Where in the world can you find a cricket star making loads of money without even playing a single game? Yes, it is our very own India. The two T20 tournaments IPL and ICL have indirectly developed India into the “Las Vegas of Cricket”. Tons of money is being made not only by the franchise owners, promoters, sponsors and of course, the Boards, but also by foreign players. The biggest icing on the cake is that some of the foreign players may not even play a single match yet get a share of the bounty. For them it is like a paid honeymoon to the new Las Vegas of the East! Do these tournaments’ rules mandate the teams to play all their players, at least one match? Or, do the rules state that a player will be only paid if he is in the playing eleven. No. It is enough to get picked by one of the IPL/ICL teams and that’s the big bonus for the year, and easy too.
Why is the Indian Public in particular blind to the senseless waste of money, time and resources? There is so much to be done for the country and its people. Forget cricket and realise the reality.
Md Salimullah Khan
Nagpur