Cricket is an enigma for masses in India. No matter how many scams and scandals pop up, and however shady the ‘business’ in sports gets, cricket is still popular in India List of players who were exposed and expelled from cricket due to foul play includes ace batsmen Mohammed Asharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and three years ago three cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were caught and expelled by BCCI.
On July 24th, Delhi court acquitted all thirty six people upon whom Maharashtrian police had charged MCOCA and two years after the infamous IPL spot fixing scam 2013. It was told that the police had failed to make out a case against them. Others involved in the case included Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Shakeel, and the three cricketers were supposed to be directly involved in the scam. But the recent court findings free all the accused of the charges.
IPL matches are a sport of money, extravaganza, entertainment and glamour associated with cricket and it has become an acknowledged fact that one cannot expect transparency from these matches anyway. But this has not stopped Indian media from making IPL ‘India ka tyohar’ and ‘Manoranjan ka Baap’. May be because Indian masses is in desperate need of sport stars and heroes to celebrate, but it is indeed strange that we have conveniently forgotten the truth plainly staring us in our eyes and enjoy what is presented before us.
India exists as the world’s biggest may be the world’s only market for cricket. Though cricket is not our national sport our cricket stars are the world’s aid more than any other national cricket player in the world. But when sports become pure entertainment, it becomes sugar coated in lies and planned like a reality show. Anyone with brains would understand that a reality show is scripted or no one would find such juicy sassy pleasure in someone else’s life. Yet, we watch them thanks to the media forcing it on us when we need entertainment. In a similar manner, when we need a reason to make memes, create headlines, spent our evenings together with friends, India falls back over and over again on Indian Premier League cricket bonanza and enjoy the fiasco though we know, it is cricket diluted in business at its most earnest form.
The latest development in the encounter of judiciary and cricket proves how far the layman of India from reality is. What is the truth, who is guilty and when will the truth be unveiled is yet a mystery. Even the IPL spectators are not interested in who is what any more. But the tragedy would be those of the wannabe cricket players of our nation. Every young man and woman dreaming to be in the Indian cricket team and working day and night, would be wondering if talent and hard work is not the currency of the realm any more. The dreams and hopes of young men sweating in grounds would be shattered when they have to deal with the almighty corporate entertainment.
