The damage to the game is more than just temporary

It is good to be an optimist. It is better still to be a realist. That is why I find myself in disagreement with the kind of platitudes about the game expressed ever since the match fixing scandal broke five months ago.

For example, let's take Jagmohan Dalmiya, till recently president of the International Cricket Council. Asked in a newspaper forum whether cricket would be able to regain its glory after the negativity of late, Dalmiya replied, ``cricket will definitely survive the present crisis. This is just a temporary phase. It is too great a game to be thwarted by such negativity. The black sheep will be identified and the game cleaned.''

Also in Calcutta, the former Indian selector and Bengal skipper Sambaran Bannerjee, in an interview to this website, was of the view that the match fixing controversy was only a temporary phase. ``The match fixing controversy has damaged the image of cricket. However, I sincerely believe that this is temporary. Cricket has survived many other controversies. It will also come out of this.''

Citing examples, Bannerjee said, ``cricket had been affected by two serious controversies in the past - the Bodyline series and the Kerry Packer episode. However, cricket survived both these turbulent events. So I feel that even it takes time, it will come out of the match-fixing and betting controversy that has affected its popularity temporarily.''

Continuing, Bannerjee said that if the Indian side managed to win a few tournaments on the trot, ``the fans will forget everything else. Cricket will again regain its lost glory.'' I don't think it is as simple as that. A few victories is not going to banish unpleasant memories of the match fixing scandal. And what is the guarantee that the Indian team will win a few tournaments anyway?

Another eternal optimist is Sandeep Bamzai. ``Cricket has fought back in the past. It will overcome again,'' he writes in his column on a website. He goes on to point out that cricket survived crises like Bodyline, apartheid and Kerry Packer and throws in the well worn cliche ``Public memory has always been ruefully short.''

Well, in the first place I beg to differ on a couple of points. Public memory is not always short. There are things that one does not forget in life - and in cricket. And secondly, while Bodyline, Packer, apartheid, throwing, ball tampering, underarm bowling et al were major controversies, I think we all agree that the match fixing scandal is the biggest blow to hit the game. With this in mind and given what has happened over the last few months - the allegations and counter allegations, the washing of dirty linen in public, the confessions and revelations - the game has suffered much more than just a scar. Indeed, the scandal may well go on to prove that public memory is not always short. When it comes to certain emotional issues, people can have memories longer than an elephant's.

The repercussions of the scandal are bound to be felt over a very long period - maybe forever. It is something that has affected every wing of the game - spectators, administrators, fans, bookies, players. The effect of such a shattering episode on the cricketers has to be like that of a sock between the eyes. The psychological effect on them has been immense. Bannerjee, in the course of the same interview, has touched upon this aspect. Admitting that the cricketers would be affected, he said, ``I feel that our players should not burden themselves thinking about this controversy. They should concentrate on improving their performance. I have always believed that winning is the ultimate antidote to everything.''

Bannerjee in the same interview also expressed the view that the controversy may affect the performance of the cricketers. ``The situation has reached such a stage that even small matters are being blown out of proportion. It is natural for any cricketer to play a bad shot or deliver a loose ball or miss a catch. However, even these are now being scrutinised minutely. Now a wicket keeper may not dive for catch. He may think that if he misses it, then there may be accusations against him.''

That is the ultimate tragedy of the match fixing scandal. It just will not go away. Fans are now bound to be intolerant - even unreasonable - in their attitude towards the players. I am not saying that this is right. I am just saying that is going to be the case, whether one likes it or not. And it is bound to have a devastating effect on those out in the middle - including the umpires!

During the last few years, the Hindi phrase `paisa liya hoga' (they must have taken money) became commonplace whenever a fancied side lost to an underdog or when a team went down after being in a winning position. The events of the last few months not only gives credence to the phrase but it also means, regrettably, that one has to pause and think before appreciating the ethereal qualities of the game. Was that really an unplayable delivery or did the batsman throw away his wicket? Was that six an ideal blend of power and timing or was the bowler just offering the ball to be deliberately hit? Was that a miraculous stop in the field or was it the batsman's aim to get run out? Was that a genuine misfield or was it a 10,000 dollar dropped catch? The pity is that even some of the admittedly excellent cricket played all over the world since the scandal broke has not erased such misgivings and that itself is an indication of how devastatingly the image of the game has suffered.

Like countless cricket lovers round the world, I have been dismayed and devastated by events of the last few months. Is this the gentleman's game we were all brought up to love and respect? Will cricket survive the latest scandal and continue as an aesthetic sport? And even if it does, will the game be the same again? Cricket had long ceased to be a gentleman's game. But we all thought that there were still some things sacrosanct - like the performances on the field or the result of a match. When even this can be manipulated, when the core of the game is destroyed, what else is there to savour?

