India is the biggest cricket nation globally and a cricket-loving country. Although Hockey is our national sport, the popularity of Cricket is way above any sport in India. We worship our cricket stars like God and travel thousand of km just to get a glimpse of them on the field. These cricketers, who represent the Indian national team, go through many challenges. Not every player gets a chance to play for the national team. The lucky ones who performed well represent the country, but the rest toil hard in domestic circuits such as the Ranji Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, Duleep trophy, etc.
The Indian Premier League has completely transformed the way Cricket is played in India. Starting in 2008, this cash-rich cricket league has brought glamour, popularity, and above all, money. Since its inception, the IPL has shaken the cricket fraternity, not only in India but even across the globe. Here, a big question arises Why do Big Players Want To Play In IPL But Not In Domestic Cricket? Let us try to analyze this burning issue.
Big Players Prefer IPL Over Domestic Cricket
There was a time when Indian domestic Cricket was keenly followed. There used to be spectators making lines outside the cricket stadiums to watch domestic games. This was due to the reason that a lot of big players used to play these domestic games. But, this scenario has changed upside down in the last decade.
Now, we hardly find spectators in Ranji trophy matches or other similar domestic cricket tournaments. This is because we don’t find big players playing these cricket tournaments. We have seen live examples of players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Bumrah, etc, who seldom feature in these domestic cricket tournaments.
Selectors Opting For The Short Route
Over the last 2-3 years, a very strange thing has happened in the Indian Cricket. We have observed that most team selection is based on the performance of IPL games. It’s like if any player plays 2-3 good knocks in the IPL, they become an overnight sensation, and the selection committee showers their love by picking them straight into the team.
Also Read: IPL Media Rights 2023-27 E-Auction: BCCI Gets Paid 44,075 Crore For TV, And Digital Rights
It is like big IPL performances are overriding performances in domestic Cricket. It is clearly an injustice to the domestic cricketers, who, in spite of the stellar domestic season, fail to get recognized.
Greed Taking Over Everything Else
After the completion of IPL media rights, this cash-rich league has become the second-costliest sports league globally. Here, players earn crores just to be in the squad of the IPL team. This has made them greedy. They don’t want to go and play domestic Cricket, which pays in thousands for a single-day appearance when they can earn crores by playing one game in the IPL.
This money now appears meager, and our big cricketers, whom we call our role models, go chasing after that lucrative contract that would secure their futures and fill their bank balance with crores.
Domestic Cricket Will Always Be Important
We have seen players who have talent but are inducted into the IPL very early in their career, making them prone to injuries and mental fatigue. They are not ready to handle pressure too early. Domestic cricket tournaments have always been the backbone of Indian Cricket.
It is the breeding ground for future Indian stars and the platform to work out their technical glitches when things do not go their way on the International stage. IPL must be promoted, but never at the cost of domestic Cricket, and the players should realize this as well.
