Cricket World Cup or World of Cricket?

Every Indian will always remember this date - April 2nd 2011. We waited 28 years for the Indian Cricket team to repeat history and bring back the World Cup after beating the likes of Australia and Pakistan on our way to the title. Just before the finals and somewhere during the league matches, I was reading a cricinfo entry by Anil Kumble on why the Indian wins are not convincing enough , the missing element in the team’s victory and how matches should actually be won. Usually the articles after a victory are all gung ho about the team and discussing about the match stats in general. But this one was different; he talked about the psychology or the attitude of a winner. He says that Matches should be won in such a manner that it completely decimates your opponent’s moral, beating them in every aspect of the game. This not only boosts your team’s confidence but also has a significant impact on the mind of your next opponent.

After reading his article, I could recall what Australia did almost for a decade now and how Indian team has to work on their game before they gain such killer instincts. For sure, ICC didn’t want to mess with its revenue this time, so the tournament was scheduled in such a manner that top 8 cricket nations will almost certainly appear at least till the quarter final stages. The Indian team but obviously dragged their way to the quarter finals. Now came the real fight, India Vs Australia and in my mind I had almost given up the hope for a semi final berth of India. But WOW, to my surprise Indians literally routed Australia. They raised their game to a different level altogether and for the 1st time in this World Cup they showcased the character of a true Winner. From there on India were always the favorites to win the title. Then came Pakistan and finally Sri-Lanka and then we won the world cup …yippee…

Although I am a cricket fan and like almost every Indian kid I have played this game during my growing up years. Albeit, we won and this a big moment for millions of Indians, in hind sight I would still want to say that we Indians kind of over-give to this game. Meaning every time there is a major victory all hell break loose in India in terms of money these eleven players make. If you are avid cricket lover you would know that the Indian team is divided into different type of Contracts (from A to D) and the annual payment almost fall in the range of 25lakhs to couple of Crore’s of INR. This is just for playing and not any other marketing campaign they sign up for. I am not saying that we shouldn’t love or show our admiration for cricketers but I would incline to think that it’s almost godly. I can understand BCCI giving money to the cricketer players as it is a private cricket body and is not bound by the government. That’s not the problem, what I fail to understand is Millions being gifted by the state governments. Just a week after the World Cup, I was reading that Sheila dixit has rewarded 1 crore each to the Delhi boys and also gifted them flats. I think it’s unfair to shower the cricketers by the tax payer’s money especially when the other games like hockey have been lamenting for lack of funds for their support. I am pained to see the other sports person suffering and being sidelined from almost every corner. Just last week I was reading one of our National Volleyball player was manhandled and thrown out of a moving train because she refused to get robbed by a bunch of hooligans. She lost one of her legs in this accident and is now struggling for her future life in a rickety government hospital in U.P.

I think the media is to be equally blamed for such a step motherly treatment to other sports. If there is cricket series going on , an entire page will be dedicated to the series with all the stats , and if such a case is with table tennis or hockey or for any other game it’s most likely hidden somewhere in the side news. I think the media has a huge role in enabling other sports persons to be recognized and appreciated by the community. They do have the capability of creating and promoting Sporting Heroes of our country.

An athlete or a sportsperson is like a soldier, representing the country’s worth or power to the global audience and it’s high time that every sports person gets equal love and admiration that they deserve.

-Vikram Dadwal