KPL

Yet another cricket tournament in India and another one in the same format as that of IPL..

ICL was the first to roll out city based teams all owned by the Zee group, IPL took it to unimaginable heights based on city loyalties and teams being owned by franchises..

The latest addition to that is Mantri KPL, 8 teams, 8 owners, 8 districts in Karnataka.

 

• The league shall have 8 teams from 8 locations that will compete in the KPL

• Each team shall be represented by a Franchisee and shall be a consortium of 3-5 districts allocated geographically, referred to as the catchment area.
• 16 day tournament with 2 matches every day from 16:00 to 19:00 hrs & 19:30 to 22:30 hrs (Day/ Night) 
• Each team shall play the other once, with the top 4 teams qualifying for the Semis and thereafter a final . Total - 31 Matches (28 League matches, 2 Semis and 1 final)
• The tickets are priced as Rs.49 and Rs.25, which is done in order to lure even the reluctant fans to the stadium.

The inaugural ceremony which ironically took place after a match was played comprised of laser show, "fusion" dance and the usual opening ceremony talks from the sponsors and organizers.. 

As has become customary, fusion dance supposedly a blend of traditional and modern dance hit the floors  but the latter was inconspicuous in its presence ..

 

  

It was no surprise that the eight participating teams lined up on the park for a ringside view of the cultural performances that were full of energy, if nothing else.

With fellow State Ministers Goolihatti Shekar and Katta Subrahmanya Naidu, as well as KSCA president Srikanta Datta Narasimha Raja Wadiyar and secretary Brijesh Patel in attendance, Transport Minister R Ashok declared the KPL open.. (after a match was completed)..

Laser show was organized which was the highlight of the ceremony as that was the only part that was visible from all parts of the stadium..

 

  

This is the layout of the stadium, the white line in the ground indicates the place where the stage shown in a picture above with "yakshagana" artistes performing was put up.. ( the pic has a Mantri banner )

 

 Clearly, 3/4 the of the stadium was cut off from the action and moreover the stands in front of the stage was more or less vacant with only the dignitaries occupying the pavilion stand, (yellow in color in the layout)..

Poorly organized function.. KSCA and KPL have tried to emulate IPL in every aspect and have failed to do so.. The event lacked brilliance and was not well organized.. The controversial and debatable strategic time out is also a feature of this tournament.. "COPYING" couldn't get worse !! IPL had specifically put the time out in place to cater to the increasing demand from the sponsors for ad space, cricketing perspective of the time out was debated across all sections and many prominent international stars did not find any positives in it.. KPL is not of the stature of IPL and neither does it have a crowded ad space, the only "ad" that is played in between overs is KPL anthem.. 

KPL which is looking at

• An opportunity to encourage cricket talent from the districts of Karnataka.
• A competitive platform for young, aspiring cricketers at the grass root level. ;

did not feature any of the stalwarts of Indian cricket who were from the native Karnataka.. Fair enough, Rahul Dravid was away with national duty but Kumble, Srinath, Prasanna, Chandrashekar, Syed Kirmani could have launched the event but were not to be found.. GR.Viswanath though was at the event because he happened to be the match referee..