The greatest show on earth? IPL walks tightrope as circus begins
There has never been anything like the Indian Premier League in cricket. Which is why nobody – not the fearful administrators of the global game, not the opportunistic founders, not the multimillionaire team owners, not the players rewarded to unprecedented levels, not the hard-nosed television rights holders – knows how it will turn out.
They suspect, they hope, they yearn that it will be an unparalleled worldwide triumph, the next sporting big thing. In their more fantastical moments they will have imagined an event that captures the imagination and TV time of the entire subcontinent and by extension the whole cricketing planet beyond.
But they cannot be certain. The IPL is a huge gamble. It seems to have the necessary ingredients – the players, the money, the novelty – but until the first game is played, and perhaps until the first week is done, the element of doubt remains.
Source: Independent UK
