The insatiable appetite of the Indian fan
The "cricket-industrial complex" banks on the game as "an effective means of conveying goods to the market"
Sahil Dutta
25-Feb-2013
The "cricket-industrial complex" banks on the game as "an effective means of conveying goods to the market". And there is no bigger market than insatiable Indian TV viewers. Gideon Haigh, writing in India Today looks at the changes taking place in the game and questions if it's the right way to treat the heroic Indian fan.
Cricket loves its heroes. Tendulkar, Dhoni, Sehwag. Warne, Kallis, Steyn. For the next few months, the game's hero should be the Indian fan. Here come the world's two biggest cricket attractions, right on top of each other. On February 19, commences the 10th cricket World Cup, somehow strung out to 49 games. Then on April 8, less than a week after the World Cup final, begins the first of the 74 games of the fourth Indian Premier League (IPL). In any other country, this would be too much of a good thing. In India, too much is barely enough.
Sahil Dutta is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo