Those who loved Twenty20 cricket for the brevity and conciseness of the game are in for a small and not so pleasant surprise: The matches for the second season of the IPL are to be a whole 15 minutes longer and will last for 3 hours and 15 minutes instead of just 3 hours.
Those who were looking for non-stop action will now have to brace for two seven and a half minute time-out breaks, which will have none of the twenty20 action whatsoever. Worse still, the breaks will come in each of the innings after 10 overs. For all the good that the IPL has done to cricket, here is a move that totally defeats the purpose and the excitement of Twenty20 cricket.
According to the Indian Premier League, this added time or ‘time-out’ is an innovation. During these seven and half minutes, the audiences at the stadium will be entertained by a live music band, while television audiences will have to bear with commercials, and a few minutes of watching the players take a break and discuss “tactics”. The commercial break is to be split into 2 segments, one of which will be dedicated to ‘special projects’ and good causes like social reform and the like. For instance Queen Rania of Jordan will release a series of short films promoting the importance of education.
The IPL claims to be supporting a good cause with this move, and at $1million per episode it is also proving to be a very profitable deal for them. At present there are 118 two-and-half minute slots for sale.
However, many have criticised this move as being a selfish money-minded affair, driven entirely by profit related motives. And truly it is difficult to imagine how audiences will react to a break in the middle of an exciting match.
In addition, production teams have been asked to fit in 33 minutes (about 2000 seconds) of commercials into every match, which puts the production team in a tight spot, as it is a nearly impossible amount to fit in. It might be possible if each team would last for the whole 20 overs and lose all 10 wickets, but it’s too farfetched even as a theory.
Those who were looking for non-stop action will now have to brace for two seven and a half minute time-out breaks, which will have none of the twenty20 action whatsoever. Worse still, the breaks will come in each of the innings after 10 overs. For all the good that the IPL has done to cricket, here is a move that totally defeats the purpose and the excitement of Twenty20 cricket.
According to the Indian Premier League, this added time or ‘time-out’ is an innovation. During these seven and half minutes, the audiences at the stadium will be entertained by a live music band, while television audiences will have to bear with commercials, and a few minutes of watching the players take a break and discuss “tactics”. The commercial break is to be split into 2 segments, one of which will be dedicated to ‘special projects’ and good causes like social reform and the like. For instance Queen Rania of Jordan will release a series of short films promoting the importance of education.
The IPL claims to be supporting a good cause with this move, and at $1million per episode it is also proving to be a very profitable deal for them. At present there are 118 two-and-half minute slots for sale.
However, many have criticised this move as being a selfish money-minded affair, driven entirely by profit related motives. And truly it is difficult to imagine how audiences will react to a break in the middle of an exciting match.
In addition, production teams have been asked to fit in 33 minutes (about 2000 seconds) of commercials into every match, which puts the production team in a tight spot, as it is a nearly impossible amount to fit in. It might be possible if each team would last for the whole 20 overs and lose all 10 wickets, but it’s too farfetched even as a theory.
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