IPL fans coming to terms with withdrawal symptoms

A cartoon in a leading English daily newspaper captures the nation's mood quite eloquently. It shows a man lying exhausted before a television set that has a blank screen and he is seen asking his wife: "It is 8 o'clock. What do I do now?"

A cricket crazy nation is slowly coming to terms with the fact that the curtain has come down on DLF Indian Premier League 2009. Tens of millions of cricket fans are twiddling their thumbs, soaking in the after-glow of the 37-day long extravaganza that combined excellent cricket and entertainment to engage cricket lovers and more in an addictive spell.

Indeed, for over five weeks, 22-year-old Sanjid Dutta's evenings were booked. From 7.30 pm to midnight, the marketing professional stayed in his couch, glued to and mesmerised by the high-voltage cricket. The Royal Challengers Bangalore fan says he now has no option but to wait for the start of the ICC World Twenty20.

Chartered Accountant Karan Malik, 23, says he started feeling bored right from the morning of May 25. "The reason is obvious," he says. "There were no more matches, I'm now playing an online T20 cricket game. I wish to win some prize there."

Nimai Joshi, 26-year-old marketing head of an educational consultancy, waves goodbye to IPL in a poetic tone. "The memory of IPL still makes my adrenaline rush, am enjoying the after glow of the month-long treat. The Yuvraj Singh hat-tricks, Manish Pandey's century they made us gasp, made us shout and left us to dream till the ICC World Twenty20 gets under way," he said.

"I never thought I would miss IPL," says telecom company project manager Kumar K, "but the fact is that I do. Indian sport has never seen such a spectacle in a foreign land. "I miss IPL. It was such fun and yes, unknowingly yet subtly, it became an addiction."

"Am I going to miss IPL? Well, yes and no," says MBA student Bhavna Chawla. "Yes because I love cricket and players over any other lure IPL offered. And no because, since I am pretty busy with my exams, I will let studies keep my mind occupied. I'd rather choose a middle path. Nonetheless, IPL is the best thing to have happened to cricket in ages."

Copy-writer Disha Joshi has a different reason to miss IPL. "It helped extend city loyalties that can help broaden horizons all around. Cutting across socio-economic-religious boundaries, Indians saw the cricket and I know I will surely miss it for this reason alone," says the 27-year-old Joshi.

"IPL was a persuasive mixture of 40 per cent cricket 30 per cent glamour, 20 per cent team effort and 10 per cent soap opera," says TV journalist Tabhish Hussain. "I now feel a vacuum these evenings. The saving grace is that IPL 2010 is not far away."

Rajeev Arora, 69 and retired, cut his yoga sessions short, skipped his evening walks and conversations with friends to settle before the TV set at 7.30 pm each evening. "I did not even miss the toss," he says, witfully. "In fact, by the toss I would decide which team had the edge over the other. "Would the bhajia and chai taste the same?"

He has a friendly suggestion that comes from his son, Akshit. Aware that his father doesn't know what he's going to do, Akshit said he has hinted that his father should return to erstwhile routine, read a book once in a while and go to bed early.

Well, that, as Rajeev Arora and countless others know, is easier said than done.