Poll to peel off fake IPL blogger's mask

All-out frenzy

But it finds an able and equally extravagant challenger for limelight in the Indian Premier League. While we at least know the characters that enliven political rallies, the most famous persona of all in the IPL has kept his identity a well-guarded secret. And, if the briskness of polling in fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com is anything to go by, he may even out-number candidates vying for votes in the elections.

The blog, which has huge fan-following both at home and abroad, saw about 29,000 answering the poll, from Saturday till Monday evening, deciding if the mystery IPL player must peal-off his mask and show his face to the world.

The blogger, said to be a ‘bench-warmer’ for SRK-owned Kolkata Knight Riders, has endeared himself to fans through his ‘rib tickling’ posts and has also been featured by  UK dailies The Daily Telegraph and The Independent.

“You rock, dude,” may have been the popular comment to applaud the writer's mastery over English Language, but his audience seems itching to learn if he is actually a cricketer. Interestingly, the poll has been initiated by the blogger himself, who goes by the moniker FIP (Fake IPL Player) and describes himself as a no-hope bench-warmer. Giving fodder to his witty postings is the team he claims to represent, KKR, which is firmly rooted at the foot of the IPL table with three measly points from 10 matches.

The voting follows a May 9 post headlined "It's decision time folks." In the post FIP wrote: "I had mentioned about my decision to reveal my identity at the end of the IPL... Whether FIP's identity should be disclosed or not, or how it should be taken forward, is as much as your decision as mine”. The post points to a polling on the page and asks visitors to “take a few seconds to make your decision”. The blogger gives about six choices for voters: Yes, stick to your word man (to reveal his identity), Yes, I'd like to see your a** kicked, No, let it (identity) remain a mystery, No, I fear for your safety, No, I want this to continue, Who cares a f**(?

Majority of the voters (or 64 pc) favoured the blogger to reveal his identity. “Of course! want your identity..ppl wl love u all the more!” wrote a fan under his pseudonym 'Anonymous', echoing the views of several others.