5 reasons why IBL scores over IPL in India

Indian Badminton League Players Auction

Here are the top 5 reasons why Indian Badminton League (IBL) would fare better than Indian Premier League (IPL):

5. More individual representation

While cricket is a team game, badminton has been about individual performances.

The format of IBL has been framed in such a manner that there is a perfect blend of foreign and Indian shuttlers. IPL always insisted on playing at least one local or uncapped player; IBL insists that at least one teenager has to be a part of the team.

In IPL if the uncapped player doesn’t play well, his performance can be covered up by other senior and experienced players. But in case of IBL, where matches would be played in best of five format, a player’s loss is the team’s loss. It also adds more pressure on other players to win their remaining three of the four matches.

If playing in IPL gives more exposure of playing with seniors to the youngsters, IBL will teach the young players the hard way by putting a larger emphasis on their performance.

4. More exposure

Anup Sridhar

IPL was targeting a sport that had already been well established in the country. But IBL focuses more on improving and popularizing badminton in India.

Badminton for Indians so far has hardly been anything more than Saina Nehwal. Hence IBL would result in getting more youngsters interested in the game. Whereas IPL, which gradually began with a motive of providing youngsters with a platform to showcase talent, turned into a fully fledged entertainment program. Though it brought out some young talent onto the big stage, they have been forgotten quite soon.

But IBL on the other hand, promises more development, exposure to the reality and a great experience with many international players also featuring in this league.

3. Less focus on money

IPL had a huge amount of cash poured in, which became its main cause of diversion from the motive it began with. With cricket being such a well established game in the country, it made it more obvious that huge money would be invested in it from the start. Along with money, entered media and celebrities, which became a perfect mix for entertainment and a profit making business for huge investors.

Agreed that IBL would also concentrate on earning money through one way or another, but it wouldn’t compensate on the game in doing the same, at least in its formative years. But less money invested in this league would be a boon as it would help in avoiding it being a business and concentrate on the game more.

Live streaming of IBL would be done by a sports channel and not any entertainment channel, unlike IPL. Which again keeps more of the jazzy stuff away and connects more to the people interested in sports.

2. Better use of technology

IPL has used all its advancement to provide better angles and views of the match but didn’t do anything to make the sport error free. We also know that BCCI has been against the Decision review system (DRS) but with the amount of technological advancement we have made and money in our hand, we can easily come up with a better system for the same.

On the contrary, IBL would lead to building of new courts in the country along with latest available devices, which would prove helpful for both players and the umpires.

For a game as quick as badminton, if our country can contribute by some more error free devices to instantly check whether the shuttle fell in or outside the court, it would be a great step for the sport, helping decision making all over the world.

1. ‘Indian version of the likes of Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade’

Parupalli Kashyap

These are only few names who have made some great contributions to the game. A league such as IBL would only make them more known in our country.

It would also encourage the youngsters to bring in laurels for the country like they have in past years. Though each player should have his/her own style of playing but the mentality of people is such that we tend to compare talented youngsters with seniors or legends of the game.

Be it cricket, badminton or any other sport for that matter, we always search for next Sachin Tendulkar but not a new player who has the capability to break his records. So let’s hope for the best and let this be the birth of a new era for badminton, and a stepping stone for many other sports in India.