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IPL would need time to develop: Badale

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: The hype over DFL-IPL launch is gathering momentum, but are we expecting too much out of this nascent venture?

“Well that could be the danger of the whole thing. There are too much expectations about the event, format and even the quality of the game,” Manoj Badale, Executive Chairman, Emerging Media, the franchise of Rajasthan Royals, said.

Cautious

In a chat with The Hindu here, Badale struck a note of caution on the aspect where expectations might not be the reality.

“The IPL as a structure would need time to develop and all of us, the franchisees, teams, players and fans and of course the media, need to be patient before it evolves into a viable and vibrant proposition for all of us,” said Badale.

Emerging Media, the UK-based business conglomerate, has been a significant and long standing investor in cricket through its subsidiary IIC.

It had conducted the first international club Twenty20 tournament in association with Leicestershire Country Cricket Club in 2006 and a cricket talent hunt called ‘Cricket Star’ on Doordarshan.

Badale put the faith on Indian fans to make IPL a success.

“India’s triumph in the World Twenty20 Championship sent the ratings for this version of the game sky-high and the emergence of the IPL became inevitable,” he said.

Balanced team

He felt that the Rajasthan Royals had a balanced team.

“We respect our rivals, but we have an inspirational leader and coach in Shane Warne, who has adapted to the conditions admirably.

“We have Graeme Smith, Darren Lehman, Justin Langer, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, Mohd. Kaif, Yusuf Pathan and Munaf Patel. I am sure we are very much in the reckoning for the title,” Badale said.

“It would also be interesting to watch how well our established stars adapt to this form of the game,” he added.

Not easy to predict

On the future of IPL, Badale said: “It is a difficult question to answer as how IPL would evolve. I only hope that it gets bigger and better and that the concept catches on in all cricket playing nations.

“Already, we are talking in terms of a global league featuring champion teams form all cricket playing Nations. Let us see, how it turns out,” he added.

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