IPL has no negative impact on Test cricket, a study proves

Ever since the inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a reasonable number of people have blamed it for hampering the future of Test cricket. Many feel the format has made the batsmen impatient and declined their defensive technique and more importantly, the interest of the fans dipped from the longest format. However, after a recent study conducted by a professor of the Kolkata University, the other prejudices may well be put to rest.

Subhasis Ray as a part of his doctoral thesis made a stunning observation. In an era where the more entertaining form of cricket is preferred over the traditional forms, the RPO (runs per over) of Tests involving India has gone down shockingly. The Anova technique of study was used in measuring and analysing the differences among group means in the sample year 2000-2015.

“The figure is not statistically significant. However, if the trend continues, it may become a statistically significant decline in coming years,” stated the professor at Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM).

Hopefully my study would establish that the IPL has no negative impact on Tests  

There was no significant change in the lengths of Test matches whatsoever. However, the study depicted a rise in the percentage boundaries scored. There was also an improvement in the contribution of tailenders batting between No.7 to No.11 in the post IPL era. All these statistics were restricted to Test matches involving India.

Hence, it focused on emphasizing that the Indian Premier League hadn’t played any negative role or reduced the worth of Test matches. Moreover, it has provided a platform for other sporting leagues in the country such as the ISL, Pro Kabaddi, etc to prosper. However, it did bring an improvement in the standard of cricket which is imminent.

“The success of IPL has prompted other sports in India like hockey, football, tennis, wrestling or kabaddi to develop clones of this franchise format. However, no base version of the sport had been challenged as much as cricket’s and my study would hopefully establish that this league has not actually had a negative role in the longer format,” Roy was quoted as saying by Gulf News

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