Despite all the money and coverage, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) send to be turning a blind eye towards a disappointing trend in Indian cricket. Aayush Puthran feels, if corrective measures are not taken in time, the game of cricket will see a permanent destruction in the country.
No more of fans, no more of love —the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seems to have made its stand clear.
Cricket’s grandest exhibition — the Indian Premier League (IPL) — is on. Millions, in revenue and eyeballs, is at stake. Almost every media house in the country is covering the exhilarating contest between bat and ball on display. But, who is watching this cricket now?
In a bid to churn out every single penny on offer, has the Indian cricket board, taken cricket away from its real fans? Has cricket and cricketers become inaccessible despite all the technological advances?
Ticket prices have sky-rocketed. This year, the minimum price for an IPL ticket at Wankhede is Rs 700. An average cricket fan cannot afford spending that amount for each match. Even if they can afford, availability of tickets becomes an issue with reservations for affiliated clubs and associations, leaving little for common public.
It is not just the game, but players too have become inaccessible to the public and media.
Most cricketers have Twitter/Facebook accounts to connect with their fans. But not only are they used simply for endorsing their brands, but also managed by a third party. However the most disappointing aspect to this entire ‘connect with fans’ drama is the fact that, in person they aren’t allowed to talk or even sign autographs.
The players also have the luxury of avoiding controversial questions about the game and go ahead with replies straight from the Public Relations manual. Mandatory press conferences too have become a farce with replies becoming more predictable than the question.
The feeling of being left out from the process and from the game has already made enough people shift loyalties in sporty and lose interest in cricket. Stadiums and cricketers are all out of reach.
As of now, everything seems to be rolling along well for the BCCI. But quite obviously they are stretching their luck. Cricket and cricketers are becoming inaccessible to the common Indian man. At the same time, other sports in the country are working hard to generate a mass following. If the board and the officials don’t learn their lessons soon, the game will have to rest in peace.
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(Aayush Puthran is currently a reporter with India.com. He has previously worked as a cricket journalist with CricketCountry and as an Associate Producer with Sony Six. Mercurially jovial, pseudo pompous, perpetually curious and occasionally confused, he is always up for a light-hearted chat over a few cups of filter kaapi!)
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