Opinion The other premier league
Before there was the Indian Premier League with its millions,its icons and Lalit Modi strutting all over TV screens and Indias...
Before there was the Indian Premier League with its millions,its icons and Lalit Modi strutting all over TV screens and Indias (and South Africas) cricket grounds,there was something called a Premier Hockey League. In terms of getting foreign players to display their wares in a domestic tournament in India,it was the first. As also was the fact that there were cheerleaders,city-specific teams and the razzamatazz that comes with a sporting event that is more carnival than rivalry.
It started with modest success in 2005,grew a little in 2006 and,by 2007,was vying with cricket for TRPs and crowd support: played in evenings under lights,lasting a little over an hour,complete with flashy uniforms,team themes and merchandise and,most importantly,making a presence as a family outing,it was perhaps the best formula to revive hockey in the country.
Then,like a dream,it was all over. The league vanished,the teams scrapped,the players gone all because the Indian Hockey Federation,the controlling authority for the tournament (much like the BCCI for IPL),was suspended in 2008. The same year that the IPL was born,and simply walked into a vacant space and made it its own.
After three years,the IPL has only grown bigger,richer,flashier. The recent auction of two extra teams for a combined value of Rs 3235 crore means the event is ready for the long haul. A measure of its success and importance can be gauged from the fact that the recent hockey World Cup had to be preponed to avoid clashing with its third edition and the organisers had to request Modi to shift a couple of matches on the day of the final.
But,amidst the frenzy of the IPL and the flurry of duplicates coming up all over theres a Maharashtra Premier League,Karnataka Premier League,a gully T10,a proposed English Premier League and an American Premier League it may not be a bad idea for the PHL to be revived. While the initial attempt suffered some drawbacks,not the least being the lack of a viable financial model,not enough monetary backing to survive without official support,and too much concentration of powers with the federation,hockey can well be second time lucky,this time having the IPL as a readymade example for success.
The corporates are willing to come in: Hero Hondas sponsorship for the hockey World Cup was approximately Rs 15 crores,without mileage guarantees either. The crowds support the game: the 19,000 capacity National Stadium in the capital was filled to capacity during India games and almost three-quarters routinely at other times. The time span (maximum 90 minutes) suits everyone,the pace allows no time to get bored and the constant change of ends keeps the excitement levels high. The innovations are all there,including strategic timeouts and umpire referrals. Bring in the foreign stars and its the perfect recipe for success.
It wont be unique either. Across Europe and in Australia,there are professional hockey leagues with standards so high that some of the best players admit to national duty being easier. The Dutch league has about 12 teams with the best in the business plying their trade the likes of Australian Jamie Dwyer,Germanys Christoper Zeller and Pakistans Sohail Abbas. The German league is a favourite destination as well and the Australian Hockey League does enough to sort the best from the rest even before they can think of playing for the country.
What neither of them does is bring in the crowds,despite the highest standards on field. And that may well be Indias (and the PHLs) USP. The combination of money,crowds,glamour and stardom is possible for a hockey player only in India. With the IPL being now considered the best launch pad for unknown names (think Manish Pandeys,Saurabh
Tiwarys and Swapnil Asnodkars),it may well be hockeys gain in the long run as well. (Shivendra Singh,remember,was a PHL find).
Despite all the hype around cricket,there is enough for hockey to claim a legitimate number two spot,and that may be worth quite a lot.
uthra.ganesan@expressindia.com
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