My journey with the ‘Big Bash League’ & ‘SA20’

    But for the IPL, I never really watched the Cricket Leagues of other countries except for an occasional LPL match. This year, for some reason, I took an interest in the BBL which is scheduled at 2pm IST. Except on holidays, I never really got to watch the matches. Now, here is the catch- I hardly knew any members of the BBL except for the likes of Glenn Maxwell but I would check out the teams playing match and decide whom to support as well. That brings me to a point where I have to confess on my knowledge (or the lack of it) about cricket.   

     I am just a lay follower of the game and can understand field placement and no balls, wides, power play, one run short, etc. So, now you can figure out that I cannot read a pitch nor can I differentiate a slower one from a real faster one except by the speed of the ball. I would of course religiously watch highlights of every match and either feel elated or dejected depending on the fortunes of the team I chose to support. I remember that BBL was looked down upon by Indian legend Virendra Sehwag, but that did not matter to me. I decided to watch it. Period.

    SA20 always started at 9p.m. so I was free from official responsibilities by then except occasionally. So, I watched almost every match and it is here that my affiliation to the IPL teams showed up. I supported JSK because I would support CSK in IPL; I supported Paarl Royals as I rooted for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL; similarly so with Sunrisers Eastern Cape because of my support for SRH.

   Not that I analyse the teams’ strengths while supporting the IPL Teams- I am with CSK because of Dhoni, with SRH because it is from Hyderabad and with RR because they have a nice-coloured jersey. Now, that you are sure that I am a know-nothing, you must be wondering how I selected the teams to support in BBL which I hardly watched except on weekends. I live in a coastal city in India so cyclones are our frequent visitors. That made me choose Hobart Hurricanes. If I had to choose between Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunders, I chose the latter because thunder would complement the hurricanes. I supported the Melbourne Stars because of Maxwell whom I remember for his wonderful knock (double century) which knocked Afghanistan out of their World Cup ODI cricket journey. But his presence was not either in the Hurricanes or the Thunders so I never really supported his team, except if they played against a team I did not fancy.

Subsequently, when the Hurricanes took on the Thunders in the final, needless to say, I supported the former. I do not regret my choice-while watching the highlights of the final match, there was a ‘Hurricane of Sixers’ and the Hurricanes made it in 14.1 Overs. What a lovely match! Thunder is a part of Hurricane but Hurricane is not a part of thunder. So, it is no wonder that the Hurricanes won. I was mighty elated that even my random choices worked until…

…I got an uncomfortable thought amid all this excitement. Whither objectivity? Did I let my judgement blur he decisions I took in my profession? I thought for a while. Realisation dawned on me in a while. I excitedly thanked God that He gave me the power to keep personal whims & fancies and profession on ‘parallel tracks’ (pun intended); and I hope it will continue like this. For now, however, I am in the ‘Hail Hobart Hurricanes’ mode.