Cricket goes postmodern, national rivalries turn redundant

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Nadim Siraj

Posted online: Thursday , April 17, 2008 at 01:48:35
Updated: Thursday , April 17, 2008 at 01:48:35

Kolkata, April 16 One way to define postmodernism is that it defies definition. In its ever-encompassing ambit, postmodernism increasingly makes existing boundaries irrelevant. Take IPL. Pitting a nation against another is passé, IPL recognises only players. And all you have is sheer joy of cricket. Unbridled.

Picture this. Sourav Ganguly instructing Ishant Sharma how to get V V S Laxman clean bowled. Ricky Ponting walking up to Australian coach John Buchanan to seek tips on combating compatriots Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds.

Or, say, R P Singh celebrating wildly after dismissing Dada.

Come Sunday, cricket fans thronging the stands of the Eden Gardens will gasp in awe as never-before-seen scenes promise to unfold under the blazing floodlights.

As the Indian Premier League circus comes to town, it’s time for Kolkata to move over the traditional country-vs-country mindset, and open up to a whole new world of postmodern cricket over a 44-day burst of non-stop Twenty20 action among eight corporate-run teams.

Come Sunday, cricket-crazy Kolkata will witness Saurav-led Knight Riders taking on Hyderabad outfit Deccan Chargers, which boasts of superstars like Laxman, Gilchrist, Symonds, Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs.

As the three-hour-long, 20-overs-a-side match gets underway at Eden Gardens at 4 pm, it will be the first time in the history of the 150-year-old ground that the biggest stars in international cricket come together for an event other than a Test Match or a One-Day International.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Knight Riders sets off for Bangalore tomorrow morning for their opening match against the hosts on Friday.

Even as most of the players spent five days acclimatising to Kolkata’s sultry conditions this week, the IPL fever finally seems to be picking up among Kolkata cricket fans.

After weeks of drama and impasse over the sale of tickets for the 87,000-capacity Eden Gardens, Shah Rukh Khan’s ploy of lowering the ticket prices seems to be paying off, much to the Cricket Association of Bengal’s relief, as there’s a growing rush among young enthusiasts to book tickets for the Sunday’s big show.

And why not? Imagine the odds at stake. Ganguly’s team boasts of crowd-pullers like Oz captain Ponting, former Aussie coach Buchanan, India’s latest sensation Ishant, West Indian stalwart opener Chris Gayle, and a spate of Indian stars including Ajit Agarkar. Now imagine this bunch crossing swords with names like Laxman, Symonds, Gilchrist, Afridi, Gibbs and Chaminda Vaas.

What if the crowd’s darling Shoaib Akhtar fails to show up for the Sunday’s match, there are enough big names in the pot to keep it boiling.

Eden Gardens, already laced with explosive banners screaming out SRK & Co’s animated pictures, will host seven high-profile IPL matches over the next 44 days. Shah Rukh Khan, realising the weight of his name, has promised to attend all the seven matches at the citadel of world cricket.

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