Cricket as a sport is more than a 100 years old!

However, in the past two decades the gentlemen’s game has shifted its centre of attraction from England and Australia to India. Rightly so, for it finds its biggest audience group in Asia, especially in a billion-plus population of our nation!

As the game has grown by leaps and bounds in past two decades as far as its financials are concerned, so have the controversies surrounding it. Never before in the history of the game has it been maligned so badly, not only in India, but across the world.

The long format of the game, the tests, is dying a slow death anyways and all possible plans to revive it, including the world cup of the tests, lie in a trash! Then comes the one-dayers and again money is doing the big talk here. Instead of involving more and more nations into active competition, International Cricket Council (ICC) is restricting the big tournaments only between the eight major cricket playing nations so that a regular stream of revenue is maintained. Their logic is that a match between a big team and minnows doesn’t get enough eyeballs so there is no point in planning a series! How lame is that idea? If a minor team is not given opportunities, how is it going to grow and learn?

If that is not enough, IPL in India is generating enough amount of news for all the match-fixing and scandals associated with it. Add to it Mr. Lalit Modi’s latest revelation of creating an alternative cricket authority of the world that’ll align itself with the Olympic movement and will only have Tests and T20s associated with it!

So multiple leagues, limited cricket playing nations, host of controversies and everyone eying the same revenue stream! It is like everyone is out there to kill the goose that lay golden eggs!

No doubt cricket is a rich sport even if it is played in just a few countries, but if it is exploited like this, how long will the sport retain its charm? The fans are already getting disillusioned by all the scandals and all the politics surrounding it. That is one reason why other sports like Football, Hockey, Kabaddi etc. are gaining importance and fan base in India! It is good for sports to have fans that love all kinds of games, but if they are losing interest in one sport due to wrongdoings of a few, then it is a sad state of affairs!

It is high time that all the different voices go silent; there should only be one voice, one uniform view about the development of sport and all the parties involved be it the administration, players or fans, work only towards preserving and nurturing the sport that has been entertaining us for a century now!

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There is a famous saying these days which says that if you sincerely wish for something, the whole Universe conspires to give it to you. It seems the collective wishes and prayers of a host of sportspersons across all kinds of sports except cricket are being answered right now!

The writing is on the wall!

Cricket is dying, day by day, week after week, year after year and the slide is quite phenomenal!

However, the silver lining is it is dying at the cost of other sports which are taking the space which was single-handedly grabbed by an entertainment giant called Cricket.

But first, let’s share with you some figures about cricket’s slow and steady decline.

Hard Facts!!

Firstly, cricket’s reach in India has declined from 77% in 2010 to 70% in 2014.

If one compares the income distributed by BCCI to players, it has declined from Rs. 49crores in 2012-13 to just Rs. 11 crores in 2013-14! Now that is a huge drop!

So what is happening?

Nothing much, except the fact that fatigue is setting in. In this age of really fast life, people are not finding enough time to sit through an 8-9 hour long One-day match without the crowd-pulling power of some outstanding players. It is a fact that the era which took cricket to its stupendous heights was due to some heavyweights of Indian cricket comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. One by one everyone retired, but the final blow was Sachin’s retirement. A whole generation who got stuck to their TV sets due to maestro’s batting suddenly felt a void and couldn’t relate to his absence. No player has been able to fill the big shoes even though Virat Kohli does look promising. In short, the attraction isn’t that huge now that one gets the tendency to leave everything to just watch a match! Moreover, there are other means of entertainment for quick gratification instead of spending five days or even 8hours on a cricket match when it is not inspiring enough!

Who is winning?

The obvious winners are other sports leagues launched in recent years, including comprising of sports like football, hockey, kabaddi, badminton and tennis. These sports take almost as much time as a T-20 takes so it easily squeezes in the busy schedules. The working population is going for variety and the youth isn’t connecting to cricket the way their elders did almost 20years ago. In a way it is good because the money available to promote sports gets distributed for the development of other neglected sports and sportspersons. Instead of only one sports body getting richer and richer, everyone gets a pie of the action and benefits from it.

The Way Forward..

The only question to be answered is whether BCCI and ICC are in tune with changing realities or living in their cocoon? Globally, only 14 countries play cricket and the sports bodies have plans to cut short the number of teams playing in the next World Cup to only 10. In a scenario when cricket is losing its sheen in the biggest market, India, and no major development is happening to promote the sport in other countries, what is the future of cricket not only in India, but world over?

Till they ponder over it, let’s enjoy our IPL games!

At least they are not going anywhere, anytime soon!

The post Cricket Is Dying In India And So Are The Generated Revenues! appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

In a crunch match and that too, against arch-rivals Pakistan, the Indian hockey team wasted chances galore as they lost 2-1 in a key Pool B match at the Asian Games 2014.

Touted as a ‘must watch’ in the competition due to the rivalry amongst the two sides, as per expectations it turned out to be a thrilling contest.

