KOCHI: The promos are on air, the creative advertising blitz is underway and the calender is dutifully moving forward. In just over a fortnight begins the annual summer ritual that promises a heady concoction of cricket and glamour, and goes by the name of Indian Premier League. Being fans of the willow game just like their fellow countrymen, Kochiites too are going to be swamped by the cash rich cricket extravaganza.However, this time, unlike last season, there will be no ‘home team’ to root for. The tagline in the IPL promos says- ‘Aisa Mauka Aur Kahaan Milega’. The irony will certainly not be lost on any self-respecting cricket fan in Kerala. After all, the dust has not yet settled on the one-season wonder that was Kochi Tuskers. Like Cinderella’s fabled Pumpkin Carriage, the blink-and-you-miss show of the orange-clad Tuskers ended with the midnight hour...and in a rather sordid fashion.But does the idea of IPL minus Kochi really seem that unpalatable to cricket fans in the city? Unfortunately not. Rajmohan Sudhakar, an avid cricket buff, believes that the disbanding of the Kochi franchise will make no difference to the 2012 season, for the simple reason that they did not do anything for which they can be missed. “In a world where performances are forgotten as soon as they are notched up, the Tuskers don’t stand much of a chance. They did not play a single spectacular game, despite having some good players, and so, their absence will not matter,” he says. First impressions clearly seem to make a lot of difference in our market-driven world. Meenu Susanna, a brand manager with a reputed firm in the city, echoes this sentiment. “Frankly, the franchise had zero impact in the last season. The performances did not set the stage on fire, and even the presence of big names failed to consistently bring in the crowds.” Many Kochiites also believe that the string of controversies that marred the very inception of the franchise hurt the team.Ideally, Kochi would have been proud to boast of a team that put in spirited performances. Arun Varma, a software engineer who moved to Kochi from Bangalore last year, says he was actually looking forward to the Tuskers' show. “Even when talks were at a nascent stage, it seemed to be a good idea. But then, everything went haywire what with the ownership controversy and then poor performances. I was quite disillusioned with the entire episode. In fact, IPL itself doesn’t interest me anymore.” The niggling doubts over IPL seem to a running refrain. It seems that fans are suffering from a serious case of cricket overkill. Worsening the scenario is the dismal showing by Team India for most of the season, with losses in England and Australia. The mood is clearly not exuberant. But then as they say in cricket, ‘the game ain’t over until the fat lady sings!’ And she hasn’t even begun yet...So, Tuskers or no Tuskers, Kochi could well be hooked on to the bandwagon when the cricketing cauldron starts simmering.
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