Sharjah: At a time when the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) fever has hit UAE with large turnouts at every venue, the past continues to haunt the event. The Supreme Court has rejected the three-member probe panel, proposed by the Indian cricket board, to look into the corruption scandal that had hit the sixth edition of the IPL – adding another chapter to the ongoing saga.
With the battle between the Supreme Court and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) going around in circles, the common man has actually lost interest in the scandal. For them, watching a good match has taken priority – as the passion of the crowds here suggest.
Many cricket fans feel that once the Supreme Court permitted the IPL to continue and even allowed the two teams (Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals) under the scanner to participate — any investigation or news about the event should have been initiated only after the event ended.
After former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar was appointed as interim President of the BCCI for the IPL, fans seem to have regained their confidence in the tournament – at least for now. The first statement from Gavaskar, after arriving in UAE, was: “I want the seventh edition of the IPL to be remembered for its cricket only. After the final on June 2, I want people to remember it for the quality of competition and nothing else.”
In fact, that is exactly what cricket fans are aiming for and hence turning out in large numbers. The periodic news about Narayanaswamy Srinivasan being prevented from regaining his position as BCCI President and the mysterious envelope that threatens to name many cricketers and officials involved in the scandal, seem to be leading the fans nowhere.
When Gulf News asked Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on how tough it was to keep his focus on the game with the happenings in India, he said: “You may go through tough phases in life, but what is important is how much you are enjoying cricket. While representing India, there will always be a fresh challenge in front of you. So whether it is the first part of the IPL in the UAE, or the rest of the days in India, we will try and enjoy playing the game.”
The current situation has made the job of Chennai coach Stephen Fleming even tougher. “Those events [in India] are actually out of our hands. All that I can guarantee is that once the group gets together, none of them would be bothered about outside issues that are taking place,” he said before the event began.
Though both the captain and coach are busy finding ways to keep the team’s focus on the matches, negative news like these are likely to erode the confidence of potential sponsors, who would want to back the team and the event in the future.
Cricket officials in the UAE have made special arrangements to ensure that the first leg of the tournament here is scandal free. Heavy security and screening are in place in hotels where the teams stay as well as at the grounds – keeping the media at bay.
Ravi Shastri, former Indian skipper and TV pundit, was a member of the three-member panel, which was rejected by the apex court. In a recent interview, Shastri told Gulf News: “IPL has always risen above all controversies, and it should be noted that even for the last year’s final, despite all the happenings, there wasn’t a seat left unoccupied for the match. It has surmounted all obstacles over the years and has only grown from strength to strength.”
It is this confidence that has kept the IPL going despite Indian cricket being engulfed by the biggest scandal of the era.