The Hindu : National : A great game disgraced by greedy gamble

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Saturday, Feb 23, 2008
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National

A great game disgraced by greedy gamble

The former Supreme Court Judge V.R. Krishna Iyer writes:

Indian cricketers have damned a fine game into lasting shame by allowing themselves to be auctioned as glamorous commodities.

They have also stultified Commonwealth Cricket and wounded the patriotic past of the glorious procession of artists who had, with diamond wonder, wielded the bat and the ball and thrilled human millions who had flocked to behold matches, fascinated by the brilliant marvels on the turf from dawn to dusk.

Cricket, one of the noblest games which has made history and forged unity, is a treasure of sport — a splendour too exciting and versatile to be beyond any turf adventure ever invented to please the eye, freeze or fire the heart and conquer or defeat friendly countries by token of runs and wickets.

It is this supreme sport which has been vulgarised, dishonoured and marketed into monetary slavery by a scandalous process of auctioning which has defiled the culture and grandeur of the lovely turf by commercial corruption.

We must banish this degeneracy and restore the crown prince status of cricket.

Can foul money merchandise India’s fine batsmen and bowlers? Can crores tarnish Bharat’s sporting genius and temptation bribe the best Indian Eleven? Never!

Boycott the mercenaries who blaspheme the game. Today cricketers! Tomorrow Ministers, MPs, bureaucrats and others in learned professions will be auctioned!

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