Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Why cricket will never die

This post started off as a comment in response to Hil’s fantastic post on his blog - http://commeman.blogspot.com/2008/04/death-of-civilized-sport.html. So, you are better off reading his post before proceeding further. That and the fact that he writes much better than me. And if it is Hil who is reading this, how I wish this discussion was taking place in H-Mezz at 2 am … those were the days … sigh!

First a personal message –
Dear Mr.Packer,
Just in case you happen to read this blog, I know you are up there having the last laugh. Yep, you were right all along. Just that your ideas came 30 years early. Ciao.

The simple thing is that 20-20 or T20 Franchise system is the latest in a long series of steps taken to make the game of cricket that extra bit closer to the masses. If there is lots of money is to be made in the process, then merrier the party. ODIs and Day Night matches are examples of similar (successful) changes that immediately come to mind. The struggle has always been to ensure that cricket appealed to the layperson. Yes, the same guy who stands outside the television shop showroom in the blazing sun at Anna Salai traffic junction craning his neck to catch a glimpse of Sachin’s glorious straight drive on the widescreen TV. He may not know its technical name, but it sure does bring a smile to his face. For you see, it is no longer religion alone that is the opium of the masses. Sports and the entertainment media are increasingly proving to be more potent. The moment you don’t get him to stop and watch the game, the moment he decides to flip the channel to some arbit reality show, the game is as good as dead. For, it is they who sustain the game and in a vast majority of cases, it is a symbiotic relationship. Sure there will be the purists and the “lovers” of the game who follow every match religiously and debate the intricacies of a simple game endlessly, but they are not the ones who matter. And thank God, they don’t. Every change in the format of the game has been met with stiff resistance from the purists who keep going back to the same old wounded cries of the game being played is “just isn’t cricket” anymore. Be it the introduction of the ODI format or the third umpire or the Day/Night format – they have always argued that the spirit of the game was on the verge of asphyxiation. So what, I ask? If that is what the masses want, if that is what makes them happy in the middle of galloping inflation, cancerous corruption and a generally hopeless existence, so be it. Cricket belongs to the masses, it is they who bring in the moolah into the game (indirectly) and they shall decide the success or failure of the T20 Franchise system.

Let us remember, that we in India have pioneered a system that if successful could very well be replicated in all cricket playing nations. Everything going well, in due course cricket might see the emergence of its Manchester United and LA Lakers. The wealth of good it would do to development of talent at grass-root level cannot be overemphasized. The emergence and involvement of businessmen and corporations in the management of the game will ensure that the likes of Dalmiya and their brand of politicking don’t ever plague Indian cricket. Playing for the country in international fixtures will be for the pride and not for the hefty pay packet that it brings (as is currently the case in soccer and basketball). But all this is far into the future. Let us first give the new format a chance to succeed.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

well said, thatha!

Anonymous said...

I sort of agree but will it kill Test Cricket? Think about it this way - Augustus Stanford is planning to start a league with WI playing England, if T20 picks up in India (which it likely will) then there will be several other similar leagues - so where do Test cricket, ODIs etc fit in the schedule? Also - other effects like player fatigue?