Sense of belonging where city vs city fans are concerned. However, things may change and the glitzy event could reach football proportions in terms of supporter-loyalty
Mumbai Indians team takes a victory lap at the Wankhede to greet their fans after the win over Gujarat last month. Pic/ Suresh Karkera
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Hyderabad: If you are a Punekar staying in Mumbai, who would you support when the Rising Pune Supergiant take on Mumbai Indians in the IPL-10 final at Hyderabad today? Or you are just a fan looking for a good cricket match no matter who wins.
When MS Dhoni was hitting Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell McClenaghan for those big sixes in Pune's last match against Mumbai at the Wankhede, the cheers were as loud as the ones for Parthiv Patel when the home team's opener was hitting boundaries in a big run chase. Same was the case when Virat Kohli played against MI in Mumbai. The IPL, despite its popularity across 10 seasons, has yet to witness a true city-based rivalry -- unlike what happens when Lionel Messi scores against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu or when Leicester's Jamie Vardy scores against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Within the cricket fraternity, the opinion on Indian fans' loyalty towards IPL franchisees is divided. But there is also a firm belief that it might change if the duration of the league is increased and players are given a long haul by the franchisees.
Mumbai boy Shreyas Iyer who plays for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, said: "Fans have seen more international cricket over the years and they respect people like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli for what they have achieved for the country. They have won the World Cup for India, and for an Indian fan nothing is bigger than that. So now even if they play for different franchisees, that love, respect will always be there for them. The inter-city rivalry may happen in due course but I don't see too many loyal fans for franchisees as of now."
Former India cricketer Pravin Amre said that the duration of the league and continuation of players with a particular team have a lot to do with this. "A loyal fan base might happen if a certain player plays for one particular franchisee for a longer duration.
But that's not happening in IPL. The duration of the tournament is also very short as compared to football leagues around the world. Fans see players with club teams for a longer duration than in IPL," said Amre.
But former India stumper and BCCI chairman of selectors Kiran More said he sees a huge fan following for IPL teams which is growing every year. "Who said there are no loyal fans? I can see teams like Mumbai, Kolkata and even Pune have huge fan bases supporting them over the years now. This will grow with time. You can't compare IPL with football leagues around the world that have a huge history. It is of course different when it comes to players like Tendulkar, Dhoni or Virat -- they are national icons so no matter which team they represent, they will always get their share of support."
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