IBNLive Chat:'IPL succeeded because of hype, novelty'

GLAM GAME: Avid cricket buff Sanjay Jha feels that the IPL form will make seniors like Dravid and Dada redundant.

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Gururaj: Don’t you think that these IPL teams should play 4-day games in addition to 20-20 also?

Sanjay Jha: Gururaj, it’s possible that if ODIs flop because of T20, they will make them play 50-50 cricket at least.

Syed Saad Feroze: I suppose IPL T20 has transformed cricket from sports industry to entertainment industry. It has provided the opportunity to the young players and those who always aspire to be a part of wonderful sport. Amazing concept, full entertainment, no wastage of time, lot of money pouring in and great mix of culture.

Sanjay Jha: Syed, its novel and different, yes. My concern is that we may end up killing the goose that laid the golden egg very soon.

Mradul: With the advent of IPL, do you think that it will able to produce technicians like Rahul Dravid because 20-20 is all about stroke making?

Sanjay Jha: Mradul, that will be tough. Dravids of the world will soon be a forgotten species.

Arvind: Will the 20-20 format degenerate the quality of upcoming cricketers as now this format will be in fashion?

Sanjay Jha: Arvind, that is possible as a lot of youngsters will see both instant fame and quick and big money here. And the BCCI is likely to encourage this much more in the future.

Suresh: Who is Lalit Modi? The Times Of India dated 1/6/08 has published that Lalit Modi was guilty for drug possession & kidnapping & spent 2 years in prison in the USA. If a person who has spent 2 years in prison & made a minister, the media would have made it a big issue until his/her a** is kicked. Then why is the media mum on this?

Sanjay Jha: Suresh, please read my latest blog on CricketNext.com. I have openly castigated my own media fraternity for being two-faced on this issue.

Krishna: Asnodkar, Yousuf , Ravindra Jadeja, Niraj Patel, Suresh Raina, Vidyut, Gony, Shikar Dhawan, Laxmi Ratan, Wriddhiman Saha, Pragyan Ojha, A Nayar, S Trivedi, A Mishra, Debabrata Das, Virat Kohli, T Srivastava etc…with so many talented players don’t you think IPL has been a great platform to unearth such talent? Could our selection panel ever been able to do this?

Sanjay Jha: Krishna, I agree that at least some unknown names have now become national heroes, thanks to exposure and media. But note that this was not yet the real test.

Krishna: Why did Knight Riders lose out? Why did they not plan well? Did they not know that Gayle, Ponting, Brendon, Shoaib will not be there for the games? Was it due to bad planning?

Sanjay Jha: The Knight Riders were handicapped by an absence of topline big hitters (injured and absent players) and their home pitch at Eden Gardens was not good enough.

Sampath Kumar: When the performance is not taken into consideration, what is the point of running such tournaments? Whoever selected for the twin tour has already toured Australia. In the tour few are supposed to be dropped but they are retained.

Sanjay Jha: Sampath, the problem is that in Twenty20 it is very difficult to judge talent within a few overs with the bat or ball.

Cookofchennai: Is Dhoni the best captain India has ever had?

Sanjay Jha: Cook of Chennai, Dhoni has a mature head, and leads by instincts. He surprises his opponents. He is unorthodox.

Mradul: Do you think that IPL will benefit the Indian cricket? My concern is that English football is one of the top teams in the world but after the English premier league it has suffered.

Sanjay Jha: Mradul, you have hit the bull’s eye. Frankly, even English supporters are so involved in the EPL that they may be okay with the fact that England has not even qualified for the Euro.

Arvind: What, according to you, is the true form of cricket? Is it the Test, ODIs or 20-20?

Sanjay Jha: Arvind, Test cricket will always remain the real stuff, although you will find BCCI rooting big time for more T20 down the line.

Ha ha ha: Do you agree to the observation that franchise model is the future of the game?

Sanjay Jha: Ha ha ha! I like the title----- that is also the answer, really. The franchise model will only have limited application. Which franchise will buy a Ranji Trophy game that will have no TRPs and public watching?

Raj: In what way will the IPL benefit Indian domestic cricket? Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta said that they bought a franchise because they wanted to help domestic cricket. Can there be any truth in what they say?

Sanjay Jha: I honestly believe that domestic cricket as in Ranji Trophy, Duleep, Deodhar, etc will all suffer, Raj. IPL is about profiteering---period.