GONE are the days, perhaps, when my eyes could not resist itself from shedding tears whenever my country (India) lost any cricket match, be in any format. I think it was in my gene to love this game as not only me but my entire family (parents, kins) spent nearly 7 hours for an ODI match. Infact, my mother used to prepare the day's meal beforehand in order to be on time in front of the small television we had in the later 90s and the first few years of 21st century. No one, specially me, wanted to miss even a single ball in the entire match. Even though I am feeling a bit nostalgic about it, but my drop-down of interest do have sufficient reasons. I, personally, do miss those days when 220 used to have been a competitive target to achieve. And the likes of the greats and the committed ones which includes Glen McGrath, Wasim Akram, Steve Waugh, Rahul Dravid and a plethora of other dedicated and brilliant players on the ground made my entire journey of enjoying cricket a memorable one. It was no doubt a "GENTLEMAN'S GAME". The passion was so instilled in me that once I gave a thought of choosing cricket as my career. But, the sad part is that a person belonging to a middle class family (at that time we were in the lower middle class category) has many other responsibilities (loosely we can say, at first we have to take care of the economic condition) and thus, people do not get full opportunity to follow their passion. In this scenario, we are left with no other option but to study and secure a job. That's what I have been following till now. Anyway I think I am going off the track (excuse me for this). Coming back to where I started, I think the timing is very perfect for me (Obviously I mean the recent spot-fixing in IPL) to share some reasons and the not-so-happy feelings attached with it.
I do not know but for me, around a decade ago, there was a sense of "Patriotism" attached with the cricket matches. Winning was a matter of pride for the country and "THE CASTROL CHAUKA" sounds from Radio in every corner of road, shops made me feel like it was really something deserving to give my time to. Some people might want to say that winning is a matter of pride now too, I do not disagree with them, but I can say with high sincerity that the intensity of love among our fellow Indians have seen a down slide in the recent few years. The reason for this is not at all uncommon. The discipline which a national level player should carry with them is not seen. Even though, I agree that we are getting highly talented players, but their on-field behaviour is too low to be categorized as a national asset. The recent blabbering by Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli etc and such high profile players proves my point what I am trying to make. They all have Sachin Tendulkar as their favourites and all say they grew up watching Sachin to bat, but one thing they could not learn form the Master Blaster is his decency and down-to-earth nature. I did not highlight the point much that they are very talented as, in my view, the point does not deserve to be mentioned. This is because it is expected from them to play and give their best and score runs for the country. By scoring runs, they are only doing their duty and fulfilling the responsibility entrusted upon them (Remember they are also paid in excess of their need). The name and fame attached with the cricketing world makes them a national hero. However, the love and respect which is being showered upon these players by our fellow Indians does not receive the same kind of treatment in return. For some players, "GREED" has become the main cause of such low-category activities which we witness off the ground. I think there is no genuine love for cricket among some of the players who are in the Indian team. The situation has become so worse that former betting king Dinesh kalgi (I did not know about him till the time he was in news recently) in his interview to CNN IBN has revealed that no player in the Indian team is honest. Even though I am optimistic and hope to look at positive aspects of Cricket, but these statements by such people (obviously I have negative view for such people) puts me in a dilemma whether these players who are treated not less than a "Messiah" even deserve all that in their hand. In my view, the root cause of all evil lies in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kamal Morarka, Former Vice President of BCCI wrote in a recent discussion "IPL is nothing except money making scheme. Thats what the author Lalit Modi said openly that he will show BCCI how to make money. BCCI and its then President should not have fallen in the trap". Anyway, when the tournament came into picture, I was one of the supporters as I did think for some moment that we can look for the young talent and train them so that they can fill the place when we won't have the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid etc. But, I think I was too immature to look from the other side of the coin and the impact it will have on the Cricketing world. I do not know how to react when I look at the Indian team and find no new name from the IPL in the team even after 6th edition of IPL. Even though we could get some like Saurav Tiwary, Murali Vijay etc who played well in the initial editions of IPL and got a chance in the team, but they could hardly make any impact at the big level. Now, if I look at the picture broadly, it should not come as a surprise to me as 20 over game can't produce big players like Dravid, Tendulkar. The reverse can be true. Chris Gayle is a house-hold name after the IPL but if we carefully look at his record and performance in the country level matches, we can see that he is hardly a game changer. Same is the case with yet another hero of IPL, the big name "Kieron Pollard". Looking at his record in ODI matches, he can hardly be called as a "impact" player. For big matches, we need "Long race winning horses" and not the ones who hits well in those few overs of IPL and when it comes to ODI matches fail to produce the result out of him.
