11 Cricketers Vs 552 Parliamentarians

For a change, this is not a debate which fights for an equal share of limelight for other sports on par with cricket. This is an attempt to do a reality check on whether cricket itself deserves the mind space that it currently occupies.

There are three things that excite the Aam Aadhmi in India – Cricket, Politics and Cinema. In this discussion, we will eliminate the third, because by the looks of it, all cine stars converge into politics at some time in their lives. After all, neither fields have a retirement age.

The irony is, almost the entire nation follows cricket to an extent that statisticians seek voluntary retirement from stress, where the 11 individuals on the ground, do not even represent India in the truest sense. They are still representatives of a Board that Controls Cricket.

At the same time, the 552 people, that we send to the Parliament casting our votes, who are the true representatives of the nation, are let loose, and their activities are neither followed, nor their inaction questioned. Still they occupy a reasonable mind share as these people are meant to provide unintended entertainment value to the junta with their behaviour, or absence in Lok Sabha.

I am not taking Rajya Sabha into this picture at all, as in my opinion, it has no relevance, except to elect the President of the Nation.

We the Public, have got our priorities blissfully misplaced. We seem to be so much involved in a game whose outcome doesn’t affect our lives in any way. Any form of sport should only either be watched as a form of entertainment or pursued as a profession for winning one’s bread. 99% of us are exact half bakes here, as we consider watching cricket matches as our duty towards the nation.

And on the other hand, we find news channels a bit allergic to view, and we pass the typical comment, like no one can save the nation, and politics is just a drama. Not long ago, were cricket matches also dramas enacted to perfection fooling millions and there is no proof that the dramaticians have disappeared from the game.

To be fair, this is one area where the media is not responsible for the disorientation of the average Indian mindset. To make their business a cash cow, they hype everything right from festivals, sports, politics and business in a non partisan manner.

We the people have never spent a minute extra to analyse how political decisions affect our lives, except at the time of filing our IT returns. And we spend 20 minutes deliberating on each decision taken by the Indian captain on field. How does it really matter, no one wishes to think.

Suspending ESPN and Star Sports connections seem to be affecting people’s peace more than the admission rows in which, each state is taking turns to see how best they can screw up the education systems.

Split in Political parties and corporate kingdoms seem to be viewed as a main source of entertainment, and not as an event that could affect lives of so many people.

Yes, there is the Manchester United, there is the Lakers, and F1 that have aroused the same kind of craze in various parts of the world, but I am sure that these sporting affiliations are not taken to heart outside the game, which is not the case with us.

And spare a thought for the cricketers. Dumped and elevated at will, being judged on one day’s performance, and the larger than life image that they have built. The fact is that, the flak that they get is very reasonable, since they are also adored beyond limits when they strike form, and they also strike gold. But the better option to be dispassionate about the game itself.

What really plagues is the absence of any aptitude for politics in today’s world. Since I also belong to this generation, I am really not aware what made more people take to politics willingly earlier. If we are going to allow only sons of MPs who die in plane crashes or assassinated, to rule the nation in future, we may not have the kind of leaders who have clear ideologies and the undying spirit for public life.

One more line, and I think I will be mobbed by the cricket fanatics, and hence I leave the closing comment open for you to have your say, and let others also know what you feel about this, by posting your comments.