Terms of cricket

No..I am not talking about Cricket, the insect, but the game.  The insect Cricket has set its rules on how it will be, how it will survive, what it will eat, and when it will die, but the human beings who play, organize and manage the game of IPL Cricket seems to have let things go above their head in the quest of money, power and fiefdom.

Not long ago, 50 years back, when one wants to learn Cricket, we needed to learn the fielding positions like mid-wicket, long-on, slip, gully, mid-off, etc. If I go to an youngster waving flags and colorful balloons and watching a T20 game nowadays and ask them to show these positions, they will give a strange look and ask me back ‘What’s that?’.  The terms have changed. Now, to figure out which team will win, one need to observe who is removing the sweater and tying it to their hip, who is scratching their head and when, and who is waving their hands towards the stands. Yes, those are signs to start and stop betting – to tell the bookies at the stands that the player is going to concede runs, or get out. This generation of cricket-watchers are probably more familiar with these signs than the traditional field positions of cricket.

There are several opinions about who should be punished, who should leave the positions, which team should be banned, etc. Yes, all those things should happen, and cricket should be cleansed.  The state of affairs seem nothing less than dhadhagiri and nepotism and family wealth and fame. These people should go. Current sections of IPC should be effectively used to bring the people to book and justice served.

T20 is fascinating, attractive version of the game and appeal to the young generation, it should stay so, through healthy rules and terms. Let’s look forward to a great future for cricket!