Season of strife braced for an emotional high
NEW DELHI: On May 2, as Rajasthan Royals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in a one-sided match in Delhi, the city outside the stadium was living a nightmare. The streets were empty but for ambulances and people and vehicles grappling with the worst wave of the pandemic to hit the country. Delhi recorded 20,394 cases that day and counted over 400 deaths for the second day in a row. The figures for the rest of India was 3,68,060 positive cases and 3,417 dead.
In the next two days, the IPL, which had in place an elaborate system of multiple bio bubbles in place, saw those bubbles being breached. Players and coaching staff from at least three teams tested positive, another team was in quarantine, ground staff came down with Covid, and the Australian government had banned its players from flying back home. IPL’S 14th season stood no chance against the destructive force of the pandemic and on May 4, the tournament was indefinitely suspended.
Yet, cricket’s most famous league found a way to resurrect itself. On October 15, an IPL season like no other will come to its conclusion when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Dubai to decide the title.
If Indian cricket has been dubbed “recession proof” for its financial clout for most of the last three decades, Indian Premier League has been the epitome of that. The title sponsorship of Vivo, the Chinese technology company, is worth ₹440 crore per season, while Star India has poured ₹16,347 crore for a five-year deal that nets the Indian cricket board around ₹55 crore per match. These massive numbers and the popularity they reflect explain to a large part how BCCI managed to surmount the threat of the pandemic as well as a logistical nightmare to ensure that the IPL was rescheduled and moved out of the country.
The second phase was taken to the UAE, squeezed into the same venues as the T20 World Cup after India also had to shift that tournament out because of the pandemic.
BCCI had held a split IPL in 2014 as well, but that was to address security issues as it came in the middle of the general elections. The 2020 IPL was staged entirely in the UAE.
Dhoni factor
CSK and KKR reaching the final is also an extension of IPL’S durability. MS Dhoni-led CSK have made it to their ninth final in 12 seasons (the Chennai franchise was suspended for two years). It points to their astonishing consistency, and their wins are only second to Mumbai Indians (five titles). KKR, led by England’s 2019 ODI World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan, are aiming for a third title.
While KKR’S record of having won both their finals—they beat CSK in 2012 for their last win— will boost their confidence, CSK will be determined to deliver one more success for their talismanic skipper.
This IPL may turn out to be historic for more than one reason, as Dhoni, arguably the league’s most iconic player, may retire with yet another trophy. Dhoni has been the face of CSK since the league was launched in 2008, with the 2007 T20 World Cup win under the young India wicketkeeper still fresh.
That he has led his ageing side, confronting his own age, to the final again has confounded his doubters.
Dhoni, who turned 40 in July, has defied his age in a format that makes massive demands on power and athleticism, proving the mastery of his leadership year after year. Though he wants his IPL farewell to be before adoring Chennai fans, it could well be a symbolic one-off appearance in 2022. When he takes the field under the Dubai floodlights though, it will be as the nerveless, hyper-competitive captain with a flair for winning cricket’s biggest trophies.