Cricket..This happens only in India
When Nagesh Kukunoor, the critically acclaimed director was making Iqbal, he made a very smart comment during one of his press conferences. He said, I am making a film related to Indian cricket!! i just can't go wrong anywhere..i'll be slashed by a 5 & a 50 yr old! Thats the extent of passion , a common man in india has for the game and especially 'Team India'. I too have been brought up with my share of 'gali cricket' playing with a 'one tappi out' rule with the famous 'MRI ball'.
But when i pause and look at Indian cricket in comparison to other Indian sports today, i just fail to understand where did we go wrong? where did 1 billion cricket maniacs go wrong? Why should 1 billion tax paying cricket freaks screw their entire sat/sun or take an off from office/school/college by faking a reason just to watch India play in a final and lose? Did their support, emotions, loyalty to the team fizzle out over the years?
Recently, we won an overseas test series after 18 or 19 years. Well, in all humility and respect to the Zimbabwaens, the fact that India acheived this milestone by beating an 'out of form' and a very young/inexperienced Zimbabwe team just can't go unnoticed!!! To top it all, even this "achievement" was over shadowed by the controversy b/w captain and coach. I don't want to get into facts and figures as to how much Indian cricket has achieved or lost over the last few years.
Yes, we did make it to the world cup finals, were joint winners of the ICC Knockout trophy and have had a successful series in Australia too. I am aware of my cricketing facts but my question is..For the amount of money/fame/respect/importance the indian cricket team,BCCI etc are getitng..are they delivering their dues?If India fights and loses, am sure no Indian would have a problem.After all who doesnt respect a fighter? But as Sunny quotes, India manages and somehow ensures that they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Well, thats where we feel the pinch.
Though Sania Mirza has put Indian Tennis on the world map again after Lee and Hesh, does she get the same adulation Sachin got when he started creating ripples in International Cricket? Narain Karthikeyan is the first to make India famous in the Automotive Circuit. But how many know him? The point is the lack of awareness. It is often said that the BCCI is as rich as the government of India. But what do we see there? a power struggle for the top seat, bunch of oldies who have never stepped on the green patch trying to rake in the moolah through contracts, sponsorships,ads etc.
I may sound frustated and one might call me a pessimist. But I would define myself as a passionate cricket fan who is sick and tired of waiting for a miracle called "consistency" to happen to Indian cricket. Not many people are aware that Narain Karthikeyan is not drawing a driver fee from Jordan. He is in fact paying Jordan Racing a substantial amount through his limited sponsors in India for a drive on the F-1 circuit. The reason as mentioned before is again an absence of awareness. I don't deny that F-1 is an expensive sport and viewership etc can't be afforded by the common man.But as a country with so many top corporates, the least we could do is support a rising talent. But NO!!! instead, we invest money,energy and mostly importantly time in watching our national cricket team slog their ass out in losing a match and pocket a cool few lakhs!!!
I just need to know, is it worth it? Anyways..as it is rightly said, It Happens only in India..Sad but True!
When Nagesh Kukunoor, the critically acclaimed director was making Iqbal, he made a very smart comment during one of his press conferences. He said, I am making a film related to Indian cricket!! i just can't go wrong anywhere..i'll be slashed by a 5 & a 50 yr old! Thats the extent of passion , a common man in india has for the game and especially 'Team India'. I too have been brought up with my share of 'gali cricket' playing with a 'one tappi out' rule with the famous 'MRI ball'.
But when i pause and look at Indian cricket in comparison to other Indian sports today, i just fail to understand where did we go wrong? where did 1 billion cricket maniacs go wrong? Why should 1 billion tax paying cricket freaks screw their entire sat/sun or take an off from office/school/college by faking a reason just to watch India play in a final and lose? Did their support, emotions, loyalty to the team fizzle out over the years?
Recently, we won an overseas test series after 18 or 19 years. Well, in all humility and respect to the Zimbabwaens, the fact that India acheived this milestone by beating an 'out of form' and a very young/inexperienced Zimbabwe team just can't go unnoticed!!! To top it all, even this "achievement" was over shadowed by the controversy b/w captain and coach. I don't want to get into facts and figures as to how much Indian cricket has achieved or lost over the last few years.
Yes, we did make it to the world cup finals, were joint winners of the ICC Knockout trophy and have had a successful series in Australia too. I am aware of my cricketing facts but my question is..For the amount of money/fame/respect/importance the indian cricket team,BCCI etc are getitng..are they delivering their dues?If India fights and loses, am sure no Indian would have a problem.After all who doesnt respect a fighter? But as Sunny quotes, India manages and somehow ensures that they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Well, thats where we feel the pinch.
Though Sania Mirza has put Indian Tennis on the world map again after Lee and Hesh, does she get the same adulation Sachin got when he started creating ripples in International Cricket? Narain Karthikeyan is the first to make India famous in the Automotive Circuit. But how many know him? The point is the lack of awareness. It is often said that the BCCI is as rich as the government of India. But what do we see there? a power struggle for the top seat, bunch of oldies who have never stepped on the green patch trying to rake in the moolah through contracts, sponsorships,ads etc.
I may sound frustated and one might call me a pessimist. But I would define myself as a passionate cricket fan who is sick and tired of waiting for a miracle called "consistency" to happen to Indian cricket. Not many people are aware that Narain Karthikeyan is not drawing a driver fee from Jordan. He is in fact paying Jordan Racing a substantial amount through his limited sponsors in India for a drive on the F-1 circuit. The reason as mentioned before is again an absence of awareness. I don't deny that F-1 is an expensive sport and viewership etc can't be afforded by the common man.But as a country with so many top corporates, the least we could do is support a rising talent. But NO!!! instead, we invest money,energy and mostly importantly time in watching our national cricket team slog their ass out in losing a match and pocket a cool few lakhs!!!
I just need to know, is it worth it? Anyways..as it is rightly said, It Happens only in India..Sad but True!
posted by Simba | 3:48 PM
1 Comments:
the spineless performances by team india has just made me shut out cricket....its just not worth my time....will we ever come back?
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