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Economic & PoliticalWeekly EPW january 11, 2014 vol xlix no 2 77

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WALKABOUT |RUMINATIONS | SPORTS

Its Just Not Cricket !

As modern-day cricket has now attained thefrenzied status of mass mania in India, purists havebegun to flock to other sports.

Srinivasan Ramani

For sports lovers in India who claim to be purists,

these are indeed strange times. An amorphous group-

ing among those who follow sports, they are distinct

from the other conventional categories: those who participate

in sports as professionals; those who are casually attracted to

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january 11, 2014 vol xlix no 2 EPW Economic & PoliticalWeekly78

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SPORTS |LANGUAGE

sporting activities as a pastime, and those who consider

sports as mere entertainment or leisure. Like art lovers,

purist connoisseurs of sports are obsessed with quality, and

fancy themselves as vicarious participants in the games they

follow as spectators or as amateur participants.

The evolution of cricket into a popular sport in India has

placed the purist in an uncomfortable state of mind. While

all three forms of cricket the advanced, more rigorous

but slow, test cricket; the still popular one-day cricket;

and the fast-paced Twenty 20 (T20) version are patronised

by the Indian cricket board, it is the last version that has

generated the most enthusiasm and popular support. Pack-

aged mostly as entertainment with a lot of sideshows

cheerleading, celebrity marketing, and elaborate commer-

cialisation the T20 version, particularly its

marquee tournament, the Indian Premier League

(IPL), has created a frenzy among the Indian public.

Despite the innumerable controversies surround-ing it, such as match-fixing and corruption, fans

of the IPLhave remained rather faithfully glued

to their television sets or have continued to pat-

ronise the tournament by flocking in thousands to the stadia

for the matches.

Most purists, on the other hand, find that the IPL has

systematically diluted the game of cricket. Cricket has

traditionally been a test of skills and willpower that held

both the bowler and the batsman in equal importance. Lately,

however, the T20 format has skewed this equation dispro-

portionately in favour of the batsman. Various other forms of

dilution of rules and system have accompanied this develop-

ment the reduction of boundary limits, less leeway forbowler error, the virtual disappearance of the state of the

pitch as a major factor, and, of course, restrictions on the

bowlers arsenal and field settings. In this form of cricket,

there is little true competition, and too much of success is left

to chance and randomness. Little wonder then that purists

have found it difficult to sustain their enthusiasm for cricket,

when the T20 version of it predominates discussion and me-

dia coverage in the country.

Consequently, the more serious aficionados of cricket have

shifted their interest to other forms of sports, even those in

which Indians are particularly bad at, from an international

perspective. Young urban Indians have started following

European football and American basketball. The explosion

of satellite television and the relative ease of access to live

telecasts of tournaments such as the UEFA Champions

League, the English Premier League, and the Spanish La Liga

in football, and the matches of the National Basketball Asso-

ciation in the United States have created a new following

among sports lovers in India. These tournaments showcase

the best of global athletic talent, and even if they do not

feature any Indians, they are attracting new legions of fans

from India. Not surprisingly, many young Indians passion-

ately support football clubs such as Manchester United and

FCBarcelona or basketball teams such as the Los Angeles

Lakers. Many Indians actively participate in internet forums

dedicated to analysing football or basketball from a purists

perspective. Some of these websites are run by Indian fans

themselves, despite little patronage for these sports in their

own country.

Can it be said that the rampant popularity, the poor

administration and relative dilution of cricket are reasons

for the purists shift in interest? To a certain extent, one

could say so. But then one would also expect to see a

simultaneous increase in participation in these sports on

the field by the many young people who seem to be so

passionate otherwise as fans of the games. Are we getting

youth to flock to maidans, public grounds and gymnasia

in the cities to play football and basketball?

Sadly, no. Purist interest in sports seems to be

mostly limited to the couch potato culture or

internet fandom.The absence of open grounds and indoor

and outdoor stadia, and the continuing lack of

emphasis on physical education for youth are

among the reasons for this sorry state of affairs. Remember,

it did take years for the translation of purist interest in

cricket into active participation in the sport. Earlier genera-

tions of Indian cricket lovers were equally passionate about

cricket, appreciating the game through radio broadcasts

and newspaper reports. It took a generation, or maybe even

two, for the sport to become a participative venture for

youth, and even a viable professional avenue for aspiring

cricketers. Successes by Indian teams in international tour-

naments, of course, accelerated that process. Can we expecta similar story for other sports in the country? Purists will

certainly hope so.

Srinivasan Ramani (srini@epw.in) is Senior Assistant Editor at EPW.

Purist interest in

sports seems to be

mostly limited to

the couch potatoculture or internet

fandom