Cricket, India and the World Cup!

It's curtains for India on cricket; a sport watched by millions with its shameful loss to Lanka in the world cup. It was disastrous performance by Indians all the way. The match looked like a joke. Although I generally consider the game of cricket as a sport of 11 + 11 + 1 fools (2 teams of 11 each & the one watching it) I wouldn’t want to miss that critical match when India plays. After all I am an Indian; a country of cricket lovers and can’t be cut off from the sport completely!

India’s loss to Sri Lanka can only lower my interest in the game. It was sickening to see our 11 put up such a lackadaisical show. What has happened to the players? What is wrong with the top order batsman? What’s going on with Sachin Tendulkar? He couldn’t be dismissed more easily. I couldn’t believe that he got out trying to defend a ball! He literally threw his wicket away. A normal; regular pitch was what they were batting on.

Cricketers have been made demigods; the huge viewer ship making them so. They make millions but sadly their performance does not justify their fortunes. Cricket is a game of hype, big money, betting, match fixings and a platform for the corporate world to sell its wares. It is the man on the street with his inexplicable love of the sport that has contributed to what the sport is today. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket of India) is one of the richest sporting bodies of the world.

Frequent allegations of match fixing has waned my interest in cricket. There is every chance that the big match that you are watching is a “fixed” one. Bob Woolmer’s murder shows the gory nature and complexities the sport involves. As one newspaper reported “cricket is war without bullets”.

With India's defeat I must ask Team India this: Can you guys beat Bermuda?

With India’s ignominious defeat to Bangladesh and abrupt exit from the world cup scene all kinds of jokes are doing the rounds on the World Wide Web. Here is a good joke I received.

Rahul Dravid Got Caught!
After the shameful defeat of Team India, the team members were not able to show their faces to people and they chose not to go in public and rather just pack up in hotel rooms.

Dravid could not resist for too long to be in the hotel room and still not be able to go out shopping. So he disguises himself as an Arab and goes out. He meets a woman at the exit of the hotel who greets him "Hi Dravid!"

Surprised for having been caught he comes back and makes himself up as a muslim woman - in Burkha etc and goes out. Yet the same woman greets him "Hi Dravid!"

Dravid comes back determined to give it yet another try with the make up of a Hippie wig and shorts etc. All in vain, the same lady catches him again and greets him "Hi Dravid!"

Bewildered by now, he could not help asking, "How did you recognize me?"

The lady replied - "I am Sachin!"