Apart from the above shortcomings, IPL has even failed to maintain the "Spirit of the Game". In this aspect, it is less said than better. The recent "Spot-fixing" and the long chain of networks working "so hard" to make money came as a "Bolt out of the Blue" for the millions of Cricket lovers including me. Not alone the players like Sreesanth, Ankit etc but the authorities are no less culprit in the entire make-up of spot fixing. I would not like to go in the entire detail of involvements of every one from Gurunath Meiyappan to Vindoo Dara Singh, but let's focus directly on the head of everyone- the President of BCCI himself, Mr. N Srinivasan. Till the time investigations are on, it will not be fair to comment on anyone. However, the seed of corruption developed from some of the actions of the President himself. It was none other than N Srinivasan himself who amended the BCCI's rules in 2008 to allow his company Indian Cements to bid for an IPL franchise. The result is the conflict of interest. Even though it is not a matter of great importance here but the impropriety and wrongdoing attached with it are (The statement is from The Hindu). Somewhere I read a statement which I would like to pen it down here "We are not living in the era of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who resigned for an accident with which he was remotely connected personally. This is the Era of Bansals / Kalmadis / DMK / YEDDURAPPA.....where you should shamelessly fight to the last breath, even though you know the truth". The continuation of Mr. Srinavasan aptly justifies the above statement. If I start thinking and jotting it down every action of those linked with the BCCI or IPL govrning body and their motives, I would take a day or two to finish. It's better to leave the entire matter to the "Public" who are the victims of the entire controversy and decide for themselves if they would like to restore their faith on these games with frivolous intention of some. I did not mention the authorities here as everyone in India at present knows the motive of those who are sitting at the top and decide the matter. It would be better if some one comes to the forefront and look at the long term impact of IPL on Indian cricket and put behind the short term gains to some franchise and the BCCI Board. Atleast the authorities should try to adhere to the anti-corruption code book which says, If public confidence in the integrity of the game is undermined, “the very essence of cricket will be shaken to the core”. Looking at the hue and cry made by public regarding punishing such players having links with the bookies gives a sense of feeling that they doubt the integrity of the IPL. Now, it is upto the board to decide on their future course of actions to restore the public faith on them. I would like to conclude my writing by quoting Mr. Kamal Morarka, "BCCI should have never started IPL. It is neither international cricket nor domestic tournament. It is a frivolous inter corporate activity between nine teams played by paid players. It should be discontinued if BCCI wants to save Indian cricket".
I do not know but for me, around a decade ago, there was a sense of "Patriotism" attached with the cricket matches. Winning was a matter of pride for the country and "THE CASTROL CHAUKA" sounds from Radio in every corner of road, shops made me feel like it was really something deserving to give my time to. Some people might want to say that winning is a matter of pride now too, I do not disagree with them, but I can say with high sincerity that the intensity of love among our fellow Indians have seen a down slide in the recent few years. The reason for this is not at all uncommon. The discipline which a national level player should carry with them is not seen. Even though, I agree that we are getting highly talented players, but their on-field behaviour is too low to be categorized as a national asset. The recent blabbering by Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli etc and such high profile players proves my point what I am trying to make. They all have Sachin Tendulkar as their favourites and all say they grew up watching Sachin to bat, but one thing they could not learn form the Master Blaster is his decency and down-to-earth nature. I did not highlight the point much that they are very talented as, in my view, the point does not deserve to be mentioned. This is because it is expected from them to play and give their best and score runs for the country. By scoring runs, they are only doing their duty and fulfilling the responsibility entrusted upon them (Remember they are also paid in excess of their need). The name and fame attached with the cricketing world makes them a national hero. However, the love and respect which is being showered upon these players by our fellow Indians does not receive the same kind of treatment in return. For some players, "GREED" has become the main cause of such low-category activities which we witness off the ground. I think there is no genuine love for cricket among some of the players who are in the Indian team. The situation has become so worse that former betting king Dinesh kalgi (I did not know about him till the time he was in news recently) in his interview