Why the international window should be a regular fixture at the IPL

Finally the IPL is back to India after its brief international foray. The UAE venture was a surprisingly successful one with full houses, passionate crowd support and close matches making it a memorable short trip. But it is after all the INDIAN premier league.  Although there is less buzz about the IPL this time especially due to the on-going elections, the pulling power of the extravaganza can never be underestimated. Expect full houses for most of the matches again.

But has the IPL’s venture into the foreign territories (albeit a forced one) been a fruitful one? Or should the games shortest form’s extravaganza remain exclusively in India. The founders of the league swear by its soaring popularity and project it as a global phenomenon. Of course other similar leagues have now cropped up in every other cricket playing country, but none have the money and the clout of the IPL. Therefore I feel the IPL going international is not such a bad idea to begin with.

This would not only help IPL gain greater popularity among all countries, it will also be a chance for the players to test their mettle in different circumstances. The cricket would become much more interesting due to the changed dynamics of the pitches and the global audience would witness first-hand the phenomena that is the IPL. The IPL’s two foreign ventures in UAE and South Africa have been roaring successes. The apprehensions about empty stadiums have been laid to rest and people have come out in numbers to support their favorite team and players.

There have been people who have rooted for friendly IPL matches to be played in international locations, but I believe this will not bring out the people’s passion as much a adrenaline filled IPL encounter ideally should. Hence there is a case to be made for a special window of the league to be played at an international location. This window could be as small as a week and may involve each team playing two matches each at the international location.

The franchisee and the promoters might not be too accommodating of the idea as there could be a loss in terms of marketing value and add to that the travel costs of the players and the support staff. But in terms of the long term view of the IPL it is best that these short term sacrifices are made. The IPL would then be truly called a global product and begin harboring dreams of comparing itself with the top football leagues in the world in terms of popularity.