India winning T20 Cricket World Championship has brought back the Cricket hype in the Indian sub-continent. The way India came back in T20 and winning the championship was an icing on the cake after its just not-so-long disaster in 50 over’s 2007 World cup Cricket. The whole country enjoyed and celebrated the victory. I like cricket but I'm not a die hard fan of Cricket.
Success is a success and no second thought about it and India won T20 World Cup. However, how many people are willing to accept a different perspective of the way entire T20 Cricket Title came to India and importantly both the big cricket playing subcontinents India and Pakistan came to the finals? Also a perspective on other sports not getting their due recognition and support from the same Indian Nationals?
My comments here are not against any sport including Cricket but to question myself why other sports are not getting their due importance and recognition and more importantly Cricket overshadowing other sports. No offence intended but it’s just a Why-Not-Perspective and if you don't like this perspective you may ignore this blog at all. All in all, I appreciate your views and feedback.
Why India and Pak in the T20 Finals?
After the disaster exit of India and Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup Cricket at just the league levels, the entire Cricket fraternity's interest fell down overnight and also the sponsors failed to get their expected returns on investment. If you know, India and Pakistan is the two biggest Cricket playing and spectatorship nations across the world. And importantly BCCI is the India’s highest revenue earning board across all other cricket boards in the world. That means more sponsors for India. Of course, India is the nation with 9% GDP and consistently growing irrespective of economic and political turbulences in the neighboring nations in the Asian subcontinent. This genuinely makes lot of sense for most of the business enterprises to invest and grow in India. In all sense and given a chance, cricket is the sport through which any business would put its money to its instant revenue and profit. Having said this 2007 World cup didn't unfortunately bring the expected returns to the business tycoons who partnered and sponsored the event after both India and Pakistan's immediate exit in the league games. Of course the TV viewership dropped sharply and affected the companies which had put their money heavily on various advertisements, sponsorships and promotions.
On the other side, T20 cricket is a new format of game on the international Cricket space and it needs sufficient promotion and importance developed, first to be accepted by the cricket playing nations and also to catch up really fast with this new format. T20 Cricket provides an opportunity for more number of games to play if compared to both 50-overs and 5-day-long Test crickets. Having known the fact India and Pakistan have the highest spectatorship for this game, it makes lots of sense to hold these two nations till T20 final so that new format game positions very well for the future spectatorship. Thus, it is just a perception that it is a victory decided well ahead for both India and Pakistan to play the T20 Finals and India clinching the world cup. This provides the advantage to ICC to have the buy-in from both the important and big cricket playing nations and also from other nations accordingly for this 20 over cricket format. Also ICL’s (which is a competitive Cricket board evolving in India) cricket format is 20-20 cricket, that BCCI had not thought in the past. So BCCI also had the pressure of making T20 in favor of India so that it doesn’t loose players and viewers against ICL.
Why other sports not recognized equally?
First of all Cricket in India is promoted by a private body BCCI. Any private body’s motive is to invest and see the returns. Cricket is a business for BCCI. I think BCCI is doing its business perfectly and there is no question about it. It's just like football teams promoted by several private clubs in UK for ex Chelsea, and so on.
Whereas other sports are governed by the Government bodies. For example Indian Hockey Federation is an apex that governs the Hockey sport in the Indian sub-continent. All these sport bodies are not managed by business tycoons unlike cricket board. Which certainly means they fail to get the due recognition and growth that they deserve like Cricket or more.
I believe the sport - cricket became synonymous only after 1983 World Cup win by India. Otherwise Hockey and Football definitely had its share of viewers and players. Starting 1983 Victory, BCCI got the timing right and hijacked the entire sport enthusiasts to Cricket, by planning and promoting the sport professionally partnering with sponsors. In fact today Indian's are not bothered so much to recognize and appreciate any other sport next to Cricket. This Cricketisim has overshadowed and has induced slow-poisoning to other sports and its enthusiasts. The reason I say so is because the accolades, prize money given for Cricket players is HUGE and unimaginable. These acts only promotes the cricket sport and encourages everyone to play only cricket as it can give more-than deserving accolades, popularity, prize money and of course overnight stardom.
What is the way out for other sports to grow?
Today any sport other than cricket has to have its own hard-means to start-grow-succeed-and-survive. It’s quite apparent from how many private companies have really come forward to partner with Hockey, Football governing bodies. The learning’s are clear that, for any sport to be grown, it needs private participation in terms of sponsors. I personally see two means of developing other sports next to Cricket.
1. First approach is like helping a friend in need. Though BCCI is a private body and however being the only apex for cricket sport in the country, it holds certain responsibility of encouraging and helping grow other sports too in the country. This is what I see as true sporting quality. Since BCCI has surplus fund on the board, may be a certain percentage be funded to other sport bodies in the country. If this happens it not only helps other sport, sportsmanship to grow, but also develops a good will about the BCCI in a long run.
2. Alternatively, other Sport bodies also have to be managed by private bodies so that they devise and develop those sports like Cricket in a more business-like approach. We definitely have to have other sports growing as we have strong and motivated individuals striving hard on their own for success.
