The Devil’s Equation
By: Geo (August 25th, 2008)“If we can have BMW and Mercedes Benz as two separate companies, why can we not have the Indian Premier League and the Indian Cricket League”, a beleagured Kapil Dev!!
Poor Kapil Dev, one of the best cricketers India has seen, is fondly remembered for his 175 not out against Zimbabwe. That innings probably was a turning point in the way batsmen approached the One Day game ever since. Kapil’s face is always recollected, lifting up the Prudential Cup, with a Haryanavi smile that reflected his Indian Soul!
Poor Kapil however has now been outnumbered and perhaps even singled out as he champions the cause of the Indian Cricket League. Subhash Chandra surely did take the lead in capitalising the idea of the 20-20 cricketing format, but the Indian Premier League (the BCCI baby) walked away with the accolades, the glory, the cake, the men and all the money too!! Despite all the good intentions, Sharad Pawar and his men in the BCCI, with the blessings of the ICC, proved much faster for Chandra and Kapil. Now Kapil, despite having brought the only world cup we have ever got, the world cup about which we have never stopped singing, is making desperate attempts, not just to get the Indian Cricket League started but even to keep the idea itself floating. His desperation is evident in the lame dialogue that we read at the beginning of this blog.
Poor Kapil. He was never good at speaking and winning the argument. Gavaskar was much better at that and Gavaskar always had his way. Decades have not done him good in this department! Many times we have found him with his foot in the mouth! But that in a way shows that he is more or less simple and straight forward! What say!?
Poor Kapil. Poor Kapil. Yes poor also because ICL’s kitty now is much much smaller than that of IPL’s, despite Sidhu’s (yes the laughing Siddhu) observations that were otherwise. But still Kapil believes that the ICL is either a BMW or a Mercedes! The journos perhaps forgot to ask which of these companies represented ICL! Maybe they didn’t want to squash the ego of a already humbled man, someone, who has selflessly played for the country once upon a time and brought laurels that none others has equalled so far.
But time, chance and people know no ranks, no status, no name, no history, just like charging chariots or marching tanks don’t know them too. Let everyone who is reading this, keep that in mind. And then, it all boils down to the money! With Brian Lara, Chris Cairns and Marvan Attapattu and a whole lot of the Hyderabad Ranji team, including Rohan Gavaskar still with him, Kapil surely can be a Toyota or a Honda (pun intended)! What I mean very sincerely is that ICL surely is an underdog. But it will be a tough fight all the way. That’s how the world is. Despite our achievements, we will always have to fight it, unless of course you manipulate like the Pawars and Dalmiyas. Let’s expect Kapil to do a 1983 repeat. Cricket perhaps needs it but Subhash Chandra (Zee boss) and Kapil surely do.
I still remember watching his 9 wicket haul over the West Indies in Ahmedabad. It was 1983 and it was the third day and I saw Kapil taking the whole West Indian team down all by himself. The West Indies team was a dream team and it was led by Clive Lloyd and had the likes of Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Larry Gomes, Jeff Dujon, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshal, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts! Kapil Dev surely became Kapil Devil for that awesome West Indian team. So Kapil Dev surely can spring up surprises, but nonetheless, I still don’t understand his equation - the Devil’s equation should I say,
IPL:ICL=Merc:BMW!!
Tags: 20-20 cricket, ICL, IPL, Kapil Dev, Prudential Cup, Subhash Chandra, World Cup 1983