A few days back I saw a joke on a TV channel wherein a father was scolding his son for the latter scoring the highest marks at school and having been declared a topper. The boy aspired to pursue B.Tech from the IIT and had thereby, purchased the application form for the same, which acted as fuel to the fire. His father shouted at him and asked him as to what his career objective was, was it to pursue engineering from an IIT and an MBA from an IIM and get a job with an annual package of a crore? His son nodded affirmation in fear while his mother stood beside him, a mute spectator. Can anyone understand the reason behind the father’s anger?

 

He was angry because a B.Tech from an IIT, followed by a diploma in Management from an IIM would fetch his son an annual package of only a crore (assuming, of course, that he is best at his work), which is far lesser than what Mahendra Singh Dhoni earns playing a three hour match. The father wanted his son to concentrate on the IPL and the ICL instead of the IITs and the IIMs.

 

This may be considered a joke now, but I sincerely believe that this could very well be the case in a decade’s time, if not sooner. With huge sums of money pouring in and the game being backed by corporate giants, Bollywood stars and the cricket board itself, I believe these leagues will become the preferred career option. Who would have thought of a situation wherein every third student would aspire to become an engineer followed by an MBA. Its all about the money! Accept it. So what is so bad about IPL or ICL?

 

Coming back to the new short, attractive and entertaining format of the game – Twenty20 domestic leagues. Adopting a more formal institutional approach, we can look at these leagues as proper institutes. From a total of 16 seats in the National Cricket Team, we now have 256 more seats (8 teams with around 16 members each in 2 different leagues IPL and ICL). Therefore, the number of seats have increased tremendously and, to add to it, it is an easy shortcut to fame, as well. These institutes have faculty (coaches) and students (players) from abroad. A truly ‘Global Experience’.

 

My vision is not that far-fetched. We have players such as Nikhil Mandale who, at the age of 17 and while still in college, has signed a contract with the ICL. Furthermore, the Indian cricketer to have signed the most expensive contract with a league is One-Day team captain, Mr.Dhoni. Even he doesn’t have a Bachelor’s degree, though he aspires to obtain one now. Who knows, parents may now pressurize their children to pay more attention to cricket and dream of seeing them sign a contract with one of the teams in a league. This, naturally, will lead to them becoming brand ambassadors of products, with money showering in. A secure career, isn’t it?

 

Prateek Khurana

(5 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading …

[Image Source :http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44270000/jpg/_44270904_logo270.jpg