I have never been a big fan of cricket. I spent my first 11 years being totally oblivious to it, having grown up during that period in Kuwait and the sport being almost non-existent in that country. When back in India all my cousins played the game and all my relatives watched it on tv, so I watched it with them. We played football as well and watched the international & some domestic as well on tv. I tried to like cricket just because it was all around me and for some time I even managed to watch full matches and place bets with my friends at school. As I entered my late teens, I just gave up and started ignoring the game. Heck, I am even annoyed at cricket. for its overblown cliches and making cricket players commercial stars in India. It is the only sport in the world where the referees & commentators are among the biggest celebs and have their own shows. And you can forget about test cricket – 5 fucking days! Heck there is only one other thing that takes 5 days to finish and it is less bloody and less messy than test cricket.

download donkey xote Anyway, the point of this entry is to comment on an article in the Indian Express which happened to catch my eye. Where are the gentleman? cries out the headline in big bold letters. The latest reason for the lament is the racist abuse that Australian player Andy Symonds is supposed to have received by Indian cricketers in some matches towards the end of last year and early this year, apparently, he was called ‘monkey’ by Harbajan Singh. So now he feels what Indians its like to be called ‘Paki’, ‘Indian Dogs’ or ‘Coolie’ by white Brits, eh? (Symonds was born British).

I’m just kidding. Racism in any form is not to be tolerable and just because your people have been on the receiving end of it for generations doesn’t make it ok for you to do it. Indians, yeah buddy that means all of us, as a people are equally guilty of racism – and if you doubt it, just listen closely to some of the comments that your fellow countrymen will make at an African or an oriental or even North versus South kinda differences.

Anyway, I digress. The point I wanted to make was that cricket is not a gentleman’s game. It never was and never will be. Its only the ardent cricket fan that calls it that. So? Who cares? It doesn’t make it a gentleman’s game. Its just a cliche that was tossed about by some dumbo and the Indians ran with it. I hear it all the time; gentleman’s game and then watch the fighting start over a dispute over who is out or not. Its a game that is tainted by betting, scandals, boring personalities and bad acting by cricketers who should not be shown in commercials. There are jerks & bad guys who also play cricket, just like any other sport. Just like tennis or football or hockey or basketball. So? What’s the big deal? Just play the game or watch it if you want to. Stop your pathetic lamenting and get a life. Its a boring & over-hyped & overblown sport anyways.