It seems just yesterday when Brendon McCullum took on the mantle of announcing the IPL to the world. Eleven years have passed since that blitzkrieg and every year the Indian Premier League (IPL) has grown in stature.
The IPL was supposed to entertain, to bring in city rivalries and to give the Indian cricket fans a two-month long cricket vacation. And boy has it delivered! The initial apprehensions against the short format have fizzed away and people have gradually understood the importance of the T20 game in the larger scheme of things.
Time flies, things change; that is the norm of the world. But the Indian cricket fan defies worldly norms. His expectations stand the test of time. They never waver, never go away and no matter how much the average Indian cricket fan curses the performance of his favourite IPL team, he/she always stands by them.
Yes, there is the occasional rant than a fan goes on about the bleak performances of his team; but then that is only an exhibition of the amount of emotional attachment that he has for the sport and the team.
Oh! And the opinions, how can we forget them. Every person sitting in every nook and corner of the country is a selector, a captain, a bowler, a batsman, a fielder, an umpire and even a commentator in his head. He has the perfect notion of what the best eleven must look like, what field setting should be in place and which batsman should play at which position.
Every one of us would love to wield that power of announcing the team before every match, of seeing the ‘perfect’ side completely battering the opponents. And how can we forget the love for banter and competition that every Indian fan lusts for?
The IPL Fantasy League comes very close to satiating all that. It provides the perfect platform for all the tactical geniuses of the country to display their cricketing acumen. With a smooth interface and the option of creating your own private league, fans can compete with their friends and relatives to see who has the finest managerial skills.
The ‘Tournament mode’ demands proper planning, and with a cap on the amount of transfers for the entire tournament, one has to have an eye on the future in order to save transfers. The Fantasy League has all the ingredients to keep you fully engaged during the entire length of the tournament.
Also, the private leagues will help you directly compete with your friends, and who doesn’t like to boast about their ability to analyse the game?
So, all you need to do is channelise all your cricketing knowledge in the best possible way by religiously playing the Fantasy league. Do not let Facebook(or social media) get the benefit of your genius, expend it in a place that could give you even further satisfaction.
Where should you play?
The Official Fantasy League(fantasy.iplt20.com) is up on time this time round and thus I will be going through with it as my first choice league, however, due to the scars of the past, especially the last two years, you need to participate in at least one more league to be safeguarded from the technical glitches that could crop up in the official league.
Fandromeda(www.fandromeda.com) was there for us when the official league wasn’t and thus it is only obligatory that we make it our ‘second choice league’ for this season.
Happy Team picking 🙂
