The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Marketing cricket

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Monday, Feb 25, 2008
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Marketing cricket

Hats off to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer who has rightly denounced cricketers for reducing themselves into commodities, in the context of the auction of cricket players for the DHL’s Indian Premier League (Feb. 23). Cricket is no more a gentleman’s game. Huge and unimaginable money is involved. Knowingly or unknowingly, the masses have been mesmerised and enslaved by cricket. It is time to bring back the glory of the game and give equal patronage to games such as hockey, football and handball.

M. Elayaperumal,

Tiruchi

* * *

I thank Justice Krishna Iyer for giving voice to the feelings of millions of cricket lovers like me. I hope our cricket stars, who have given us tremendous pleasure by their performance on the field, will not allow themselves to be traded as race horses. They should rescind their contract with the IPL. It is never too late to do the right thing.

C.P. Srinivasan,

Chennai

* * *

The IPL auction has made cricketers slaves of the side that has bought them. In India, cricket is an emotional game, and victory and loss bring euphoria and gloom. Can Andrew Symonds be associated with Hyderabad by any stretch of imagination? Or Can Sanath Jayasuriya become a Mumbaikar just because he is owned by a Mumbai club?

P.E. Muthu,

Mumbai

* * *

I suggest that shares be floated by the IPL in the names of the auctioned players, which can be listed in the stock exchanges all over the world.

S. Ananthakrishnan,

Chennai

* * *

Under the IPL arrangement, cricket will be played by a team of assorted players from different nations. It is likely that the identity of the team and players will be lost in the days to come.

Gp Capt N. Neelakantan (retd),

Bangalore

* * *

We understand antiques being auctioned at huge amounts because they become priceless over a period of time. But nothing could convince me that the cricket players deserved such astonishing amounts.

The auction was very disturbing, considering that a massive percentage of India’s population lives below Rs.12 a day.

Divya Narasimhan,

Hisar

* * *

The BCCI has created the Twenty20 format, which has attracted many organisations and stars to patronise the cricketers by offering them substantial money. The attention should now turn to sports other than cricket. Even a fraction of the money spent on IPL is enough to make them popular.

T.R. Viswanathan,

Bangalore

* * *

From being a gentleman’s game, cricket has become a commercial venture. The players have no problems selling themselves to corporates and the highest bidders, thereby reducing the game to a money-spinner. The impact of the IPL auction will be more on the upcoming players. They will be looking to perform for more money than to play for the sake of the game. With the auction complete, it is the corporates who will decide about the number of matches to be played. We can expect more cricket matches in future, which will take a further toll on the already declining work culture thanks to too much cricket.

V. Rajagopal,

Tirupati

* * *

We are witnessing a paradigm shift in the way big money can be made in cricket. Efforts to raise the standards of cricket in India and promote universal brotherhood are laudable. But are we not leaving the other sports behind? Had we paid a little more attention to a few other sports, our prospects for Olympics gold would have seemed brighter.

Rajitha Madampath,

Chennai

* * *

Key mantras that our youth are taught today include “market yourself” and “put up your price.” We take pride in publishing the wonderful salaries offered to fresh graduates from premier institutions. We accept the astronomical fee that is charged by senior counsel, financial consultants, CEOs and so on. Why, then, is the marketing of cricketers vulgar and unacceptable? In a market-driven economy, changes are inevitable. Keeping any sector, education or sports, outside the purview of these changes is almost impossible.

T.L. Sathiyanarayanan,

Udhagamandalam

* * *

Cricket is a source of amusement. It refreshes us, upsets us and even makes us lose our temper. It will continue to evoke such reactions even if its format changes and our players are auctioned. Its entertainment value will remain intact.

Praveen G. Kulkarni,

New Delhi

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