posted May 27, 2008

lol poker nicely said

i do however think that its possible they were offerred high contracts. even tatenda taibu is contracted to kolkata for 100,000 per season. that's probably just as much bopara makes in the whole year for england and county. the money and power in cricket is all in india, so all the best players will go there eventually

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 27, 2008

Is it me or do both Bopara and Sajid have Indian/Pakistani roots, this may cause an increase in their value as they may count them as a homegrown player in the teams

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 27, 2008

Football is our national sport and for the Indians their national sport is cricket so if their domestic cup is IPL 20-20 then ours is the football league.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 27, 2008

Whether or not we like it, 20/20 is becoming increasingly popular and IPL is succeeding in attacting crowds like never before. We coul;d try and ignore it or tap into the potential. I suggest in England we accept that it is here to stay and accommodate it.

I do not know if the reported salaries for Sajid/Bopara are correct, but if they are, they are not surprising. They are Asians who would be popular in India.

I feel that we are being too conservative and with a 'not invented here' attitude to IPL.

I have always ben a test cricket (as opposed to one-day cricket) fan and have only recently begun watching 20/20. It requires quite a different type of skill and lots of stamina. i wouldn't knock it.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 28, 2008

It has been a success in India. India is a cricket crazy nation and the league has been designed for the Indians, not just the players but for the audience.

I am not a big fan of IPL but could not deny its success. I have watched the league off and on, like a couple of overs here and there, have watched some matches closing and have followed it a bit on the net but I have failed to have a favorite. I tend to support the team in which my countrymen play but I get undecided when both teams have my countrymen. In brief, I was absolutely indifferent who reaches the semis and I am absolutely indifferent who goes on to win the league.

I donw know if other non indians are really watching the league with interst.

and T20 being a threat to football, haha thats no more than a joke. There are ten test playing nations and 15 or something overall. Compare this to football where team with the best league has failed to make it to a europeon competition. I dont think there is any comparison so I will not waste time explaining that.

Dont get confused by the number of people this game is bringing to the stadiums. Indias love cricket and they will make it to the ground for any form of cricket, let alone this quick. EPL, La liga, Serie A, Bundus liga and other europeon leagues are watched by millions (even billions) of people.

So in my opinion IPL is good but only for Indians, the players who are earning good money, the organizers who are getting good money out of it too and finally the bookies.

I would like to hear others comments though.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 28, 2008

123 reynolds,

India's national sport is hockey.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 29, 2008

What footall is to world, twenty 20 is beginning to be that for India. The games are all packed because Indians are passionate about cricket and glamour. For cricket to be the no.1 global sport, its a beginning in the right direction to import foreign players. But IPL and BCCI should think about promoting the League to import foriegn fans. The government should relax visa norms for international cricket fans visiting India to watch IPL. The government is charging huge sums of taxes from the players. It would we a wonderful sight to see major cricket playing nations flags waving across the stands - all of them together. That is a sign of a major global sport. IPL should also think of inviting international franchises to generate more interest in non-cricket playing nations. Brands can do a lot these days. Lastly, get some international rock stars instead of Bollywoodies and give some quality performance. Remember NFL Superbowl last year. We are sick of seeing SRK and PZ on the big screen, please be a little innovative. All said, eventually it is just a game of cricket and cricket should win in the end of the day. So far, IPL has managed to make that happen. Good job and good luck IPL.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 29, 2008

I have no problem whatsoever with the IPL. I think all players should be free to play and it should have it's own window. However, I feel a EPL would be a waste of time and is just an attempt to cash in - we do not have the sheer weight of numbers or money in this country to make an EPL work. It would be better to tinker with the existing 20/20 Cup rather than try and manufactuer an EPL.

So here's my plan.
County Cricket.
1. 50. over competition in two leagues.
2. 4 day competition split into 4 regions North, Midlands, South West, South East.
Each team in the division plays each other twice with games then between the top teams in each region.
3. Twenty20 Cup - This competition needs only a little tinkering. If we go for an EPL where do our youngsters learn to play T20.

International
1. Reduce the number of ODIs
2. Abolish the Champions Trophy - irrelevant
3. Shorten the World Cup structure.
4. Consider use of floodlights in Test cricket to help prevent bad light stopages

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 29, 2008

Replace football and become the worlds most popular sport?????? I am getting sick hearing these comments, cricket WILL NEVER ever come close to football on the worlds map!!

I heard this kind of rubbish from standford who reckons that cricket t20 will replace football in 10 years time and become the worlds popular sport. People that say these comments are just insane......

Lets look at this so called prediction in detail and see how silly it really is....

10 years time....

England goes cricket crazy...football and premiership fades away....backpages is all about cricket..

Italy forgets football and cricket takes over...forget the milan derby, forget serieA, its cricket!!!

Spain forgets madrid and barca and starts to bid for cricket players to play in their leauge...madrid v barca derby is played in front of a empty nou-camp as the fans are following cricket....

Germany, Bundasleague no longer exists....t20 cricket takes over...So what if hitler banned cricket in germany..

In south america...

Brazil..goes cricket crazy....forgets football...Who is ronaldo, ronaldinho?..its cricket samba time in rio....

Buienes Aries (argentina), maradona who??? Its cricket now.....

AFRICA...

all over africa Cricket takes over....forgets football.....the african nations cup is finished off as football is no longer cool and its CRICKET now....

Middle east...

iraq, iran, uae, saudi arabia..etc etc..were football mad but now they have changed their minds and are mad about cricket....They go cricket crazy......


Who in their right mind really thinks this is going to happen in 10 years.?

Cricket is an over-rated sport which is only the no1 sport in 3 countries. India, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka. No other country has this as its no1 sport!.

Replacing football is like going and touching the sun and coming back alive..thats how impossible it is..

add comment | complain about this comment

posted May 29, 2008

Will the IPL be a long lasting success? The Australians are looking to host a twenty20 tournament of their own as well as England looking to compete with IPL. Sir Allen Stanford will also be looking to bring in International stars for his twenty20 tournament and the South Africans would like to get in with the twenty20 goldfever. Also the UAE would like to host their own tournament.

There simply isn't enough window space for star players to play both International cricket and lucrative Twenty20 games.

add comment | complain about this comment