Dr. Ishanand
Vempeny
Allen
Sanderson of the University
of Chicago
“I have no idea why India India ’s
seeming addiction to just this one sport is really a bit of a puzzle” (Times of India ,
Ronajoy Sen, “India
Mr.
Allen Sanderson calls our almost exclusivistic fascination for and intense
involvement with Cricket, “addiction”. Addiction is even more enslaving than
obsession. For us Indians (especially the middle class and the rich, including
the ‘unsporting’ Indians) it is almost impossible to liberate ourselves from
the iron grip of this more Colonialistic game than other games like football,
basketball, hockey and volleyball. The anti-British film Lagaan became a box-office success chiefly because it was based on
the typically British game that is Cricket. Even the Baiters of English and the
Promoters of Sanskrit too are enslaved by this addiction. The English
themselves are far more fascinated and even obsessed with football and tennis
than cricket. It is enough to think of the national enthusiasm for the
Wimbledon final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in July 2013 and the
unprecedented national celebrations throughout the UK
The Indians
Love also the Non-Cricket Sports and Sports-Heroes
For the
award of Bharat Ratna, among the
Sports-greats the names of not only Sachin Tendulkar but also the flying Sikh
Milkha Singh, the hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, the Payoli Express P. T. Usha and
a number of others from different types of sports were given. In fact, the
recent film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag on
Milkha Singh was a box-office success. To perpetuate the name of Jimmy George, the
great Volleyball champion and the Captain of the Victorious Indian Team, there
is the Jimmy George Stadium in Trivandrum
In the
recent London Olympics a few Indian sportspersons received Bronze medals and
nobody managed to get the golden variety. Nevertheless, these awardees were
acclaimed through the length and breadth of India India
A Hurried Query
into the Reasons for India’s Cricket Addiction
After
the sports fixing scam and the goofing up by BCCI, one might expect that Cricket
would not take the central space of newspapers, news-channels and sports
magazines. But the truth is that in spite of the French Open, Wimbledon and the
European Football Championships involving such great teams as Bayern Munich,
Barcelona, Real Madrid and the like, the Indian media was almost ignoring these
great sports events and was chiefly busy with the news of cricket matches (often
of minnows) and of sports fixing scams along with the intransigence of the
BCCI.
We say
Cricket is ‘Religion’ in India. Now mark the difference. Football is ‘Religion’
in Brazil, even with many more reasons. They have won the World Cup (Five
times) more often than any of the European, African and the Asian Nations. In
the villages, slums and the cities of Brazil, little children, both the rich
and the poor, start kicking around cheap balls with no football grounds round about.
But when it came to the question of organizing World Cup spending a few
billions of dollars, there were nationwide uproar and protests against holding these
international sports extravaganza spending such exorbitant some of money. The
protesters were shouting for more primary schools, more health centres and more
and better food for the starving millions especially of the slums. This shows that
Brazilians put us to shame in their social consciousness and their awareness of
the grades or degrees of priorities. But the truth of the matter is that in
India Cricket is growing more as multi-billion commercial empire of the rich
and the elite than as a sports concern for all and sundry.
In
India the Cricket ‘greats’ get more money than many of the football and
basketball greats in the West. Indeed, when the Indian football team or hockey
team come home with medals the money given to a single cricket player surpasses
that of the money awarded to the whole team. Gold medalists like Abhinav Bindra
(Olympic), Anju Bobby George (World Championship), P. T. Usha (Asian Games and
CWG) and Deepika Kumari (Archery Wizard) are not given such economic benefits though
they became champions more at the expense of their families rather than that of
the government. There is no serious protest against this step-motherly
treatment of sports persons other than cricketers. The BCCI led by Mr.
Srinivasan does not bother about such discrimination against other sports and
before its tyrannical behavior even the government and the courts seem to be
helpless.
Some
unsporting Reasons?
a) Economic Reasons
In the Frontline there are number of articles
which show how this game is losing its character not only as a gentleman’s game
but even as a game itself. It has become more corrupt than other commercial
ventures in India. In his interview with Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprasthasta, Mr. Ashis
Nandy says:
“Money in a poor country is always important. But the
corruption in the game has more to do with the corporatizations of the game.
The moment cricket became a professional industry such incidents were bound to
happens. Now it has become a real business… Profit has become so important. If
you are linked with bookies, and you a good player, you won’t be thrown out of
the system. (Mohammad) Azharuddin became an MP. The moral universe of players
now and before is different. The clout of bureaucrats and businessmen in
cricket administration has increased. But that clout does not want to improve
the game, but energies are channeled only towards making the game more and more
profitable.” (Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline,
Cover-story “It has become a real business”, June 28, 2013, p.18)
b) The Glamour attached to Cricket
It is
well known that with the British Officers in leisure, Rajas and Maharajas
joined in this game. Besides, as Mr. Siriyavan points out, after the Royals and
celebrities the high-caste people especially the Brahmins dominated the game. According
to this author the high-caste Hindus who have a tradition of not soiling or
dirtying their clothes through agricultural or factory work, spontaneously fell
for cricket which is supposed to be played wearing white pants, shirts and hats.
