After watching one of best finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday, I felt that the International Cricket Council (ICC) should give this tournament a permanent window so that all cricketers around the world are able to participate in it.
Until now, the ICC’s stance has been that if the IPL is given a window then they may be forced to give the same to tournaments in other countries too. Considering the huge following and viewership for IPL, it is time that they changed their stance. This edition of the IPL was one of the finest ever held in the last seven years. It lured interest from all nationalities. Even though Pakistan was not part of the IPL, they too watched it as it produced the best of cricket.
If the ICC agrees to create a window for the IPL, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should also give up their attitude of not picking Pakistan players and only then can they claim that IPL is a global tournament and has a right to seek a window. Those against Pakistan should also remember that Kolkata Knight Riders’ victory has a lot to do with the presence of legendary pacer Wasim Akram as their bowling mentor.
This year’s IPL final was undoubtedly one of the finest Twenty20 matches in world cricket. It gave spectators everything that they hoped for...399 runs were scored together by both teams in 40 overs, and yet the winner could be decided only with three balls to spare. Kolkata’s score is the highest by a team chasing a target in the final of any Twenty20 tournament. Wriddhiman Saha’s 115 is the highest score by a batsman in a Twenty20 final.
What made the final even more special was its unpredictability. Even the finest Twenty20 bowler Kolkata’s Sunil Narine got thrashed all around. It is even more spectacular because those who thrashed him are two batsmen with hardly any international exposure. Some of the foreign players even surprised their own country on how great aTwenty20 player they were through this IPL.
This edition has also given a big boost to domestic cricketers. The top individual award winners Manish Pandey (man of the final), Mohit Sharma (Purple Cap) and Akshar Patel (emerging player) are budding stars, and it gives hope to all domestic cricketers who toil hard that through IPL they too can scale to greater heights.
Today, IPL is an event every cricketer in the world wants to be a part of and hence the world cricket body should rethink whether they should continue to stand in the way of players hoping to express themselves. Boundaries should be confined to the field of play and not for a tournament that has won the hearts of cricket lovers around the world.
