You know things are not where they should be when one of the main talking points of the second half of the Indian Premier League is colourism.
Teams like Punjab Kings have spiralled out of control after remaining unbeaten for the first seven games, while sides like Gujarat Titans have quietly moved into prime position for a top-two finish.
There are many passages of play, tactics and individual performances to delve into. But none of it truly matters if a player casually calls a national teammate "darkness" on his Snapchat video.
Punjab Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh has been in the news more often than not for his obsession with social media and vlogging, resulting in unease among some sections of the public.
The lowest point came during the match against Mumbai Indians where Arshdeep posted a video on Snapchat where he lampooned the skin colour of Mumbai Indians batter and national teammate Tilak Varma.
And instead of berating the behaviour, Mumbai Indians played along with the incident and engaged in banter on social media after the match, using a Bollywood song about brightness to highlight the winning contribution of Tilak in the match.
If that incident had happened in any other professional league on the planet, the consequences would have been serious.
But the Indian Premier League does not seem to be taking itself too seriously this year. Or is failing to do so.
Players have been pulled up for bringing random people to the team hotels and restricted areas, causing much consternation in the IPL’s anti-corruption unit.
There is a concern of confidential information leaking out of team hotels either deliberately or inadvertently. There is always the fear of untoward incidents where players get caught up with the wrong kind of crowd.
There is more. Two players – Rajasthan captain Riyan Parag and Punjab spinner Yuzvendra Chahal – were caught vaping on video. That is a punishable offence in the country.
There was controversy once again where a senior player was accompanied by his partner on the team bus – a strict ‘no-no’ in any sport.
Things got so out of hand that the Indian cricket board was forced to issue strict directives in the middle of the tournament, and even that has not quite worked. The colourism incident came well after the BCCI had cracked the whip, if we can call it that.
There is a growing feeling that some players and franchises are following their own set of rules. Simple fines don’t have any impact on players, as franchises themselves pay them on players’ behalf.
With many cricketers, especially senior Indian players, becoming incredibly wealthy in their early twenties, the idea of constraint or reflection is apparently alien to them; who cares if you get paid a million dollars every year regardless? One just needs to remain fit.
When Rahul Dravid was departing as India coach and Gautam Gambhir was preparing to take over, the behaviour of certain players was talked about constantly. Two players were quietly removed from the team, mainly for their boorish behaviour.
A few seasons later, one of those players made a triumphant return to the team while the other is close to making a comeback. No word on whether they have made any amends.
When you look at the antics of some of the 'stars' in the ongoing IPL, any move – even if excessive – to course correct would seem justified.
It can’t all be about just the image of the IPL. Granted, these issues are not as destructive as the numerous match-fixing scandals that hit the tournament in its formative years. But they matter.
Viewership for the tournament is down in certain quarters, mainly due to the ban on gaming sites which has kept the habitual punters away from the IPL this year. And the recent infractions don't make it any easier for the IPL to get more people, especially casual fans, on board.
After nearly two decades, one would assume the IPL and its participants would know that you should not mingle with unvetted people late into the night during the tournament or make fun of the skin colour of your teammate or vape in the dressing room during a match.
But this is the IPL, and anything is possible.
