Cricket’s Indian Premier League is possibly the gold standard for all sporting leagues in India. Its success prompted other sports to start similar franchise-based leagues in recent years. The second season of football’s Indian Super League is reaching its conclusion. And now it’s the turn of the Champions Tennis League, with its second season which got underway on Tuesday. The format is familiar: six teams – each representing a different Indian city – are equally divided into two groups. The top two teams from each group play each other in the final.
Adopting the ISL concept of marquee players, each team in the CTL has one international tennis legend in its ranks. And much like the ISL, most of the legends set to appear this season are over-the-hill retired superstars including Richard Krajicek, Thomas Muster and Greg Rusedski.
This is similar to the International Tennis Premier League, a similar tournament that was started by Indian doubles champion Mahesh Bhupathi. The IPTL had Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras among its star players in its first edition in 2014.
But how will a bunch of retired superstars help tennis grow in India?
Out of shape
For all its faults, the Indian Premier League did not use retired stars to sell itself. The IPL was built around showcasing the best contemporary talent. Even when players like Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne turned out for franchises after retirement, they justified their participation with their performances and did not appear out of their depth.
This is in contrast to the situation in the Indian Super League and the Champions Tennis League. The first edition of the ISL featured yesteryear stars such as Frederik Ljungberg, Alessandro Del Piero and Robert Pires – all of whom were pitifully out of shape. This season, Roberto Carlos, the former Brazilian superstar who had last played a competitive game back in 2012, was signed up by the Delhi Dynamos as a player-manager.
The Champions Tennis League seems hell-bent on following a similar format, flaunting retired superstars who are pushing the wrong side of 40 as its main attractions.
Putting the sport second
The concept of using retired stars to promote a sport is not novel. The United States has become the favourite destination for top international footballers at the fag end of their careers, with David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard all opting for Major League Soccer.
But is this the best option for India? Organisers may argue that such aged superstars will attract audiences, who will supposedly pay good money to see these marquee names in action. But what they end up doing is basically making a tamasha of the sport. Whether it is tennis or football, the message going out is that the sport is not important as the retired superstars, who may not have touched a ball in recent months. It is also possible that the audiences who will flock venues to catch a glimpse of these superstars may not be as interested in the sport itself.
The other problem is that the quality takes a hit. While Krajicek, Muster and the other legends at this edition’s CTL were undoubtedly brilliant in their heydays, it is undeniable that they are well past their prime. The same applies to most of the marquee players in the ISL. Consequently, the standard of play gets diminished.
Most importantly, it is difficult to see how these stunts will actually help the overall growth of sports other than cricket in India. After decades of being ignored, it was heartening to see such leagues coming up and offering a platform for other sports. However, trying to sell such leagues by making them retirement destinations for superstars is a sure-fire way of harming the sport in the long run.
Adopting the ISL concept of marquee players, each team in the CTL has one international tennis legend in its ranks. And much like the ISL, most of the legends set to appear this season are over-the-hill retired superstars including Richard Krajicek, Thomas Muster and Greg Rusedski.
This is similar to the International Tennis Premier League, a similar tournament that was started by Indian doubles champion Mahesh Bhupathi. The IPTL had Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras among its star players in its first edition in 2014.
But how will a bunch of retired superstars help tennis grow in India?
Out of shape
For all its faults, the Indian Premier League did not use retired stars to sell itself. The IPL was built around showcasing the best contemporary talent. Even when players like Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne turned out for franchises after retirement, they justified their participation with their performances and did not appear out of their depth.
This is in contrast to the situation in the Indian Super League and the Champions Tennis League. The first edition of the ISL featured yesteryear stars such as Frederik Ljungberg, Alessandro Del Piero and Robert Pires – all of whom were pitifully out of shape. This season, Roberto Carlos, the former Brazilian superstar who had last played a competitive game back in 2012, was signed up by the Delhi Dynamos as a player-manager.
The Champions Tennis League seems hell-bent on following a similar format, flaunting retired superstars who are pushing the wrong side of 40 as its main attractions.
Putting the sport second
The concept of using retired stars to promote a sport is not novel. The United States has become the favourite destination for top international footballers at the fag end of their careers, with David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard all opting for Major League Soccer.
But is this the best option for India? Organisers may argue that such aged superstars will attract audiences, who will supposedly pay good money to see these marquee names in action. But what they end up doing is basically making a tamasha of the sport. Whether it is tennis or football, the message going out is that the sport is not important as the retired superstars, who may not have touched a ball in recent months. It is also possible that the audiences who will flock venues to catch a glimpse of these superstars may not be as interested in the sport itself.
The other problem is that the quality takes a hit. While Krajicek, Muster and the other legends at this edition’s CTL were undoubtedly brilliant in their heydays, it is undeniable that they are well past their prime. The same applies to most of the marquee players in the ISL. Consequently, the standard of play gets diminished.
Most importantly, it is difficult to see how these stunts will actually help the overall growth of sports other than cricket in India. After decades of being ignored, it was heartening to see such leagues coming up and offering a platform for other sports. However, trying to sell such leagues by making them retirement destinations for superstars is a sure-fire way of harming the sport in the long run.
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