Friday, May 31, 2013

Match Fixing in IPL

   The uproar about Match-Spot- fixing in IPL among cricket fans is difficult to understand. All teams are Privately owned and even if I have lived or living in Mumbai, Membership to Club 'Mumbai Indians' is not open to me. It is Neeta Ambani's Privately owned club. I have no stake in club except that it is using name 'Mumbai'. What happens to club or its position in IPL tournament is or should be of no concern to me or any other Mumbaikar. mr. Lalit Modi has created IPL with only one  purpose- Entertainment. Thats why all this Glamour, Cheer Girls, Celebrities etc. but purpose is same. A place where cricket fans can spend 3 hrs enjoying cricket instead of going to a movie or Lounge Bar.

   Though model is based on Teams playing Football,Basketball,baseball in US, or  Football-Soccar- Clubs of  Europe, fans are not supposed to be part of the club (Team). They are merely paying Spectators. So, as long as there is Entertainment, one should not bother about which team wins a match or Championship as Loyalty to a team is not part of the equation.

   In this scenario  Match Fixing is of no consequence to Cricket Lovers. Police has to investigate as Betting is  illegal in India, but there is no Criminal act of cheating as far as IPL or Crickt is concerned. Did we bother about Dara Singh and Randhava ( Relatives of Vidu Dara Sing) winning all those wrestling matches against King Kong, and masked something or the other at Vallabhbhai Stadium near Haji Ali? We all knew that these matches were fixed as they are in WWF. It is for entertainment only. May be all these Reality Shows on T.V.  are fixed.  US producer of quiz show is on record in Court Case that these shows are for entertainment purpose only and are scripted to create sense of competition to increase TRP. Even in quiz shows answers are sometimes provided.

  In India, sport which has Legalized betting is Horse Racing.  Every now and then we come across news item that Horse is doped or Jockey has thrown the race by restraining favorite. police doesn't get involved. It is managed by Race Club. They have committee to investigate and punish the guilty. None go to Jail. They are merely suspended from Racing for few races or a season.

  Only thing this match fixing saga has achieved is to take away our attention from more urgent problems of Governance and Corruption. We are chasing shadows and Tilting at the Windmill.