Cricket has now occupied the notoriety of being the game governed by the market Gurus. In the modern times when all the things have fallen in the lap of materialistic considerations, it would be nothing short of foolhardiness to expect players and umpires to remain detached from the charm of money. Cricket, traditionally being the game of gentlemen, has rapidly morphed into game supported by the unholy nexus of cricket boards, market forces and ICC. Globalization, here too, has come to play a dominant role in bringing changes on par with the dynamics of market.

So it’s not surprising that sportsmanship, quality innings and twists and turns of a high class duel have been replaced by match-fixing elements, concocted aggression and high-pitched drama unleashed by big fishes of the corporate world, who can in no way see their huge stakes going in drain. Precisely, this is why ‘phatapat’ version of the cricket have come to assume larger than life importance for the ICC even as they come to crush the mental and physical stamina of the players.

Apart from the market forces there are other wrong forces as well that are killing the beauty of cricket. Darell Hair’s episode has revealed that the Western world is still not hesitant to strike chord with racist approach to gain an upper hand, be it sports or politics. Hair was guided by racist mentality while accusing Inzamam-ul-Haq of ball-tampering. Right from Muralitharan to Tendulkar whoever comes to challenge the supremacy of white countries, sooner or later, becomes the target of a racist agenda. One hopes cricket pitch remains hooked to classic duel between bat and ball instead of being governed by political games of prejudiced minds.