IPL to relocate - a move for the good?

Despite the best efforts of the IPL organisers, it seems that they have succumbed to the inevitable and decided to host the tournament outside of India.

The recent events in Lahore have obviously made security a pressing issue, an issue that the IPL may have been able to address if it wasn’t for the clash with elections throughout India. Sure they could have gone ahead with the competition but it would have been a time bomb waiting to go off, with enormous consequences not just for Indian cricket but cricket as a whole.

It doesn’t take much imagination to realise that another terrorist attack on the scale of the one that rocked Mumbai would pretty much cause a rift in the game, not so much between the countries themselves but in terms of who would tour where and for how long. As we’ve seen Pakistan have been forced to consider neutral venues for the foreseeable future, not an ideal situation but a necessary one.

The global relies somewhat on the money generated by the Indian juggernaut – a lack of cricket in this nation would be felt far and wide, even by the old guard of Australia and England. It would cripple smaller boards, especially as other sub-continent teams would also be placed on the tour black list, thus depriving them of funds.

I think it’s safe to say that the Indian public are the big losers in all of this, as they are denied the chance to witness the games big stars at their entertaining best. However, I’m sure they will see that missing a few twenty20 games is a small price to pay for the continuation of foreign tours to their shores.

Moving away from the negative, can we find any positives to come out of this? I think we can and they are some potentially big ones. Firstly, the Indian board now have to look elsewhere and work with other governing bodies. This can only be a good thing as it will help to forge and cement relationships and quite possibly understanding. A bit of mutual back scratching is often beneficial, as long as both sides play fair.

Looking away from the political side of things and bringing the focus onto the promotion of the game and I think we have a winner and possibly a model for the future of the IPL. Taking it to other countries can only help to spread the word, using the format most likely to spark interest in even the most casual observer. Who wouldn’t be interested in seeing a KP cameo, Tendulkar on the attack or the wiles of Warne and co. England would certainly lap it up and I have feeling that South Africa would prove a worthy host as well.

As I said, this could provide a model for the future, where by the IPL is toured on alternative years. One year in its spiritual home of India, the next spreading the gospel elsewhere and fostering good relations with fans and governing bodies alike.

Terrorism normally only casts an evil spell over proceedings, this time however with the BCCI and IPL making the difficult decision to relocate could prove to be a positive one all round.