Note: My views are personal and could conflict with your views and perceptions. Please feel free to share your views, ideas, opinions so that I get to understand the theory "Beyond Sport" much better.
Success is a success and no second thought about it and India won T20 World Cup. However, how many people are willing to accept a different perspective of the way entire T20 Cricket Title came to India and importantly both the big cricket playing subcontinents India and Pakistan came to the finals? Also a perspective on other sports not getting their due recognition and support from the same Indian Nationals?
My comments here are not against any sport including Cricket but to question myself why other sports are not getting their due importance and recognition and more importantly Cricket overshadowing other sports. No offence intended but it’s just a Why-Not-Perspective and if you don't like this perspective you may ignore this blog at all. All in all, I appreciate your views and feedback.
Why India and Pak in the T20 Finals?
After the disaster exit of India and Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup Cricket at just the league levels, the entire Cricket fraternity's interest fell down overnight and also the sponsors failed to get their expected returns on investment. If you know, India and Pakistan is the two biggest Cricket playing and spectatorship nations across the world. And importantly BCCI is the India’s highest revenue earning board across all other cricket boards in the world. That means more sponsors for India. Of course, India is the nation with 9% GDP and consistently growing irrespective of economic and political turbulences in the neighboring nations in the Asian subcontinent. This genuinely makes lot of sense for most of the business enterprises to invest and grow in India. In all sense and given a chance, cricket is the sport through which any business would put its money to its instant revenue and profit. Having said this 2007 World cup didn't unfortunately bring the expected returns to the business tycoons who partnered and sponsored the event after both India and Pakistan's immediate exit in the league games. Of course the TV viewership dropped sharply and affected the companies which had put their money heavily on various advertisements, sponsorships and promotions.
On the other side, T20 cricket is a new format of game on the international Cricket space and it needs sufficient promotion and importance developed, first to be accepted by the cricket playing nations and also to catch up really fast with this new format. T20 Cricket provides an opportunity for more number of games to play if compared to both 50-overs and 5-day-long Test crickets. Having known the fact India and Pakistan have the highest spectatorship for this game, it makes lots of sense to hold these two nations till T20 final so that new format game positions very well for the future spectatorship. Thus, it is just a perception that it is a victory decided well ahead for both India and Pakistan to play the T20 Finals and India clinching the world cup. This provides the advantage to ICC to have the buy-in from both the important and big cricket playing nations and also from other nations accordingly for this 20 over cricket format. Also ICL’s (which is a competitive Cricket board evolving in India) cricket format is 20-20 cricket, that BCCI had not thought in the past. So BCCI also had the pressure of making T20 in favor of India so that it doesn’t loose players and viewers against ICL.
Why other sports not recognized equally?
First of all Cricket in India is promoted by a private body BCCI. Any private body’s motive is to invest and see the returns. Cricket is a business for BCCI. I think BCCI is doing its business perfectly and there is no question about it. It's just like football teams promoted by several private clubs in UK for ex Chelsea, and so on.
Whereas other sports are governed by the Government bodies. For example Indian Hockey Federation is an apex that governs the Hockey sport in the Indian sub-continent. All these sport bodies are not managed by business tycoons unlike cricket board. Which certainly means they fail to get the due recognition and growth that they deserve like Cricket or more.
I believe the sport - cricket became synonymous only after 1983 World Cup win by India. Otherwise Hockey and Football definitely had its share of viewers and players. Starting 1983 Victory, BCCI got the timing right and hijacked the entire sport enthusiasts to Cricket, by planning and promoting the sport professionally partnering with sponsors. In fact today Indian's are not bothered so much to recognize and appreciate any other sport next to Cricket. This Cricketisim has overshadowed and has induced slow-poisoning to other sports and its enthusiasts. The reason I say so is because the accolades, prize money given for Cricket players is HUGE and unimaginable. These acts only promotes the cricket sport and encourages everyone to play only cricket as it can give more-than deserving accolades, popularity, prize money and of course overnight stardom.
What is the way out for other sports to grow?
Today any sport other than cricket has to have its own hard-means to start-grow-succeed-and-survive. It’s quite apparent from how many private companies have really come forward to partner with Hockey, Football governing bodies. The learning’s are clear that, for any sport to be grown, it needs private participation in terms of sponsors. I personally see two means of developing other sports next to Cricket.
1. First approach is like helping a friend in need. Though BCCI is a private body and however being the only apex for cricket sport in the country, it holds certain responsibility of encouraging and helping grow other sports too in the country. This is what I see as true sporting quality. Since BCCI has surplus fund on the board, may be a certain percentage be funded to other sport bodies in the country. If this happens it not only helps other sport, sportsmanship to grow, but also develops a good will about the BCCI in a long run.
2. Alternatively, other Sport bodies also have to be managed by private bodies so that they devise and develop those sports like Cricket in a more business-like approach. We definitely have to have other sports growing as we have strong and motivated individuals striving hard on their own for success.
Note: My views are personal and could conflict with your views and perceptions. Please feel free to share your views, ideas, opinions so that I get to understand the theory "Beyond Sport" much better.
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