With the IPL right around the corner, posters of the Bengaluru IPL team decked up in their red and gold jerseys are going up on billboards all over the city. The city is buzzing with excitement and has not taken India’s loss at the World Cup, to heart. The players seem to be gearing up in full speed despite being on the field since February, for the Asia Cup.
Cricket enthusiasts are going to be glued to their television screens for the next two months. But even for them, how much cricket is too much? Apparently, nothing is too much! “I have been following all the matches from the time the Asia Cup began. But towards the end of the World Cup I decided to skip a few matches because it got a little exhausting to watch so much cricket. I am excited to watch the IPL of course, but could do with a longer break. The players deserve it too” says Shashreek Iyengar, a class 10 student.
For others, the overwhelming compulsion to watch more cricket seems to be blinding them to the dangers of excess. “Football and Tennis players also play all through the year but their schedules are made more sensibly with necessary gaps in between. But if the cricket team has even one free week, it is filled up with a hastily organised game. Cricket has become mundane and boring now. They need to know how to keep the viewers engaged in the sport” quotes Akshay Ahuja, a sports enthusiast.
Where cricket is followed religiously by a lot of people, for some it is just a matter of entertainment. “Cricket is always entertaining. It is hyped up more than other sports only because of how the players promote themselves. Cricketers have built a brand for themselves and have transformed themselves into celebrities and figures of national importance. You don’t see Football players or Kabaddi players promoting themselves as well as cricketers do. Cricketers know how to grab people’s attention and have succeeded which is why I don’t think our country will ever get tired of the sport” says Sudhanshu Abrol, a Goldman Sachs employee.
