Cricket is considered the game of gentlemen and has ruled the hearts of fans across the globe. Since the inception of this popular sport, it has been an exceptional source of income. In the bygone era, when cricket was confined only to Western countries or the royal families of India, it involved huge amounts of money. The sport was played with passion, splendor and as a symbol to define one’s status. The emphasis was on the glory and pride of the nation rather than the rewards. Such was the glory of this game that it thrilled both the players and the spectators.
But today, values and priorities have changed. Cricket is benefiting a lot from money and new age cricketers are more interested in Cricket league than playing for their country. Leagues like IPL or upcoming EPL are a warehouse of huge numbers and this simply means the divergence of raw talent from the actual track. From organizing a cricket match to distributing prizes, the flow of money is seamless and second to none. The cricket business is so prosperous that while the money keeps coming in, disasters keep happening. India’s early exit from the world cup is a mere glimpse of this epidemic and surely this chaos has a lot to offer in the near future.
The real problem lies in the structural governance of sport. At both the national and state levels, politicians and businessmen dominate the BCCI administration. How can you stomach the fact that the president of India’s most exciting game is the agriculture minister? Are we short of cricketing geniuses or efficient captains? What is the point of believing that a person who absorbs tremendous pressure from the fans on the pitch and still comes out on a par with them, is not fit to rule the cricket corps? Above all, a basic fact prevails that how can a businessman or a politician select the players to represent the country?
The flood of celebrities and business professionals into the world of cricket has brought with it many plagues. Advertisers are hastily reworking expensive campaigns that were once based around cricket. TV channels that paid big bucks for broadcast rights are having trouble unloading their inventory of ad space. The civil servants are sometimes more news than the cricketers as it is run by industrialists and politicians. The official money in cricket is big. The recent controversy involving the Income Tax in IPL is a clear example of this fact. The effect of glamor is not far behind. Prolonged late night IPL parties affected cricketers and they started catching air on the pitch instead of crucial catches. Batsmen were caught napping in their crease and bowlers appeared to be engaging in salsa dancing. Such is the devastating result of increased interference in cricket.
The time has come to put aside the interests of media rights and sponsorships. Stupid topics like the presidency and website owners should be overlooked. You need to spend money to nurture new talent the right way. It is high time that personal interests stay away from the cricketing fraternity, otherwise money will rule the game.