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BANGALORE: Mahmoud Darwish, the Palestianian author, once wrote of how exile was more than a geographical concept. “You can be an exile in your homeland, in your own house, in a room,” he said. His words will resonate with thousands of Chennai Super Kings fans, who spent the last two Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons on the outside, looking in.
Banned for two years for the management’s complicity in the spot-fixing scandal of 2013, Chennai return this season to find that the league’s landscape has changed. No longer are they the top dogs. Mumbai Indians, led by Rohit Sharma, won an unprecedented third title in 2017. You have to go back to 2011 for the last of Chennai’s two triumphs.
Despite that, the fans who will flock to the home games at Chepauk, resplendent in canary yellow, swear by MS Dhoni’s Midas touch.
Chennai are not the only prodigals asked to come home. Rajasthan Royals were the league’s first champions, back in 2008, when Shane Warne’s inventive, go-for-broke captaincy led a motley crew to 11 regular-season wins and the title. They, too, were banished for two seasons in 2015 and have drafted in Warne as a mentor as they look to resurrect their reputation.
But Rajasthan’s plans took a big hit last month when Cricket Australia banned Steve Smith for 12 months for his role in the ball-tampering fiasco in Cape Town. The Indian cricket board and the IPL weren’t pressured to follow suit, but did so anyway. As a result, both Rajasthan and Sunrisers Hyderabad — who David Warner had led to the title in thrilling fashion in 2016 — had to appoint new leaders. Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan) and Kane Williamson (Hyderabad) were the beneficiaries of Smith and Warner’s misfortune/stupidity.
Having signed a $2.55 billion broadcast deal for the next five seasons, the IPL’s long-term viability is not in doubt. But after the manner in which sponsors and broadcasters reacted to Sandpapergate in Australia, there is absolutely no room for complacency. The average IPL attendance in 2017 was nearly 20 percent lower than it had been in 2014 (26,126 to 31,750), and the drop in Big Bash League crowds this season would clearly have been noted by the suits.
Having shown little inclination to grow the sport globally — the 10-team World Cup next summer is an abomination — cricket cannot afford to lose fans in its traditional heartlands. The IPL became the Indian board’s golden goose because it attracted a whole new demographic to the games. The task now is to ensure that they don’t drift away.
While the focus will be on the Indian superstars such as Virat Kohli, Dhoni and Rohit, as well as emerging talents like Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar, the franchises with greater foresight will also encourage those who have made the trek from far pavilions. Millions of Afghan fans will follow the fortunes of Rashid Khan and three others, while Nepal will tune in en masse if Sandeep Lamichhane gets a few games for Delhi Daredevils. With the international game a stangnant pool, the IPL, if it plays its cards right, could just be the flutter of butterfly wings that cricket desperately needs.