IPL : Boon Or Bane???

The much trumpted IPL is now being maligned as the cause for Indian team's humiliating ouster from tht T20 World Cup. Last year when the IPL debuted it was the biggest draw in entertainment which Indian media had seen in a long time.. this year theIPL 2.0, has been mired in much controversy ranging from the shift in venue to allegations of match fixing... only a ubiquitious gentleman as Mr. Lalit Modi could pull through all the allegation with that disarming smile of his!!!PHEW!!!
So, let's just pause for a moment and reflect whether IPL has been good or bad for Indian cricket... or atleast for the National Team... the IPL opponents have long been voicing their greivances first for converting a game to an entertainment and then blaming the IPL for all that's bad in the National team...the proponents of the IPL on the other hand tout the IPl as being a platform for the upcoming junior criketers who cannot get a place in the national squal to show their skills...the latest voicing his opinion on this line has been none other than our national Captain, M.S. Dhoni. True both the sides have some element of truth in their arguements but how much does the IPL 2.0 have to do with the latest performance of the national team in the recently concluded World Cup. There are many who have pointed out that the team which did not parcipate in the IPl 2.0, Pakistan, took home the cup, but how many of us remember that the Aussie players were as much absent as were the Pak players in this version of the IPL and they were one of the first team to be shown the door. Out National Coach Gary Kirsten has pointed out a very important fact in the defeat of the Indian players which some of the players themselves have been refusing to admit..."Fatigue".. if anyone has cared to notice this issue did come up in the past also when Dhoni himself had commented that the team is playing too much cricket and he and some senior players had themselves asked the BCCI to relieve them of the upcoming tour... so the issue of fatigue or stress isn't too new an issue... and another important thing that many must have noticed that the other finalist Sri Lanka has been constantly tourring... they had the Pakistan Series which was cut short by the unfortunate shooting incident just before the IPl and most of the Lankan players not only participated in the IPL but also played impressively... did Fatigue or stress not affect them... ofcourse there is much truth in Mr. Kirsten's observation that the team was fatigued and stressed out because if anyone cares to notice the IPL schedule was a pretty gruelling one... also if someone has observed the IPl foreign players this year that the differnt teams bidded for, one cannot fail to notice how many grade B players from foreign countries have been selected... most of the Australlian, South African, and New Zealand players that came this year do not play for their respective national squads... so where does the arguement go that IPL is a brilliant platform for new and upcoming Indian players... it seems IPL has become a platform for all new and upcoming players of "all nations"!!
Therefore it seems that IPL is serving less and less the aims and purposes of Cricket as a game and serving more value to the purpose of cricket as an "entertainment" .But how far is it right to solely or largely blame the IPL for the World Cup disaster?? Whatever the advantages or disadvantages of IPL may be, ultimately the result of any game depends upon the performance of the as how they played "that" particular game... and the Indians blew it off big time... the debate over IPL will continue as long as it exixts... but what counts is all those who are in the know of things and as it looks in India there are too many people who think of themselves to be in the "know of things"... should examine the real reason for the Indian team's dismal performance in the World Cup. I m just a simple blogger who loves and roots for the Men in Blue wherever they are playing and will continue to do so but there is a humble request... please do not bargain anything at the cost of our national team...cricket is much much more to us than being just a game and when the Indian Team fails to perform at such an international forum... we are heartbroken...that's it..