm is considered ‘prime time viewing’ for broadcasters.
The Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium started at 8pm, but following rain interruption after the first innings, play only resumed at 12:55 am.
There is bound to be opposition if an attempt is made to change the timings, but the BCCI will do well to get a thorough study done of post-match operations, and how long it takes for the last person to leave the venue. The broadcasters also need to check their TRPs post-11 pm.