We live in a land of diversity and passionately follow Religion, Regions, Politics and cinema with definitely skewed and strong opinions. We have a range of good men, spicy snacks, varied customs and costumes, and undefined rituals, but we unite for a few causes. Operation Sindoor has been one, and the other is Indian Premier League (IPL). Yes, it’s that time of the year when people forget their blood types, for a change, rise above their differences and remember Virat Kohli’s strike rate from 2016 – that’s reminded by the broadcaster at every possible opportunity.
IPL is no mere cricket tournament; it is a month-long festival where logic is suspended, tempers fly, and everyone suddenly becomes a selector, strategist and Supreme Court judge of cricket. The way journalists and media cover it hugely influences how cricketing careers are shaped in the future and brands are created.
THALA- in the ever-retiring mode.
Let’s talk about Thala. Not the Tamil one from politics, but the cricketing deity in yellow: MS Dhoni. Captain Cool. Ice veins Dhoni. That one man who could probably perform a surgery with a stump in his hand and not break a sweat. But we have seen how he can be human and lose his cool. Step into the field and be left with a tap on his knuckles. He, for a change, has started looking almost like a mortal human. His unstated retirement rumours still fuel the sales of tickets. And the day he finally calls it off (which he should), the whole nation will miss a beat, gasp like seeing the final episode of Naagin, and believe that he will return in the next playoff.
CSK, also known as the House of Thala, is more of a religion than a franchise. Every year, the yellow army swarms stadiums like bees that think Dhoni’s glove has nectar. And like all great religions, belief persists despite data. Because who needs match stats when you’ve got memes, emotional nostalgia and a three-camera slow-motion shot of Dhoni adjusting his gloves? That’s power undefined, but how will the power transform and transfer when Thala stops playing is the most challenging task before CSK. Rejuvenating after hitting rock bottom, 10th position in the league table, is much easier.
RCB- PASSION ON SLEEVES
Meanwhile, RCB, a franchise, is less a cricket team and more an 18-year social experiment in hope, pain, shattered dreams and coping mechanisms. Their journey is a masterclass in how to build brand loyalty without actually winning anything significant. Every year, they “boldly go” to the playoffs and then “boldly choke”. But oh, the fanbase. Loud, loyal and strangely okay with this suffering. It’s as if RCB fans secretly enjoy the heartbreak, like a bad relationship you refuse to leave because he might change. Well, finally the side won the trophy and that would rejuvenate the franchise and the kid Kohli among them, who is behaving in ways that the game does not deserve to be treated..
THE ROKO NA RUKENGEY
Meanwhile, IPL has other excitement, such as the untimely retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli waving goodbye to Test cricket. Test cricket may not trend on Instagram, but it still tugs at the heartstrings of purists (read: a few lakh on Twitter and Harsha Bhogle). Suddenly, all that disappointment of missed T20 knocks was forgiven, and social media lit up with black-and-white montages, slow piano music, and teary captions like “End of an era 🥺❤️”. The IPL matches and teams with these two cricketers suddenly galvanise to hit the playoffs.
The retirement and whether they will keep me captain or not answer freed up Rohit – the man once accused of being perennially lazy – to focus on T20 and ODIs, and, he became the best white ball captain in recent memory. He’s the “jovial uncle” leading the young squad with the swagger of a man who just hit six sixes in an over at his kid’s birthday party.
THE BLING KING
How can one forget Hardik Pandya, the prodigal bling lord? Booed last year for daring to wear Mumbai Indian’s blue as captain instead of Gujarat’s blue (IPL loyalties are delicate and make very little sense), he was treated like he betrayed the family in a Bollywood film and was too big for his boots. But fast-forward 12 months, and the same crowd now chants his name. Why? Because winning forgives all. Opportunistic fandom is our national sport. This is the same country that trolls actors on Monday and celebrates their birthday on Friday.
SKY UNLIMITED
And in the centre of the batting galaxy is Surya Kumar Yadav, Mr. 360°. He could hit a reverse paddle over third man while drinking coconut water if he wanted to. He’s not just a player; he’s a movement. The crowd doesn’t cheer for Surya—they worship him. Every unorthodox shot he plays gives fans an existential crisis about their careers, and every gully cricket worth his tennis ball starts dreaming of representing the nation. He is every software engineer’s dream who wanted to be an artist but became an Excel warrior instead.
THE MULTI-STARRED GALAXY.
Don’t forget the rising stars Sai Sudarshan, six-hitting Yashwashi Agarwal, Gill, Pantastic Pant, Boom Boom Bumrah, the diary-writing Rathi, the so-called water boy Musheer, the bat borrower Rinku Singh and the latest sensation- chubby-based Suryvanshi, who is helping the film by the same name have its nth rerun on OTT platforms. They are each a study in personal branding.
The coaches are past champions, doing what they may have never attempted in their playing days. Be it Dravid always pencilling new notes, passive Ponting mentally strategising, clueless Zahir Khan and then hyperactive Nehra. There is one for every shade.
THE UNREINED RACE HORSE OWNERS.
Let us shift the vector and look at the owners. Because why should talent have all the fun? Teams are now defined as much by their cricketers as their celebrity co-owners. SRK doesn’t just own KKR—he is KKR. Preity Zinta is still somehow more excited about cricket than her team was till last year. Juhi makes frequent visits. Neeta Ambani is always playing and praying for the win. Goenka is fiery and easily frustrated- it seems Pant only gets out to see how Goenka reacts. Who needs strategy meetings when you can have a slow-motion camera pan to a celebrity dancing awkwardly in a team jersey?
SOCIAL PUSH- Winning is not mandatory.
This celebrity sheen attracts followers, Instagram stories, and money. But here’s the irony: it rarely correlates with actual success. Teams with the most followers don’t necessarily win; they just trend harder. But in the world of IPL, winning is optional. Going viral? Mandatory.
IPL is not just a tournament. It’s a billion-dollar soap opera, a marketing carnival, and a national mood swing disguised as a cricket league. It sells hope to RCB fans, nostalgia to CSK fans, a Slogan to KKR and memes to everyone else. It’s where cricket meets commerce, cults, and chaos.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
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The article was written before the celebration parade that turned into a nightmare. And here is ANOTHER POINT of view by one of my friends, Dinesh Gopalan, on the IPL RCB CELEBRATION TRAGEDY
