Thaindian News

Wellington, May 22 (IANS) New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram says he felt disconnected from the Indian Premier League with “Bollywood stars and fashion parades” often making him wonder whether he was there to play cricket.

Oram, who played only two matches for Rajasthan Royals as an injury replacement for England’s Paul Collingwood, said he could not get involved in the tournament.

“After nearly every game there’s an after-party, there’s Bollywood stars there and fashion parades; the drinks are free and the cheerleaders are around. It’s a different world. Sometimes you wonder if you’re here for cricket or not. Ultimately you are. It is good fun, but at the same time I don’t think it’s reality,” Oram was quoted as saying in the Dominion Post.

“Being here for six weeks, not playing much, training hard but not actually getting on the field has been kind of weird. In a way I feel like I haven’t really got involved in the tournament. I haven’t watched it on TV and I couldn’t tell you the standings, partly because I know our side’s out of it. I feel a bit disconnected from the tournament.”

Despite the reports of people losing interest in IPL, Oram felt the tournament was still capturing the imagination in cricket-mad India.

“It’s everywhere. You flick through the different TV channels and half of them will have some panel talking about the IPL. There’s half a dozen pages in every paper, it’s all about the IPL. They have an hour’s buildup and an hour’s review of every match.

“From what I’ve seen it’s still a big deal. There’s still a lot of people there, there’s a lot of noise even if the grounds aren’t full.”

The 32-year-old Oram, however, hopes to be invited back next year, assuming he can put some performances together this summer.

“I won’t touch the cricket gear for a month and I’ll assess things in July. At this stage things are going OK and my body’s not too bad. I probably just will keep chugging along and wait until my body snaps in half,” he said.