Indian team has made its most igonimous exit from World Cup since 1992, the average Indian Fan is angry. The experts of the game as well as the incapable team members are taking shelter in the guise that this after all a game. The average Indian Cricket Fan is being ridiculed for taking things to heart and that they dont understand cricket. This is nothing but the typical story of trying to cut off the branch of the tree on which you are seated. The media is also being questioned for making a national issue out of the defeat.
I am ready to buy the arguements provided somebody is willing to give answers for the following questions:-
a. Would our cricket stars have made so much money from endorsements but for the emotional Indian Cricket Fan on the street. Dear Cricketers, it is his blind faith that made the sponsorers dole out such huge cheques to you. There are sports which involve a lot more sweating on the field than cricket, those players dont earn such astronmic sums.
b. Who gives exclusive interviews to the media? Who makes unrealstic promises to college students on hour long programmes? As long as the Media was giving positive coverage to the non-existent cricketing talents, walks on the ramps, the cricketers and the experts had no problem, they were all game for it. It is just when the media started questioning the obvious shortcomings of the cricketers, everybody is finding fault with the media?
c. A senior BCCI functionary today has ridiculed the media for making too much of India's chances of winning the world cup. India is going to play hardly 40 or 50 days of cricket every year at home for the next 4 years. Indian Cricket Board has sold its domestic cricket telecast rights for the highest price in the world (comparing other cricket boards). Why did the BCCI which was not sure of its cricket team winning the world cup sell its telecast rights at such astronimical rights?
d. Why does it cost so much to watch an international cricket match? After all most of the stadiums are built on land given by Government at throw away prices.What facilities does the cricket fan who sits in the gallery stands of a stadium get, not even a roof to brave the sun and he is required to shell out nearly a thousand rupees to watch a match.
e. What is the need to have Ranji Trophy Cricket, if the highest scorer and wicket taker in it dont find a place in the playing eleven. Joginder Sharma has been performing consistently with bat and ball for the past 3 years and all that he got was a single match in South Africa. A single failure is sufficient for Joginder to be banished to the anals of cricket whereas years of failure is not sufficient for Shewag to be dropped.
f. Anybody would get irritated to see the Ad "Ab har ghar mein Sachin" being repeated ad nauseam on TV even after the exit of India from WC2007. Why does not Mr. Sachin return the amount to the company and ask them to stop telecasting the Ad.
g. When a team loses as badly as India has done, most of the senior cricketers announce their retirements? Why have none of our senior cricketers have had the gumption to admit that they have failed and just quit from the team? Why do they want to hang on to the positions in the team?
h. They are not representing BCCI but wearing on India on their shirts and caps. When India loses, her citizens are bound to go wild. Let them wear the logo BCCI XI or ***** Cola XI and play from tommorrow onwards not even a mongrel would for care their defeat or victory.
i. There is no major country in the world which does not have passion about one sport. Defeat or Victory in that sport swings the mood of the nation. In India it is cricket. People are bound to react violently when you lose without a semblance of a fight. Just turn back the pages to last year, see how England reacted to its footbal team loss in the Soccer World Cup.
Dear Cricketers and Experts, when you can bask in the glory of our adulation for your insignficant acheivements, better learn to accept our ire when you fail meekly or else find a different profession. If you are a mechanic, watchman, barber, painter, chartered accountant or any profession you choose and you fail, we wont come in the streets and protest. You are wearing Indian Colors and the hype in the country is such that you are valued next only to our brave Jawans who guard our frontiers. It is this hype which has brought you the riches. So next time dont tell we dont understand the game. Maybe yes, we dont understand the game or else why would we have showered so much of our attention on paper tigers like you.
I only hope fans do see the truth and stop idiolising these non-performing heroes. Let their victories and defeats not affect your daily schedules. Watch a cricket match but only when there is nothing worthwhile to watch on the TV.
