The beauty of IPL Format
IPL is one tournament the entire world is looking to because there are lot of things which are practically not possible in any sport, but IPL is one format where every thing is possible. Retired players like Adam Gilchrist can play in IPL while Shane Warne can play the game while being the coach of the team. Some specialties of the IPL are:-
Retired players can play:- IPL is a wonderful opportunity wherein even retired players are allowed to play. In fact 38 year old Adam Gilchrist who retired in 2008 is the highest scorer in IPL matches with 985 runs. 40 year old Sanath Jayasurya who retired from Test Cricket 3 years ago is a regular member of Mumbai Indians and he infact is the second most valuable player of the team behind the legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Laxman and Kumble were out of consideration for one dayers for a very long time:- While none will be surprised with Gilchrist and Jayasuriya playing the T20 format, except for age factor in the case of latter, there have been plenty of surprises. V V S Laxman and Anil Kumble who were not considered fit enough to play for one dayers are surprisingly considered very fit to play the more demanding format of T20. In fact both of them have played very well so far in the format, with Kumble taking Team Bangalore to finals of 2009 edition, while Laxman captained the team in the inaugural edition. The performances of V V S Laxman and Anil Kumble in the T20 format of IPL, sent a clear message to the cricketing world, that the fault for them being not considered in one dayers was not theirs but because of poor selection policies or of not being in the good books of captains or team management.
Enemies become friends and friends become Enemies:- It is a well known fact that Aussies in general and Hayden and Symonds in particular have a strong dislike for Indians. However IPL is one platform where Hayden and Symonds have managed to strike a good bond with Indian players belonging to Chennai and Hyderabad teams. IPL is also a format where our own players become enemies with each other and the best example is the Harbhajan Sreeshanth spat in the inaugural edition.
Tormentors turn allies:- Sanath Jayasurya has tormented many a Indian bowler in the past from Javagal Srinath to Zaheer Khan and Sachin Tendulkar has returned in the same coin by not sparing Lankan bowlers from Muralidharan to Chaminda Vaas. However when they play for Mumbai Indians, they decimate bowlers of their own country. Sanath Jayasuriya hitting out his own country man Ajantha Mendis out of the attack in 2009 edition and an inspired Sachin Tendulkar doing one better was a classic example.
Each edition of IPL has given us some unforgettable moments. The highlights of IPL so far has been the fact that the oldest players performed the best in what is considered to be a format for the younger players. Players like Gilchrist, Hayden and Jayasurya have been exceptional with Gilchrist carrying on the same form in the inaugral match. These players also put an end to the debate that in any game what matters is form and class and not age.
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