So, here we go again. Deep into Sunday night, we'll again have our hearts in our mouths on that final over of another IPL final. Which makes this the right time for Baby Boomers like myself to ask ourselves the question: when did we succumb to IPL's razzmatazz? And betray that game most of us grew up worshipping?
Cricket was once about character-building. But almost overnight, cricket got cheerleaders, strategic time-outs, orange and purple caps, drone cameras, dugout microphones and specialised batsmen - sorry, batters - called 'finishers'. In the 70-80s, no kid ever wanted to be a 'finisher'. The goal was to become an opener, or a dependable middle-order batsman with solid technique. But, today, some of the loudest IPL enthusiasts are Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers in their 50s-60s.
