Much has transpired over the last few days and weeks.
Most probably, we are currently at the cliched tip-of-the-iceberg moment.
The Bollywood connection has been unearthed, so too (allegedly) the role of team owners.
Amidst all the muck and heart-break, I have only the following thoughts that I'd like to share:
The Why
Ever since all this happened, not for a moment have I been able to stop thinking about why - just why, things would have come to such a pass.
When the Pakistani spot-fixing scandal came to light, there was a school of thought that said this happened only because the accused were from very modest backgrounds, not highly educated, and got entrapped in the glitz of instant success and hedonistic pleasures.
Well, as it turns out, our desi firebrands have shown that such an assumption was all hogwash.
If there is one thing that the tainted trio has irrevocably proven by their misdemeanor, it is that there is no such thing as 'enough' - money, girls, cash, greed - call it what you will.
The Why Now
For all its brave posturing now, the BCCI has a few uncomfortable facts and questions staring in its face:
Despite having had a precedent in 2000, the still-recent Pakistani spot-fixing saga, and the open secret of IPL being too unreal to consistently dish out last-minute qualifications and thrilling, unexpected results, why were the players and the franchises monitored properly?
Scandal or no scandal, what business has N Srinivasan ever had to continue being at Chennai Super Kings as well as in the BCCI top brass? So much for transparency and prevention of conflict of interest?!
How could we ever encourage post-match parties where every 'well-connected' anyone, could walk in to any gathering of cricketers, and have free access to every murky wheeling-dealing?
If you could never stop this till now, why the fake brouhaha over transparency and code of conduct and BCCI's compliance to such standards, only now? Spare us the moral high-horse, please. The cricket-playing public ain't no fool.
The What Now
The players got their moolah, the bookies got their due too - who is the biggest loser in all this?
Yes sir, you got it spot on! (pun intended) - of course, the foolish, tax-paying cricket fan - who invested his hard-earned money after saving for the IPL ticket, who fought with family to eke out time to attend or watch the match, who labored extra hours at work, just so that he could watch the 'thrilling' contests on display.
Well, all I can say is, next time a bowler concedes extra runs or a fielder spills a sitter, even a genuine case would raise eyebrows.
The joke is on us, who have been robbed of the joy of watching a sport.
The tragic part is that even a genuinely thrilling match would seem contrived.
Even an inadvertent no-ball/wide would seem full of conspiracy.
Even a small gesture towards the pavilion would seem ungainly.
I wish it had not come to this.
I wish the game - my very first love, would have remained a game of glorious uncertainties, and not fixed scripts.
It's just a spectacle now, and a scripted one at that.
I still love you cricket. Alas, it's the players you are up with, who have robbed you of your charm and innocence now.
Most probably, we are currently at the cliched tip-of-the-iceberg moment.
The Bollywood connection has been unearthed, so too (allegedly) the role of team owners.
Amidst all the muck and heart-break, I have only the following thoughts that I'd like to share:
The Why
Ever since all this happened, not for a moment have I been able to stop thinking about why - just why, things would have come to such a pass.
When the Pakistani spot-fixing scandal came to light, there was a school of thought that said this happened only because the accused were from very modest backgrounds, not highly educated, and got entrapped in the glitz of instant success and hedonistic pleasures.
Well, as it turns out, our desi firebrands have shown that such an assumption was all hogwash.
If there is one thing that the tainted trio has irrevocably proven by their misdemeanor, it is that there is no such thing as 'enough' - money, girls, cash, greed - call it what you will.
The Why Now
For all its brave posturing now, the BCCI has a few uncomfortable facts and questions staring in its face:
Despite having had a precedent in 2000, the still-recent Pakistani spot-fixing saga, and the open secret of IPL being too unreal to consistently dish out last-minute qualifications and thrilling, unexpected results, why were the players and the franchises monitored properly?
Scandal or no scandal, what business has N Srinivasan ever had to continue being at Chennai Super Kings as well as in the BCCI top brass? So much for transparency and prevention of conflict of interest?!
How could we ever encourage post-match parties where every 'well-connected' anyone, could walk in to any gathering of cricketers, and have free access to every murky wheeling-dealing?
If you could never stop this till now, why the fake brouhaha over transparency and code of conduct and BCCI's compliance to such standards, only now? Spare us the moral high-horse, please. The cricket-playing public ain't no fool.
The What Now
The players got their moolah, the bookies got their due too - who is the biggest loser in all this?
Yes sir, you got it spot on! (pun intended) - of course, the foolish, tax-paying cricket fan - who invested his hard-earned money after saving for the IPL ticket, who fought with family to eke out time to attend or watch the match, who labored extra hours at work, just so that he could watch the 'thrilling' contests on display.
Well, all I can say is, next time a bowler concedes extra runs or a fielder spills a sitter, even a genuine case would raise eyebrows.
The joke is on us, who have been robbed of the joy of watching a sport.
The tragic part is that even a genuinely thrilling match would seem contrived.
Even an inadvertent no-ball/wide would seem full of conspiracy.
Even a small gesture towards the pavilion would seem ungainly.
I wish it had not come to this.
I wish the game - my very first love, would have remained a game of glorious uncertainties, and not fixed scripts.
It's just a spectacle now, and a scripted one at that.
I still love you cricket. Alas, it's the players you are up with, who have robbed you of your charm and innocence now.