To this was added the association of film-stars, seminude, cheering girls, to
enhance the glamour.
c) The Disproportionate Coverage by the Media
For the
newspapers in the vernaculars, sports reporting could mean mostly reporting
about cricket games even by second rate teams and minnows. During the last
National Games in Ranchi (2008) the newspapers and the TV channels except the
DD channel almost ignored it. It mattered so little to the private media that
more than 30 thousands sports persons from all over India taking part in
sports. National games by its very nature contribute a lot for national integration
apart from building up the infrastructure for sports.
d) The Domination of ‘Jugaad’ (karma-prarabdha) Mentality
According
to Ashis Nandy, for us Indians cricket depends more on luck and destiny. In the
Indic Religions there is a tendency to depend more on prarabdha (karma of
previous birth) rather than on purusartha
(human effort). This seems to explain partly the Jugaad attitude of the cricketers. The Jugaad attitude with which we Indians approach cricket is partly
responsible for this addiction. This addiction leads to all sorts of betting
and gambling in cricket. Mr. Ashis Nandy writes:
“The uniqueness of cricket is that it is one game
which depends very much on luck and how you handle luck or probability. It is a
game of ambiguities. Cricket can never be predicted, can never be a clear-cut
game, and however well you practice or train your team, a very important part
of the game will always remain with your luck. You see, a batsman can get two
chances but a fielder cannot. If you drop a catch, you just drop it. A bowler
can go on toiling and experimenting with balls. A batsman cannot do that. Also,
two teams are never fully on the ground at the same time unlike football or
hockey or basketball. The two teams are not playing under the same conditions.
Weather conditions matter. You can swing the ball only in a particular weather,
putting one team at an advantage or a disadvantage. In cricket, as compared
with other games, the role of probability is enormous. You fight not only your
opponents but also against your own destiny.” (Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline, Cover-story “It has become a
real business”, June 28, 2013, p.16)
India’s need
for the Growth also of Non-Cricket Sports
According
to the international authority on sports economics, Mr. Allen Sanderson,
quoting whom we began this article, it is not wise for India to put “most of
its eggs in one basket – cricket!” First of all, cricket is mostly confined to
ten or a few more British colonies whereas there is hardly a country in the world
(more than two hundred nations are members of the UNO) where football,
volleyball, basketball and hockey are not played. Besides, these games give
more physical exercises than cricket. It
is said that in the European Football Tournaments every player except the
Goalkeeper runs from 10 to 15 kilometers during the 90 minutes of the game.
Something similar happens in hockey, rugby and basketball.
Another
drawback of cricket is its failure to inculcate team spirit. For instance, in
cricket never all the 22 players are in the court or in the pitch at the same
time. In cricket, we often hear of one or other or even several stars breaking
the records in runs, in bowling, catch etc., while the team loses. But in a
soccer team, when a Rooney, a Ronaldo or a Baichung Butia makes a hatrick it is
quite unlikely that such a team gets defeated. In
March 2012 in the Asia Cup competition in Bangladesh, India lost but Sachin
Tendulkar was working for his highest achievement, namely a Century of
Centuries in Cricket. Mr. Siriyavan Anand points out with facts and
figures how cricket is more an individualistic rather than a team game. (Eating with Our Fingers, Watching Hindi
Cinema and Consuming Cricket in www.ambedkar.org, Dalit E-Forum
published on March 4, 2002).
The
government and the persons in charge of sports in India seem to be ignorant of
the potential of sports for nation-building in general and of personality
building in particular. This ignorance is partly responsible for the
step-motherly treatment of sports in India India
Some Indian leaders consider sports as
“children’s play” (khel-kud). But let
us remember some facts. England’s victory in Football World Cup in 1966 caused
an economic boom and emigration from England went down drastically. After this
victory somebody asked an Englishman: “Why did you change your plan of
migrating to New Zealand?” He replied:
“We damn Englishmen can still do something.” In other words victory in the
world cup was a great moral boost and a boost for the English self-image. The
same thing happened following the London Olympics in which the UK got a big
number of medals. The French victory in Football World Cup in 1998 had a
similar effect in France. One of the motivating forces for the development of a
nation is its continuously improving self-image. This is one of the reasons why
China spent billions of dollars for organizing the 2008 Olympics and preparing
their sports persons as world-beaters.
From the points of
view of many other leaders including great sports persons, investment in sports
is the vitally necessary for the youth of a nation. Indeed it is the guaranteed
investment for the future prosperity of a nation. According to an old saying, mens sana
To Conclude
The
metaphor of a banyan tree can partly explain the Indian situation of cricket
vis-à-vis other sports. Who does not like to have a banyan tree near his house with its cooling
shadows and its numerous branches spreading far and wide? But no trees and most
herbs will not be allowed to grow under the banyan tree because of the cooling
albeit murderous embrace of this tree. This is precisely what cricket does to
Indian sports. True, cricket gives a lot of money and a lot of entertainment
but it does not allow other sports, vitally necessary for the Indian youth, to
grow and develop.
Who will not sympathize with Milkha Singh who lamented
saying: “Cricket has driven down the standard of every other sport. And I
blame the media as well. I want to be frank with you. The media hardly
gives coverage to athletics or hockey or volleyball or any game apart from
cricket” (Indian Express interview by
Shekhar Gupta, the Editor-in-Chief with Shri Milkha Singh the Flying Sikh, March 28, 2010, p.14).
Representing
the Indian delegation to present the Indian point of view to the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) at its headquarters in Lausanne, Abhinav Bindra, the
only Indian Olympic gold medalist, (for an individual sports) expressed his
apprehensions about sports in India saying: “We need sports administrators with
a passion for developing sports. It will be great if sportspersons take up
positions in administration. But no matter who you are, if your goal is to take
sports forward, you are welcome… There is a lot of talent in the country that
lacks direction. We need to give them a definite path towards progress” (Quoted
by Kamesh Srinivasan, “Good Governance is the need of the hour”, Sportsstar, June 29, 2013, p.43).
Who
will listen to the heartrending expressions of these two sports heroes of
India? Will the heads of the Sports Associations of India pay heed to these heartfelt
and wise requests? Can the government shake up the goalless and lethargic
sports administrators of India?
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