Art Credit: Unknow
Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. In India, it is more than just a sport. In this diverse country, cricket is one of the threads that unites all. There are multiple formats in which cricket is played. Newest of them all is called T20 cricket. In T20, both teams bat for 20 overs of 6 deliveries each. It is custom made to catch the eye balls of younger generation audiences as a T20 game gets completed in about 3 hours.
Arguably, the best T20 league in the world is IPL – Indian Premier League. It is played in India during the summer season, between March to June of every year. 8 teams participating in the league are franchisees based out of metro cities in India. However, the squad of each team consists of top international players, Indian national team players, best performers from Indian domestic cricket circuit and many times a few relatively unknown cricketers. There are a huge number of cricketers in Indian domestic structure who all play year after year to realize their dream of representing India, however, very few get that opportunity. This is where IPL is crucial, it stands true to its slogan: “Where opportunity meets talent”. It gives opportunity to many unknown cricketers to make a mark and earn name, fame and more than a decent amount of money!
Viewers of IPL include people of all ages and gender. Children who may play cricket as a hobby or just as a pastime relate to IPL very well and enjoy watching it. However, many parents discourage children from spending time in viewing IPL on TV and instruct them to rather focus on school curriculum. Parent’s dilemma is whether to allow their children to watch IPL or refrain from it?
Life lessons
Parents shall try to include an appropriate window in their kid’s busy schedule & allow them to watch and enjoy the IPL. It can provide many life lessons to the children in addition to sporting entertainment. Some of the prominent life lessons are as follows:-
Hard Work & Determination
There are numerous stories of small town, financially vulnerable cricketers who have worked hard day in and day out to realize their dream of playing in IPL. They overcame all the financial, social & other challenges with sheer determination. Kids can learn from these examples that hard work and determination pays off!
Adaptability & Multiple skills
If a cricketer is good with multiple skills like batting, bowling as well as fielding, he/she can contribute to the team in more than one way and improve the team’s performance. If the cricketer fails with the bat in the match, he/she can contribute with the ball. Being multiskilled also helps a cricketer to adapt quickly to new circumstances. All this leads to demand and subsequent higher price tag for the cricketer. Taking lessons from this, childrens should explore their areas of interest and learn as many skills as possible.
Discipline & Consistency
If a cricketer does very well in a game it is not necessary that he/she will do well in the next game as well. Every game has different ground conditions and opponents. To be able to perform consistently, one needs to practice & prepare rigorously with discipline. In most IPL teams, there are multiple players who religiously follow disciplined practice drills to stay in top form. Kids shall make discipline as a non negotiable principle in their life because it will pave the way for consistency in all their endeavours.
Self Belief & Focus
Every ball is important in an IPL T20 game. There are occasions when a batsman plays a few dot balls and viewers start tagging him/her as villain. The same player keeps faith in his/her abilities, waits for the right deliveries and scores maximum possible runs to make the team victorious and becomes a hero. This shows that one has to believe in himself/herself irrespective of the situation, never give up because you are not defeated until you decide so. Time and again, players from different teams show these skills and children watching IPL will definitely learn from it. Children with strong self belief & focus will be able to achieve a lot more in their professional and personal life.
Celebrate Win but Accept Defeat Gracefully
It takes a lot of effort to win a game because all the teams are equally strong. Enjoying the wins with the team provides mood lift, energy and momentum to the team and associated players. Hence, it is a very good practice to celebrate every win of the team. In a long tournament like IPL, teams are bound to loose a few games. In such scenarios, it is vital to show sportsmanship and accept defeat gracefully. All the teams & their members exhibit these traits. Kids who watch IPL will most probably pick up these gestures from their favorite players & heroes.
Learn from Mistakes
As they say, ‘To err is human’; in a high stake tournament like IPL, players are bound to make mistable on one day or the other. Good players learn from their mistakes in previous games, correct them and perform better in the next game. Children who regularly watch IPL will definitely notice their heroes putting in extra efforts to correct their previous mistakes. This could be a great life lesson for them.
