There are a
number of
cricket crazy countries in the world like Pakistan, India, Sri-Lanka, and Bangladesh. U.K. Australia,
New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya are among the other prominent
cricket playing nations. Does the game the do any good to the people? The players are making their millions or even billons easily But what about those who watch? There are billions of souls tethered to the matches for days and days. They are crazy and they know every player and their plus and minus points, their batting average,
number of wickets taken, number of centuries, catches, boundaries and sixers. They spend days and nights fully involved in the game –mind and soul is fully absorbed. And there is a match of some sort almost every other day . It can be a test series, a one day cricket match. One brand or another sponsors a series almost every day and there is a match in the TV always. . There are now channels devoted only for cricket which relay matches round the clock (24X7) Who gains by this sort of incessant relaying of cricket matches? .Those watch are not simply seeing; they are fully immersed in the game following even the nuances of balling and the way it is delivered and how the batsman responds to it. If it takes a wicket or if the batman manages a sixer, there is a euphoria or mad reaction from those who watch the game. It is not a mere sport meant for relaxation for an hour or less; it is soul embracing and it inundates one’s being. It has become the social psyche of Indians. Even if when one wakes up at night he will be asking the score to anyone he can see or switching on an electronic gadget that will give him the answer. His body and mind and every vibration of every cell of his being is completely taken over by the game. There is nothing left practically for doing one’s job or studying for one’s exam. India has about 110 billion souls and almost 90% are ardent fans of the game. The percentage may be a little less among the fairer sex. Even if one takes 50% of males and 20 % of females are addicted, there are about 35 billion people who be glued to the screens for days and days fully concentrating on the game! If one computes the totals, there will be 35x8=280 billon man hours lost per day. As there is one kind of match or the other almost every day, I leave it to your imagination the number of man-hours lost in an year. If one argues that people will be doing something while watching cricket and not wasting his time, what will be his efficiency? The mind and soul of the watchers are immersed in the game and even if he/she does something, it will be only mechanical work and there will be no efficiency. Being a socialist country many of the government servants can watch it leisurely as efficiency does not matter. They get paid for the attendance In the private companies many employees take a break for knowing the ‘score ‘ and return to do the work afterwards.. It is obvious that his/her mind is in the game and not in his work. I remember a college lecturer who was my colleague who used to come out of the classroom at regular intervals to know the score in his pocket radio. Just imagine the millions of man-hours stolen by this game! The players, their organizers, coaches, the Board of Cricket Controls—all win. And the losers? Those who watch it madly. If they want relaxation they can go for a sport for an hour or so. But spending one’s life in the pursuit of the game seems to be suicidal. This is evidenced by the countries which are madly after the game. Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, India, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe and others. In rich nations like U.K., Australia, New Zealand there are very few who watch the game obsessively. And is it ironic that the former--all of them--are still poor?