Close on the heels of the successful conduct of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the Indian Premier League (IPL) looms into view. The 17th edition will commence with the fixture between defending champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Chennai on Friday. The WPL’s second edition that crowned RCB as champions will also put additional pressure on the Bengaluru outfit’s male unit as it is one squad that has often promised much but has never won the IPL. Meanwhile CSK, a blue chip team in the league, would ride on M.S. Dhoni’s astute leadership and his ability to stay relevant as an athlete even after clocking 42 summers. Dhoni in T20s and England’s James Anderson, who is plying his wares in Tests while being 41, highlight the progress in modern-day fitness and sports medicine. As with the two cricketers, the IPL has found a way to march ahead, be it general elections or the COVID-19 pandemic. The league’s management was quick to shift roots to South Africa or the United Arab Emirates, and with another general election chugging in, it remains to be seen how the authorities would cope. Matches have been listed till April 7 even as the remaining league stretches deep into May.

Besides trying to meet their club’s goals, the players, both Indian and overseas stars, will have an eye on the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States during June. The focus would also be on Rishabh Pant, elevated as Delhi Capitals’ skipper. Having recovered from a ghastly road accident, Pant’s recovery over a year has been a triumph of will and his Indian comeback would hinge on how he performs in this T20 event. Team compositions too would come under scrutiny and the most interesting would be the leadership change effected at Mumbai Indians with Hardik Pandya appointed as the captain. It is a move that drew flak from his predecessor Rohit Sharma’s legion of fans besides affecting others such as Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav. With 10 teams vying for the top honours, the IPL is a commercial behemoth. It also meant that some players prioritised this championship over national duty. That the BCCI had to offer monetary incentives for players to turn up for Tests, is truly an ironic moment as it is their much-hyped product, the IPL, which is cannibalising talent from the longer format. Until now this was seen as an issue affecting other teams, primarily the West Indies, but now this problem has hit closer home.