The Great IPL Tamasha

The Indian Premier League is an elixir to many Indians for whom cricket is God. It is quite an unsolved mystery why the government is still not declaring cricket as Indian national sport. All those cricket fans will vote for the governement. With election fever catching up in every nook and corner of the country, this will be a great tantra to catch vote banks. Or atleast cricket can be glorified as "national pastime" like the United States which calls baseball so. Media too can hit jackpots by showcasing the conflicts between parties who have disparities and the common man will have a good time watching the tamasha.

There are certain things still fuzzy about the great Indian Premier League:

1.Why do non-Indians play in 'Indian' Premier league?

2.Why is it hosted in South Africa when the tournament is called 'Indian' Premier League?

3.Is a man worth only some millions when we say a simple smile costs million dollars?

The most innovative financial instrument of the century will be the IPL derivative where human beings are auctioned and traded unlike the ho-hum stock certificates. When the whole economy is running helter skelter, men are sold like hot cakes. Dalal streetvasis who have burnt their fingers rather stomach, in the recent bear run are just waiting for the IPL auction to go public. Statements like 'Raina is a paisa vasool', Mathew Hayden is a duck who lays golden eggs and the formation of a Paisa Vasool Index(PVI), really makes one inquisitive to invest. Like the stock market which has blue chips, midcaps and small caps, IPL has "Star players" like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni Rahul Dravid who are bought at premiums, "Established players" like Suresh Raina, Yousuf Pathan who are bought at moderate price but giving a higher ROI, "New entrants" like Ajinkya Rahane,Ajay Nayar who have the potential to give a higher returns to their buyers. The PVI might soon catch up in the list of most active indices like DJIA,Nasdaq,S&P,Sensex,Nifty. It is staggering to note how a sport drives an economy.

However IPL definitely serves as a platform for youngsters like Ajinkya Rahane who scored 1085 runs in 10 matches of Ranji Trophy in 2008-09.It is also commendable that a team comprises more of younger talent than players who have already established their stardom. Hockey, which is supposed to be the national sport, used to appear so far in history books and sports column, has entered into such a stage of extinction where it is highly doubtful that there a single picture of hockey available for the next generation. It is surprising that innovations are not happening to save and popularise hockey which is now an endangered sport.

Despite all these, IPL sure is a pleasure and relief for all of us - the media, the government, the investors, the players and the common man as well!