5 biggest criticisms levelled at cricket which are wrong

The game of cricket has been pilloried, especially in India, over recent years by fans of other sports due to the seemingly exalted position it enjoys over other sports. Many of the criticisms, however, have been grossly facile and unfair. Here are five unjust criticisms cricket has been on the receiving end of:

#1 Too much money for the players

The most common criticism of the sport, from an Indian point of view, seems to be the overwhelming sums of money that cricketers get paid in modern times which is in stark contrast to other sporting athletes in the country. However, it is important to remember that there was a time when cricketers, too, were getting paid as frugal amounts as other sportsmen. But both individuals and the team as a whole started achieving success in the sport gradually, thereby helping bring about the transformation.

We have seen athletes of other sports getting recognized and being well paid of late as a result of their noteworthy achievements, proving that success ultimately dictates whether one is worthy of these perks. If they can continue on their upward curve in the future, there is nothing that is going to prevent them from being on an equal pedestal to cricketers.

#2 Hogs most of the television coverage as compared to other sports in India

Another criticism seems to be that cricket gets way more television time than all other sports put together, but that is once again only a by-product of the success that the cricket team has enjoyed over the last 2 decades in particular.

Indian cricket was perhaps fortunate that its rise coincided with not just the television boom in India during the late 1980s and early 1990s but also the fading into oblivion of once-prominent sports like hockey, resulting in cricket occupying the mind space of sports enthusiasts. Naturally then, television took a liking to airing the game of cricket with it merely reflecting what the public most want to watch.

#3 Not a popular game around the world

An accusation often directed at cricket is that it is not a sport that truly belongs to the world, with there being only 10 ICC full member nations and with very less chances of adding more teams soon. While that is true to a certain extent, I would argue that football is the only global sport in the real sense of the word with a healthy existence in every continent.

Purely in terms of number of followers, while football is No.1 with an estimated 3.5 billion fans around the world, cricket, in fact, is not too far behind with 2.5 billion fans, making it the second most followed sport. Even if you say cricket is played seriously in only 10 countries and most of the 2.5 billion fans are from the sub-continent, how many team sports can you name where there are 10 countries with world-class teams and a huge fan base to boast?

#4 Fury against BCCI for its alleged misuse of power

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been the subject of scathing criticism in recent years due to the endless power it has enjoyed and its subsequent misuse, or at least that’s how it has been perceived by the public at large. While the BCCI has done itself no favours with some of its actions, it does deserve credit for making sure that the game remains in exceptionally good health as opposed to other sports associations which, frankly, have done nothing but misgovern.

The BCCI has also ensured good pay amongst other benefits to its former cricketers, which is a welcome move considering the financial difficulty retired sportsmen might face once they retire.

#5 Blamed for other sports not being able to prosper in India

One more criticism levelled against cricket is that it has significantly hindered the growth of other sports in India. All I would say in this regard is that cricket has done what it can to ensure that it has got its own house is in order, and the fact that other sports have failed to follow suit is entirely their fault.

If the administrators in charge of the less popular sports in the country had taken care of their athletes and ensured that the right infrastructure was available in order to facilitate sportspersons to realize their ambitions, India could well have been a multi-sport country; those who are blaming cricket for the lack of growth ofother sports are simply basing their argument on an entirely false premise.