Professional sports leagues have finally hit India. Big time. After Football, now it’s the game of the nation that has been neatly segmented into professional leagues, and on a much, much grander scale. Yes, I’m talking about Cricket and the ongoing IPL series. The IPL involves big money, bigger celebrities (Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta to name a few), big business tycoons (Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallaya, etc.) and the biggest hype that India has seen. But is it only hype? Would you enjoy watching two cricketers who are part of Team India battle it out with each other as members of different IPL teams? Cricket has been all about Indian pride till now. The whole nation has celebrated as one whenever we beat Pakistan and has mourned together any international loss that has occurred. But now, the collective national pride is going to be put aside while individuals root for their cities or regions. Some will even make their choice based upon whichever celebrity owns the team.
Also, the commercial Twenty20 format of IPL has not gone down too well with the old-school fans of cricket.
Join the Debate
So, are you a purist and will you watch in disdain while the nation goes crazy over IPL? Or will you jump into the fray?
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