Even though Pakistan edged out India in this riveting fixture, there are reasons to be cheerful for the Men In Blue. Despite the loss, the Indian hockey team shouldn’t be depressed or sad about the loss as the former have an edge in these 5 reasons mentioned below. What are those reasons, well, let’s find out:

1 – Pakistani actors in Bollywood
The Pakistan hockey fans and team can brag about the loss as much as they want but the Indian half could shut them up with one reason – their actors. Recently, the likes of Fawad Khan (Khoobsurat), Humaima Malik (Raja Natwarlal), Imran Abbas Naqvi (Creature 3D) and Ali Zafar have acted in Bollywood movies opposite top stars and directors. Most probably, they are earning recognition here, more, than that back in Pakistan’s Tollywood.

2 – Pakistan’s slip-up in the medal tally
Despite the lost, Pakistan has yet to hit the gold. Our neighbours are well below the medal tally, sitting 23rd in the table. Our count in the table (updated) is 17 to theirs 1 (bronze). So, cheer up Indians, all’s not lost here.

3 – We’ve got the Hockey India League
Have Pakistan got an IPL-styled hockey league? No, they haven’t that’s because India has one in the Hockey India League (HIL). Moreover, players from around the world including Germany and Australia play in the teams like Ranchi Rhinos and Delhi Waveriders. Even though Pakistan too has their players representing in the league, the former has yet to achieve big time on the global stage.

4 – Financially ahead
If our team is compared with Pakistan, in terms of finance, we are more stable. Pakistan hockey team, ever since the terror attacks have been unable to welcome any international sides in their arena for competitive games which has their governing board, hard.

5 – Our star studded line-up
Even though the Pakistan fans will rant about the win over India in the hockey match, the Men In Blue still have better players than their neighbours. Admit it, the likes of Sardar Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Mandeep Singh amongst others have the potential at the highest level unlike the Pakistan’s’ players.

So chin up Indian boys, it’s not over until it’s over!

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Even though Team India lost the group game to Australia 4-2 in hockey, they will look to avert any such debacle as the New Zealand come calling in the all-important semis clash of the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.

But here’s the big deal – the Indian hockey men have to face the Kiwis without their influential midfielder, Sardar Singh.

The skipper has been suspended for one match following his second dangerous offence in the tournament.

Sardar was reprimanded during the Australia game and was followed by a yellow card against South Africa. The authorities initially had handed him a two-match ban but after an appeal by the Indian contingent, the suspension was reduced to one.

So how will the Indian hockey team do without their midfield maestro in the semi-final clash against the Kiwis?

Coach Terry Walsh has taken a balanced team to the CWG that saw the Men in Blue win three out of their allotted four matches. Walsh’s side has a fair combination of experience and youngsters and no wonder; the results are there to see.

The likes of VR Raghunath, Rupinder Pal Singh add the vital experience to the side with the likes of Akashdeep Singh and Yuvraj Walmiki adding the youth side to it. Rewinding the clock back to the 1998 at Kuala Lumpur, Team India had tasted success over the Black Sticks but in 2006 Melbourne edition, New Zealand emerged victorious, beating India 2-1 in the 5-6 position playoff. India did not play the Kiwis in 2010 Delhi Games where the hosts settled for silver while the New Zealand took away the bronze medal.

New Zealand are current favourites going into this tie with former ranked number 6 in the world and New several players in the side have more international experience to their name. Their main man will be penalty corner specialist Andy Hayward, who will look to pile up more goals and misery for the Indian hockey team.

Clearly from the outset, Team India looks a bit shaky and deflated (without Sardar Singh). The steel and nerves of Sardar will be missed immensely in the midfield but some of the seniors have to step up the plate and take the team home. Its either make or break for the Hockey side who might not see the light at the end of the tunnel after all!

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Indian hockey might have away from the spotlight for a while now but here comes a chance to be at the forefront as a new-look Indian side, under the helm of newly appointed coach, Terry Walsh, go into the inaugural Hero Hockey World League Final where the team will open their campaign against higher-ranked England on their home turf. Tough opponents further awaits them but that should be their worry at all.

Sardar Singh who will lead side, should see this as a perfect opportunity as to where does Indian hockey rank among the world greats. Even though, our side is ranked number 10. in the world, the tournament will provide India a perfect build up for the World Cup to be held later this year at The Hague, Netherlands. With the World’s top seven teams in fray here, India could not have asked for better preparation for the quadrennial event. India should consider themselves lucky to be one of the participating teams in the HWL Final. India are also slated to host the prestigious Champions Trophy later this year and it is now high time the past masters of the game take advantage of these big-ticket opportunities.

The past couple of years have been woeful to say the least. Apart from the silver medal in the Asia Cup, India didn’t have anything major to show in 2013. The Indians finished a disappointing sixth in the Hockey World League semi-finals in Rotterdam, but the tournament provides the eight-time Olympic champions a perfect stage to prove their detractors wrong. But a tough road lies ahead as heavyweights – Germany, Australia and Netherlands await. India are placed in Pool A along side reigning Olympic champions and world number one Germany, world No. 4 England and seventh-ranked New Zealand. Pool B consists of Australia, Netherlands, Belgium and Argentina.

Coach Terry Walsh, who took over from Michael Nobbs, has ‘other goals’ in sights. As quoted in the Times of India, Walsh says, “Our goal is improvement as we go through the tournament. We want to see improvement in four areas — physiological, psychological, tactical and basic skills.”

Even though, the Indian hockey team do not remain the ‘favourites’, the hope of playing at home conditions and without any favorable pressure, can add spark to success in cusp for glory.

With Agencies inputs

Photo: Hockey India

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