Netflix and the IPL are proving to be great levellers

The bottom line of the IPL and Netflix saga might be opening up of the game and films respectively to the wistful wannabes

- S MURLIDHARAN

The late Bishen Singh Bedi, the mesmerising leg-spinner of late seventies of the last century once remarked wistfully and with pain — in those days we were paid a princely Rs 250 per Test match but when we won the Test in four days, we were paid only Rs 200. Now not only has the match fee increased substantially but the bulk of the money comes from the Indian Premier League (IPL) whose trophy has an interesting inscription on it: Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi, a Sanskrit aphorism that means “where talent meets opportunity”. Indeed, IPL is a classic example of democratisation of what till 2008 remained an esoteric pursuit for altruistic considerations. Boys from the Indian hinterland are in its wake striking it rich.

Almost every season, the IPL changes the lives of many an uncapped player (those who have not played international cricket). Their performances are duly acknowledged both on the playing ground as well as with money that is the stuff of many dreams.