IPL 5 the Success Story

It was the year that many believed would dictate the future of the IPL. A week has past and all the statistics have revealed the IPL 5 was perhaps the most successful out of all the past five seasons. So what makes IPL appealing to an average Indian over and over again? Apart from the action on the field and the cliché “Talent meets opportunity”, it is the lifestyle of an average Indian that contributes significantly towards a successful IPL.

It is often said India is influenced by the three C’s – Cricket, Cinema and Corruption.  If we leave the last C (corruption) aside for now, the other two C’s (cricket and cinema) are two biggest forms of entertainment for an average person in India. It is impossible at times to engage in a conversation with people of all ages in India, without touching on the topics of Cricket and Cinema. After all it is not their fault, in a country of billion people these two sources of entertainment have been an integral part of people’s culture for decades. Since the IT revolution in early 2000, Indian public is slowly getting exposure to other sports and various recreational activities in the western world. Unfortunately, associating with a new sport or other recreational activities often means facing some unique constraint. Instead of indulging in an activity that is not easily accessible, people tend to stick with the magic formula of cinema (television) and cricket.

It is also expectations of family that force many to follow the conventional path instead of rebellious one. Conventional path in Indian culture is to obsessed about cricket and cinema. Even though a person may be disinterested in both, cricket and cinema will always provide unity amongst strangers so it  wise to know about both.

This is in contrast to the public of the western world. Most people in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand or England spend their spare time perusing their hobbies or participating in other recreational activities. It is not that Indian public don’t have hobbies but more often than not they face some restrictions compelling them away.

For example any average person can play golf in Australia. In India, to be able to play golf you either need to be a member of a private golf club or pay a ridiculous amount of money to have a social game. It seems to amaze how a city like Mumbai does not have a public golf course. Why would any kid be encouraged to play new sport when the facilities are made inaccessible due to the culture of India. Even a popular sport like soccer is yet to develop due to the lack of facilities. People may argue all sorts of facilities are now available in cities. But the issue is they are rarely accessible to an average person.  An indoor soccer court more often that not is designated to a private club only, hence a public person is not able to access it. The main issue is the private club only utilize them once a week and are unwilling to rent them to the public. The point being apart from cricket and cinema to take up any other activity remains a challenge for an average person and and impossible to peruse unless your from a rich family or a political background.

Apart from sport, a leisurely walk after work for instance has become a nightmare due to congestion, pollution and the commute involved to find a recreational park. Such restrains force people to follow the conventional paths of watching television (Cricket) from the comfort of their air conditioning living rooms.

Although many people in metro cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore are now earning significant wages by Indian standards their work hours have increased substantially thus limiting their time for any social activities. Those in the rural areas do not have the facilities and are yet to be exposed to other recreational activities. For such people their best way to relax after a day off work is to turn to their common past times, cricket and television.  Since IPL is perfect combination of cricket and television, no wonder it appeals to an average Indian person.

Furthermore, IPL is on at prime time and can be viewed while interacting with family, friends, neighbour or any cricket lover passing by on the street, rarely are you going to find anyone even remotely disinterested.

The combination of India culture, the scheduling and the lifestyle of people will ensure the IPL remains a success in at least the short term future.  Like most people say “why would I watch anything else when the IPL is on TV”.