Reformed identity of Cricket through Indian Premier League: grace or disgrace to the

sacramentality of the sport?

Sajeev V. Koshy, B.D 1

Pitch Report: Reformation affects the character and lifestyle of a body where it is originated. As a
result, it propagates new ideologies and values for its successful mission. These transmitted values
should always be studied carefully as it influences the existing generation heavily. Cricket as a form
of sport expresses its identity through various forms and thereby reformation in cricket reframes the
character of cricket which gives new label and identity to the sport. The sport is expected to nourish
teambuilding, foster relationship between players and nations, show courage in stressed moments
and renewal of personality which constitute sacramentality 1 (means of grace) to the game. Hence
cricket should reveal itself as a ‘sport of grace’ when it is played. Though the sport is still played with
eleven players and two umpires on field, the intentions, rules and purposes have undergone a
paradigm shift. After a deluge of tensions and debates, the much awaited Indian Premier League
(IPL) team for Kerala is set to touch the sand of God’s Own Country. This reformed format of cricket
will definitely have an impact in the lives of keralites especially among the youngsters as cricket is
not just a sport but a religion to many. It is on this pitch that I seek to look at the reformed identity
of cricket through Indian Premier League and analyse whether the new format has brought grace or
disgrace to the sacramentality of the sport.

Tossing the Coin: Cricket has always been an interesting and fascinating sport to the world. The
colours and cheer voices of the crowd has inspired many players on and off the field. The fascination
and craze that surrounds this game, is much greater than any other sport in many countries. It has
gone a long way from its original format where the shepherds of England started this game to get
through their leisure time. If it was just an outlet then for the players to pass their time, now it’s a
matter of money and power. No matter how this game evolves, spectators have always welcomed
changes with both hands.

The Australian media tycoon, Kerry Packer, was instrumental in orchestrating many changes to the
sport. He redefined the ODI experience .He brought in colour, to start with, and the players did not
wear anything in white. Each team had its own colourful uniform and on top of it, each player had
his name emblazoned on the back of his jersey. The cricket ball became white and he introduced day
night cricket, first in Australia, to increase the live audience even on weekdays on the one hand and
facilitated TV viewing over waking hours in other parts of the world. Packer started the trend of
paying the players extremely well and getting their total commitment to the game. He then ramped
up the technology wonderfully with cameras on either side of the wicket and microphones hidden
on the ground. Close-ups, replays, etc., were possible at every instant. The ringside view of the game
was the essence of his redefined experience of watching the game over a TV channel. 2 He shrewdly
calculated that once the audience are stabilised, there will be big money.

ODI was followed by Twenty20 Cricket which has been a Godsend to world cricket. Before the arrival
of Twenty20 Cricket, the world cricket scene has been smirched by allegations of match fixing,
favouritism, racism and groupism. Twenty20 Cricket was first introduced at country level by the
England and Wales cricket Board in 2003. This successful Twenty20 Cricket match marked its seal on
the latest format of world cricket. Following the success of the game, claimed international
acceptance and quickly spread around the world with the first Twenty20 International taking place in
February 2005 between New Zealand and Australia. The ICC Board then agreed to the inclusion of an
ICC World Twenty20 competition at a meeting in April 2006.

It was with much controversy that the Indian Premier League (IPL) made its appearance. The Indian
Premier League came as a rebel to the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which is backed by the Essel
Group, a leading media firm in India. Due to the pressure of bidding players from all around world at
high price and at the stake of losing players for national matches, which the ICL caused; The Board of
Cricket Control in India (BCCI) decided to start its Twenty20 format, titling it as ‘Indian Premier
League’. Lalit Modi became the commissioner of IPL who began revolutionising the format of the
T20 cricket just as Kerry Packer reformed ODI.

Team Charis3: Till IPL started revolutionalising the game, cricket was seen as a national sport. During
a match in India a few years back, a banner was raised in the crowd saying, “Cricket is our religion
and Sachin is our God”. But with the emergence of IPL, the sport has become Trans-nationalistic.
When the players from all parts of the world take part in the event, the national spirit is lost, as
compared to how you feel while watching a match between India and Pakistan. Then it becomes
easy to tag IPL as a game where ‘mates turn into foes and foes into mates’. With the Indian Premier
League, the BCCI has found the means to shape cricket in its own image. It would be a total change
when we see Indians cheering for foreign players, especially when they play against Indian players.
For e.g. Indians in Jaipur cheer Shane Warne when he bowls against Sachin Tendulkar. Thus with the
arrival of IPL, the exclusive nature of cricket as a nationalistic sport is lost and inclusive character of
sharing the joy of playing together is conditioned through these matches. This in turn can reduce
hooliganism from the crowd and foster healthy relationships among players.

It is also an advantage that the budding talents of India get an exposure to play with international
players which would be a dream come true for many young players and it can open more avenues
for their cricketing future should they perform well in IPL.

