BENGALURU: It’s that time of the year again, folks! Cricketers across age groups will grace our screens, peddling everything from life insurance to condoms. No movies will be released for two months. Indians will watch transfixed as 22 men fight it out. Foreign players will arrive on our soils and spend much of the two months with pink faces.
Like power cuts and mangoes, the Indian Premier League has slowly but surely become a summer staple for us. Now in its 16th year, the league is now a teenager with its own whims and tantrums. A league that began when MS Dhoni won the T20 league, and then went from strength to strength. At the time, nobody would have expected the league to become one of the most successful leagues in the world.
The sailing hasn’t been smooth, but the IPL has a way of overcoming every obstacle in its way. When the Supreme Court ordered the 2009 edition to be halted in view of the General Elections, it was shifted to South Africa in a matter of weeks. When Corona took over the world, the league continued to be played in Dubai in front of empty audiences. Like it says in the Gita, ‘Whenever a nation is starved of entertainment, the cricket league will appear to keep them entertained’. The IPL is also the story of India’s rise in the world. Look at the sponsors, and you’ll find that the title sponsors have gone from infrastructure to fintech apps - heralding a nation’s economy taking new turns and directions.
Personally, the IPL affects tickets for my standup shows. Since no movies release during the period, I mostly have no movies to review either. It is a two-month phase where I mostly take shelter from the searing heat and choose a new team to support. But one question still persists in the minds of cricket fans across the country - what will it take for RCB to win an IPL?
They have had the world’s best batsman for a decade and a half. They have had AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, and Glenn Maxwell on the same team. They have had the undying support of the entire stadium, and even Mr. Nags to provide smiles in the face of losses. This leads one to wonder - is it a global conspiracy? Is it the city’s traffic that acts as a hurdle? Even as new teams are added to the league, RCB’s chances of winning the IPL have become as slim as Vijay Mallya starting an ashram in Tiruchirapalli.
But like a Venture Capitalist rising like a phoenix from a financial loss, RCB fans dust themselves off and rise in the next summer. Cheering for their team and taking part in contests, even though deep inside, they know that the results will be the same. In that sense, being an RCB fan is not just about cricket and fandom. Being an RCB supporter teaches you about life. It teaches you that life is not about expecting results - but in continuing with your pursuits irrespective of the outcome.
I have always felt that if you have supported RCB for a decade, you have become an enlightened person. Look at the faces of the fans in the stadium, and you won’t find die-hard fans. Look into their eyes and you’ll see sagely wisdom. And that is probably RCB’s greatest contribution. Most teams simply play and win tournaments. RCB teaches you about life, accepting failure, and rising up again to face your obstacles. If you’re an RCB supporter, I wish you luck with the spiritual progress you are set to make in the coming months!
(The writer’s views are his own)