Now things have Changed

CRICKET Lovers take it! Your favourite cricketers are auctioned and sold out for prices above your expectations. They are worth millions of rupees and their ranking and market value are likely to hit new highs in the coming days. Most of the heroes are worth much more than what they think themselves to be and many are really shocked at the way they are looked at by the people around the world. These heroes seem to be enjoying the last laugh and the cricket fans around the world are robbed of their genuine sports spirits, precious times and money by way of watching one-days and test series. Cricket fans, you all need to leave your fools’ paradise urgently. If the facts and figures we find attached with our fans are anything to go by, we may simply conclude that we have all been fools and our cricket icons have been successful in keeping us fooled for a long time. For, the Mallyas and Zintas eventually turn out to be the marketeers of sports assets and ambassadors. The auction and price fixing take place so that the public feels great to be fans of cricketers who cost the most.  In this worst of all dimensions of trade, human trade, like the oldest profession in the world, human faculties and attributes are priced competitively and the highest bidder himself gets a market value, which is equated not in terms of money but rather in terms of corporate image or brand ‘ambassadorship’ or market mileage or whatever you call it.   It was not long time back that we had heard about match fixing and those tears and sobs of our stars. Now things have changed after the accidental 20/20 honour. The stars of our favourite cricketers are excellently positioned and the coming days are bound to witness many more auctions of greater magnitudes and they are going to be bought and sold much more frequently than now or ever before for never-ever-before prices.  However, this sports star shopping spree does not augur well for a nation and its sports tradition in any way. When the nation considers honouring cricketers next time, it would be better to rate them according to the price tags they come attached with so that the one with the biggest price tag gets the biggest sports honour of the nation like, say Khel Ratna. In the meantime, our cricket fans around the world may also be honoured with a collective prize called ‘Fool’s Paradise Prize’. This may be given to any community that feels that it is worth spoiling precious time, money and efforts to watch live and recorded matches played by these cricket commodities and marketed by their corporate godfathers and Personally, I feel ashamed to mention their names. It is shame on the nation. By the way, who is going to listen to these words? I am sure, no one is. Still, I feel like saying it as it does go with saying only.

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