Sadly, it's not me.
Evidently, a man from my country of residence has made it to the short list of IPL3. As I am shamelessly oblivious to Canadian Cricket, I had no idea of his existence. But he is a big hitter and holds a record for hitting ten sixes in a T20 tournament. In short, IPL lovers will adore him.
What you guys don't know is that Lalit Modi has drafted him to show the ICC that the IPL can do more for non-test playing nations than regular cricket. It is his continued quest to get T20 to take over the cricket world. Right now, everyone is too overwhelmed by tests and loving every second of it. Lalit can't handle it, it's too much for the ATM machine he calls his heart. So he brings in fresh blood, even if it is frozen.
That Lalit is one clever bastard. And the bastard has also got his hands around Shakib. FUCKING HELL! I have failed to keep my Shakib protected. My only consolation now, will be if he is bought by the Deccan Chargers so my Hersch can keep him safe.
But, even after all this, I am happy for Cheema because he is a Torontonian. I hope he sets Lalit's money-making ass on fire with his big-hitting. With the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Blue Jays around, god knows we need someone to be doing well in sports.
For your information those are our Basketball, Hockey and Baseball teams and they all suck. Big time.
10 comments:
I have a doubt
are you bashing Lalit just for the sake of it?
then i will be in a position to comment :)
No, I really dislike him and what he has done to cricket.
IMHO the IPL will be a boon for the associate regions.
In all probability he won't be picked up by an IPL franchise but when the 2011 auction will take place that players from the US, Canada, Afghanistan,Netherlands should be picked up!
anyhow this IPL auction should be fun.
On an irrelevant note the Deccan Chargers have 2 slots open after relieving Zoysa and Silva. Hoping they get Afridi and Bond :)
But that's just it. Why should Associate regions be happy with having some of their players in the IPL? They should aspire to be test teams and such. God knows we need some new teams to watch and get excited over.
No to Afridi, yes to Bond. And Shakib. I will die if Shakib joins KKR.
Associates have the best chance to compete against the top teams in T20! In most of the associate teams the players are not professionals as their board does not have the money to pay them if someone is selected in the IPL then it will indirectly increase the popularity of the sport in the country and in turn get revenues for the board
and having more Test teams is desirable but not realistically possible it takes a strong domestic structure and at least 1-15 years after playing test matches( or even more as in the case of India,New Zealand etc) to compete against the top teams in the test arena!
It will help in the larger picture but i agree Modi is being selfish by expanding the league to 94 matches from 2011! more than 8 franchises are not required
If not Afridi then Pollard!
Adi, just getting selecting in the IPL does not mean anything. The country has to have the money to broadcast the IPL in their country and then the manpower to promote it to get people interested. In a country like Canada, where people live, breathe and sleep hockey and basketball, that is not an easy task. In places like Afghanistan, where the political situation is unstable, that will be considered a waste of money surely.
94 matches?? Can he drag this shit any longer? How many matches in this one? Surely the ICC will have something to say about it. That is just overworking the players. Not to mention boring the spectators with meaningless games.
Pollard for sure!
True in the case of Canada but having having one of their own will surely increase the interest of the locals and increase the ratings even if marginally they too might get a feeling that they are a part of it more people might be attracted because of it.
Some TV channel will pay money to IPL for the rights, I am sure IPL is shown in Canada on some network or the other.Yes I agree its an uphill task the cricket board also has to be proactive and it ultimately depends on them and the ICC funding i am just saying IPL might help the boards in increasing the popularity thereby making it a bit easier for them.
I personally see a great cricketing future for Afghanistan. I see them playing in the World T20 after the 2010 one.the fairytale story of achieving ODI status should inspire people in the country. You are right in pointing out the political instability there.
this one has 60,they have a 3rd place playoff for the champions league this time around!
His earlier idea of 2 IPL's in a year was not received well also.It is this kind of attitude that keeps the list of Modi haters increasing.
ICC tournaments, from my cable provider, costs about $150. The IPL may cost more or less...will found out this time. Didn't bother checking last time. Thing is, why would people pay that much to watch games that come on at 3am? Even if they are crazy, they will only get to watch in the weekends. I watch Saffa and BD games when they are on, sometimes, because they are free. If I had to pay for that AND stay up late and be dead tired the next day...I wouldn't have done it. Obviously it may change marginally, if players get selected for the IPL but the interest in cricket is lacking to begin with...forget about the IPL. So even if Cheema does get selected, it will be a while before Canada actually pays attention.
Afghans are an inspiration for sure. I hope they go far.
Modi's greed will be his downfall I'm telling you.
Voh! it so costly over there..here I get all international cricket matches in the world (even domestic cricket from India,Australia,England) for less than 4 dollars a month!!
maybe these are the advantages of living in a cricket crazy country :)
something drastic has to be done so that people get interested.
Yes, I too agree that the greed will get the better of Modi.
Btw the Bangladesh U19 team is playing brilliant cricket!They have defeated NZ and Aus in the warm up matches..hoping they win the WC if India does not :)
Yes, I do know about those wins. I am thrilled for them. But warm-up matches don't really mean anything you know!
But I am generally really proud of our U19s. They are seriously good. Only they fuck up when they make it to the national team!
Post a Comment