Opinion The Third Edit: The IPL turns 18

The IPL turns 18, but seems to have always been here. Such has been its astonishing progress and the place it has carved out for itself. Comfortable in its skin, secure about its standing, aggressively ambitious and threatening to overshadow everything else in the cricketing universe. Entertainment used to be in the cinemas, but they soon stopped releasing movies during the IPL, and instead, theatres started screening the games.

And to think that when it started, the IPL was looked down upon and its longevity seemed uncertain. It seemed a hub for crony capitalism, a hive for punters, a format unfit for serious cricket. The challenges were stiff: The franchise-based event had to make fans overlook nationalism and feel loyalty for city-based clubs. The OG of provincial franchises was the Ranji Trophy, but it had failed to hold interest despite years of history and context. But the glitzy wunderkind that is the IPL managed to arouse that city-club loyalty sentiment rather quickly. Stars from across the cricketing world stumbled over each other to get in. Even the fierce Australians seemed friendlier here; the West Indians, who felt alien in their own cricketing system, felt at home; the prudish English succumbed after staying away initially; Pakistanis gaped from across the border with admiration; South Africans didn’t have to worry either about the quota system or systemic racism and could play as professionals; and New Zealanders found that their names were chanted from the stands.

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But not everything has been rosy. The IPL kicked up match-fixing scandals, and teams with venerated figures as captains were banned for a couple of years. Owners and their corporations either landed in trouble or lost major share value. Conflict of interest issues flooded the tournament. But the IPL has survived and has kept moving on. Eighteen is a tricky age, a time when even talented teenagers start to stumble. How the IPL fares will be watched keenly.