Team India – hasty retreat! [Picture source]
One feels sorry for the cricket-only millions of India. True, a good number of participating teams never play cricket (Ireland, Holland, Bermuda, Scotland, for example), and are only there to fill the ‘quota’.
Also true is that the actual game at any time is played by only 13 men, while the remaining 7 recline on sofa in pavilion, or go shopping outside. Again it’s true that the game is so leisurely that players near the boundary line can afford to give one or 2 autographs, or look cheeringly at the beauties in the gallery.
Yet, for all what I call its minuses, cricket is the numero uno sport in India. Or, is it? Well, not quite. A miniscule percent of people keep track of the sport at state or club level.
An even smaller populace will remember the names of players at state level. But when the team plays at national level, it’s time for us to come out of woodwork. Overnight, aunts and grannies become experts in the game, not to speak of uncountable uncles and grandfathers.
Now there is no place to hide the face. My respect for such world-beating events like World Cup Soccer or Summer Olympics suffers humiliation when I’m to call the present cricket mela at Windies as World Cup too. But then what to do?
Ok, it is World Cup Cricket. India is on the verge of saying the tourney goodbye. Scores of advertisers and TV channels are now biting their fingers, because if India does move out, very few people will take the trouble of watching the other games of the tourney, especially those played at odd hours. So much for the popularity of cricket in India!
I’m not to shed even a crocodile tear for the media who would suffer loss at India’s exit. Time they understand their folly. They’re creating monumental harm to other Indian sports. Why mourn if they loose heavily? In fact I’ll be glad if they suffer loss on this count.
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