I feel betrayed! - That is how I can sum up my emotions on the current controversies hitting cricket.
I am one among the millions of cricket fans in India - not a fanatic, just a lover of good cricket. I like to stand up and applaud a match winning score by a tailender or when Sachin hits 200 to rewrite the record books, once more. I just love clean cricket, free of unwanted controversies like Harbhajan vs Andrew Symonds. I felt angry when Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth live on cameras.
But what is coming out in the media is just appalling. Call it media hype or "trial by media", but the muck coming out of IPL is just unfortunate. A bunch of businessmen decided to exploit the emotions of millions of fans like me. A number of them pay a day's salary to watch a match live in stadiums. Some buy colour TVs just because India is in the Semis of world cup. Some stand in line, hours, to get a ticket that will give a glimpse of their favorite player. All of that stands exploited right now.
IPL came up with the concept of cities owning teams. Sachin getting out and the stadium goes into a frenzy! - in India, that was never imaginable before IPL. Such is the extent of the love for this game, that the little master is not above the fan's passion for his / her team!
What have we got back - Sleazy deals, money laundering, under the table agreements and perfectly smiling politicians saying "We do not have any stake in IPL" (except their relatives & friend's benefit from the businesses surrounding IPL).
All those irritating ads that doesn't even allow you to see a replay of a wicket that just fell, hours of game analysis, stupid strategies suggested by the non-playing "captains" of what we called as commentators - I was ready to bear all that, all for the love of this game.
I feel betrayed!
One of the owners said recently - "A group of *like* minded people came together and decided to buy a stake in IPL teams". I would like to rephrase the "Like Minded" to money minded. A bunch of money minded people decided that by owning a team in IPL, they can own the game. They decided to exploit the "passion of the nation" for their own profits.
Players are pure entertainers.
IPL promised to entertain the country - combination of fast paced game, music and celebrities - all in 4 hours.
IPL promised to build the budding entertainers from the host cities. A dream for so many players who may or may not make it to the national team to play with the likes of Zaheer, Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly and the list goes.
IPL promised a platform to bring out the talent in many. For many of them (except a handful from the current national team), getting a national cap is the ultimate achievement.
And IPL promised all of that.
Today, I don't know what is real - every six that is hit, mis-field yielding crucial runs, wicket taken at a critical juncture, mix-up leading to a run out, injuries and what not - have they been decided out side the field? Are the players mere entertainers, enacting the script they have been given. The thin line between Cine celebrities and Players, has it blurred? Did someone think that actors cannot become players, but the reverse is possible?
I don't know what to believe, but I feel exploited!
So what can we do?
Don't shy way from the game. Somewhere, in some corner, the game is still pure, in its original form. Continue to watch the game, but don't pay money to see IPL. No feeding into the millions of revenue that is a part of the forecast - no believing Abhishek Bachan's calls for "Ungli Cricket".
History has taught us a few lessons - when the common man starts questioning the system, it leads to a revolution. Be a part of the revolution that will clean this muck. Let the men who wants to run this game, understand that there is no price for the passion of a fan - it cannot be bid and won. Lets stand up!
Until that happens, I will feel betrayed!!!
