IPL without spectators will be a challenge, broadcaster should be ready for it

How is an Indian Premier League (IPL) game going to feel without spectators? How will the TV viewing be if there are no spectators in the stands due to the coronavirus pandemic in the years to come? Ask some of the senior executives of the broadcasting teams about it and they will tell you how.

These are the same senior executives who managed to bring in some sort of fun and frolic in the matches without spectators during Pakistan's home matches in the middle-East, apart from the games in Sri Lanka and West Indies.

If IPL was to happen without crowds, at least 15 per cent crowd shots will be missing and there will be no reactions from fans – no happy or sad faces. There is no emotive value to the game and sometimes it would look like a script without a storyline. Forget the crowd cheer and all the noise which an IPL game produces with spectators, there would be absolute silence when the ball hits the willow.

The challenges of such an IPL are huge, but Hemant Buch, a freelance cricket director and former senior vice-president of Ten Sports - the organisation which holds the rights of home matches of Pakistan ( who play their home matches in the middle-East after the terror attack in Pakistan), Sri Lanka and the West Indies has been doing this for ages now.

“With less crowd coming into Test cricket, the broadcaster would certainly miss all the reactions of the fans. The job gets very challenging. So much so that the focus is only on the match. Your choice for variation would be limited. So will be the choice of the storyline,” Buch told Sportskeeda on Wednesday.

IPL without crowds will bring in new dimensions to broadcasting

No spectators for IPL means more time to focus on teams

Alternately, the broadcaster gets a lot of time for showing replays, the reaction of the players, the mood of the dressing room and the dugout during the IPL. Additionally, the directors get plenty of time to recreate another story for more analysis of the game.

“Having cricket matches without a crowd could also mean in-depth coverage. At least 10 to 15 per cent of the crowd footage during the match is not there so the camera is constantly looking for reactions from other stakeholders of the game. For multi-lingual coverages, you can’t use commentary box shots, but yes it could be very challenging,” Buch, who has directed international game over two decades for different broadcasters, admitted.

“You have to search for things. The choice is limited,” he said while adding that a country like Sri Lanka doesn’t get too much of a crowd for Test matches.

Whereas, in the West Indies, the dwindling crowd for the longest version of the game is a common story. However, a big team like India playing in the West Indies in shorter formats too doesn't attract large crowds because the games are played in the morning or at noon to cater to the Indian prime-time viewing.

All put together, this year’s IPL would bring in new dimensions if and when it gets underway at some point of the year!