Cricket Business

People had been waiting for it for long time. They had also planned their vacation, work and other important things keeping in mind the schedule. Everyone expected it to be an exciting extravaganza. And they expected some real good entertainment and excitement. But the way it is progressing right now was least expected. Controversies, murder, and to top it all the crashing out of teams who were expected to atleast make it to Super Eight. World Cup 2007 has till not been what it was expected to be.

Betting stories doing the rounds, Bob Woolmer’s murder, and Team India and Pakistan’s crashing out in the first round itself, has sure made quite a few people regret their decisions of giving so much importance to the tournament.

And for Indian fans, it has been the worst ever World Cup. As if the loss to Bangladesh was not enough, the team lost to the Sri Lankans. The disappointment and anger is not because Indians lost, it is because they lost without even putting up a fight. Indian Team boosts of World class batting line up. But it is this batting line up that failed to even show some kind of class! Had the Indian team put up a fight, the disappointment and the anger would not have been so high. But then I guess we India’s forget that Team India plays for bagging the advertisement contracts and not the World Cup or any other Cup for that matter!

Remember the last time Indian’s were in a do-or-die situation? I think in the recent past it has been a habit with the Indian team. They manage to make each situation a do-or-die one. But how many instances do you recollect when they have emerged winners from such situations? Barely a few! The saying ‘snatching victory from the jaws of defeat’ does not apply to Indian team. They snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

So whom to blame? Blame the coach? The players? Or the selectors? I think we should blame ourselves. Because we are so cricket crazy. Because we have made the cricketers ‘Gods’. Because we waste our time and our energy on a game, which has lost all its sportsmanship and it has become a business. Because it is no longer a simple ‘game’ of cricket as it used to be.