For the IPL, any Publicity is Good Publicity

By Gulu Ezekiel

In this day and age of reality shows and obsession with fame, publicity and hype the Indian Premier League lives by the credo: “any publicity is good publicity.”
The exception was in its inaugural year when the notorious ‘Slapgate’ incident between hotheads Harbhajan Singh and S. Sreesanth threatened to dent the tournament’s credibility.
The organizers did well on that occasion to immediately impose a ban on Harbhajan.
Now we have a faux controversy, the so-called war-of-words between cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar and Shah Rukh Khan, screen superstar and co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
KKR coach John Buchanan’s announcement that the team would have four ‘joint captains’ this season, effectively sidelining their icon Sourav Ganguly was really a storm in a tea cup.
It was amusing to see a dramatic ‘breaking news’ banner on one of the English news channels the other day.
So what was the drama all about? Was it some election related sensation? No, it was merely pace bowler and KKR member Ishant Sharma denying he had supported Buchanan’s concept!
For SRK to state that nobody has any business commenting on his team and that Gavaskar should buy his own franchise smacks of awful arrogance. No wonder he has since had to backtrack and eat humble pie.
It is ridiculous to portray 20/20 cricket as some sort of rocket science. For SRK’s information, it is the same game that has been played for centuries, only a dumbed-down version.
Gavaskar has hit the nail on the head when he points out that the managements of most of the franchises have Australians in charge and the likes of Buchanan and Warne have appointed their buddies as assistants; in the case of the former coach of the Australian national side, even his son has bagged a job with the franchise!
But this is not the only instance of nepotism and cronyism in the IPL. Indeed it is fast becoming a gravy train for has-beens like Buchanan and Darren Berry, Warne’s Victorian pal and assistant at the Rajasthan Royals.
There is plenty of moolah going around so why not grab it while the going is good appears to be the philosophy!

www.sportshero.com (15/4/09)