Cricketers starting to feel the pinch
It had to come about some time
Partab Ramchand
11-Jun-2000
It had to come about some time. With so many skeletons falling out
as a result of the match fixing scandal, even die hard cricket supporters are thinking twice about maintaining their love affair
with the game. Total disinterest in the game will not take place overnight for cricket mania in this country is like a deep
rooted disease with no cure. But there is little doubt that the
sordid events since the match fixing scam broke open in April
is beginning to have an adverse impact on cricket. People may
still follow the game either by reading newspaper reports or
browsing through the internet or by watching live telecasts. They
may still ask for the latest score or discuss the game and the
players. But there is no denying the fact that interest overall
has lessened and people are adopting a more cynical attitude
towards the game and the cricketers as a result of the events
of the past couple of months.
The revelations made by players testifying before the King
Commission have been particularly damaging. PT Barnum might
have put it succinctly about there being ``a sucker being born
every minute.'' The fact remains that no one likes being taken
for a ride. A cricket fan would like to think that he is watching
a keen contest between bat and ball complete with all the
intracacies and the game's aesthetic qualities. The moment he
comes to know that what he has seen is a mockery of the game -
which indeed has been confirmed by the revelations of Gibbs,
Strydom and Williams - there will be a feeling of revulsion
among those who saw the matches or followed the live telecast.
As if the confessions of the players is not bad enough, the
conduct of some cricketers and officials, particularly in India,
has done much to damage the image of the game. The unsubstantiated charges, the clash of egos, the fact that they have used the match fixing scandal to settle personal scores have all combined to make
the genuine lover of the game shake his head in disgust. And the repercussions are already being felt. The first salvo has been
fired on the marketing front. Disturbed by the developments in
the controversy, a leading pen manufacturer in India has decided
to remove cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli and Ajit Agarkar from their advertisements and bring in Bollywood hearthrob Hrithik Roshan. The chairman and managing director of the company, a Mumbai based Rs 62 crore group, is quoted to have said that ``the ongoing controversy over match fixing has badly affected public sentiments
all over the country and it will affect our sales volume if we
continue to advertise cricketers on our various brands in future.''
Indeed, immediately after the match fixing scandal broke in April, advertisements featuring Hansie Cronje were withdrawn by the
company. And it is alleged that soft drink ads featuring
Tendulkar and other Indian players have also been withdrawn.
The cricketers have certainly started feeling the pinch and if
matters do not improve on the match fixing front, things could
get worse - not only on the players' economic front but also
from a personal angle. They will really be aware of the fall
in the popularity stakes when they are not besieged by
autograph hunters or when their photographs are removed from
the walls of teenagers' rooms. And no amount of money can
replace little things like that, as they will realize.