🏏Cricket Forum Banner Contest Announcement🏏📢

Hello, cricket lovers fans and our Graphicers!

It's time for a new Banner Contest in our Cricket forum!

Our banner was last updated one year ago. The development team has decided to get a new banner for the Forum.

To select a new banner, we are inviting all our creative graphicers to get into the mood and make pretty banners to adorn on top of our Cricket Forum.

Before you begin, take a look at the RULES below!

Pick at least 8 players from the given list - Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill,Rishabh Pant,KL Rahul, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Shreyas Iyer, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

The rest of the players, either from the above list or outside the list, are left to the graphicer's choice. But, please mention in the PM which 8 mandatory players you've chosen.

You can use any national or international tournament or grounds' background.

Banner Size should be 1456W X 180H in pixels.

You can send only one banner. ---- We’ve decided to showcase all submitted entries at the top of our cricket forum one after the other, ranked by the votes they receive, so that our graphicers’ hard work continues to shine! (Winner's banner- 6 months, RU's banner-3 months, and other banners- 1 month each)

It goes without saying that it needs to be non-animated.

Banners should not have copyright or any kind of watermark on it.

The title of the Banner should be spelled correctly, i.e., Cricket Forum.

Promotion of your entry in this forum or any other forum on IF or on any other SM site will lead to disqualification.

You MUST read this before you start your designs. *New* Forum Banner Dynamics

Upload your banner on www.imgur.com or www.minus.com or any uploading site that supports images. Please ensure that your account is not visible in the link or your account is not public - like with Photobucket links.

Then visit How to post your creations on IF

Don't know how to make a banner? Not to worry! Tutorials are right here!

For PS users: ~* Tutorial: How to Make a Banner? *~ by Abhisheking [Banner size in the tutorial is different. Please make sure you take the current banner size mentioned above]

For PSP Users: Making Banners using psp:)*TUT* by -aditi-

The Banner(s) MUST be PMed to SoniRita with the subject field as

'Cricket Forum Banner Contest' on or before 22nd September 2025 at 23:59 PM IST.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in this thread, or PM

SoniRita or Savera84 or Viswasruti

Regards

Tags Credit: Sutapasima

Inviting some wonderful Banner makers, who made banners for various forums in the past, to take part in this contest.

Dear lovely graphicers, we are inviting you to take part in the Cricket Forum Banner contest. Please read post one for mandatory player list, submission date and other information. Looking forward to receive your creations for the contest.

Last date to send your entries: 22nd September 2025

Hello, here is our request to our highly creative graphicers. Here is an opportunity to showcase your innovativeness. Please participate in this banner contest

Last date to send your entries: 22nd September 2025

You can send only one banner. ---- We’ve decided to showcase all submitted entries at the top of our cricket forum one after the other, ranked by the votes they receive, so that our graphicers’ hard work continues to shine! (Winner's banner- 6 months, RU's banner-3 months, and other banners- 1 month each)

I respectfully disagree with this new criteria. While I completely understand the intention to appreciate everyone’s efforts, I personally feel that the winner’s entry alone should be showcased on the top of the forum. Winning a contest should carry the distinct reward of having your work displayed. That visibility is what makes the victory meaningful and sets it apart from participation. When every entry is displayed, even for a short period, it dilutes the significance of being declared the winner.

In the past, banner contests used to attract huge participation with 50 entries or even more in forum like IPKND,DMG, and yet only the winner’s work was displayed. Now, when entries have reduced to barely 10/15, the decision has been taken to showcase them in the most voted criteria. Why showcase most of the entries now and not back then, when there was far greater competition?
It has always been the winning entry that gets displayed, and that tradition gives the contest its weight and prestige. Participants enter with the motivation that if they win, their banner will represent the forum…not just for a few months, but as the sole, standout design. This new trend of showcasing all entries, however well-intentioned, feels wrong in my opinion because it shifts the focus away from the achievement of winning and makes the contest feel less rewarding for the winner.

