Stage set for lights, camera, action

NDTV Reports: On April 18, cricket will change forever for good or for bad, we don't know yet.

There has been much picketing against Twenty20 cricket and its money-rich manifestation, the Indian Premier League. Even before a ball has been bowled, the IPL stands accused of the murder of Test cricket.

The BCCI's penny-pinching officials have also earned the purist's wrath, and it's a surprise they didn't think of a way to extract a fee from the sun, moon and stars for shamelessly shining over the IPL venues without accreditation.

Then, there's the concern over the length of the tournament. Six weeks? What were the organisers thinking?

Here's some numbers to put things into perspective. The Beijing Olympics measure 16 days. The next FIFA World Cup will last a month. Even the T20 World Cup with a bigger field than the IPL lasted just a fortnight.

If the World Cup in the West Indies is anything to go by, some games towards the latter stages of the IPL may become meaningless, which would affect ticket sales and we have not yet begun talking about high ticket prices.

All right, enough ranting already. Here's what is good about the IPL. Never in the history of cricket has a domestic event raised more money or generated more hype. In India, the average domestic match attracts about 20 eyeballs five journalists, four pigeons and the stray dog. The IPL would change that, and how. It would now be the standard for other cricket boards to follow.

Second the IPL would fast track many careers. The unsung heroes from the domestic tier somebody like a Pragyan Ojha will now play alongside top professionals with the world watching. This is as good as international exposure, and the money has never been better.

Somewhere along the line, we would all complain about overkill, about meaningless run orgies and the passing away of cricket in whites. But change is inevitable. So, for the moment, let's focus on the IPL hoping it makes the game attractive to a much larger audience.

Which brings us to a question which team do you think would win the IPL? I'm vouching for my home city Mumbai....who's side are you on?