Are those self styled optimists, who pontificate that cricket will survive anything and that the affliction is only temporary, aware of a few ground realities? For starters, perhaps they would be interested to know that in the last couple of months, this web site has received countless letters expressing the view that they are fed up with the game, that they are disgusted by the manner in which some players and officials have conducted themselves. Such views have also been seen in letters to newspapers and magazines.

As if this is not enough, opinion polls have proved that interest in the game in India is at an all time low. According to a poll published in the Times of India a few months ago, fewer Indian viewers are turning their TV sets on to watch the game since the days the match fixing scandal broke in April. The findings of the poll, which was conducted in seven leading cities, showed that TV ratings which had peaked at 10.05 when India played Pakistan at Sharjah in March, shortly before the lid blew the scandal open, fell to as low as 0.54 during the India-Sri Lanka match in the Asia Cup at Dhaka in June.

Even the India-Pakistan match at Dhaka, which normally evokes fierce passions, did not interest many. The TV ratings for the match was only 2.94. The poll conducted in the four metros - New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta - besides Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad found that, in general, the viewership during the Asia Cup was poor. And for good measure, in a poll in the Times of India, an overwhelming 86 percent answered yes to the question ``Has the match fixing controversy reduced cricket's popularity'' and only eight percent said it hadn't.

Before `Hansiegate', the TV ratings used to be higher even for matches that did not involve India. Commenting on the low ratings, former India pace bowler turned TV star Salil Ankola admitted, ``the game is going through a crisis. It used to be a religion for the spectators. But perhaps now they no longer feel they are watching a clean game. So they may continue to reject it till the mess is cleaned and the guilty are brought to book." But will the mess be cleaned up once and for all and will the guilty ever be brought to book in this country? The manner in which the controversy has been mishandled and the needless procrastination has not helped improve matters.

Diehard fans of the game may dismiss such pessimistic trends as a passing phase. They may be of the view that such grim developments may last only for some time and soon the craze for the game will return. There are those however who fear the disinterest may be permanent. It must not be forgotten that cricket in India is like a disease. Poor performances, repeated reverses and unsavoury controversies have over the years never affected the game in the country one bit. Crowds have always flocked to the stadium to watch the big games, there has been continued unbridled enthusiasm when a one day international is shown on television, cricket fans have devoured anything that appears in magazines or newspapers about their favourite stars and in the last couple of years, followers of the game have found a new way to keep in touch with the game worldwide - the growing number of cricket web sites.

To be candid, one is not sure whether cricket in India will be the same again. Perhaps if the match fixing scandal had hit other countries but not India, there might have been some semblance of continuity in the enthusiasm for the game. Unfortunately, India is very much at the centre of the scam in more ways than one. The image of the game has certainly taken a beating and there are tell tale signs. Roadside television viewers are much fewer in number, people don't ask for scores with the same fervour and the discussions are not so passionate as before. In fact, mention cricket and cricketers and this is immediately met almost contemptuously by the words `match fixing'. It certainly is unfair but then that is the way it is. The opinion polls have only confirmed these signs of disinterest and cynicism.

As if the match fixing scandal had not caused enough damage, came the income tax raids on the premises of cricketers and officials. To be candid, the conduct of some of them has done much to damage the image of the game. The unsubstantiated charges, the clash of egos, the fact that they have used the match fixing episode and the IT raids to settle age-old personal scores have all combined to make the genuine lover of the game shake his head in anger and disgust. Perhaps these feelings have been augmented by the fact that the tainted players include such icons as Kapil Dev and Azharuddin.

The repercussions were bound to be felt. A few months ago, the first salvo was fired on the marketing front. Disturbed by the developments in the controversy, a leading pen manufacturer in India decided to remove cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli and Ajit Agarkar from their advertisements and bring in Bollywood heart throb Hrithik Roshan. The chairman and managing director of the company, a Mumbai based Rs 62 crore group, was quoted to have said that ``the controversy over match fixing has badly affected public sentiments all over the country and it will affect our sales volume if we continue to advertise cricketers on our various brands in future.'' And it has been alleged that soft drink ads featuring Tendulkar and other Indian players have also been withdrawn. If anything, this is proof enough that the damage done to the game by the scandal is more than just temporary.

Advising youngsters, Bannerjee, in the course of the interview, told them to look to the future and not think about the past. ``They should forget what is happening now and concentrate on the game. Even if it is proved that betting and match fixing has occurred, cricket will continue. It is too large a game and passion to be affected by such controversies.'' Only the future will show whether Bannerjee and others of his ilk are right in their attitude. Being by nature an optimist, I wish I could agree with them. But I am afraid I cannot. Because over and above everything, I am a realist. For me, the damage to the game is permanent, not temporary. The other controversies might have left a scar on the game. The match fixing scandal has left a gaping hole for which there is no cure.