Another graceful moment IPL contributed to the word of cricket is the presentation of Indian cities
before the world. If Punjab or Rajasthan were unknown to the world outside, IPL made these places
popular. This enabled the Indian cities to open its door for tourism and gain international market.

Tea Time: The fourth edition of the IPL season will run between April 8-May 22, 2011 with eight
teams and 60 matches.4

Team Aischune5: The disgrace IPL has brought to the sacramentality of the sport is commodifying
the game. The money owners have invested in their franchises and the money BCCI get from
broadcasting rights have totally commodified this tournament. "Cricket is now too overheated," says
Gupta of SET MAX, referring to the amounts being paid for rights. 6

Ashis Nandy as cited in C. Narayanan’s ‘The Indian spectator: A grandstand view’ has described this
as a reformation in which cricket has become more of “a paying entertainment than a game.” 7 In this
situation, the pleasures of participation and the charge of moral upliftment have been outstripped
by the pleasures of consumption and the excitement of reflected glory. On one side are the
spectators who see it as a consumable commodity, and on the other are the performers who aim to
perform professionally and to please.
When five-day test matches ruled, cricket was genteel. The best players were noted for their
elegance and style. It didn't matter how many runs they scored, but the way in which they did it
mattered. With one-day cricket, the big hitters gained ascendancy. In the Twenty20 format, the pace
will pick up further and players will be under pressure to throw their bats at everything they can.

Arjun Appadurai describes that the nature of cricket had been altered, so that ‘entertainment value’
and ‘commercialization’ now trumped the claims of tradition. 8 The globalization has brought in a
dramatic effect to the game that the presentation of the game has become totally different. The way
people used to enjoy cricket is no more the same way it used to be. The introduction of cheerleaders
propagates an idea similar to the English Premier League. As soon as a ball is hit to the boundary or a
wicket is taken, it is no longer the game that is qualified; rather the dance of cheerleaders takes the
focus of the game. The mixing of rock bands and Bollywood dances deeply enhances the
entertainment value of the match. It therefore has now reformed into a spectator's sport with focus
on entertainment and the economics of the game is a wonderful study of globalisation.

When Kapil Dev catapulted India to the top spot in a one-day international (ODI) way back in 1983,
we saw them all in the traditional white uniform. Those were the days when there were no
commercials between overs, no instant replays, no third umpire and absolutely no colour what so
ever other than that provided by the crowd. By commodifying cricket as a profit turned business,
what should be a sport played with healthy spirit, has inversely affected the product value of the
game.

It is necessary to understand the politics behind the brands which are portrayed through the
franchisees. The brand is a thought. A thought that lives in people’s minds. All the brands that
bought IPL want to endorse their products or company image through this game. For eg., Vijay
Mallya can endorse his liquor products by supporting Bangalore team. By consuming this game,
audiences naturally taste Mallya’s liquor in one way or another. Reliance industries can make this a
good marketing strategy to show off their corporate image, that has head quarters in Mumbai.

IPL revolution has changed the total image of the sport. Each Every time Richard Madley’s hammer
declared ‘a cricketer sold’ in Mumbai on the day of cricket’s giant sale, the game and the players
were getting commodified and it especially made the players a consumable product. The price tag
put on players made them slaves to the big businesses and corporates. The value of a human being
is brought under disgrace when he is labelled with a price tag for sale. Before IPL pitched in, the
players fought for their nations. But now, they play for their bosses and companies who own them.
The sacramentality of the sport is lost when players are bargained for such colonial interests.

Match Result: Reformation is an ongoing process. It continually happens when a body creatively
responds to the situations around it. This article has been trying to critically look at the reformative
factors that led cricket to the present form of Indian Premier League and how the format has
affected the identity of the sport. IPL has surely changed the way people consume the game. The
sport should uplift the integrity of the game and maintain the sacramentality by bringing grace and
honour from all over the world. As Kerala gets ready to welcome its IPL team, it surely is bringing lots
of challenges before us. The brand will affect our social space and life style through advertisements,
players, matches and so on. As sensible audience, we should not allow ourselves to be mere
consumers of entertainment and endorsed brands, rather should promote the valour and integrity it
brings to the whole sport world outside.
Third Umpire:
1
Usually the term ‘sacramental’ is denoted with religious observances. I take the license to associate the word with the
game of cricket
2
Appadurai, A. (1996) Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization, University of Minnesota Press,
Minneapolis.
3
Charis is the greek word for grace
4
Economic Times, 18 November 2010
5
Aischune is the greek word for shame
6
Bhatnagar, Yogendra. Commodities of Cricket, Indian Link, http://www.indianlink.com.au/?q=node/3861
7
Narayanan, C. (2004) The Indian spectator: A grandstand view. In Majumdar, B and Mangan, J.A. [eds]. Cricketing
cultures in conflict: World Cup 2003, Routledge, London
8
Appadurai, A. (1996) Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis