Highs and Lows of Cricket and a Commercial Break

After several terrible events in cricket and several terrible incidents during the first three months of 2018, the time has come for a commercial break. Well, not really, though for millions of avid fans! They have been patiently waiting for this most commercially viable form of cricket since last season. Come from April to May for more than ten years, and no one can stop these fans for following this entertaining movie-style movie.

Exactly, we're talking about the 11th season of the 2018 Premier League cricket tournament T20, which will begin from April 7 to the end of next month. This time, many fans will be pleased to see the return of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) with former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Doni as captain of CSK and Ajinka Rahane, replacing the tainted Steve Smith with captain RR, while New New Zealand captain Kane Williamson replaced the spoiled David Warner as captain of the Sunrise Hyderabad (SRH), previously Shihar Dhawan was invited to this post. The Pune Rising Supergiants and Gujarat Lions, who played in the past two years after two years of CSK and RR suspension due to cricket, could not claim this time.

Buying a sale of world famous cricketers, a euphemistically named auction, saw most regular players keep adding some exciting new ones. England cricketer Ben Stokes has become the most expensive foreign player, while Indian player Jaydev Unadkat has become the most expensive domestic player - both of these players were bought by RR.

Some famous individuals remained unsold, including Lasith Malinga, Martin Guptil, Hashim Amla, Ishant Sharma and many others. Destroyer Chris Gale somehow found a place in Kings XI Punjab in the third and final round of the auction. The old warhorse Yuvraj Singh also found a place in this team, this time led by the new captain Ravichandran Ashwin. Calcutta Knight Riders (KKR) drove Gautam Gambir, whom the Delhi Delisians (DD) call the captain. 

The sensation of the T20 Tri-Series finals against Bangladesh in Colombo on March 18, 2018, Dinesh Kartik, whose 8-goal Tidy Nidahas won in India with 29 goals, becomes the KKR captain, which will definitely cheer many Calcutta fans. Indian captain Virat Kohli continues to lead the Royal Challengers for Bangalore (RCB), while Rohit Sharma also remains captain of the Mumbai Indians (Michigan). The first match between MI and CSK will be held in Mumbai on April 7, and Calcutta will see its first match on April 8 between KKR and RCB. Other venues will be Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mohali, designated home places for various teams.


From the point of view of the IPL-2018, this commercial breakthrough can be seen as a much-needed relief after the recent scandalous events in international cricket. While the series of cricket matches “India vs South Africa” in South Africa was the highest point in competitive sports cricket, the test duel between the hosts and Australian cricket reached the lowest level.


Although India, led by Virat Kohli, lost a series of 3 tests against South Africa with a score of 2-1 in January 2018, cricket was very competitive with constant ups and downs. India almost won the series with some excellent bowling games, and many Indian fans thought that with even more batting, India would see the end result in its favor. South Africa won the first and second tests they fought, while India won the final test convincingly. 

And then, the Indians were unstoppable, destroying South Africa in both the one-day series and the T20 series. Australia played a test series against South Africa in March 2018, winning the first and losing the second. At that moment, the series was looking up, despite the ugly confrontation between David Warner and South African goalkeeper Quinton de Kock during the first test in Durban.


The ball incident occurred on March 24, 2018, on the third day of the third Test, in which Cameron Bancroft participated, and then skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner. The deliberate and cold-blooded tactics shocked the whole world, both cricket and non-cricket, with absolute words of condemnation emanating from each and everyone, regardless of the highest or lowest position of power. 

Australia cricket was quick in action, and the players involved took the punishment with a lot of public tears, but without attractive intentions. According to the latest information, Cricket Australia wants to hide this most scandalous event, which is possible because, as already mentioned, players are not going to appeal the punishment. Of course, many questions related to this shameful episode will remain unanswered forever.


Meanwhile, the Afghan cricket team qualified for the ICC 2019 FIFA World Cup, no matter what, and defeated Ireland in the final match. Other