Anyway, it’s your decision. All the best to everyone.

What WD said was fair enough. Not just in a banner contest, but in every contest, only the winner & the runner ups are acknowledged. This is the norm across the world, not just IF.

If you'd like to honor/appreciate the participants, like rest of the contests or games, you can go with a participation siggie or something like that to acknowledge their hardwork. Displaying all the banners feels like stealing the thunder of the rightful winner.

At the end of the day, it's your decision.

Originally posted by: WildestDreams

You can send only one banner. ---- We’ve decided to showcase all submitted entries at the top of our cricket forum one after the other, ranked by the votes they receive, so that our graphicers’ hard work continues to shine! (Winner's banner- 6 months, RU's banner-3 months, and other banners- 1 month each)

I respectfully disagree with this new criteria. While I completely understand the intention to appreciate everyone’s efforts, I personally feel that the winner’s entry alone should be showcased on the top of the forum. Winning a contest should carry the distinct reward of having your work displayed. That visibility is what makes the victory meaningful and sets it apart from participation. When every entry is displayed, even for a short period, it dilutes the significance of being declared the winner.

In the past, banner contests used to attract huge participation with 50 entries or even more in forum like IPKND,DMG, and yet only the winner’s work was displayed. Now, when entries have reduced to barely 10/15, the decision has been taken to showcase them in the most voted criteria. Why showcase most of the entries now and not back then, when there was far greater competition?
It has always been the winning entry that gets displayed, and that tradition gives the contest its weight and prestige. Participants enter with the motivation that if they win, their banner will represent the forum…not just for a few months, but as the sole, standout design. This new trend of showcasing all entries, however well-intentioned, feels wrong in my opinion because it shifts the focus away from the achievement of winning and makes the contest feel less rewarding for the winner.

Anyway, it’s your decision. All the best to everyone.

I understand your concern, and you are right that traditionally only the winner’s banner has been displayed, which indeed gave the contest its prestige. But times have changed, and so have the dynamics of participation. Earlier, as you rightly mentioned, with 50+ entries pouring in, the spirit of competition was high, and the thrill of winning came naturally! Today, with only 10–15 entries, many graphicers hesitate to even participate because they feel their hard work will be forgotten once the contest is over.

That is exactly why we introduced this method, not to take away the winner’s glory, but to revive enthusiasm, encourage participation, and ensure no graphicer feels demotivated. The winner’s entry will still be the one officially awarded, spotlighted, and honoured with the highest time display, I feel there is no dilution of prestige. But by showcasing other top-voted entries for a short span, we create a sense of inclusivity and appreciation that keeps the creative spirit alive.

Think of it as giving the forum more variety and freshness, while still preserving the dignity of the winning entry. If the method fails to inspire or engage, we will always be open to come back to the old way. But unless we try, we cannot know what will truly motivate our members in the present scenario.

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

I understand your point, and I truly appreciate your views on this matter.

I understand your concern, and you are right that traditionally only the winner’s banner has been displayed, which indeed gave the contest its prestige. But times have changed, and so have the dynamics of participation. Earlier, as you rightly mentioned, with 50+ entries pouring in, the spirit of competition was high, and the thrill of winning came naturally! Today, with only 10–15 entries, many graphicers hesitate to even participate because they feel their hard work will be forgotten once the contest is over.

That is exactly why we introduced this method, not to take away the winner’s glory, but to revive enthusiasm, encourage participation, and ensure no graphicer feels demotivated. The winner’s entry will still be the one officially awarded, spotlighted, and honoured with the highest time display, I feel there is no dilution of prestige. But by showcasing other top-voted entries for a short span, we create a sense of inclusivity and appreciation that keeps the creative spirit alive.

Think of it as giving the forum more variety and freshness, while still preserving the dignity of the winning entry. If the method fails to inspire or engage, we will always be open to come back to the old way. But unless we try, we cannot know what will truly motivate our members in the present scenario.

Madhuri, coming from someone who has lost more than my fair share of banner contests, I believe it's more than just a lack of enthusiasm; it’s often a distinct lack of time due to real-world issues that hinders participation. Participants enter competitions knowing the odds may not always be in their favor. If the chips don’t fall their way, it’s not a slight against them as creators, but rather a matter of perception.

The issue I have with the new system is that it disrespects the voters. They choose a banner that best represents their forum. When you start showcasing all the banners, it feels like their choice doesn’t matter as much, and that undermines the whole point of the voting process.

If you're really set on changing the system, then you need to change the voting process too. Maybe ask voters to rank the banners instead of just picking one. That way, there’s more clarity on what the top entries actually are or which banner they want it to be.

Originally posted by: WildestDreams

You can send only one banner. ---- We’ve decided to showcase all submitted entries at the top of our cricket forum one after the other, ranked by the votes they receive, so that our graphicers’ hard work continues to shine! (Winner's banner- 6 months, RU's banner-3 months, and other banners- 1 month each)

I respectfully disagree with this new criteria. While I completely understand the intention to appreciate everyone’s efforts, I personally feel that the winner’s entry alone should be showcased on the top of the forum. Winning a contest should carry the distinct reward of having your work displayed. That visibility is what makes the victory meaningful and sets it apart from participation. When every entry is displayed, even for a short period, it dilutes the significance of being declared the winner.

In the past, banner contests used to attract huge participation with 50 entries or even more in forum like IPKND,DMG, and yet only the winner’s work was displayed. Now, when entries have reduced to barely 10/15, the decision has been taken to showcase them in the most voted criteria. Why showcase most of the entries now and not back then, when there was far greater competition?
It has always been the winning entry that gets displayed, and that tradition gives the contest its weight and prestige. Participants enter with the motivation that if they win, their banner will represent the forum…not just for a few months, but as the sole, standout design. This new trend of showcasing all entries, however well-intentioned, feels wrong in my opinion because it shifts the focus away from the achievement of winning and makes the contest feel less rewarding for the winner.

Anyway, it’s your decision. All the best to everyone.

+1

It's a contest, so only winning banner should be only showcased. If the plan is to display all the banners one by one, then it shouldn't be a contest, it can be named something else.. Exhibition, may be? But if the winning banner is not going to be there on the top till the next banner contest, I think I'll refrain my self from participating in this contest.

All the best to all who are participating 👍🏻

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

I understand your point, and I truly appreciate your views on this matter.

I understand your concern, and you are right that traditionally only the winner’s banner has been displayed, which indeed gave the contest its prestige. But times have changed, and so have the dynamics of participation. Earlier, as you rightly mentioned, with 50+ entries pouring in, the spirit of competition was high, and the thrill of winning came naturally! Today, with only 10–15 entries, many graphicers hesitate to even participate because they feel their hard work will be forgotten once the contest is over.

I really don't think that's true. Making banner since nearly a decade now, I don't expect to win every banner contest but give my 100% to every banner I make. Less participation may be because making a banner is really time consuming and it might tire you, but definitely not due to lack of enthusiasm .

That is exactly why we introduced this method, not to take away the winner’s glory, but to revive enthusiasm, encourage participation, and ensure no graphicer feels demotivated. The winner’s entry will still be the one officially awarded, spotlighted, and honoured with the highest time display, I feel there is no dilution of prestige. But by showcasing other top-voted entries for a short span, we create a sense of inclusivity and appreciation that keeps the creative spirit alive.

An award is given to the actor to worked best in a movie. That would would not want to share his award with other competitors who were nominated.

Think of it as giving the forum more variety and freshness, while still preserving the dignity of the winning entry. If the method fails to inspire or engage, we will always be open to come back to the old way. But unless we try, we cannot know what will truly motivate our members in the present scenario.

I don't think it's fair to the dignity of the winning entry. There is always 1 winner and winner should get their banner displayed on the forum.