Is Indian cricket about stars in the game or vice versa?

Will ICL expose the Indian cricket fan? This is the fear that lies at the core of the ICL–BCCI imbroglio, says Mr Raghavendra Patnaik, Legal Adviser of Mumbai-based Globosport , a sports and entertainment management company promoted by tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi.

“Why else would a venture that hasn’t yet hosted a single cricket match earn the wrath of a body that has ‘governed’ cricket in India for three quarters of a century?” he asks, sharing with Business Line his personal views over an e-mail interaction.

Excerpts from a quick interview:

What are the immediate questions that arise from the clash?

Many. Such as: Is the Indian Cricket League (ICL) really what it professes to be — an alternative platform for cricket and cricketers in India, which will create feeder lines of talent that will eventually raise standards and make us champions? Or is it an emphatic rejection of the monopoly (and alleged autocracy) of the BCCI — a rebel league as some sections of the media have dubbed it? Or, is it an aftermath of the Zee-BCCI telecast rights controversy with the ICL promoters determined to redden the face of the BCCI?

Surprising?

Hardly. That these questions and conspiracy theories have gripped national attention over the past few weeks is not surprising given our eternally self-proclaimed “passion for cricket”. Possibly the real question and by far the most irksome one is – “will the ICL expose the truth about India’s passion for cricket?”

Isn’t our ‘passion’ real?

It seems ridiculous and blasphemous in equal measure to even suggest an examination of our love for the gentleman’s game. After all, we worship our cricketers, organise mannats and havans for their success, discuss them at work, over dinner, at meetings … We pride ourselves on being a one-sport nation and have embraced cricket as the predominant unifying fabric of our nation. But …

But?

Are we passionate about cricket or are we just star-struck? Do we love the Cover Drive simpliciter or does it have to be the Sachin Tendulkar cover drive? Why do television ratings for ODI cricket fall by several points as soon as Sachin gets out?

What is the diagnosis?

The truth is that for years we have defined very specifically the brand of cricket that we love to watch and have rarely if ever gone beyond. Why else are the Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy and Duleep Trophy played out in empty stands, while riots and stampedes become commonplace at international cricket fixtures featuring the icons of Team India?

We love the game, don’t we?

If cricket indeed ran in our veins wouldn’t we be making a beeline for these domestic matches encouraging and egging on the likes of Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Deep Dasgupta and Amol Majumdar? In the decadence of domestic cricket in India lies the true reflection of cricket’s popularity or lack thereof in the region.

What do you see as the possibilities, with ICL in the picture?

If there is at all a distinction between the love for cricket — the sport and the adulation for cricketers — the icons, the ICL will help bring this out. On the other hand if the people of India fill out into stadia hosting ICL matches featuring a sprinkling of legends and a host of young faces, it will be a true endorsement of Indians as cricket lovers. If not the ICL will fail as an experiment, but the true loss of face will be for the Indian cricket fan who will be revealed as a hero worshipper rather than a true lover of the game itself.

The last word?

Alas, “People can cry much easier than they can change,” as James Baldwin (African-American writer) said. It seems with the ICL everyone is on trial – the BCCI, the ICL, the players, the sponsors, the media and you and me!

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