Do Indians really love cricket?
Do Indians really love cricket, questions Aakar Patel in Mint
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Do Indians really love cricket, questions Aakar Patel in Mint. Spectator behaviour in India is not about enjoying a sport and appreciating the ability of professionals to play it. It’s about nationalism, which in India is narrow and zero-sum. And this manifests itself in other aspects as well, most prominently the commentary that accompanies the sport.
Between its spectators and commentators, Indians have ruined cricket for everybody. With the growth of our economy, this has got worse. Indian money has been poured into cricket, sloshing in its crevices, spilling out of its guts.
Matthew Norman in the Daily Telegraph looks at the way India fans gathered in a restaurant, celebrated after Sachin Tendulkar's lbw decision was reversed in the semi-final against Pakistan and comes to the conclusion that while the British like to regard themselves as wildly passionate about sport, they are not.
Their [the India fans] deafeningly joyous dementia made pub celebrants of an England World Cup goal look like effete theatregoers politely clapping the interval curtain at a performance of one of Strindberg’s lighter comedies of manners.
South Asia — with three teams in the semi-finals of the World Cup — clearly has the power and is the nerve center for cricket, but are they aware that with it comes with responsibility, asks Suresh Menon in Tehelka magazine.
The future of cricket will depend on how well the region handles this power. The prognosis is not very encouraging. Match-fixing and its cousin spot-fixing have been rampant. Three Pakistani players, Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir have been banned and face trial in a British court next month. No country is willing to tour Pakistan after the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore. Pakistan play their matches abroad, and are entitled to their share of the financial returns. Where does all that money go?
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo