The Orange Cap. The Purple Cap. The Dugout. The Fairplay Award. There are several symbols that capture the essence of the world’s biggest carnival of cricket. But there’s one image that perfectly combines the mood, spirit and significance of the tournament: the IPL trophy.
Over the past four seasons, IPL has bridged the gap between the dreams and reality of talented local cricketers. Sharing the dressing room with the game’s elite – past and present – youngsters have learnt more than just cricketing lessons during the competition. More importantly, they’ve imbibed the values and confidence without which success remains elusive. From Yusuf Pathan to Saurabh Tiwary and from Manish Pandey to R Ashwin, the national side has benefitted regularly from breakthrough IPL performances.
No wonder, then, that the sparkling new IPL trophy bears the Sanskrit words : “Yatra pratibha avsara prapnotihi” (Where talent meets opportunity). Crafted in burnished silver, reflecting the quality of the competition, the trophy looks every bit the perfect award for excellence in a gruelling test of talent, nerves and strategising.
Ever since this edition of the tournament began on April 8, 2011, the glittering award has dominated the thoughts of all ten captains and their top-notch sides. Bearing a classic look, it evokes all the splendour and pomp associated with grand sporting achievements. The Sanskrit engraving underscores all the grandeur with a calm insight into the competition.
On May 28, one of the ten captains will come up and receive the resplendent trophy, signifying the triumphant end of a long and arduous journey. But the cup symbolises so much more than victory for 11 players. It is, in fact, the coming together of every little victory that has taken place all along the way. No matter whose mantelpiece the trophy adorns on D-day, its brilliant glow is the result of the combined excellence of 10 remarkable teams.
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