Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Cricket, cricket

There was a time when cricket was confined to the sports page of a newspaper. If cricket is hogging all the attention today, to the extent of its being associated with `national pride' (editorial, Nov. 29), it is the media that are to blame. No doubt, winning is an achievement. But over the years, the media have made demigods of cricketers by extensively reporting not just their on-field exploits but also their personal matters such as birthdays and haircuts.

It is no surprise, then, that our MPs are beginning to take cricket more seriously than their primary duty of law-making.

K.B.S. Prasad,
Hyderabad

Cricket, after all, is a game for the majority and a profession for a few. It definitely does not deserve to be made a barometer of national pride.

I hope the editorial will inspire mature thinking in the present generation, especially cricket fans.

Priya Narayanan,
Thrissur

It is amusing and entertaining to watch the cricket drama unfold. First it was about Saurav Ganguly. A rather simple affair of a non-performing player axed from the team became a big issue with ingredients such as Bengali pride thrown in. Then came the Australian team's jostling of Sharad Pawar. Hackles were raised, and we lost no time in decrying the Aussies. And now, the soap opera of Team India's performance in South Africa. With a star cast of irate MPs, a lacklustre team, a belligerent coach and an audience of nearly a billion aggrieved Indians, this is one serial that guarantees excellent TRP ratings.

We are looking for answers in the wrong places to the pathetic state of Indian cricket. It is just that our men in blue are a pampered lot, pampered beyond belief. It is not their fault. We have collectively put them on a pedestal. The solution is in our hands, in our television remote control. Let us use it and stop watching cricket.

Sivaram Srikandath,
Kochi

The furore in Parliament is uncalled for. Prices of almost all essential commodities have risen to alarming levels but none of our honourable MPs seems to care. The problem with us is where we are supposed to be sportive, we are serious and when we are expected to be serious, we are casual. We certainly deserve these self-centred politicians as our rulers.

B. Ravichandran,
Chennai

If the coach is to be shunted out for the team's bad performance, by the same logic, most of our MPs should also resign. Such knee-jerk reactions are eminently avoidable. As pointed out in the article "Where lies the blame?" (Nov. 29), the authorities should draw up a blueprint on our cricketing plans.

Rajesh Padmanabhan,
Mt. Garnet, Queensland

A defeat in cricket is the most trivial of all issues confronting the nation today. But our MPs and some others are behaving as though the heavens have fallen. We have seen and will continue to see such unseemly things until the followers of the game learn to treat cricket like yet another sport, in which you win some and lose some.

S.T.C. Sudhakar,
Tuticorin

The Indian cricket team is the most overrated sports team. On paper, it boasts of some of the best players in the world. Added to this is the huge media coverage. To top it all, corporates and governments bestow rewards and recognition on cricketers for their "achievement."

E. Aditya Jayant,
Mangalore

A huge amount of money is kept aside for cricketers irrespective of their performance. Unlike other teams that have no place for non-performers, the Indian cricket team offers plenty of space even to players who are constantly out of form. Till such time politics is subtracted from cricket, there will be no addition to our victories.

Sonal Shree,
Modinagar, U.P.

The debacle is actually a blessing in disguise. Children will move away from television sets at least for a few days and concentrate on worthy pursuits. Office goers will have more time to concentrate on their work. We will shift our attention to other sports. The halo surrounding the cricketers will vanish. They will face harsh realities and descend from cloud nine.

D. Seshadri,
Srirangam

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