Boundaries will matter as usual. But national boundaries will not. As the Indian Premier League action gets underway with the match between Bangalore Royal Challengers and Kolkata Knight Riders at Bangalore on Friday, traditional rivalries and friendships will give way to explosive new combinations. With players from around the world crisscrossing borders with only the essential spirit of the game to guide them, a new cosmopolitanism has entered the game.
Cricket will no longer be the same after the eight IPL franchises have had their say, or play. Newfound partnerships will matter more to the players than old loyalties as eight teams fight it out in 59 Twenty20 matches over 44 days. Prize money worth Rs 4 crore awaits the team that would win the June 1 final. The franchises have spent bushels of money to acquire the teams and star players and have done everything to ensure that the cup of entertainment would overflow