Cricket as a National Obsession is a Detriment to Other Sports

Everything will have an end. So will this craze for Cricket too! India is a country struggling for basic needs. The government doesn't have funds to cater to all the sports and games. A midst all controversies and problems, it is still trying to support and help people who are trying to shine in different games.

You have less funds and only one game to choose. So the best option as of now is Cricket as it has given good ROI in the past decade. Not that India doesn't want to encourage or support any other game. At this point, with the available funds for a developing country, this is the best they can do.

The day Cricket's performance completely drops down and another game keeps ruling with tonnes of victories, that day, funds will be allocated for that game:). We are not a U.S or U.K or some developed country to cater to everything where the basic needs are still not achieved.

Hello friends,

Cricket is a religion in India. I feel that every country has a few sports which are more popular than the others some have baseball, some have football, while some in athletics likewise in India cricket is more popular than the other sports. But this leads to the negligence of other sports in terms of the resources to be provided which is unfair by all means. If we take an example of the ongoing Rio Olympic a huge buzz is being created on India's performance but nobody sees whether they have been provided with all resources. An equal amount of money should be invested in other sports as well which should be taken care by the Government. And about cricket, I think it's the choice of people what they wish to see and this cannot be a detriment for other sports. If proper resources are being provided to other sports as well I am sure they would also perform well.

India has been performing outstandingly well in cricket from the past 20 years or so. It is the most popular sport in India. Children are madly passionate about it, people are deeply involved in the game, there is a cricket critic in every Indian house. The BCCI has been successful in brilliantly marketing and encouraging the game as well. BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world and the richest sports controlling authority in India. No sports authority has managed their game so well in India as compared to BCCI. We have won 3 World Cups, 2 Champion Trophies and many more prestigious tournaments.

Apart from the raw passion, the money and fame that follows are blinding. Unlike other players of other sports, the cricketers even at the junior levels earn handsomely, which is also a motivating factor that this game ensures financial security provided you play well.

Hi everyone,

I think that it is fair enough to think about the same progress in other sports as in cricket country is achieving. But it is wrong to blame only CRICKET as its hardwork and determination that has brought all success in this game. Now Indian cricket is at its peak and receiving great support from fans, we must not blame it rather appreciate it. Today India is no.1 in world in ODI.

So there must be something in this particular game that we have achieved so much. So we should look further to strengthen other game but also letting cricket go where it wants. Moreover India has produced some of the fine players in other sports and hopefully will keep doing it. IN A NUTSHELL CRICKET IS THE BEST PLAYED SPORT IN OUR COUNTRY AND WITHOUT SUPPRESSING IT SUPPORT IT BECAUSE IT WILL BOOST CONFIDENCE OF OUR COUNTRY IN FUTURE and we will progress in other games too.

Hello everyone,

Parents I India don't allow their kids to join sport academies because they think that there is no career in sports so after completing school they are sent them to persue medial or engeneering or any other course other than sports, against his or her inclination towards sport.

Another reason is that sports other than cricket don't get sponsorships due to inappropiate performance which in turn is due to the lack of entire setup and proper talent nurturing. Therefore there is much less scope for other games. Also it doesnot give any return to private players, stadiums go empty during the entire league.

Another thing is media hype that is the most important reason for the popularity of cricket.

For cricket we just need a ball and a bat, start playing on road, street. But for other sports we need proper training and a complete setup.

Sports doesn't mean cricket in particular. It is a much broader term and covers several games that are played all over the world. But it seem that it has taken monopoly over cricket and has ignored the rest. Hence india's failure in the olympics, asian and commonwealth games.

Instead of encouraging the national game of hockey and take it as a pride to an international level, it has changed the spirit of sports into an industrial undertaking and tries to seek maximum profit out of it, IPL being the live example. India is losing the essence of sport and it is going to disappear soon.

I think the Government is responsible to some extent to have not been able to promote other games in the same manner as it has with cricket. As winning the ICC World Cup a matter of pride for us, winning the olympics should also be of equal importance to the nation.

India can think of winning gold medals in Olymics only if cricket is knocked out of our minds. We hardly remembers who were Vijay Hazare and other greats. It's only after 70ies and the invention of television make this game popular & reached to the masses. The other reason is thec efforts put by the cricketers of that time like Sunil Gavaskar who gave some of the memorable moments of glory to the country.

Now that boxing is getting popular because Akhil Kumar & Vijendra Singh are winning honours for the country. Sushil Kumar has made grappling popular whereas sania Nehwal has coxed many girls to weild racquet. Everyone wants yo be a part of winning team.

Hence the onus is on government to encourage other sports too & it's also the role of Media to bring the stories of struggle & success of other sportsmen too.

Why India never do good in Olympics because of almost no sponsorship, corruption & favoritism of sporting bodies, lack of facilities of sports in schools & colleges, poor infrastructure and grass root, no leagues (before 2012 we have no leagues but now we have atleast 4 leagues, some will start recently) , obsession with cricket (not an Olympic Event) , quality (India won 102 medals in Commonwealth Games 2010, 65 medals in Asian Games 2010 but only 6 in 2012 Olympics) etc.

I've never seen any sports channel telecasting India winning 8 Field-Hockey Gold in Olympics but during Cricket World Cup you see those channels telecasting 2 World Cups that India won all day long. Now some NGOs (OGQ, GoSports Mgmt. ) are trying to help these athletes and lets hope Indian contingent will do well in coming Olympics.

Hi friends, in India there is four channels allocated for cricket but not for hockey, chess or athletics. But in foreign countries there is a separate channel for each and every game, this makes the people to participate and to concentrate on every games unlike India. In our country no coaches are selected from India, every one has been imported from other countries. Still there is no team formation for football, gymnastics in Olympics but in other countries these games plays a major role. The top winning medalists in Olympics like america and china are thus because they not yet formed a cricket team. As there is no cricket, they are giving importance to each and every game and getting fame to their countries. So from my point of view, the government And media Should encourage every game and the sportsmen too.

Hello everyone.

I strongly feel that cricket has come to a point from where it is detrimenting other sports.

You can see among yourself that how many of us watches other sports played by Indian sportsmen. Ofcourse a handful. Why is it so?

One definite reason could be the hype that cricket gets through the media. People not only watch the match with shear attention but also the pre and post-match shows. Having build a huge sponsorship can also be contributed for cricket to flourish.

One main reason also is the investment of money by either government and now as we can see the business individuals, which lures young minds to have a great profession in cricket.

Lastly, I would say goverment should definitely see to this and take necessary measures to allow other sports perpetuate.