The Cricket Mania

Cricket World Cup 2007. Will India make it to the Super 8's? Suspense. Excitement. World cup record against Bermuda. Cheer. Fans. And a murder.
A murder?

Yesterday we had a collage-making competition in office, where we had to make a collage on "Cheer India for World Cup 2007". Cheer India... I thought, isn't all the cheering enough? Aren't we cheering too much already? Hoo-haa India. Aya India. And what not! I am not particularly a cricket fan. But I love sports: Sounds ironic, right? Thats because Cricket seems to have become an exception in the sports category. The real "spirit" of the game is lost. If India wins, you are a proud Indian. You party. You celebrate. And if India loses, you will burn effigies. You will attack the cricketers' houses. Well, thats not how a game is played!!

"When The Great Scorer comes to write against your name, you write not if you won or lost, but how you played the game!" And how is this game being played? There is so much money put in the sport that it no longer remains a sport. It is a game of poker being played by some rascals; and the cricketers are used like the cards.

How can I know that the match I will see today is not a pre-decided match? How can I be assured, that the players playing on the field are playing their true game, without surrendering to pressures & the power of money?

And now, with the murder of Bob Woolmer, the game has reached the peak of corruption. I think, the time has come to ban the game.