Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 already has its first finalist and it has been a good tournament. However, there has been a lot of action missing which has taken that oomph factor out of the tournament. Injuries, poor form and a whole host of other reasons have been responsible for this tournament lacking that fun factor as compared to the previous editions. Here are five reasons why this IPL has not been as good as expected:
Loss of form for RCB:
Despite the RCB not having won any trophy in the IPL, they have been one of the most entertaining sides in the history of the tournament. They have been plagued with injuries and a drastic loss of form due to which they have not been able to perform at the high level that is expected of them. This has caused a loss of interest for many cricket fans, especially those who love Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle.
Major players missing out:
Many of the major players have missed out this tournament due to them preparing for the Champions Trophy that is in June. The likes of R.Ashwin, Faf Du Plessis and Mitchell Starc are some of the main absentees for the tournament. These are players who can change the course of a match in a matter of seconds and their absence has clearly made the IPL a little less glamorous as previous editions.
Many matches finishing early:
This edition has only seen one match go down to a super over. All the other matches have finished early with the winners winning in a cantor. This has also affected the overall feel of the IPL due to which a lot of fans have not felt the same excitement as they have in the previous editions of the tournament. However, there are still some matches to go and it remains to be seen whether there will be any more matches that are exciting.
Low-scoring matches:
There have been more than three matches where teams have finished below the 100 run mark, causing them to finish very abruptly without any real thrill or excitement. There have been times when the games have finished well before the stipulated play period and this has removed a lot of excitement from the tournament in general.
Ordinary umpiring
This year, we have seen some very poor decisions by umpires in IPL 2017. The lesser experienced Indian umpires haven’t been upto the mark and many matches have been won and lost due to umpiring howlers. Even in the first qualifier between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant, Rohit Sharma was given LBW off Washington Sundar’s bowling but the replay showed there was a massive inside edge.
