Cricket This Week - When 'sixes and wickets' gave way to 'fixes and rackets'

N. Srinivasan

Last one week or so saw cricket taking precedence over topics of national importance like the ‘Mango Man’, ‘Rise of a Tea vendor’, RTI, women empowerment etc., in the Indian prime time news. In most situations this would excite a cricket fan. But when the reasons are non-cricketing as it is in this case, the excitement gives way to frustration.

It is a known fact that the BCCI has been calling the shots in the cricketing world for quite some time now. They decided to make it official by the introduction of the concept of ‘Big Three’, which comprises of India, Australia and England. While it is difficult for an average cricket follower like me to understand the exact terms under this new structure, I can only hope that it will be good for cricket in the long run.

Many argue that the Indians have suffered long enough under the hands of the English and the Australians when it comes to power in the cricket world, and now is the time to give them a taste of their own medicine. Just to give readers a back ground of what is being meant here: NKP Salve, who was then the president of the Indian cricket board, was denied passes for the 1983 World Cup final.

The news of the big three coincided with the announcement of the next ICC chairman – N Srinivasan. Again in most cases, the news of an Indian heading a world cricket body would have brought happiness. But only a couple of days after this announcement came the news of Mr Srinivasan’s son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, being indicted in the spot-fixing scandal by the Mudgal committee. To Mr. Srinivasan’s defence, this in no way proves that he himself is guilty of any wrong doing. But it definitely leaves a room for a lot of unanswered questions.

The later half of the week saw the players auction of the league that has been under the scanner for one reason or the other since its inception in 2008 – IPL. The powerful Indian business houses ensured that the players go home with their pockets full. One can only pray that these fat pay cheques serve as a deterrent for players not to indulge in the black world of fixing.

While in the middle of such disturbing news, came another shattering news from the ‘home of cricket’ England. Kevin Pietersen, one of the greatest players of our generation, was told by the ECB that his services are no longer required. The official reason given was that this was done to restore England team ethic.

All these news were disturbing for a cricket fan, leading to anger and disappointment. Some say that such kind of things happen in many sports, and it is just a reflection of the times we live in. It is beyond my IQ to understand such deep rooted philosophy. I am just a ‘Mango’ (Aam) cricket fan, who prefers the news of ‘sixes and wickets’ rather than ‘fixes and rackets’.

The news of two teams – India and Australia – doing well outside their home soil somewhat alleviated the pain. It was like the light at the end of the tunnel. I only hope that this light would be there long enough, and the fans would get to say some day: ‘Cricket – And it lived happily ever after’.