Any tennis fan who tuned in to the second edition of the International Premier Tennis League in December might have had some trouble making sense of the proceedings. Drastically different from how tennis is played all over the world, the IPTL introduced elements like shot clocks, player substitutions and super shootouts. There was also something called the “Coca-Cola Power Point”, where a player could designate the next point to count double.
It seems to have become the norm for Indian sporting leagues to experiment with time-tested formats. The trend started with the Indian Premier League, where a much-criticised “Strategic Time Out” was introduced. Now, quite a few other leagues seem to have embraced this approach. The Pro Kabaddi League, which has achieved a fair bit of success in its two editions so far, tweaked conventional kabaddi rules and brought in elements like the raid clock, bonus points and the super catch.
Not to be outdone, the 2016 edition of the Hockey India League will see a “revolutionary” new rule introduced – field goals will be count for two points, ostensibly to encourage attacking hockey. It's a move which reportedly has the backing of the International Hockey Federation, the sport's governing body.
And finally, the Premier Badminton League which kicks off on January 2 will have something called a “Trump Match” (no connection with the United States presidential hopeful). A designated match will count for a bonus point if the team wins and they will be deducted a point if they lose. That’s not all. Instead of the conventional 21-point game normally seen in badminton, 15-point games will be played in the league.
More confusion
The purpose of introducing all these innovations is presumably to make the game more attractive for viewers. But in the process, don't these innovations make it more confusing for an average viewer?
In its defence, the Pro Kabaddi League could get away with introducing these innovations as there are many different versions of kabaddi all over the subcontinent. Hence, by introducing new rules and packaging the game to a more urbane audience who may not have even been aware of the rules in the first place, the Pro Kabaddi League has turned out to be a huge success – 2016 will see two editions of the league take place.
But what about the other sporting leagues? Despite some participants making noises to affirm the seriousness of the IPTL, the Chennai Open still retains its stature of being India’s premier tennis event. Apart from the much-hyped Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer clash, attendances were quite low and it is not difficult to fathom why. For long-term fans used to seeing tennis played using conventional rules in Grand Slams throughout the year, it is difficult to take the tournament with its warped rules and innovations seriously.
In a similar vein, it is difficult to understand why the organisers of the Premier Badminton League decided to tweak the format and introduce concepts like the “Trump Match” and 15-point games. If the idea is to introduce newer viewers by showcasing a faster version of the game, then it is bound to backfire once viewers realise that the international game is played with vastly different rules. In fact, it is actually conceivable that the sheer confusion of trying to learn and re-learn the rules of a game might just make potential newer fans fed up and they may switch to something else.
Gimmickry
Finally, the argument that any sport needs to be “jazzed up” to make it more attractive to Indian sports fans is frankly insulting to the fan. By adding stopclocks and countdown timers, it is automatically assumed that the Indian sports fan’s patience levels are so low that such gimmickry is required to hold their attention.
The last few months have seen the proliferation of many different such sporting leagues, giving Indian sports fans a plethora of choices. But instead of sticking to the time-tested rules on the international circuit, these leagues prefer to create an initial buzz through gimmicks instead of focusing on providing compelling sporting action. While these experiments may prove to be a success initially, there is every chance that they may backfire big time in the long run.
It seems to have become the norm for Indian sporting leagues to experiment with time-tested formats. The trend started with the Indian Premier League, where a much-criticised “Strategic Time Out” was introduced. Now, quite a few other leagues seem to have embraced this approach. The Pro Kabaddi League, which has achieved a fair bit of success in its two editions so far, tweaked conventional kabaddi rules and brought in elements like the raid clock, bonus points and the super catch.
Not to be outdone, the 2016 edition of the Hockey India League will see a “revolutionary” new rule introduced – field goals will be count for two points, ostensibly to encourage attacking hockey. It's a move which reportedly has the backing of the International Hockey Federation, the sport's governing body.
And finally, the Premier Badminton League which kicks off on January 2 will have something called a “Trump Match” (no connection with the United States presidential hopeful). A designated match will count for a bonus point if the team wins and they will be deducted a point if they lose. That’s not all. Instead of the conventional 21-point game normally seen in badminton, 15-point games will be played in the league.
More confusion
The purpose of introducing all these innovations is presumably to make the game more attractive for viewers. But in the process, don't these innovations make it more confusing for an average viewer?
In its defence, the Pro Kabaddi League could get away with introducing these innovations as there are many different versions of kabaddi all over the subcontinent. Hence, by introducing new rules and packaging the game to a more urbane audience who may not have even been aware of the rules in the first place, the Pro Kabaddi League has turned out to be a huge success – 2016 will see two editions of the league take place.
But what about the other sporting leagues? Despite some participants making noises to affirm the seriousness of the IPTL, the Chennai Open still retains its stature of being India’s premier tennis event. Apart from the much-hyped Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer clash, attendances were quite low and it is not difficult to fathom why. For long-term fans used to seeing tennis played using conventional rules in Grand Slams throughout the year, it is difficult to take the tournament with its warped rules and innovations seriously.
In a similar vein, it is difficult to understand why the organisers of the Premier Badminton League decided to tweak the format and introduce concepts like the “Trump Match” and 15-point games. If the idea is to introduce newer viewers by showcasing a faster version of the game, then it is bound to backfire once viewers realise that the international game is played with vastly different rules. In fact, it is actually conceivable that the sheer confusion of trying to learn and re-learn the rules of a game might just make potential newer fans fed up and they may switch to something else.
Gimmickry
Finally, the argument that any sport needs to be “jazzed up” to make it more attractive to Indian sports fans is frankly insulting to the fan. By adding stopclocks and countdown timers, it is automatically assumed that the Indian sports fan’s patience levels are so low that such gimmickry is required to hold their attention.
The last few months have seen the proliferation of many different such sporting leagues, giving Indian sports fans a plethora of choices. But instead of sticking to the time-tested rules on the international circuit, these leagues prefer to create an initial buzz through gimmicks instead of focusing on providing compelling sporting action. While these experiments may prove to be a success initially, there is every chance that they may backfire big time in the long run.
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