For the love of the game...

Many of us support Manchester United or Chelsea or Liverpool in the English Premier League. We do not support Manchester United because we are from Manchester or because we speak the language spoken in Manchester. Then why should our support in IPL be dependent upon whether we are from M in MI or C in CSK or B in RCB. It makes more sense to support teams based on their ability or their players or their style of play as deemed by us. Before I am laughed off, let me ask you a question. How many of you seriously believe that the IPL teams are a representation of the state or the city after which they are named. MI had two players from Mumbai in their playing eleven. CSK had four players from Chennai. The coaching staffs for all teams barring MI were predominantly foreign. These are teams that belong to the franchisees. Yes, city based names have made it popular. If popularity was the sole criterion then why were the quadrangular/pentangular tournaments in erstwhile Bombay stopped?

These misplaced rivalries combined with the gaudy frills around the games have succeeded in producing the faithless follower, a follower for whom revelry is the aim and the team that he is supporting is his alter ego. He will not mind if the game is cricket or gilli-danda or ludo. Cheer leaders, silly competitions and victories to satiate his ego are all that he needs. Fortunately, the true cricket fan watches IPL after weeding it to find cricket. It has helped that the cricket has been of very good quality in spite of all the nonsense around it.

Let us listen to a person who watches Zimbabwe play Kenya, who wakes up at 3 am to watch a test match in Newzealand, who stays awake till 3 am to watch the end of play when matches are played in the WestIndies....


“I love cricket and so I speak. I can’t bear sports relying on cheap advertising. I can’t bear commentators who keep on pushing brands down my throat. I can’t laugh off losers discussing the ‘Match ka Mujrim’. It hurts me when my love for the game is considered to be a function of petty misled rivalries. It hurts when the soi distant educated individuals malign great players in the veil of supporting their team. Some of the communities and comments on social networking sites have been a disgrace. The less said about the comments posted for the articles on cricket websites, the better. If supporting a team entices a person to make derogatory remarks about another team or individual then I should never again support a team. Not even when India is playing Pakistan.

The IPL could have been a glorious example of the new face that my country aspires to acquire. But promises have not been kept and what we have got is another mess. It hurts when a person who claims to be a cricket historian from Australia takes this opportunity to lash against my country. It hurts when he equates IPL with corruption and sleaze and furthermore, extends this as a generalization about everything else in this country.

I am hurt because you let go an opportunity to be the change that fans with their heart in the right place want to see in the game. You suspend captains for slow over rates but turn a blind eye towards the liberal usage of four letter words. It may reduce the apparent entertainment value but the time has come to say a complete ‘NO’ to sledging. Five minutes per innings that you devote to ‘strategic’ time outs could have been utilized to present the team with an opportunity to go for a limited number of decision reviews. As far as advertising is concerned, all that I wish you know is the story that my dad told me when I was six, the story of the goose that laid gold eggs.

Fair weather friends exist in sports, as much as anywhere else. The new friends that you have gained are friends of the show called IPL and not Indian cricket. However, once they turn enemies, IPL will be synonymous with Indian cricket for them. We have seen tough times during the nineties and the early 2000s. We came out of the tough times strongly due to people like me who were ready to bear sub humane conditions in many venues which got matches only due to your rotation policy which is a mere vote garnering gimmick. We were the ones who watched India lose to Pakistan in a great exhibition of skill at Chennai and then had the magnanimity of character to honour the winning team with a standing ovation. We are the ones who fill the stadiums every time there is a test match in Bangalore. The powers of the game are treading dangerous territory as a result of which my love for the game is being tested. It may give in one day and believe me; the new ‘IPL fans’ that you claim to have acquired will be no replacement."