Opinion: Why Indian cricket doesn’t make sense to me anymore

June 25, 1983: The Indian team defeated the heavy-weight West Indians to clinch their first World Cup.

The outcome: A country of over a billion cricket fans jumped in ecstasy.

April 2, 2011: Sachin Tendulkar was carried around Mumbai’s jam packed Wankhede Stadium after India beat Sri Lanka to bag its 2^nd World Cup title.

The outcome: Most Indians, especially fans of the Master Blaster, celebrated the win.

August 24, 2015: Virat Kohli registers his first win as Test captain of India after defeating Sri Lanka by 278 runs at Colombo.

The outcome: A handful of Indians (not to mention Anushka Sharma) rejoice. The rest don’t bother!

One cannot obviously compare the significance of the Colombo Test to the likes of a World Cup tournament, but it’s unfortunately true that most Indian cricket fans, which includes me, have moved on.

After the 1983 World Cup win, the era of ODIs turning into a televised spectacle began. Whenever India played, an entire nation was glued to live action. However, it’s a different story altogether today. With the emergence of the shorter format of the game, the focus has sadly shifted from cricket to the great Indian cricket tamasha. Once well-regarded by those who trust in the virtues of this noble game, it has today become a game of mockery, money swindling and of course excess media attention.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, I would patiently watch almost every single Test match involving India. There were days when I woke up at 5 am to watch the likes of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee bowl to Tendulkar and Ganguly in front of a packed SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground). Then there were days when Indian legendary spinner Anil Kumble would rip to shreds some of the best batsmen in the world. Be it Rahul Dravid defending an unplayable ball from Shoaib Akhtar or Harbhajan Singh spinning a web of defeat on his opponents, watching Indian cricket then was a sheer delight.

At that time, cricket meant more than just a game to me. It was all about those elegant straight drives and glorious cover drives. It was all about those reverse swings and magical googlies. Regardless of where India played, the dedication of sitting in front of the television set and watching every ball being played was priceless. But today almost a decade down the line, the actual meaning of the game has somewhere lost its way. Is it because results are being given more importance than the game itself? Or is it because more is spoken about a player’s on and off field antics than his actual game?

For instance, cricket experts slammed Kohli’s captaincy in the Galle Test and almost forgot the fact that he scored a gritty century in the same match. Today, after India beat Sri Lanka in Colombo the same experts have different things to talk about Kohli’s captaincy. And believe me, if Kohli fails in the third Test he will be mercilessly penalised. Every single move of his will be scrutinized and every single wrong stroke played by him will be magnified. All this and more has stopped making sense to me.

Saturated beyond redemption

For me Indian cricket has reached its saturation point. Yes there are those who continue to strive hard and give their best on the field, but for me, it’s now become a matter of overkill. From being a person who wouldn’t miss a single match that features India to become someone who would rather sit back and watch the Ashes instead itself speaks about how too much of cricket in India has killed the beauty of the game. The never-ending IPL games, the countless spot-fixing dramas and all the unwanted jazz off the field has tarnished the image of Indian cricket, not only across the world, but also in our own eyes. The sad truth is that the volume of cricket that is being played by Indian cricketers has somewhere taken away the bite from its viewers.

Time has changed the face of cricket in India. For me what’s saddening is that the change has not been for the better. The game has moved so much from its core to other frivolous matters. People in India don’t care anymore if Virat Kohli scored a century or Ravichandran Ashwin grabs another 5-wicket haul. However, the same people will chatter away to glory when Kohli decides to wed Anushka!

There was a time when every weekend in India was an evidence of the country’s love affair with cricket. Children stormed vacant streets and playgrounds every Sunday morning to have an enjoyable tryst with their favourite game. Families came together to watch India play a match. But all of that has changed today. The gradual shift of interest amongst youngsters from cricket to other sports like football, badminton, hockey and kabaddi etc. stands testimony that Indian cricket has lost is sheen.

Will the governing authorities do something about this? From the looks of India’s hectic schedule ahead, I have all my doubts.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Folomojo.com

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