I was surprised that it took the BCCI ever so long to realize that the Indian government was reluctant to provide clearance for the
Indian Premier League Season 2 - DLF IPL 2009 . From the outset, it was obvious that the Home Ministry was dragging its feet on the issue of security and the fact that the draw was asked to be revised, not once but twice, made it abundantly clear that the IPL 2009 would be a no show. Ultimately, the decision to shift this year's tournament to South Africa (very likely) or England has triggered reactions of many hues.
Unsurprisingly, the reactions have ranged from outright condemnation of the government for 'conceding victory' to terrorism and the BCCI itself for insisting on the IPL coinciding with the general elections in the post-Lahore environment. The 'third front' that has evoked as much debate is the decision to conduct IPL,
basically a domestic tournament, on foreign soil.Purely from a National perspective, the government cannot be faulted for giving precedence to the general elections over a cricket tournament. On the other hand, its refusal or rather a tacit admission of its inability to provide security to an event involving a bunch of international sports persons has shown up India in poor light. Yes, the Lahore incident might have been a major factor, but then, within a couple of weeks after the Mumbai attacks, we hosted a full Test series against England.
Honestly, it is difficult to take a firm stand on the issue as one also needs to keep in perspective the high stakes game that is the IPL. The moneys involved are colossal as also the business commitments to the eight franchises and of course, the TV rights. That the IPL organizers were willing to invest in 80 bullet proof vehicles to transport the players and teams reflected their determination to go ahead with the tournament regardless.
The point is that the government is and will always be supreme. Its refusal to clear the Indian cricket team's tour of Pakistan in January proved correct in the wake of the Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan players. When the dates for the elections were announced, it became obvious that the IPL would take a hit. But I wonder why the Home Ministry kept humming and hawing when it knew the security requirements for the elections. It could have come out in the open at the first opportunity and taken a firm stand rather than needlessly dragging the issue for nearly a fortnight.
It is pointless now to go on and on about the government's rather coy behaviour as it will not change the scenario. One can only speculate whether politics had anything to do with the government's stand, but rather get on with life as the Board has decided to.
As regards conducting a 'home' event abroad, it is an uncharted territory even though many international matches have been played at neutral venues. Pakistan, in particular, played some of their 'home' series on foreign soil. But for a domestic tournament to be played abroad is different. Like the 2008 IPL, we are entering into the unknown and perhaps, it might set a trend or even jettison the tournament into becoming a truly international spectacle.
Posted by Shiva Kumar | Views 347 | Share Blog
