The season that had everything: 2015 could be the year IPL came of age

When we look back a few years from now, 2015 could well be seen as the year the Indian Premier League came of age. It was a season that had everything: plenty of close games, a topsy-turvy league stage that went down to the final weekend, big hitting, some smart bowling, exciting young players, exciting old(er) players and AB de Villiers making a mockery of the instruction manual. To top it off, two of the three most popular teams in the league – Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians - faced off in the final. [caption id=“attachment_2263060” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Mumbai Indians team poses with the IPL trophy. Sportzpics[/caption] It was enough to make you forget the Supreme Court could still decide to terminate CSK and Rajasthan Royals, two of the four teams that made the playoffs, because their owners bet on the game. Television ratings jumped, boosted by Sony, the official broadcaster, offering the tournament in multiple languages. The Hindi telecast ruled the roost, topping Indian television’s money-maker - Hindi soap operas. For the week ending 15 May, Set Max had a rating* of 1,87,924. Star Plus, the top Hindi entertainment channel, posted 1,63,554, according to new audience measurement agency, Broadcast Audience Research Council. The most popular soap opera that week was Saath Nibhaana Saathiya, which had a rating of 2442. Two IPL games trumped it: Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders garnered a rating of 3017 while Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings drew a rating of 2525. The business paper MINT reported that TAM Media Research, which has historical data, showed “that the time spent by viewers per match this year is 45 minutes and 4 seconds, which is 9 percent higher than IPL 7. Similarly, the average TVT (television viewership in thousands) has increased 23 percent from 2014, when part of the tournament was played outside India because it was an election year.” The IPL hasn’t topped the soaps since the first couple of years of the tournament, when the league’s brash originality made it a national phenomenon. That it is doing so again in its eighth year without the breathless hype that accompanied its birth suggests the IPL has now embedded itself in the Indian public’s consciousness and has become a summer ritual. The stadiums were packed too. There wasn’t a spare seat at the Wankhede stadium for the first Qualifier between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. The noise was mind-numbing as every wicket, boundary and catch was celebrated with joyous abandon. It wasn’t a one-sided crowd either. CSK flags fluttered in the stands and outside, vendors sold CSK jerseys alongside MI ones, though they were cheaper. Trade was surprisingly brisk. Almost as many people turned out for Mumbai Indians’ victory celebration at the Wankhede, where the players were greeted with loud roars and the fans stuck around until the team bus drove away into the distance. Most importantly, the season was free of scandal, at least as far as we know. The first week bought news of a Rajasthan Royals player reporting a fixing approach but that provided the BCCI with the opportunity to tout how well its player education program is working. The rising ratings and attendance offer indirect evidence that the fans have moved on from the 2013 spot-fixing scandal involving the Rajasthan Royals and the shenanigans involving CSK and its owners, the former BCCI president N Srinivasan and his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan. CSK remains India's favourite team despite all the betting and fixing scandal. Of course, dark clouds still loom over the horizon. The Supreme Court’s investigation into the BCCI and IPL betting and fixing still has a long way to go. The court hasn’t even begun to investigate the list of players that are alleged to be involved, a list that was submitted over a year ago. The Indian Express also reported that the Enforcement Directorate, after arresting a number of bookies across the country, are looking sideways at two or three of the matches this season. However, that piece of news barely caused a ripple amidst the playoffs and it isn’t clear that more fixing revelations would damage the league in any significant way either. The IPL has weathered plenty of storms already in its young life – from spot-fixing to franchises folding to its founder and first chairman, Lalit Modi, being unceremoniously ousted immediately following the 2010 final. The fans just want to be entertained and the IPL’s raison d’etre has always been to entertain. Since the fixing scandal in 2013, there have been numerous calls from certain quarters to suspend the IPL for a year so the stables can be cleaned. Others want to do away with the league altogether. This season, the fans have spoken loud and clear. The IPL, for all its warts and seedy underbelly, is here to stay. It’s time everyone got used to that idea. * Number of target Households in 000s where an “Event” was on, averaged across minutes. Also known as TVT