Dear Editor,

I am in India for the general elections which completed its first phase on Thursday. But there was not as much interest in the elections in most places as there was in the 20/20 IPL tournament which were to get under way on Saturday.  People are disappointed that they can’t watch the games in India but have settled for the TV viewing being fed live from South Africa. There was tremendous excitement and a huge viewership during the opening ceremonies on Thursday night. Many of the top Bollywood stars marched with the players in Cape Town. The ceremony was compared to that of a carnival.  In fact, Dwayne Bravo told reporters that the ceremony was similar to the carnival in his hometown of Trinidad. It was indeed a magnificent affair adding to the lustre of Cape Town’s social and cultural life. Anyone who has visited the huge city will revel in its beauty and magnificence. It is one of the most beautiful cities I visited although it is also among the most dangerous for violent robberies especially of tourists who are often targeted. The IPL was hastily moved out of India just over three weeks ago for security reasons as the dates clashed with general elections. But organizers believe they’ve met the logistical challenges of preparing eight stadiums at short notice, booking thousands of hotel rooms, and putting on extra flights into South Africa from Europe and India.

In India, commentators have spoken positively about the IPL although they blame the government for the shifting of the tournament to South Africa. The IPL and the Indian government stand to lose a lot of money that would have been generated from the playing of six weeks of games in India.

At any rate, people are looking forward for the 59 games after seeing the eight teams with their sponsors on floats amidst dancing and music.  They told me watching the games on TV is next best to being in South Africa. And they love Sarwan, Chanderpaul, and Gayle.  They hope other West Indians will also become part of the IPL in due course.

Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram