does it matter to us???

It wouldn’t be a perfect finish to a Soap Opera, unless Rajasthan Royals win this year’s IPL. But then we will shortly see if it is Soap or Cricket that dictates showmanship in IPL.

We all know cricket is a glorious game of uncertainties. When some of these uncertainties, thread the boundaries of ‘Mission Impossible’, we begin to develop a suspicion. After all, we only developed the attitude to suspect based on what happened in the past. I’m sure some (if not majority) of the followers must have developed suspicion at varied points when IPL matches frequently threaded logic defying cricket. But then, we tried to pacify ourselves that ‘ALL IS WELL’ and it is all part of the games glorious uncertainties. And then, when the scandal broke, rather be shocked the real feeling was ‘I knew from beginning this was happening’, but only did not know it would involve a player like Sreesanth. Now, it drives us crazy to know who the other black sheep’s are. Obviously, it cannot be just one franchise with only 3 players involved. There should be more such moles from other teams too. For now, they are all waiting to be caught one after the other. May be they could all get away due to lack of supporting evidence. Let’s wait to see how it all unfolds.

In the meantime, it is revealed that, bookies don’t make big returns from spot fixing as much as they pay to players for executing it. From a common fan’s inference, the recruitment drive must have started recently. Eventually, when more players become part of their payroll from various franchises, the results of the many games can be better manipulated. In the end, the payment to players will be peanuts in comparison to the returns. And, when the entire system is compromised, it becomes even more complicated for the administrators to punish the guilt. In other words, it could all lead up to “Abandoning the League” which more or less pave safe exits to culprits involved. Guess I’m not too vivid with imaginations.

But then as a public, we are always going to be haunted with questions like, is the money paid in IPL not enough for the players? Is the extra money, worth the risks considering their stature (especially Sreesanth until now)? Are these players so starving for sex appetite? Is the pair of jeans, fancy cars, expensive watches, beautiful women etc. are beyond reach for these players in their current income? Did they not learn any lesson from the earlier scandals on similar grounds?

Well, I can’t answer these questions. But, I can share my perspective. A threat for life from the Underworld Mafia is not something that can be easily ignored. When you come from a country, where corruption exists in every nook and corner, getting involved in corruption doesn’t appear too big a crime. Also, in the past people punished for corruption charges irrespective of field don’t do any worse in social life at a later time. Thus, I find resisting corruption is irresistible. They really knew what they were up to and why they were up to. Between, they did not sign up to take anyone’s life. They are only asked to bowl few bad balls, which they will bowl anyway, except they get added incentive this time.

Now that it is official that some of the games we watched faithfully this IPL turn up to have illegitimate play involved, why do we still continue our patronage?

I see this difficult to answer than what was posed at those tainted cricketers. Even common sense could not provide any reasoning for full house in the inconsequential penultimate match played between Delhi and Pune. May be, there is an answer to the question. May be, we are used to living in corrupted system and so corruption crimes hardly deters our enthusiasm to dislike cricket. May be because, somebody has EPL, somebody has NFL, somebody as NBA, and so IPL is our Fashion Statement to the rest of the world.

Bottom line: Does it all really matter? The story is spicy anyway.

Dinesh
Cricket Lover