A journey from fame to shame
Tuesday 4 June 2013
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The Indian Premier League (IPL)
has been hailed as a great source of entertainment in India where cricket is a
religion for a large number of people. The sport has, undoubtedly, been a
strong unifying force and has often brought people together from all walks of
life, irrespective of their caste, creed or economic status in the society. Such
is the reverence shown to this sport that no other sport is referred to as to
describe the ‘dignity, honesty, uprightness and integrity’ of a human activity
as cricket. But unfortunately, sporting events like the IPL have led to the
hyper-commercialisation of the gentlemen’s game to a point where it has nearly
destroyed the soul of this sport and turned it into a religion devoid of any
spiritual ethics. By indulging in heinous practices like spot-fixing and
betting, which used to be the prerogative of the criminals, a few morally
corrupt cricketers and an avaricious cricket administration have brought
disrepute to the nation and cheated millions of cricket lovers by undermining
their right to a fair game.
The unfolding of the recent
spot-fixing and betting scandal is merely a manifestation of a deep rooted
betting mechanism involving bookies and high profile personalities who have
been exploiting the sport’s popularity, their financial and political clout and
their links with the sports administration to sweep the financial
irregularities and ever increasing venality under the carpet. By luring young
cricketers who could easily succumb to the largesse offered to them by these
unprofessional men, they have been playing havoc and controlling the matches to
their advantage. Such lack of credibility and control over the wrongdoings has
converted cricket stadia into gambling clubs!
The media as well as the
spectators are equally responsible for the moral corruption of the sport that
has today, fallen from fame to shame. It is a bitter truth that amidst
humongous crowds in stadia, only a few come to watch cricket matches. A large
number of people come just to ogle at the scantily-clad cheerleaders, hurl lewd
remarks at them and capture their moves in their cell-phones with amorous
intentions. For the rest, it’s an occasion to meet friends and organise parties
or perhaps be caught by television cameras while ‘cheering’ for their favourite
cricketers. The after-match parties organised for the cricketers by their team
owners facilitate spot-fixing activities as the vulnerable cricketers are
easily approached by bookies and their agents with the booty.
The need of the hour is to
dismantle this structure of sleaze and corrupting culture. It is imperative on
the sports administration, both morally and in the interest of cricket, to
suspend or ask for the resignation of all such officials who are found to have
links with the forces, both internal and extraneous, that have put India’s
cricket establishment in the dock. Any cricketer whose involvement in this
scandal is ascertained must be banned from playing cricket and severely
punished for playing with the sentiments of the cricket lovers. The media
should refrain from sensationalising this scandal and instead act prudently by
indulging in investigative journalism rather that pack journalism. The cricket
lovers may express their dissent and anguish by refusing to watch cricket
matches till the sport is rid of its malaise and regain its lost image as a
gentleman’s game. The body carrying out the investigation ought to be fair in
its judgement than merely find a scapegoat and leave the real culprits to
continue in positions of power.
Categories:
common man,
corruption,
crime,
culture,
emotions,
Indian Premier League,
sports
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