Flannelled millionaires or overpaid slaves?
Flannelled millionaires or overpaid slaves?
By Parvathy Gopalakrishnan
One could term the Indian cricketers as globe-trotters. But the fact is, they’re more of refugees. They travel the length and breadth of the globe in an attempt to conquer one nation after another through their cricketing endeavours. Their closets are mobile; they live half their lifetime flying, eating and sleeping in air.
Now, how packed is jam-packed? Take a look at the Indian cricket team’s itinerary, and one can probably comprehend. The year kick started with the South African sojourn (3 tests, 5 ODIs, 2 T20s), and the team has never looked back since then. This was followed by the mother-of-all-cricketing tournaments: the ICC World Cup that got under way in February, to go on till April 2.
The World Cup witnessed homecoming, but the warriors, sadly, did not even have the time to bask in the glory for this unparalleled accomplishment. They had to pack their baggage yet again, to split as a team, and let the region vs region battle take over. It was IPL time – slam-bang action for another 51 days!
Come May 28, and the cricketers can heave a sigh of relief. ….Wait, can they? … Well, no!
The men fly to the Caribbean Isles on yet another cricketing mission, from June 4 to July 6 (3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 1 T20). That’s not all!
Lined up for them is an England tour from July to September (4 Tests, 5 ODIs, 1 T20), followed the English team returning the favour and touring India in October (3 Tests, 5 ODIs).
Hot on the heels of this home series, India will be playing host to the West Indies in November (3 Tests, 3-5 Odes), post which they’ll fly Down Under for some chin music in December (4 Tests, 5 Odes, 1 T20).
Phew! Spectators are already reeling under an overdose of the timber and leather battle, evident from café’s that are virtually empty. This is in stark contrast to the scene when people made a beeline for these very cafes during the World Cup. If too much cricket has become an eyesore for the spectators, spare a thought for the men who face the sun, wind and rain, toil it out in the open, and yet face brickbats if they fail to perform.
Yes, the Indian cricketers have more than a million options to make a quick buck. They have fatter than fattest bank balances; they have their bungles, gads and mamas, but do they even have the time to put this money to use? They’re left to deal with changing time zones and being constantly on the move.
Yes, they have their MasterCard’s in place, but there are some things that money can’t buy!
Hope the BCCI’s listening.
(Parvathy Gopalakrishnan is a journalist, who loves writing on cricket. A wordplay addict and a die-hard Rahul Dravid loyalist, she blogs about cricket on powerplaytheblog.blogspot.com/, whenever she can)