by Swagatam Banerjee

IPL copying football???

The latest fever to grip India died an exciting death on Sunday with the Rajasthan Royals managing to beat the Chennai Super Kings off the last ball of the match. The Indian Premier League has been the hottest topic of discussion over the last few weeks and with even the Bollywood celebrities getting involved, there was no dearth of coverage in the national media. What upsets an ardent football fan like me is that the new twenty-twenty format has almost "footballised" cricket and people still say that this is what makes cricket better than football. Well, from the condensed format of three hours' duration right upto the "bowl-out" in case of a tied match, the whole format seems just like cricket in football's clothing. The thrill of a fast-paced match, the need for the players to be proactive from the word "go" and the overwhelming impact of a well-hit sixer changing the course of the match instantaneously have its counterparts in the game of football too; it's been there for ages and the whole world knows it. The packed house comprising 120,000 supporters in the Salt Lake Stadium on the day of Oliver Kahn's farewell match proved the huge untapped potential football still has in India Then why is football given such a step-brotherly treatment in our country? Even if one percent of the money that was invested in the IPL is invested in the game of football in India, a major overhauling of the gross infrastructure can be made with substantial amounts to spare. The prize money offered would itself be enough to attract young footballers from lower European clubs to esteemed football clubs of India. That would help our local lads with the kind of exposure needed for them to shine on the global stage in the years to come. It's time the authorities responsible for running the game of football in our country woke up to the realities facing football and did something to enhance the popularity of the game in India and utilise the latent potential the game has to establish a position for Indian football on the global stage.