Why is cricket the best sport?

Ten reasons why cricket is the best sport in the world:

1. Cricket has a version of the game to suit every fan’s varying patience level; Test matches for the older generation, ODIs for the last generation and T20Is for the latest generation.

2. A Cricket pitch provides advantage to the home country. I have neither heard Barcelona creating a turning or a belter field nor have my recent forefathers seen a Brit winning at Wimbledon.

3. Our commentary is well beyond calling names of the players: Rooney – Chicharito – Nana – Back to Rooney – Cleverly – Rafael – Evra – and what a miss. We include jokes, couplets, songs, personal incidents and sarcastic leg-pulling of commentators belonging to the opponent’s nation.

4. Cricket has the maximum number of laws – 42 laws – with each law bigger than a football course book. Thus, the game has the tendency to surprise you with a twist in the tale even when you feel that you are the living bible of cricket.

5. We have a fielding position known as ‘Third Man’. And it remains the same even when women play the game.

6. Umpires can cheat or make a wrong decision and get away without being physically injured. Seriously, you don’t expect Mohammad Irfan giving Aleem Dar a choke slam or Andre Nel smashing the head of Simon Taufel.

7. Many sports are still in the primitive stage of cricket, namely Baseball, Lawn Tennis and Golf. They hit only straight, we hit all round the ground.

8. We can expect empty stands during an India-Australia match on a Sunday being played in India. Imagine Barcelona versus Manchester United and empty seats in the stadium on the busiest day of the week.

9. Cricket can be played using any ball – leather, plastic, rubber, tennis ball, cork, by rolling up your handkerchief, crumbling a piece of paper, etc. Football needs a football, tennis needs a tennis ball and basketball needs a basketball. You can’t play volleyball with a hockey ball whereas Cricket can be played with a golf ball too. Secondly, one of the most enjoyed forms of cricket requires only a book with page numbers printed on the top-right corner!

10. Sachin Tendulkar plays cricket!