27.04.2024

OK, let me make a confession. I have a subscription for SONY LiV only because they have a bank of the Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple series with them. Whenever I get bored with anything in life, be it movies, music, books, cricket, politics, walking, travelling, cooking, or any other pastime for that matter, I immerse myself in the episodes of the series.

To me it acts as a therapy. The only thing that comes near is P. G. Wodehouse. 

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25.04.2024

I'm not against the T20 format of cricket. It is a modification that is related to the necessity of changing times. But these different leagues like IPL have trivialized cricket into nonsense. More than the quality of cricket itself, the quality of commentary and "expert" opinions have deteriorated to a level of cheap buffoonery!

We now have players being substituted in the batting or bowling lineup. That makes a mockery of the eleven-player rule. Today one player is substituted, tomorrow it may be more. By the next decade, it may be so, that the batting lineup and the team taking the field could be totally different, theoretically speaking. What good it does to cricket itself is a matter of argument.

To me, cricket is best when played between countries, nations, states, or geographical and cultural entities. These clubs or franchisee setups as competing teams do not really bring the essence of cricket. IPL is a form of entertainment just like a rock concert, circus or beauty pageant is. It's definitely not cricket ( pun intended ) as we know the game to be. The more the clubs and the franchisees become strong, the more commercial considerations will take precedence over the rules and practices.

You may or may not agree, but that's it.