You have changed your tune yet again, from no one cares about bilateral cricket, to the two teams involved care.
And what tune would that be? As usual, you have problem understanding basic English. In fact, it isn't your inability to understand English, but your issue is that you don't read the other person's post properly, and while you are reading, you are already thinking of your response which is why you often overlook stuff.
Before you pointed out the obvious (which I never denied) because of your inability to read properly, i.e. that when two teams play bilateral cricket, their fans take keen interest, I had mentioned bilateral cricket in two posts. #72 and #186.
Post #72:
"I already stated in my original post (#12) that I disagree with de Villiers and the World Cup is definitely bigger than the IPL. However, it is certainly comparable to bilateral T20 cricket, and I would argue that it is actually superior.
Bilateral cricket is usually time pass for neutral fans anyway. When Pakistan play Sri Lanka, do people in India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand etc. care? Of course they don't."
Post #186:
"It doesn’t matter what most people in the world think. Most people don’t care about bilateral cricket either unless their team is playing.
The fact that the likes of de Villiers and Morgan etc. consider IPL to almost be at par with the World Cup shows its importance. As I said, denial will not help our fans anymore. We must accept the truth, even if it hurts."
Can you explain how you managed to infer from the above posts that no one cares about bilateral cricket INCLUDING the fans of the teams that are playing? I envy your ability to comprehend basic level English.
You are now saying you were not defending ABD, when initially (before the Morgan quote) you were indeed defending ADB, and defending the IPL. If you say you were not defending ADB, then where's the logic in defending the IPL and not ADB given ADB is quoting the IPL?
Once again, your issues with taking your time to read posts before you think of your reply have once again let you down.
Post #12:
"I personally don’t endorse his opinion because the World Cup is definitely bigger than the IPL, and I am certain 99% of the players - including the Indians - would happily trade the IPL trophy for the World Cup, but his assessment could become reality in the next 15-20 years.
IPL is already the highest form of T20 cricket in the game and it gets bigger and better every year. Not only is it at a completely different level to cheap imitations like PSL, BPL, CPL, BBL etc., it is a serious competitor for international cricket as well.
Perhaps one can argue that it is clearly much bigger than international T20 cricket. If T20 cricket continues to grow at a rapid rate, there might come a point in the future where the IPL and the World Cup would end up competing with one another."
Do statements like the "World Cup is bigger than the IPL and even Indian players will happily trade IPL trophy for a World Cup title" sounds like endorsement of de Villiers' opinion?
I would have agreed with de Villiers had he said that the IPL is close to the World Cup or that the IPL could overtake the World Cup in 15-20 years if T20 cricket continues to grow rapidly, but that is not what he implied.
I have no love or sympathy for de Villiers. His attitude in the last three years has been nothing but pathetic. He has been selfish, cowardly and has shown no regard for his nation. In fact, I was perhaps the first person on this forum who predicted his retirement and called him out on his attitude.
I created a thread on his attitude back in Jan 2016 when he was PP's darling based on his exploits in 2015, when he was at the top of his game.
http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...ng-AB-de-Villiers-with-the-Greats-of-the-Past
As I said I do not watch any for of T20 franchise, I don't care how packed the stadiums are in UAE vs Mumbai, all I do know is IPL is the most corrupt entertaining cricket league in the world, and thank God Pakistan players do no participate in the IPL, and clearly there is no need to. Blessing in disguise. Oh in before you say it, I do not like Pakistan players playing any form of franchise cricket - after all, they're not going to develop their game cos the sole purpose is money and entertainment!
That is fine. T20 cricket and especially franchise T20 cricket is not for everyone.
Now you talk about IPL helping develop young Indian players, fine, but great test players will not be plucked from the IPL, but India's first class cricket structure. Yet you claim the WC is better than the IPL due to history and prestige, but not because of the quality? Are you for real?
You are right that IPL will not produce Test cricketers, and that is BCCI is using the IPL money to re-invest in F/C cricket. As far as the quality is concerned, explained to me in objective terms what makes the quality of cricket in a World Cup better than IPL?
