hocking cricket

OK, I know you guys may have already read tons of material analysing India’s shameful failure in qualifying for the Beijing Olympics (this happened for the first tme in 80 years). That was the one reason I was hesitant to write on this topic for a long time now. But a speech at the India Today Conclave by Bishen Singh Bedi compelled me to write on this topic.

This is how he started his speech,

I would like to take you back to a time when India beat New Zealand in a five-day Test match. In those days Indian used to get Rs. 50 a day for a Test match. But Indians won the game in four days and the Indian Board deducted Rs.50. That was the incentive of winning the game in four days.

Heh. Rs. 250 for playing a Test match? And money deducted if the match finishes in less than five days? Incredible! But of course, that was years ago. Now, let’s get back to the present. When India recently won the triangular series in Australia, Team India got a bonus of Rs. 10 crore! That is over and above their usual match fee (which in itself is quite a large amount).

If cricket could be such a money-spinner in India, we can only imagine how much money-spinning potential sports like hockey and football must be having. Let’s be honest, one-day cricket is a dreadfully drawn-out event. Each innings lasts for a never-ending three and a half hours. I mostly fall asleep in the middle overs. They are damn boring. Effectively, we end up spending no less that eight hours seeing a match. Almost a whole day wasted! And still we love cricket

Contrast this with hockey. Each half lasts for 35 minutes and the match is over in under two hours. And to top it all, every moment is filled with excitement and adrenaline. There are hardly any sleep-inducing moments. And of course, there are almost no adverisements; unlike in cricket, where we are force-fed advertisements every five minutes

So why isn’t hockey the money-spinner that it could be in India? The answer to this question can be found by analysing Indian cricket’s success story. Cricket has had great administrators like Dalmiya, Bindra et al. They have done a great job in promoting cricket. They are the guys who have raked in the moolah, so to say, for Indian cricket. And therefore, Indian cricket is where it is today.

On the other side, we have K.P.S. Gill doing the best he can to kill hockey in India for the past 14 years. I wonder why he is still hanging on. Has he become so shameless? hockey needs is great administrators who can ensure that talented youngsters get a platform where they can display their skills. Merit (not stupid internal politics and regionalism) should be the only criterion for selecting a player in the national team. Everything else will follow; sponsors, money, crowds in stadiums, everything…

If only we could kick Mr. Gill out of the Indian Hockey Federation for a start…