IPL 2016: Why we won't have the same overdose this time like we did in 2011

The 9th season of the Indian Premier League(IPL) is almost upon us. The two-month summer extravaganza promises to be an enthralling affair as always with some of the biggest names in the game, descending in India to entertain the crowds, who it seems want more each year from the League.

In a sense, each season of the competition has the outdone previous, barring perhaps one.

For die-hard fans of the competition, the 2011 edition will be one that they may not remember with much fondness. After a gap of 28 years, the Indian Cricket team had reclaimed the 50-over World Cup, courtesy of a superlative team effort and expectedly, the euphoria surrounding the triumph was huge.

The party stretched on for nights and after a tumultuous 6 months, that saw several scams, which projected the nation in not the best of lights, the victory in Mumbai that night finally provided the much-needed cheer that everybody was looking for.

But little did we know that those happy emotions were going to sour us a bit almost exactly a week later. After playing a stellar role in India’s triumph, Gautam Gambhir, and MS Dhoni walked out as opposition captains for the respective franchises- Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings- in the opening match of the 2011 IPL, that caught many cricket fans a touch surprised.

India had travelled across the length and breadth of the country for 45 days before winning the title in Mumbai and wherever they went, the crowd support was expectedly awesome.But it seemed now as though that they needed a break from the sport and couldn't take any more of cricketing action.

The evidence that the cricket crazy fans of India couldn't embrace the League as they did in its previous three editions was proved when after a few matches, the Television Rating Point(TRP) were much lower than one had seen or expected from the competition.

The Chennai Super Kings went on to win their second consecutive title, but by that time, it had become a real drag for everybody.

A similar scenario but a different result on the cards, this time, around

5 years later, it seems like the wheel has come a full circle. The country has just played host to yet another ICC event just like in 2011 and the fans are gearing up for the IPL.

However, the scenario, this time, isn't like what it was then. Yes. The Indian cricket team, spearheaded by Virat Kohli’s efforts put up a spirited performance during the Group stages before came up against an even more defiant West Indies side in the semifinal.

But critically, unlike 2011, the Men in Blue didn't go on to win the crown. Thus, the fans, who were appreciative of the team reaching the final four are heading into the competition, not on as big a high as they were 5 years ago.

The buzz isn't as much as a result of which there is a bubbling anticipation among the fans.

What will also help them is the scheduling of this year’s competition, which in my opinion, is the best in a long time. Unlike the previous editions, there are no doubleheaders on weekdays, which means that fans would be made to wait in excitement for what would happen later in the day.

The IPL is meant to be an event that would not just provide some thrilling entertainment for fans, but also see the culmination of the Indian domestic season, which during its 7-8 months, doesn't see as many exciting matches on a week-to-week basis as it should.

Let's hope this edition of the League is bigger and better and we have a fantastic 45 days that we would remember for many more editions to come.