What attracts politicians to cricket?
An increasing number of Indian politicians are getting involved with cricket
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
An increasing number of Indian politicians are getting involved with cricket. The latest to enter the game's administration is Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who has been elected president of the Gujarat Cricket Association. Prem Panicker, in his blog Smoke Signals, wonders what it is that prompts Indian politicians to care so much about the development of the game in the country.
Ask the question and the answer you will get is, cricket is important to so many people, it is a religion in this country, it provides amusement to so many of us, so of course it is the politician’s duty to do what he can for the betterment of the sport…
The answer you won’t get is, cricket generates as much money as the top industries do; there is no way I can wiggle into top positions in top industries but heck, I can sneak into cricket administration quite easily, and once there, there is tons of money to be made. By me. For me.
R Jagannathan writes in DNA that one reason politicians enter cricket is because it's an obvious platform for someone to gain wider visibility and acceptance in India.
To be sure, voters do not elect politicians on the basis of their contributions to cricket. But then, Sachin Tendulkar's endorsement alone is not good enough to make me buy the biscuit brand he is promoting. What Sachin does is pull the brand higher up in my purchase consideration set, and this is what Modi may be hoping to achieve by embracing cricket: a higher level of acceptance with the national voter.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo