It's Not Cricket

“It’s Not Cricket” – was the line from a prose by Jim Corbett that I had read long back . I am not going to pen that article now – but just wanted to reiterate the context – he meant the respect , the adulation with which the game ( Cricket) is looked upto . And others need a Class of their own to match the level of cricket – such is the edifice of the game - so not all are cricket.

Then given the recent pandemonium we have had over IPL , the game for sure had lost its respect in my eyes. I know saying so I would draw lots of despised looks for sure .

But for once lets get our facts and figures right – this game had been one of the major stumbling blocks for the other sports in India. I am not against cricket – I do love watching as well as playing this game. But the money and the time – injected into the game turns out to be a farce - legitimately proven by our dismal performance. We win one match and then  lose three at a stretch ! Our fluctuating performance proved again and again by the fact that - We win against any team as well as Lose against any team !!!
Not all teams are constant performer – but we aren’t even closer to being that !! And cricketers , nowadays, are more of a money-minting machine than a sportsperson. The innumerable tv Ads are the vivid corroboration to the same - where Practice is swapped with Acting. More so the IPL hullabaloo glorifies the limelight associated with the game more than the game itself !

Cricket fanaticism has always enveloped a pall of negligence onto the other sports in our country. India is so neck-deep playing cricket that all the other sports like – football , hockey , boxing are still at their nascent stage. Inspite of the pejorative attitude towards these games and the players alike , occassionaly there's  been display of the spark of talent , shine and potential powerhouse that’s in store – untouched. Have we ever cared about our big absence in Football World Cup ? Even if we put half of the money spent on cricket onto the survival of these sports , the reaping would be galore.

Let all sports enjoy the same attention and financial injection. It’s not enough playing just cricket – India does have a vast pool of affluent talent and hence need to prove the mettle on every sport !!!