The tragedy is that no one wants the IPL to fail (except perhaps the ICL guys), least of all the average cricket fan. With corporate India grappling with the inexorable pull of the global recession, the IPL was a beacon of light. Especially at such a time, a little less arrogance and a little more common sense on both sides could have solved the eye-ball to eye-ball confrontation between the IPL and the Home Ministry. The IPL could not have been postponed, because of the clashes with the ICC calendar, but the option of a truncated version might just have been better than the forced South African sojourn.

At a deeper level, IPL-2 is facing the problem that all sequels have. IPL-1 had a great deal of novelty and curiosity value. The original benchmark it set was so high that the sequel always had a tall order. Remember Shahrukh Khan and KBC. It never quite reached the highs of the original version with Amitabh Bachchan, despite packing in a lot more variety and lots of new innovations. Sequels in the entertainment industry — and make no mistake, the IPL is a part of the entertainment industry — do succeed. But good sequels require inventiveness, some new excitement and intriguing twists in the tale. The problem with IPL-2 has been that, so far at least, it has had all the twists, but the tale itself is largely missing.

Part of the IPL’s great allure also lay in the adrenaline-thumping parade of sixes and fours that lit up Season 1 so brightly. The total entertainment package it offered allowed the non-cricketing public to buy in. Going to the IPL became a family affair, akin to a local mela in every city. This time, the matches are happening far away, with no on-ground activity. Equally, the conditions are dictating a better contest between the bat and the ball. This actually makes for more riveting cricket for the cricket fan. Paradoxically, is the slow pace a problem with the add-on fans who joined the bandwagon last year? If this is so, then it the will dictate the future of T20 itself.

... contd.