The Strange Death of Indian Cricket

[Turbinator]

Saw a blog today on Cricinfo...http://blogs.cricinfo.com/meninwhite/... And I must say was very very disappointed by it and a lot of the comments posted. It is a no brainer that soccer is far more popular than cricket, but the way cricket is made out to be... I must say it disappoints me. What I mean to say is that cricket is such a beautiful sport and for it to be looked on as boring is quite baffling to me. And to see Indian children think this way is even more disappointing, and I can tell from experience because my own cousin and his friends perceive cricket as boring.

Tbh, I don't expect cricket to ever be as popular as some other sports, but to have a significant portion of youth in countries with cricket as the main sport consider cricket as boring is not a good sign. And just because the Indian team is not as dominant or does not win often, it doesn't mean you "betray" them and lose interest in the sport itself. And I must say, having lived most of my life in Canada, I still have so much passion for the game and will no matter what never ever "betray" the Indian team and will continue to be a passionate fan, even if India becomes worst Test nation.

Also, the comments disappointed me as well... For example, the one below.

"Too many cricket games, nobody has time to spend the whole day for Cricket now. Would rather see the highlights. And with the test cricket forget it 5 days. Everybody is pressed for time, so this trend will be seen in the future. Even Golf, people watch only because of Tiger, if he doesn't play they don't even turn on the TV."

 

[dass]

dont worry i dont think in india it will ever be unpopular, but in countries like England yes cricket is losing its apeal amoung young.

 

[GIMH]

dont worry i dont think in india it will ever be unpopular, but in countries like England yes cricket is losing its apeal amoung young.

Incorrect

 

[Fiery]

Is it because India do so well in the soccer World Cup?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

dont worry i dont think in india it will ever be unpopular, but in countries like England yes cricket is losing its apeal amoung young.

AFAIK, the appeal of cricket to youngsters has been improving over recent years.

It's in the West Indies where it's getting phased out.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Is it because India do so well in the soccer World Cup?

Ftr, only two English speaking countries in the Caribbean have made it to the Football World Cup. That doesn't stop it's ever-growing popularity. Seriously, what an ignorant statement.

 

[Dravid]

Cricket is actually improving more in popularity now because of the stupid new format added to the game, than it was before.

 

[silentstriker]

Cricket is actually improving more in popularity now because of the stupid new format added to the game, than it was before.

TBF, it's been there for decades now.

 

[Richard]

dont worry i dont think in india it will ever be unpopular, but in countries like England yes cricket is losing its apeal amoung young.

AFAIK, the appeal of cricket to youngsters has been improving over recent years.

It's in the West Indies where it's getting phased out.

All such things are more likely to be temporary than permanent.

 

[silentstriker]

In any case, its not like India are world class with all the interest. How much worse can they be with less interest?

 

[LA ICE-E]

i heard from a baseball fan that cricket was losing intrest in australia with aussie footy and baseball gaining popularity there. how much truth is there to that? i think baseball in australia is saying like cricket in usa. i am i right or wrong?

 

[grecian]

TBF, it's been there for decades now.

Yes agreed Ss. Why are the ODI-lovers the ones who tend to bag 20/twenty most?

Can I just state that even on a day England beat Australia, I still think ODIs are the most pointless and irritating form of the great game.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

i heard from a baseball fan that cricket was losing intrest in australia with aussie footy and baseball gaining popularity there. how much truth is there to that? i think baseball in australia is saying like cricket in usa. i am i right or wrong?

Very little with regards to baseball. I think it's accepted that you can't have baseball and cricket, at least at a very high level, due to them having too similar a fan base.

I don't think cricket will ever die out in the sub-continent, since it's too much of a part of the lifestyle. It will never die out here, for similar reasons, or in Australia or South Africa. New Zealand concerns me, as crowds appear to be very low and at the moment they only seem to be able to hang on at home in Test cricket due to the seam-friendly conditions. The West Indies, as Liam says, is probably the biggest problem, with basketball and football becoming more and more popular.

 

[Richard]

Can I just state that even on a day England beat Australia, I still think ODIs are the most pointless and irritating form of the great game.

Have you ever watched one?

 

[Fiery]

Ftr, only two English speaking countries in the Caribbean have made it to the Football World Cup. That doesn't stop it's ever-growing popularity. Seriously, what an ignorant statement.

It was just a facetious, albeit banal, remark. Not sure it warrants that sort of response. You can call your dogs off.

 

[Richard]

Woof.

 

[grecian]

Have you ever watched one?

Yes.

 

[Richard]

Well most of today's free-to-air-only audience hasn't.

 

[Tim]

Cricket won't die out here because it is one of the few sports that gets you decent money here. Sports like football, baseball, softball, hockey even just don't get you enough money to have a decent living.

If a keen youngster is having to choose between Cricket and Soccer for example, most of them will choose cricket at this stage because there is a decent future in it for them. Players like Jamie How and Jacob Oram have passed on soccer in recent times and chosen to play cricket.

 

[marc71178]

But then again, Football is hardly a major sport in NZ is it?