Last post on the WC'07

BBC news examines the financial implication of early exit of Indian cricket team from the WC '07 here.

The punch line at the end was a cruel joke!

Sony's Kunal Dasgupta now says the format of the tournament is flawed.

"In a 48-day tournament, if teams like India and Pakistan are out for playing bad cricket in two matches, there is something really wrong. We were against this format and even told the International Cricket Council to reconsider it," he said.

Hear Hear! I say, for the next World Cup India must get the automatic bye to the finals. Only then will cricket in its present economic avatar be sustainable.

Lessons from the WC debacle

Mukul Kesavan has written about how the exit of India and Pakistan might actually be good for Cricket. He argues that the rise of these two south asian cricketing giants is responsible for the rise of one day cricket (which he associates with match fixing and other corrupt practices).
While I do agree that this exit might be good for cricket but not for the reason. One Day cricket is no south asian invention, infact the brits have even shorter version Twenty20. These are innovations designed to make the game popular. And match fixing and corruption are no south asian preserve.
But the malaise lies in the unstable nature of international cricket. There are around a dozen international teams playing the world cup but (I guess) the audience comprise more than 70% south asians. I dont think there is much passion for the game in Britan or even Australia (who are doing so well).
If cricket in India has to be saved, then more effort must be made to popularize the domestic cricket like Ranji Trophy. It is a joke that the players representing state teams have so little perks while the players just a level above them are treated like gods.
I do hope that the cricket administrator realize that they should not kill the hen that lays the golden eggs.

India in World Cup

The delicious ironies of commercialization of sports. Sports, which has always been about strength of character, unpredictiveness, heroic effort, but when the money factor comes in, things do change. Money does make the world go round and increases the visibility of sports. But what is the point, if money decides the outcome beforehand.
Read the clever article on the scheduling of world cup on rediff.
Put on your seatbelts. Worldcup 07 is gonna start soon!