How IPL is reinventing Langer – and the Indian summer itself

After the rather unsavoury exit as Australia’s head coach two years ago, this is Justin Langer’s first opportunity at coaching at a high level, or any level for that matter.

Justin Langer with his Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul.

Justin Langer could not have found a better place to reinvent himself.

In the past four days, we’ve seen clips of Justin Langer online indulging in scenarios you never imagined him in. Langer speaking in Hindi. Langer doing his version of the bhangra dance on stage in front of an audience. Langer doing an old-school wrestling-style promo on camera, advertising the event and the stars who’ll be in attendance for an upcoming show.

It’s been one of the highlights of this year’s build-up to the IPL season, the 17th edition of India’s glitzy annual cricket mega-fare. The reinvention of Justin Langer as coach.

It’s been fun, too, especially when you notice how much the former Australian opener seems to be loving life in Lucknow. And why not.

After the rather unsavoury exit as Australia’s head coach two years ago, this is Langer’s first opportunity at coaching at a high level, or any level for that matter.

Langer says a quiet prayer at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya as part of Lucknow Super Giants’ team visit.

And there’s no better place in world cricket than the IPL to reinvent yourself. Over the past 16 years, we’ve had hundreds of cricketers who’ve managed to do just that by spending those two hectic months in India. It’s the same if you’re a former player or a coach for that matter.

Let’s take the reinvention of Ricky Ponting in India. The way the country has gone from grudgingly admiring him and being quietly terrified of the prospect of him going past Sachin Tendulkar’s records for a brief period when they competed against each other, to now being in awe of what Ponting has been able to do with the younger Indian cricketers. Hardik Pandya being a prime example from Ponting’s time with the Mumbai Indians back in the day.

I consider myself an IPL baby in terms of my journalism career. I came into the industry halfway through the first edition of the tournament.

And through those first few years, nobody could really get their head around the potential of this sporting league, the kinds of which cricket had never really witnessed before.

The fact that it’s been a breeding ground for reinvention is the recurring theme that’s stuck with me throughout this period as the IPL has grown to become one of the richest sporting properties in the world. And I’m not just talking about those who are actively participating on and off the field.

The concept itself was based on reinventing Indian cricket. It might seem inconceivable now but back in 2007, when the BCCI decided to open the doors for the richest and smartest business minds around the country to the cricket landscape, Indian cricket wasn’t quite swimming in money as it seems to be now.

While cricket was always a way of life for Indians, the early 2000s saw a rise in the number of lapsed fans after the massive match-fixing scandal that seemed to involve some big names at the turn of the century.

Despite that, Indian cricket had grown stronger, both politically and financially, but still needed a big bang for the rest of world cricket to notice this rise in power. The IPL was the perfect platform, even if nobody really knew back then how much of a behemoth it would turn out to be.

Langer with Mitchell Starc.

Since 2008, the IPL has not only reinvented cricket economics globally, it’s also reinvented the demographics of cricket fandom within India. Before then, no city in India could lay claim to a player with a sense of ownership, except maybe Mumbai with Sachin Tendulkar. The IPL changed that. The glorious marriage between MS Dhoni and Chennai, despite the two having hardly any links except belonging to the same country. Or the same with Virat Kohli and Bengaluru.

The IPL reinvented the pathway to glory for average Indians. Before then, Bollywood was the only way of becoming an overnight sensation and completely changing your own fortunes and that of your family. Cricket was a risky long-term investment. It depended on you somehow breaking through the incredible competition – imagine competing for a spot in the junior team with nearly 80,000 other kids – making it to the highest level and then most importantly managing to stay there.

While playing for India still remains the ultimate goal for everyone who picks up a bat in India, there is now another avenue for you to change your life through the game of cricket. You can say the same for many overseas cricketers, too, whose bank balances have quadrupled thanks to an IPL auction.

The IPL has reinvented how Indians spend their summer months, and Indian kids their summer holidays.

Whatever else you get to do, there’s always an IPL match on TV when the family gets together at night, regardless of the strata of society you belong to.

The IPL is more than just the money and the glamour associated with it. It’s helped reinvent India. It’s gone hand in hand with the growth of India as an economic superpower that can hold its own in every aspect.

Most importantly, it’s reinvented the perception of India. Only seven years before the start of the IPL, Steve Waugh was urging his teammates to go out a little more and try to embrace the culture and vibrancy of India. Now you don’t need to be coaxed into doing that.

The number of cricketers and ex-cricketers from outside India who’ve walked up to me in the past decade and a half and asked me if there’s a way for them to find a way into the IPL is staggering.

It’s gone from being a country where a lot of teams and players from outside the subcontinent couldn’t wait to get out of, to a country which you never want to leave. The country where you want to get to, to reinvent yourself. Justin Langer couldn’t have chosen a better place to be in to reinvent himself.