While one major disappointment was the sound effect for crowd cheering during the match, there were many other aspects during IPL 2020 that seemed as an alien setting to the cricket enthusiasts.

Maryam Farooqui

Image: Instagram/iplt20

For many fans of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the mega sporting event seeing the light of day wasn’t enough and the new normal, at least for the opening match was a little disappointing for them.

While one major disappointment was the sound effect for crowd cheering during the match, there were many other aspects during IPL 2020 that seemed as an alien setting to the cricket enthusiasts.

Bagging a wicket usually means hugs, high-fives. But the opening match of IPL 2020 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) saw subdued celebrations amid cricketers due to physical distancing because of the coronavirus scare.

It was the COVID-19 led restrictions due to which CSK’s Lungi Ngidi saw no open palms from his cautious team mates after he took a wicket.

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Fans did miss this show of emotions from their favourite players during the first IPL match.

In fact, players were even at a distance from one another at the dug-out and fans missed the reactions, the closeness amid players. It is this camaraderie amid players that get fans a little closer to their favourite sportsmen during every IPL match.

Everything going virtual was also something many IPL fans were not happy with.

From cheerleaders on virtual screens to fans connecting with IPL online, it was all virtual in the opening match of IPL 2020 which has become the new normal for this year’s entire tournament.

So, where were these virtual cheerleaders. Surrounding the ground was a long digital signboard which showed digital cheerleaders cheering for each of their teams.

Taking a dig at the virtual settings, a Twitterati said that even cheerleaders are working from home.

Along with virtual cheerleaders, fans too could connect with IPL this year online but all of this could be seen only when the footages of commentary box were seen.

There is no denying that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did everything in its capacity to give cricket enthusiasts the same viewing experience which they could give before coronavirus hit the world.

However, IPL fans this year are missing the madness, the buzz, the emotions and lesser fan involvement during the game.

First Published on Sep 20, 2020 01:11 pm

IPL 2020: Virtual cheerleaders to fist high-fives become the new normal for the league

While one major disappointment was the sound effect for crowd cheering during the match, there were many other aspects during IPL 2020 that seemed as an alien setting to the cricket enthusiasts.

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tags #coronavirus #Dream11 IPL 2020 #Sports