Never in modern Indian history, unless it was war against Pakistan, has one single incident united the hundreds of political parties and politicians ranging from the extreme Right to the extreme Left including the Middle secular parties.
An outraged political establishment called for an inquiry into India's shockingly pusillanimous performance in the cricket World Cup and demanded that the administration of the game be made more accountable so that national prestige did not take a hammering as it has in the West Indies.
Cutting across party divides, MPs said that commitment of the players to the game was clearly questionable as commercial interests seemed to have been accorded a higher priority.
India has always been a cricket crazy nation just like all its sub continent neighbours who are also "in" and "out" of the World Cup. But the shame of Big Brother India loosing out to little brothers Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been bitter pills to swallow for Team India which endorses everything from underwear to toothpaste to the devoted public.
Anyone who gets into the Indian Cricket Team is accorded demi-god status, and is quickly forgotten for better ones, as and when they are chucked out of the team. However the ones in the team can command millions for endorsements which only Bill Gates can dream off to increase sales of his Microsoft products.
Cricket must be the only business where you can make more money in one day than you can in three. ~Pat Gibson
Bob Woolmer is not the only victim of cricket. "Team India" is directly responsible for the death of three fans, two of shock-related cardiac arrests and another committed suicide. Effigies were burnt, as people took to the streets, blackening and burning posters of their ‘fallen gods’. Lewd messages were flashed across about the Indian team. s
Is it madness on the part of the fans? Well, for a country where even the poorest of poor skip daily wages to watch their gods in action, they expect nothing less than a valiant show if not victory on the battlefield of cricket. However, it is truth that most public know that the cricketers are where they are because of the fans.
Sensing the seething anger of the volatile Indian cricket fan, authorities in several cities rushed policemen to provide cover to families of Team India members and protect their homes. Whether in Ranchi, where irate fans smashed down a part of the house local icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni was constructing ..... or around Harbhajan Singh’s home in Jalandhar, police were sent in to keep mobs away as protests flared....
This World Cup however has been a major turning point for many loyal hardcore cricket fans. Faithful for decades, they shake their heads in disappointment and have vowed not to watch the game again with the same passion and vigour they had all these years.
This World Cup may be the death knell for the ICC and the shattering of pedestals created by fans to uphold the Asian teams nearer to heaven. The growth of cricket was too good to be true when it bumped off hockey as the national sport, this at a time when India and Pakistan were long time reigning Olympic Hockey Champions. Today hockey receives little or no attention in these countries and their players even more oblivious to the sports enthusiast or common man.
Will cricket too be abandoned like hockey for something else? Why not, it may soon be tennis looking at the fans Sania Mirza is gaining! Unless cricket is just enjoyed and treated like another game, History is bound to repeat itself!
The way to do it is enjoy our cricket and relax, to accept that occasionally you'll have a bad day and try to get out of bed with a smile on your face. ~Graham Thorpe
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Now, outraged netas seek probe into Cup defeat
Angry fans bring players down from pedestal
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Early exit: India Inc loses money, fans heart
An outraged political establishment called for an inquiry into India's shockingly pusillanimous performance in the cricket World Cup and demanded that the administration of the game be made more accountable so that national prestige did not take a hammering as it has in the West Indies.
Cutting across party divides, MPs said that commitment of the players to the game was clearly questionable as commercial interests seemed to have been accorded a higher priority.
India has always been a cricket crazy nation just like all its sub continent neighbours who are also "in" and "out" of the World Cup. But the shame of Big Brother India loosing out to little brothers Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been bitter pills to swallow for Team India which endorses everything from underwear to toothpaste to the devoted public.
Anyone who gets into the Indian Cricket Team is accorded demi-god status, and is quickly forgotten for better ones, as and when they are chucked out of the team. However the ones in the team can command millions for endorsements which only Bill Gates can dream off to increase sales of his Microsoft products.
Cricket must be the only business where you can make more money in one day than you can in three. ~Pat Gibson
Bob Woolmer is not the only victim of cricket. "Team India" is directly responsible for the death of three fans, two of shock-related cardiac arrests and another committed suicide. Effigies were burnt, as people took to the streets, blackening and burning posters of their ‘fallen gods’. Lewd messages were flashed across about the Indian team. s
Is it madness on the part of the fans? Well, for a country where even the poorest of poor skip daily wages to watch their gods in action, they expect nothing less than a valiant show if not victory on the battlefield of cricket. However, it is truth that most public know that the cricketers are where they are because of the fans.
Sensing the seething anger of the volatile Indian cricket fan, authorities in several cities rushed policemen to provide cover to families of Team India members and protect their homes. Whether in Ranchi, where irate fans smashed down a part of the house local icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni was constructing ..... or around Harbhajan Singh’s home in Jalandhar, police were sent in to keep mobs away as protests flared....
This World Cup however has been a major turning point for many loyal hardcore cricket fans. Faithful for decades, they shake their heads in disappointment and have vowed not to watch the game again with the same passion and vigour they had all these years.
This World Cup may be the death knell for the ICC and the shattering of pedestals created by fans to uphold the Asian teams nearer to heaven. The growth of cricket was too good to be true when it bumped off hockey as the national sport, this at a time when India and Pakistan were long time reigning Olympic Hockey Champions. Today hockey receives little or no attention in these countries and their players even more oblivious to the sports enthusiast or common man.
Will cricket too be abandoned like hockey for something else? Why not, it may soon be tennis looking at the fans Sania Mirza is gaining! Unless cricket is just enjoyed and treated like another game, History is bound to repeat itself!
The way to do it is enjoy our cricket and relax, to accept that occasionally you'll have a bad day and try to get out of bed with a smile on your face. ~Graham Thorpe
Related Articles
Now, outraged netas seek probe into Cup defeat
Angry fans bring players down from pedestal
Police guard cricketers’ homes, restaurants
Early exit: India Inc loses money, fans heart
1 comment:
In India, expecting people not to treat Indian cricketers as demi-gods would be like expecting a common man to walk away indifferently when given a chance to meet Amitabh Bachchan...well, it can be imagined how often that happens...
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