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They Will Kill The Goose......
IPL is, without doubt a great idea. A professional league on the
lines of EPL has arrived. We finally have a league where
cricketers can make money and we will see them play better
cricket. While welcoming IPL as a good idea, even those who have
enjoyed a Man United Vs Liverpool game would be skeptical about
what is happening here.
Firstly, should they make us figure-blind by
trading cricketers for astronomical sums. MS Dhoni got the
highest bid of a whopping $1.5 mn , closely followed by Andrew
Symonds for $1.35 mn. The ICC-backed Indian Premier League
claims that this is the best thing that has happened to cricket.
But, do they have a financially sound business model to go with
the hype.. It would mean a hefty pay-cheque for players. And
nothing more. The mooy point is: is cricket's remixed version
workable?
In this nation, whose Father is Mahatma
Gandhi, where we respect renunciation, where over seventy per
cent live, nay exist, below poverty line, promoting such hero
worship seems to be totally out of place. Players have become
commercial, purchasable commodity! Is it any nobler that betting
on horses? And, who is going to foot the bill for this mad, mad
show business? The common cricket lover. This is certainly not
cricket.
The new dispensation will change the way
cricket makes money, but it would, sure, kill the sport the way
we love it Cricket is popular in India because the players
represent 'INDIA'. Sachin is God when he thrashes Shohaib or
Warne. This will not be the case if he thrashes Zaheer Khan or
Kumble. No doubt, cricket unites the whole country. Everyone
comes in SUPPORT for INDIAN cricket team against Pakistan or
Australia. And not against our own players. It will end up a
flop like our own Ranji Trophy matches.
For those who are anti-Cricket, there is a
positive, though. The IPL circus will kill the goose that lays
the golden egg.
H Ramakrishnan
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