As the inaugural edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League reaches the knockout stages, it feels like my debut match was almost destined to be in this tournament at my home town. Previously me with my cricket following friends had few opportunities to go for matches at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. For one reason or the other it just didn't happen. Be it the T20 worldcup or the IPL, we just couldn't.
This month, I had to make an unexpected visit to home which happened to be a brief stay. The first thing I read on Newspaper is the buzz in the town about the TNPL match which is being held in a ground which has a state history before being left on it's own. This time I didn't want any reason to come as I was keen to live the moment of visiting for a match in my home town which is on world feed. It was a rare opportunity for a town from down south of the state which is left undisturbed by all the globalization and industrialization yet had its own resources. And guess what, I somehow managed to get a complimentary ticket as the tickets were already sold out. My experience could never be expressed as the match went down to super over. What else I could have asked for?!
There were around 4000 people in stadium which was more than its capacity. And the crowd was going nuts every time they get a glimpse of Mathew Hayden. He was travelling all through the state doing all the promotion,wearing ethnic dresses walking along the boundary and shaking hands with crowd. As much as I feel he is doing his job for the money he is getting from the broadcaster, I must admit that there must be a bit of CSK affection left in him.
Mr. N Srinivasan must be credited to a greater extent for what the tournament is now. It's just a start of something big and as years pass by if he manages to pull the same amount of attention from media for the tournament, I seriously believe the quality of the tournament could go a notch higher. Because, the inaugural league will always have it's attention for the veterans in the fraternity. As the seasons pass by, the significance will shift towards the contest between the teams and the franchises will try to unearth new talents for all the money they have invested. This will have a greater say in the quality of the tournament. After all, sports thrive on contests.
Though there was a lot of talk about taking the sport to the smaller towns, we must admit to some extent this was about showing his power an prowess, considering his current situation in the cricketing fraternity. If that is not the case, TNPL could well have started earlier considering the affection and success CSK got from the people of the state. Karnataka premier league was started as early as 2009 and has been conducted consecutively from 2011. But what Mr. Srinivasan has managed to do is to get the attention of cricketing world by collaborating with Star Sports.
Being an ardent fan of the game who would wake at 4 am in the morning to watch a test match between England and Australia, I feel the crowd wouldn't have rush in to the grounds if there was no live media coverage. Myself being played district league matches for my college know that the spectators would never show up for some district matches.
There may be a lot of known and unknown reasons for the initiative. But hopefully, if the tournament goes on for the next few years, those players who have to fight their way not just with their game but also the non cricketing reasons in the state as they say, will be hugely benefited. This will give them a platform, get them a glimpse or one desperate chance which they are starving for years. Once their performance is live for the cricketing fraternity life might just become a bit easier. So this tournament after all, is not that bad for a start.
This month, I had to make an unexpected visit to home which happened to be a brief stay. The first thing I read on Newspaper is the buzz in the town about the TNPL match which is being held in a ground which has a state history before being left on it's own. This time I didn't want any reason to come as I was keen to live the moment of visiting for a match in my home town which is on world feed. It was a rare opportunity for a town from down south of the state which is left undisturbed by all the globalization and industrialization yet had its own resources. And guess what, I somehow managed to get a complimentary ticket as the tickets were already sold out. My experience could never be expressed as the match went down to super over. What else I could have asked for?!
There were around 4000 people in stadium which was more than its capacity. And the crowd was going nuts every time they get a glimpse of Mathew Hayden. He was travelling all through the state doing all the promotion,wearing ethnic dresses walking along the boundary and shaking hands with crowd. As much as I feel he is doing his job for the money he is getting from the broadcaster, I must admit that there must be a bit of CSK affection left in him.
Mr. N Srinivasan must be credited to a greater extent for what the tournament is now. It's just a start of something big and as years pass by if he manages to pull the same amount of attention from media for the tournament, I seriously believe the quality of the tournament could go a notch higher. Because, the inaugural league will always have it's attention for the veterans in the fraternity. As the seasons pass by, the significance will shift towards the contest between the teams and the franchises will try to unearth new talents for all the money they have invested. This will have a greater say in the quality of the tournament. After all, sports thrive on contests.
Though there was a lot of talk about taking the sport to the smaller towns, we must admit to some extent this was about showing his power an prowess, considering his current situation in the cricketing fraternity. If that is not the case, TNPL could well have started earlier considering the affection and success CSK got from the people of the state. Karnataka premier league was started as early as 2009 and has been conducted consecutively from 2011. But what Mr. Srinivasan has managed to do is to get the attention of cricketing world by collaborating with Star Sports.
Being an ardent fan of the game who would wake at 4 am in the morning to watch a test match between England and Australia, I feel the crowd wouldn't have rush in to the grounds if there was no live media coverage. Myself being played district league matches for my college know that the spectators would never show up for some district matches.
There may be a lot of known and unknown reasons for the initiative. But hopefully, if the tournament goes on for the next few years, those players who have to fight their way not just with their game but also the non cricketing reasons in the state as they say, will be hugely benefited. This will give them a platform, get them a glimpse or one desperate chance which they are starving for years. Once their performance is live for the cricketing fraternity life might just become a bit easier. So this tournament after all, is not that bad for a start.
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