Shifting IPL out of India won't solve drought crisis

It's quite understandable if a cricketer panics and gets the basics wrong on the field. On April 23, Rohit Sharma was run out going for the second run when he crashed into teammate Hardik Pandya in the final over against Delhi Daredevils.

It was sad to see Rohit drop his bat in pain and fail to make his ground as wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock whipped off the bails from a Chris Morris throw. It will take time for the two batsmen to get over this mix-up, though given the long duration of the Vivo Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians can still make up lost ground as they did last year.

From the home team’s point of view, it’s been a good start as the Delhi Daredevils won their third match in a row. Having said that, there is still a lot more cricket to be played in the tournament and to see who lasts the distance will be interesting.

While Rohit and Hardik can get over such mistakes, Board of Control for Cricket  in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur may not be able to get over the mistake (read comments) he made last week over shifting the IPL out of India in 2017.

At a time when IPL-9 is gathering momentum and major glitches are being sorted out, it is indeed harrowing for team owners and state cricket associations to deal with issues repeatedly.

The latest one regarding matches being shunted out of Maharashtra because of the drought and now Jaipur becoming an unlikely home base for Mumbai Indians - again thanks to court invention - makes it tricky for the affected teams.

Thakur, who is also a BJP member of Parliament, could have thought of ways and means to first ensure the current IPL gets on without hassles rather than indulge in kite-flying over which country the next edition should be held in.

Needles to say, his comments, even if it was just a trial balloon, were irresponsible and did not offer any constructive suggestion.

At a time when relations between the BCCI and courts of the land are not cordial, people in power who handle cricketing matters of the country need to be sensitive. Tough posturing is going to do no good as the whole mood is against the BCCI, be it the honourable courts or public perception.

Thakur has already presumed there will be a drought-like situation in 2017 as well. He has probably not read the IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) monsoon forecast which is very positive.

There are many ways to work out schedules for the next IPL and at a time when the tournament is coming back to normalcy after the sleaze controversy, there is need to be circumspect.

What is also baffling with regard to matches being moved out of Maharashtra in May is why the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) wasted over ten days before moving the Supreme Court last Friday.

When the Bombay High Court ordered matches to be moved out of Maharashtra, it called for an immediate appeal to the next higher authority. Had the MCA moved the Supreme Court right away, the matter could have been heard by now.

But then, one has never known the BCCI or its state units to be proactive in decision-making.

The delay resulted in Jaipur becoming an unlikely replacement home base for Mumbai Indians.

Hopefully, in the coming days, things will change as the BCCI has appointed Rahul Johri as its CEO. Again, this was at the behest of the Justice RM Lodha panel.

Back to cricket proper, in the initial round of matches, the one which was much anticipated was the one between Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore and MS Dhoni’s Rising Pune Supergiants. The verdict in the first contest, with Dhoni’s team playing at home was quite emphatic as Bangalore won comfortably.

There has been a lot of debate in the last one year over the two captains’ leadership styles. Kohli has done well in the Test format and in the ODIs and T20, Dhoni has been unable to show fresh ideas. Dhoni still has shelf life as a pure wicketkeeper in the shorter formats, though his batting skills are on the wane.

Royal Challengers could score only 185, which is below par as their bowling line-up is not great. Yet, they attacked well and defeated the Pune side as Dhoni lost the plot. He moved himself up the order to number five, which was quite baffling, and made a hash of it.

There will be another contest between the same two teams, this time in Bangalore.

Contests like this provide many pointers to the future of Indian cricket. After all, the IPL is not played just for the lure of the lucre. It has thrown up talent and also provided inspirational leaders.

(Coutesy of Mail Today.)