to CNN IBN has revealed that no player in the Indian team is honest. Even though I am optimistic and hope to look at positive aspects of Cricket, but these statements by such people (obviously I have negative view for such people) puts me in a dilemma whether these players who are treated not less than a "Messiah" even deserve all that in their hand. In my view, the root cause of all evil lies in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kamal Morarka, Former Vice President of BCCI wrote in a recent discussion "IPL is nothing except money making scheme. Thats what the author Lalit Modi said openly that he will show BCCI how to make money. BCCI and its then President should not have fallen in the trap". Anyway, when the tournament came into picture, I was one of the supporters as I did think for some moment that we can look for the young talent and train them so that they can fill the place when we won't have the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid etc. But, I think I was too immature to look from the other side of the coin and the impact it will have on the Cricketing world. I do not know how to react when I look at the Indian team and find no new name from the IPL in the team even after 6th edition of IPL. Even though we could get some like Saurav Tiwary, Murali Vijay etc who played well in the initial editions of IPL and got a chance in the team, but they could hardly make any impact at the big level. Now, if I look at the picture broadly, it should not come as a surprise to me as 20 over game can't produce big players like Dravid, Tendulkar. The reverse can be true. Chris Gayle is a house-hold name after the IPL but if we carefully look at his record and performance in the country level matches, we can see that he is hardly a game changer. Same is the case with yet another hero of IPL, the big name "Kieron Pollard". Looking at his record in ODI matches, he can hardly be called as a "impact" player. For big matches, we need "Long race winning horses" and not the ones who hits well in those few overs of IPL and when it comes to ODI matches fail to produce the result out of him.
Apart from the above shortcomings, IPL has even failed to maintain the "Spirit of the Game". In this aspect, it is less said than better. The recent "Spot-fixing" and the long chain of networks working "so hard" to make money came as a "Bolt out of the Blue" for the millions of Cricket lovers including me. Not alone the players like Sreesanth, Ankit etc but the authorities are no less culprit in the entire make-up of spot fixing. I would not like to go in the entire detail of involvements of every one from Gurunath Meiyappan to Vindoo Dara Singh, but let's focus directly on the head of everyone- the President of BCCI himself, Mr. N Srinivasan. Till the time investigations are on, it will not be fair to comment on anyone. However, the seed of corruption developed from some of the actions of the President himself. It was none other than N Srinivasan himself who amended the BCCI's rules in 2008 to allow his company Indian Cements to bid for an IPL franchise. The result is the conflict of interest. Even though it is not a matter of great importance here but the impropriety and wrongdoing attached with it are (The statement is from The Hindu). Somewhere I read a statement which I would like to pen it down here "We are not living in the era of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who resigned for an accident with which he was remotely connected personally. This is the Era of Bansals / Kalmadis / DMK / YEDDURAPPA.....where you should shamelessly fight to the last breath, even though you know the truth". The continuation of Mr. Srinavasan aptly justifies the above statement. If I start thinking and jotting it down every action of those linked with the BCCI or IPL govrning body and their motives, I would take a day or two to finish. It's better to leave the entire matter to the "Public" who are the victims of the entire controversy and decide for themselves if they would like to restore their faith on these games with frivolous intention of some. I did not mention the authorities here as everyone in India at present knows the motive of those who are sitting at the top and decide the matter. It would be better if some one comes to the forefront and look at the long term impact of IPL on Indian cricket and put behind the short term gains to some franchise and the BCCI Board. Atleast the authorities should try to adhere to the anti-corruption code book which says, If public confidence in the integrity of the game is undermined, “the very essence of cricket will be shaken to the core”. Looking at the hue and cry made by public regarding punishing such players having links with the bookies gives a sense of feeling that they doubt the integrity of the IPL. Now, it is upto the board to decide on their future course of actions to restore the public faith on them. I would like to conclude my writing by quoting Mr. Kamal Morarka, "BCCI should have never started IPL. It is neither international cricket nor domestic tournament. It is a frivolous inter corporate activity between nine teams played by paid players. It should be discontinued if BCCI wants to save Indian cricket".