The World Cup is still ODI cricket. You pit all the teams against each other, put a name on the tournament and that is it. It is still ODI cricket, and the only thing that is different is the history and prestige that the name of the trophy carries.
The IPL has world class players, excellent stadiums, excellent pitches, great atmosphere, great crowds, top notch production. There is no aspect in which it is inferior to World Cup cricket. The same players who are playing in the World Cup play in the IPL, the same balls, the same pitches, the same commentators, the same match officials, the same production quality etc. Absolutely no difference. The only difference is of course the significance of the tournament.
Entertainment wise, yeah ok, those fair and lovely cheer leaders, fireworks, bellow average bowling (by young indian prospects), reduced boundary lengths etc - yeah ok, entertainment for the family and kids!
Apart from Pakistan, star bowlers from all major teams have played in the IPL. Starc, Rabada, Steyn, Malinga, Archer, Boult, Cummins, Rashid Khan, Tahir, Zampa and of course the Indian bowlers like Bumrah, Yadav, Chahal, Shami etc. all play or have played IPL in the past. If their presence means the quality of bowling is below average, then so is the quality of bowling in international cricket.
Of course there are weak bowlers in IPL too, but that is the case in international cricket as well. Not every team is filled with world class players.
I don't think anyone denies the financial aspect of the IPL but when a player picks money over their nation, that player needs a wet fish (though I can understand players close to retirement playing in the IPL for fun after his services for his country)
ADB now wants to play in the WC, he received a smackdown, and rightly so! He thought the IPL was bigger than the WC, now realised he actually wants to play in the WC. Why? IPL take place every year! I tell you why - there is nothing bigger than representing your nation in sports, which is why the WC or any tournament including world nations, will be better and remain of higher quality compared to franchise cricket.
I have already explained to you that I have no love for de Villiers' attitude, and in fact, I was one of the first people on this forum who called him out on his **. He chickened out of international cricket when his country needed him the most. Furthermore, transparency is also important. He should have communicated to CSA clearly that he is done with international cricket, instead of taking a break after every series and giving up captaincy. It was obvious he wanted out, but he couldn't muster the courage to call it a day.
Franchise cricket has a weakness - the moment cricket boards offer multi-million central contracts to players, the motive to play IPL is done and dusted, where as with the WC, players are prepared to play for free! Go ask ADB!
That maybe the motive to play in third rate imitations of IPL, but the IPL is a giant and a tremendous platform to announce yourself. It also a great platform for out of favour players to get back into contention. Jon Buttler's performance in IPL 2018 was the major season why he was brought back into the Test side, and he hasn't looked back since.
In fact, this is what Buttler stated:
"Those couple of weeks in the IPL gave me huge amounts of confidence. To be in those pressure situations in India, playing in front of crowds, the pressure of being an overseas player. That showed me a lot about where I was at and where I can get to, so that gave me a lot of confidence."
Yes I know I know. This isn't Buttler speaking - this is his bank account, and he is saying this not because he means it, but because if he doesn't credit IPL for his Test return, he will not be picked in future auctions, it doesn't matter if he is an elite white ball player.
As I said, when it comes to IPL, Pakistani fans are in complete and utter denial. As far as the only factor is concerned, let's see how many players care to turn up for international cricket for free. It is easy to talk about national pride, patriotism, national duty etc. when you are getting paid, but few have the character to play or serve their country for free.
The issue here is you remix your view on the fly whether based on new facts, or new information - you can claim I don't have a grasp on English, but the issue is with your ever changing view. Stick to a single view, don't undermine it, don't smear Pakistan for the sake of it, and who knows we could end up with an entertaining and educational debate!
As I have proved to you, my views have been consistent. The problem has been (1) your reckless reading and (2) your ignorance.
You misinterpreted my views on the popularity of bilateral cricket and you also wrongly assumed that I was agreeing with de Villiers. Furthermore, you were ignorant of the fact that Pakistani players were part of the 2010 IPL auction but were ignored. I am not sure why I even bothered with this low quality discourse. It is hard to have a quality debate when the other person cannot read simply English and doesn't know his facts.