I started playing basketball in my teens, which is a little late. And midway through my college years I realized that basketball did not offer a great future as a career. But I enjoyed the game and I learned a lot. 20 years later, I tried to organize a tournament in basketball and realized the bureaucracy and the compliance issues during the tournament. It also brought me face-to-face with the fact that basketball had not really evolved in the 20 years since I last played it in college.
Today a lot of sports people criticize cricket, saying that cricket is getting all the money, recognition etc. However, if you ask the pre T20 cricketing generation, they were not significantly better off than their colleagues in other sports. ODI's, T20's, cricket marketing and a more professional approach changed the game and the revenues acruing to the cricket team. Which other sport can claim this level of insight and profesionalism in India ?
Sports is the most visible display of a human being's skill. Whether it's fitness, athleticism, showmanship, you name it, sport has it. But sport at some level is also entertainment. People want to watch, identify, root and care for the players/teams (check the warmth around Rishabh's return). Big sports teams are very good at marketing and delivering performance. It is almost like a business, what the heck it is a business.
Cricket, thanks to the IPL, has been able to monetize and understand this very well. I think every other sport in India, for whatever reason and there are far too many, fall far short of what you would term as professional. So, instead of criticizing cricket, I think these critics and players should realize that the sport itself needs to be organized better. PT Usha is now IOA chairperson, let's see what she does
There are exceptions to this, Sindhu in Badminton, Neeraj Chopra in javelin etc. are individual examples of excellence. They have also been able to monetize that and Neeraj is not such as a bad actor. Going back to basketball, when was the last time basketball was covered in India?
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