IPL - 2020

I was mighty pleased when I learnt that IPL will be held in the difficult year of 2020. Deadly covid-19 had disrupted almost every single plan and had thrown everything in disarray. Even if IPL would not have been held this year, people would have understood & accepted it.

In India cases were on the rise, just like any other part of the world. People were in grip of fear, anxiety about their day-to-day lockdown life. They were really sick and tired of many restrictions forced on them. Month of April, May were probably the toughest to make mental adjustment and get used to so called .... "the new normal". It was never going to be the same again. Though April-May was not the time to hold the event, BCCI decided to bite the bullet. It was a bold idea to carve out a separate window in September & October. 

Huge heartfelt thanks to the organizers of IPL, which includes not only BCCI, but also entire army of people across two nations, India & UAE, who made it possible. It required meticulous planning & flawless execution to conduct entire tournament in a foreign country. IPL, the mega event, was about to start from September 19 with final to be held on November 10 with venues spread across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Every single person was supposed to follow the protocol with mandatory quarantine period, regular tests and restricted movements. The franchises also shown great commitment by ensuring the entire squad was present three weeks in advance. 

IPL fans like me were overjoyed with the announcement and really looking forward to this. Personally me and Neil really used to count the days for September 19, 7:30 PM. There used to a smile on our face, whenever we heard the IPL advertise and its famous sound...........paaaraaaapaaarumppp. It has been like a pleasant cold breeze in the hot desert. It is in no way any help to the hardship people faced during the lockdown period, but even if it can bring a smile on some faces, it was worth it. 

With hardly any live sports coverage on television and certainly so little cricket, IPL was a huge bonus for the viewers. The broadcasters were betting big on the viewership numbers to go through the roof for this IPL. And boy they were right on the money. People can forget about the gloomy times for three to four hours everyday and sit back to enjoy the quality cricket. Especially after watching the rhetoric with all negativity, pessimism, sensationalism on television and social media. 

My love for IPL was also on wane since last few years, but this year it was right there on the top. It rekindled that same feeling of initial years. I watched every single match right from the toss till post match presentation. I never got tired of it, even though it was a double header in the weekends. Just lazing around in front of tv for six - seven hours never felt anything less than exciting. Was really glad to see that all the players, staff, organizers staying in the safe, secure bio bubble and following the protocol with great precision. Just goes to show even if there is huge money in IPL, trust me there is no dearth of it, conducting an event of this magnitude takes lot more than money. 

It must be extremely challenging for players to be either in ground or in the hotel with restricted movements. It must have taken a huge toll on players both physically and mentally. It must be quite draining on them. Credit must be given to all the players for dishing out probably the most competitive IPL till date. It certainly saw very close matches and a first double super over. 

Mumbai Indians and Delhi capitals were easily more consistent than other teams. But IPL is really long and tough tournament, maintaining the same momentum throughout the tournament is never easy. Teams like DC and KXIP found it hard way. It was icing on the cake to see Mumbai Indians winning the trophy with such elan. They were clinical and ruthless in equal measures. Throughout the tournament I felt like that Aussie fan, who must have felt confident about their team when they used to crush opponents while they were in their prime.

IPL fan must be thankful to everyone who played their role to perfection and gave us moments to smile throughout the tournament. A big THANK YOU !!!