Indian Premier League

I know a lot has been said about IPL, its pros and cons, about the money involved, about its effect on test and 50-over cricket. But very little has been deliberated on the unsung heroes of IPL. These wonderful individuals have entertained us throughout the league, sticking to their teams through thick and thin, working and improving their performances endlessly, and what have we given them in return except foul words, lewd comments and hardly any appreciation for their efforts.

I thus would like to dedicate this post to the real heroes of IPL. the Cheerleaders :)

Apart from the Goni, Rohit Sharma and a few other fellows, for me(and I am sure I speak for a lot more too) it is the cheerleaders who have been the real find, the real discovery of IPL. "They've got tremendous potential", surely something that Ravi Shastri would say, given the opportunity to speak his mind.

From next time onwards, the BCCI must consider having a competition for the best cheerleading squad, because if crowds is what is going to get cricket back on track then what better way, right? Speaking of getting crowds, If I were the head, I'd have the cheerleaders at the centre and the matches outside the boundary lines. Now if that doesn't get the ticket sales going up, I don't know what will. It would be having the cake and eating it too, right?

Come to think of it, that wouldn't really serve the purpose of getting sports to the masses, would it? But who cares, after all, all that we want is some quick cheap entertainment. If we really did care for sports, our heroes of Hockey wouldn't be banging their heads(literally as per NDTV) at their financial plight, looking for odd jobs to pay off mortgages.

Coming back to the point, one must point out a big flaw in the Cheerleading squads, something that-I am sure-has been the subject of many-a BCCI meeting and something that definitely needs something to be done about (that's a whole lot of somethings) and that being the inclusion of men. Well, I know economically, men might be cheaper, but c'mon guys, Mallya has had them imported, so give him some competition.

Speaking of competition, the Royal Challengers Bangalore might be at the bottom of the table of points, but Vijay Mallya, "take a bow". Your second biggest contribution to Indian sport (the first being his money) has earned you respect and a special place in the hearts of India's cricket lovers.

Next place would have to go to, Priety's Kings XI Punjab, and I lay special stress on the 'Priety' because she seems to do most of the cheerleading herself. Is it out of sheer joy?, trying to keep up the players motivation? or just to get her cheerleading squad in top position too, I don't know. But it seems to be working.

About the rest, I don't really know. Anyway the cricket is far more interesting. :P