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Follow UsDo you remember when the Indian Premier League was at its infant stage?
Chances are that your memories might now be blurred in the rollercoaster of emotions over the years, but if you have grown up watching the IPL, you can associate it with summer. With summer comes a bit of warmth and a bit of childhood, making us nostalgic about the times when everything was unadulterated.
There were none of these trivial fan clubs, none of this toxic fan following, and all that really mattered was the cricket in front of you. It was a carnival of the glorious kind. It was India ka Tyohar (India’s festival).
It was what you, as a kid, would give in completely, eyes closed. No questions asked.
That’s the IPL most of us remember, but unfortunately, our minds have been so cluttered over the last few years that we haven’t stopped even a millisecond to reflect on the game. Think about those times when the IPL was all about watching cricket and drinking a glass of nimbu paani (lime juice) after an hour of intense flat cricket, with the chair being the stumps.
Summer was cricket; cricket was summer.
You’d put on the AC and sit right under it with your eyes fixated on the big screen. All you’d do is appreciate good cricket even if your favourite team is losing the plot.
And now, finally, there is an option. There is a clean slate right before us: the Women’s Premier League (WPL). It has the same level of warmth that the IPL had to offer but without any toxicity surrounding the unadulterated game. It is perhaps where the best of our IPL memories are stored.
WPL is that right now. It is a blank canvas with endless possibilities. It isn’t just on the television, where day in and day out, the captains have come out in support of their teammates. It isn’t fake. It stems from the common goal.
To make cricket more accessible to women and, at the same time, to make women’s cricket more accessible to the people.
During the first leg of the tournament, it was exactly that: accessible. The tickets weren’t too costly, but the demand was quite extensive. There were big lines outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium whenever there was a big clash, a weekend or the local team - Royal Challengers Bangalore - playing their games.
That was evident with the fan following that the franchise has, but it overflowed and overpowered into love for the other franchises as well. Unlike IPL, this was a new beginning; anyone could select their favourite team.
Take this clash between Delhi Capitals and the UP Warriorz, for instance. Neither of them were RCB, but even then, the crowd had rung in large numbers, cheering every single four. They didn’t even know who Kiran Navgire was; the slate was that blank, but by the time she exited, Navgire had already left an impact on them with her power.
Then came Deepti Sharma, who the crowd was quite vocal about. It, in essence, showed that the crowd was ready to back any player who performed.
It wasn’t that they were all aware of their prowess or the numbers behind their success. All they cared about was watching the ball split the blades of grass and go to the boundary. All they cared about was the bowler running and making the batter sweat.
All they really cared about was that the toughest of catches were made easy. All they cared about was pure, unadulterated cricket, without any of that glamour, laid as simple as it could be for one to appreciate.
That’s where the quality of cricket really helped them ease in. All of this, though, was raw and unfiltered. None of them could recognise any of those 20 players out in the middle, but when they walked out that day, there was as much roar and applause for Shafali Varma as there was for Faf du Plessis.
When Jemimah Rodrigues just smacked one for a four, the crowd went ballistic. This was pure, raw, unadulterated joy, without any toxicity seeping in, not even the tiniest ones.
The roof was merely holding onto itself when RCB played at the Chinnaswamy. You were hoping and praying that it wouldn’t fall under the immense vibration that the crowd generated through their roars and jashn (celebration) for women’s cricket.
It was evident that Smriti Mandhana’s knock was making the crowd go BONKERS! She’s probably the biggest name right now in the women’s cricketing sphere here in the country. It was bound to be met with some thunderous applause.
How about the others, though?
The Chinnaswamy loyalists nearly broke the roof open, dancing in joy. They didn’t know who Meghana was when the night started, but sure, by the end of it, they knew that she was SABBINENI MEGHANA.
When Ellyse Perry broke the window of the car, the crowd couldn't hold on to their seat, they had all flung to one corner, in a bit of surprise.
Between cheering the loudest for RCB, the crowd was also shell-shocked by Poonam Khemnar’s brilliance in the field. She flung her hand and caught the ball like it was just a normal day of people throwing sponge balls at you in slow motion. They didn’t know who ‘PK’ was, but they realised that, wow, that was one sublime catch!
Later, it was the same when Richa Ghosh was absolutely gut-smashing the ball. When the night started, they knew Mandhana, and by the time they walked off, soaking in sweat and smelling like the person next to them, they knew Richa, Asha, Meghana and Poonam Khemnar.
This wasn’t your hardcore ‘I know everything about cricket’ crowd; It was more of a wow, I’m impressed, and now I know your name crowd.
When WPL was a success in Mumbai, they said to try taking it elsewhere; you will know the impact. Well, Bengaluru has taken WPL like a duck to water. It has elevated the fandom.
And now, Delhi too has welcomed the game like their own. While the starting might have been a little slow in Delhi, it sure has taken off and will reach newer heights in the upcoming days.
One thing has remained constant, be it Mumbai, Bangalore or Delhi, the entertainment quotient is absorbing.
The audience came with a blank canvas but returned with a painting that had different hues of women’s cricket being represented in its most unadulterated form.
Welcome to the Women’s Premier League, raw, unfiltered, and mighty.
