For those of us who grew up on Jules Verne’s adventure novel Around the World in Eighty Days, IPL 2020 in UAE was an experience to savour, perhaps more exciting. Up against a deadly virus, if the BCCI dared to do something as dangerous as organising a tournament that involved more than 600 people over a three-month period, no praise is enough for a job well done.
Since its inception in 2008, IPL has always shown the temerity to stand up to odds and hosting the IPL this year was a statement—what a cricket superpower can do if it has the will and support of the leading cricket nations of the world.
No competitive cricket for almost seven months had left most players with many doubts in their mind. Given IPL’s extreme result-oriented nature, where every run or dot ball is analysed and measured for a person’s ability, it was but natural that players would be circumspect coming into the IPL. It was harder for team managements to prepare their players and make them match fit, both mentally and physically. I have spent six seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders and this was my first with Delhi Capitals. I have never seen players come into a tournament so low in confidence.
That this IPL threw up so many close matches, including the first double superover in a single match when Kings XI Punjab beat Mumbai Indians—only highlighted the fact that how quickly players got back into their groove. For this to happen, the work behind the scenes and how teams managed the wellness of their players inside a bio-secure bubble, need to be lauded. With zero social mixing inside a bubble and virtual interaction with friends and family not a substitute for face-to-face and physical exchanges, this IPL has taught players, coaches and players the value of real communication.
Even if players complained about ‘monkish’ life in a bio-bubble, it must be said that this IPL would not have been possible if it was not held in the UAE. The stringent law of the land meant teams had to be restricted to their bubbles and we had to ensure that no one did anything silly to spoil the show. I can bet this IPL would not have been possible in India. Given our propensity to break rules, we would have probably seen hundreds of people, waiting in hotel lobbies in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Calcutta to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars for autographs and selfies. Since not adhering to social distancing norms would invite massive fines, teams were never disturbed by external agents.
As far as Delhi Capitals were concerned, our head coach Ricky Ponting gave a lot of stress on mental grooming of the players. While skills needed polishing, Ricky wanted the team to freely express itself, irrespective of whether we were winning or losing. There was a phase when we were losing consecutive games just before the playoffs. To enable us to emerge from mental fatigue and negativity, Ricky made it mandatory for all to turn up for team unwinding sessions post matches. Ricky believed that with freedom comes responsibility and that was the biggest capital gain for the Delhi team this year.
This IPL has been an eye-opener. Three months inside a bubble have converted teams into families. Today, a Shikhar Dhawan would perhaps know a few things more about Prithvi Shaw’s family; Rabada and young Tushar Deshpande would have become friends for life.
It’s already time to look ahead to next year’s IPL and big auctions are less than 10 weeks away. Delhi Capitals have been upwardly mobile. We made the knockouts last season. This year, we made the final. If we had not missed two world-class performers in Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma, the story could have been different. Yes, we lost badly against Mumbai Indians twice in the knockouts but deep down, we know that they are not unbeatable. There is a deep respect for the team Mumbai Indians have been all these years. No side wins five IPL titles just like that. They deserve to be champions and a closer look will reveal that Mumbai have been a strong family with a solid core and plenty of back-up. This is something all teams will have to achieve, going forward.
