Enough of Being a Cricket Fan
Excess of anything is bad.
And here we are talking of a poisonous combination of excess amount of cricket and excess amount of money; all in one ecosystem....
I have got no qualms in admitting that as a sporting nation our priorities are definitely misplaced.
The most crazily followed sport in India is Cricket. Indian cricket is driving the world cricket today.
But let's ponder, what exactly is world cricket ?
A game played by England and its former colonies.
Not even 10 out of 190+ nations play serious cricket with a domestic cricketing structure. A few cosmetic names have been periodically added from time to time in this list of 10 odd nations; basically to give an impression of adding footprints of cricket as a sport.
So, in a game played by just 10 nations, we excel. And drive the sport with the power of money.
But even in that group of just 10 nations, do we really excel ? What are our cricketing achievements on World stage (actually a 10 nation stage) ?
We have won just two out of 12 ODI World Cups and just one out of 8 T-20 World Cups... With our billions in the cricketing coffers, we surely should have achieved more.
So do we really dominate the game? No, in fact far from it. But, yes, we dominate its economy.
The game is generating so much of money in India that...
the world (... Well, here the world means those 10 nations) is bending backwards to accomodate us ;
media is thriving on paid analysis to keep the interests alive ;
T-20 franchises have taken national loyalties out of the window ;
same Indian franchises have ended up gobbling the cricketing ecosystem in multiple nations ;
multiple Indian teams are touring simultaneously in different countries ;
no one is bothered when we seem listless in our performances ;
a sacked Chairman of Selectors has the will to reapply within a month for same job ;
sponsors' pressure is dominating team selections......
What all frustrations can be vented out by an ordinary fan ? Who cares, when the money is flowing.... and flowing bags full...
There is a World Cup happening every year... I mean, it has really become a joke.
Virat, Rohit, Shikhar, KL, Bumrah, Pant, Pandya, Rahane.... have all captained some kind of an Indian team since 2021... Is there any method in the madness?
When was the last time we saw our international players play Ranji matches ? Players recovering from injuries are straight away being drafted back into the national team without going through the domestic grind to regain form, fitness and rhythm.
When was the last time we saw a Chairman of Selectors addressing a press conference and answering questions ?
The composition of selection committee itself reeks of embarassment. Invariably, the collective Tests/ODIs experience of entire Selection Committee is less than the Captain/Coach that they are sitting with in meetings. Will a Chetan Sharma or a Debashish Mohanty or Abey Kuruvilla ever have the will and stature to question Rohit or Dravid or Kohli. They all just seem to be happy to be part of the system.
The cricket administrators have become so drunk in the power and money that cricketing sense has become a non starter.
There is only one solution to restore our interest in the romance of cricket, and that is *reduce the amount of cricket being played*. But it will not happen because of the money it is bringing. And the money is flowing because you and me are watching the game despite our disillusionment.
So, now onwards, we have to rise and make them realise that *we matter*... The game is because of its fans and not the other way round. Hence,
#boycottcricket
#boycottbcci
#boycottipl
Let's focus our interests on watching Pro Kabaddi, Basketball, Hockey, Football, Badminton..... Choose your game, these games are craving for our viewing....
Enough of Cricket nonsense...
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