Is it time to move over Cricket?

Is it time to move over Cricket? In Indian parlance, the answer to this question can be quite inflammatory and contrasting at the same time. For instance, people might have literally killed me if I would have raised this question 9 months back, when India completed a historical triumph by beating Srilanka in the World Cup finals. But if the same question is raised today(when the Indian cricket team is getting thrashed in OZ) or would have been raised after India’s tour of England, a lot of people from the very lot might eventually reply in ‘YES’. So to get an unbiased answer to this rather dubious question one has to look beyond these impulsive pointers and reach to a conclusion based on various other facets.

Quite often we come across strong sentiments from some of our friends and colleagues that ‘they have stopped watching cricket ever since the match fixing fiasco’ or ‘tournaments like IPL have killed the very essence of the game and have turned it into a money spinning machine’ or ‘ever since that XYZ cricketer(s) has retired their connect with the game has vanquished’ or for that matter ‘they switch off their TV sets as soon as their favorite cricketer gets out’. But at the same time there are fans like me also, who can even watch a Bangladesh-Srilanka encounter with the same fervor as one can associate with a highly anticipated India Pakistan tie. So the bigger question that emerges out of these sentiments is that do we like/dislike the game because of a certain set of cricketers or we form our judgments solely based on the extent of commercialism the game has undergone or do we actually follow the game solely based on our love for the game? Probably it’s a mix of all these cases, because if true love for the game would have been the only reason, our reactions and mood swings wouldn’t have been so mercurial and impulsive.

But why do we exhibit such contrasting pangs of impulsiveness? Indians are known to be emotional by nature and when it comes to cricket it breaches all limits. Also it’s a known fact that we don’t celebrate and appreciate good performances if they come against us, no wonder we score poorly in the ‘love for the game’ aspect and start cribbing way to early. And since cricket happens to be the only sport that most of the Indians can relate to, it excites and deflates our spirits beyond normal. Unlike countries like England, Australia, New Zealand etc. that have sports other than cricket also being followed and played with the same intensity, Indians only have cricket as their staple diet. No wonder our expectations from the cricketers are mammoth and that eventually translates into abnormal reactions at the times of adverse results. So not only we need to inculcate a habit of acknowledging and appreciating any display of good sporting performance against us but we also need to start giving impetus to sports other than cricket.

Indians giving impetus to sports other than cricket? It’s easier said than done! After all we excel in the art of mocking our own athletes for their not so celebratory performances in their respective sport or their early exits in any of the international events. Now, even if we keep the routine rants of lack of aid from the Government and Infrastructural lapses aside, one thing that any sportsman yearns for the most is support from his/her peers and countrymen. So unless we start taking these athletes and their trade seriously, we won’t be able to motivate them and then, to expect world beating performances from these de-motivated sportsmen is simply asking for too much. And if dearth of talent is a concern, then it’s certainly a lame one, as after all if a country of over a billion can’t produce talent, who will? It’s just a matter of providing the required motivation, adequate infrastructure support and right opportunities. And on the same lines, sponsorships, aids and finances shouldn’t be considered as a hindrance in the growth of non-cricketing sporting trades because if big corporate houses can splurge massive amounts on IPL clubs, they can certainly put their hands up in aiding the national representations in other sports as well.

So, Is it time to move over Cricket? In an another attempt to answer this question, the response would be a firm ‘No’. But it is certainly time to start loving the game rather than being impulsive and adopting the path of idolizing the sportsmen. It’s also high time we start celebrating and giving impetus to other sports as well. And most importantly it’s time to believe that at the end of it any sport is not a matter of life and death it’s just an art form meant to celebrate, entice and unite the entire nation. It’s time to move over our flawed prejudices!

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