The IPL 2020 is all set to begin on September 19 with Mumbai Indians taking on the Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi. With less than 10 days to go, the IPL released an anthem on September 6 which is titled “Aayenge hum wapas” meaning “We will comeback”. It was captioned, “The greater the setback…The stronger the comeback.” The 93 second video features a montage of people who are surviving the coronavirus pandemic but are now relishing the prospect of seeing their favourite teams and players back in action on September 19. There is also action on the field from previous editions of the IPL. The video has seen over 445K views on Twitter and a further 15 lakhs on Youtube.
However, the anthem has now become slightly controversial. Rapper KR$NA, also known as Krishna Kaul, has alleged that the anthem has been copied from his rap song in 2017 which was titled “Dekho Kaun Aaya Wapas”. The rap song has garnered close to 7.3 lakh views. There has been no communication from the BCCI about this issue.
Hey guys, @IPL has plagiarised my song “Dekh Kaun Aaya Waapas” and created “Aayenge Hum Wapas” as this years anthem without credit or consent. I request my fellow artists and friends on twitter to RT this tweet for awareness, they can not get away with this. @DisneyPlusHS https://t.co/GDNFeyhXR5
— KR$NA (@realkrsna) September 7, 2020
The greater the setback
The stronger the comeback
We can sum it up in 3 words:
Watch #Dream11IPL starting Sept 19 on @DisneyPlusHS, @StarSportsIndia @Hotstarusa #Dream11IPL #AayengeHumWapas #StrongerTogether #Anthem pic.twitter.com/e2Iro79Kv6
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 6, 2020
More controversies
Even before a ball has been bowled in IPL 2020, there have been some obstacles. 13 members, including two players of the Chennai Super Kings franchise tested positive for the coronavirus, throwing their preparations into disarray. The mood in the camp did not get any better when Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh opted out of the tournament due to ‘personal reasons’. An assistant physiotherapist of the Delhi Capitals side also tested positive for the coronavirus but luckily, he was not in touch with any of the team-mates.
Before the start, VIVO was removed as the title sponsor for IPL 2020 in the wake of the tensions between India and China. Dream11 has become the title sponsor but even that has resulted in some controversy due to the presence of the Chinese firm Tencent in the company.