IPL without fans cheering in stadiums is boring. Or is it?
You could never imagine a game of cricket being played in a stadium without the participation of fans. But, the year 2020 has been different for cricket, and sports in general.
Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid, while delivering the Bradman Oration in Australia, in 2011, said, “Everything that has given cricket its power and influence in the world of sports has started from that fan in the stadium.” Back then, Dravid was calling upon the game’s administrators and players to think about fans while making decisions. The former India captain was right when he...
Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid, while delivering the Bradman Oration in Australia, in 2011, said, “Everything that has given cricket its power and influence in the world of sports has started from that fan in the stadium.”
Back then, Dravid was calling upon the game’s administrators and players to think about fans while making decisions. The former India captain was right when he said fans had given cricket “power” and “influence”.
You could never imagine a game of cricket being played in a stadium without the participation of fans. But, the year 2020 has been different for cricket, and sports in general. Now, the fan is missing.
The involvement of spectators at stadiums has been done away with, albeit temporarily, due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is strange for players to be plying their trade in front of empty stands in big stadiums.
The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is unprecedented in many ways including being played behind closed doors. The cricketers are in bio-secure bubbles and play in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah’s empty stadiums.
“I won’t deny the fact that it’s going to be difficult initially. It’s going to be strange. Just the echo of the ball hitting the bat — I haven’t experienced that since playing Ranji Trophy cricket back in 2010. So for 10 years I haven’t had a game where I’m not hearing the crowd,” was Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli’s take on playing without fans.
#DelhiCapitals win the toss and elect to bowl first against #RCB #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/5qW3fCq8Xg
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 2, 2020
“But look, again, I’m going back to the point that we have done this at some point in our lives. It’s important to remember that rather than saying ‘Oh for 10 years I’m used to this now and I won’t do it if there’s no crowd’. Those games (with no crowds), you were playing for the love of the game. The crowd factor will definitely play a part, but once you get into the game… I think the instincts will kick in and the crowd factor will diminish quite quickly once we get into the action,” he added.
Kohli admitted that without fans, the “magic” will be missing. “I know it will be played at a very good intensity but that feeling of the crowd connecting with the players and the tension of the game where everyone goes through it in the stadium, those emotions are very difficult to recreate. Things will still go on, but I doubt that one will feel that magic happening inside because of the atmosphere that was created. We will play sports how it is supposed to be played, but those magical moments will be difficult to come by.”
IPL, which is in its 13th year, largely owes its roaring success to high-quality cricket, and the “12th Man”, the Twenty20 tournament’s legions of fans, not only in India but across the world.
Right from the IPL’s first-ever game at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 18, 2008, matches across Indian cities have attracted full houses.
Ask a cricket fan how tough it is to get an IPL ticket; the demand, sometimes, is more than an international match. Also, in recent times, the Board of Control for Cricket in (India) set up fan parks in smaller cities and fans thronged to the venues to watch matches on giant screens.
When we talk about fans at stadiums, they motivate some players to get more out of themselves. And some cricketers are entertainers, like Chris Gayle, who love to put on a show for his fans.
“I am an entertainer. When you don’t entertain people, they curse you. I know it was tough luck for KKR but I hope the crowd enjoyed the sixes that I hit. I have always enjoyed playing at the Eden Gardens. Ultimately, it’s the big hits that crowds come to see in T20,” Gayle, while playing for RCB, had said after hitting an unbeaten century in IPL 2011. Even Gayle, for Kings XI Punjab now, has been in terrific form without the crowd backing.
Kohli has always loved the support of the cricket fan. Arguably, the RCB captain, Chennai Super Kings leader MS Dhoni and Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma, are crowd favourites among Indians in the IPL.
CSK and Dhoni share a special bond with their fans in Chennai and the city too. Their home ground MA Chidambaram Stadium is a fortress. The case is the same for RCB at Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Wankhede Stadium for MI, and Eden Gardens for Kolkata Knight Riders. When compared to the other four, these franchises enjoy more crowd support with CSK leading the pack among all the eight outfits.
— Vihari (@Vihu818) October 13, 2020
How different is it
So, when you are away from your “home comforts”, away from your loyal fans, how do you perform at your best? Does that have an effect? Not really is what the current tournament has shown us. It is one of the best-competed editions as it goes into the playoffs.
Looking at the matches in IPL 2020 so far, the players have adapted themselves to playing without fans. There is no lack of intensity or there is no dip in the quality. Of course, the host broadcaster Star Sports has created a fake crowd atmosphere by playing recordings of previous IPL editions, but that can never be a good substitute for a live audience.
After another season without a title, Kohli, in 2019, thanked RCB’s fans for sticking with the team over the years. The Indian captain went on to hail them as the “best fans” of IPL.
“Hats off to this crowd. We are so thankful and so grateful to have fans like you all. I can certainly feel your pain. I am emotionally attached to this team like all of you. And next year we will definitely improve our performance. And give you guys what you deserve in return… They are the best fans in the IPL,” Kohli said.
While Kohli and his men have been doing very well in the current edition without crowd support, CSK have not been the same. There are various factors, one of them being, they had picked the squad based on the conditions in Chennai, and playing in the UAE with ‘Dad’s Army’ has upset their plans. It may have been different if they had played all the seven home games at Chepauk in front of their fans.
Playing in a packed stadium can be a double-edged sword. While many thrive in such an atmosphere, for rookies it can get intimidating. The pressure of the crowd can pull a player down, and it can have a bearing on umpires’ decisions too. But the experienced cricketers cut out the noise and play in their own zone.
RCB’s young batsman Devdutt Padikkal has been one of the standout performers of the season in his debut IPL year. The left-hander has been used to playing domestic cricket with absolutely no crowd, and the “no fans” policy in IPL might have helped him immensely to overcome nerves.
Other sports too affected
Not only cricket, other sports too have resumed without fans. The US Open tennis tournament was played behind closed doors. The French Open was played with a limited audience of about 1,000 spectators, down from the initially planned 11,000, which was cut to 5,000 and finally 1,000.
Spanish great Rafael Nadal went about his business claiming a record 20th Grand Slam to draw level with Roger Federer.
Czech star Petra Kvitova welcomed the move, saying she was glad to play in front of spectators. “I really miss them, so it’s really nice that they could come. I know it’s not full, but it’s still better than nothing, for sure.”
Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain behind closed doors to win the Champions League final in Lisbon in August.
The Tokyo Olympics, which have been pushed by a year to 2021, has been mired in a lot of uncertainty over allowing spectators to witness the events from the stadia. It is said to have placed a ban on foreign fans for now. In fact, the organisers plan to not allow even Japanese spectators if the COVID cases rise again next summer.
What IPL has shown is human nature to adapt to any situation. The stars of cricket, who were used to adulation from fans at venues, have now accepted the new normal where the spectators are out of the equation. Be it the packed stadiums or empty stands, the cricketers know they need to do what they are best known for – just play the game. So far, it is working well.
In any sport, adaptability is one of the keys to success, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made the cricketers and other sportspersons display it in abundance. It has been like cricketers quickly switching between the three formats and being on top of their game.
The current situation tells us cricketers are not missing fans at stadiums but vice versa. And, in 2021, we might be back to old days when fans may return and provide that “magic”, which Kohli is missing in IPL.