Sep 08, 2006 09:59 PM
4845 Views
Ads, Money and Cricket
Imagine a day of cricket where you will have everything sold out, a team of twenty two and more being sponsored in terms of their attire and what not. We will have the bowler, sponsored by Samsung, bowling a short-pitched ball credited to Philips to be hit over the boundary to be called a Sony's six by the batsman of BPL.
If we give our imagination more freedom then we will have the whole match sorted out in detail with each side including audience, media, public, sponsoring companies and you name it going home with money or smiles. This is the cricket of future. Welcome to the sponsoring world of cricket.
Even though the Indian team came back from the South Africa World Cup with medallions sans Cup and Sachin's award winning batting records that was a real pain to his hands, one has to come to terms with the fact that cricket is now not just a game of bat and ball only but it is Big Money. It does not matter whether you play well but you should have an endorsement that surpasses your cricket record and a company that backs you in your endeavour to get the maximum in terms of moolah.
Today the benefit of being a member of Indian cricket team is not just playing for the country but being paid for it by one and all. A cricketer has just become a product for all to be used. The BCCI needs him for its survival, the Company that sponsors him uses him for its product mileage, media has to be favoured to write about him and if he fulfils these criteria then on top of it, he has to play well for the country. The order of preferences is just that.
Many ex-cricketers are also joining the bandwagon to get mileage and moolah. Be it on television channels, interviews, commentary, advertisements and all, you will find them anywhere and everywhere; For in India, cricket is everywhere and anywhere except the place where it is supposed to be – cricket field.
There was a time when being a man in flannel for India was termed as a freedom fighter. A cricket match against another country was compared to a war, a different war though, using bat and ball, against that country. Play to the present and we do find a cricketer as a freedom fighter but now the fight is against something else. It is a fight for the sponsor, BCCI, and everything else and then the opposite team on the field.
In a country where every other game is almost lost in oblivion including the game of hockey that was born and graduated in India, going crazy over cricket is understandable. But taking cricket as an investment and business is unpardonable.
Before we forget the true game of cricket and fail to understand the heroic achievements of Don Bradman, Kapil Dev, Clive Llyod and all, let us try to feel the pulse of original cricket that consists of sheer grit, determination, patience… For soon, a day will come in the world of cricket when we will listen to a commentary like this: “And here comes BPL from the Samsung end bowling the Philips delivery to Hero Honda who hits the ball to a Nike four…
Let us strive to make cricket a gentle and gentleman's game. Allow the gentle influence of money that is earned to flow towards those areas of the game that needs attention. The gentleman players that strike it out on the field should help their less fortunate colleagues by opening up cricket academies. Cricket in India should be raised as a strong institution that a budding child from a remote village with a desire to excel in this game can look up to.
Hail cricket in India.
