The great cricket debacle

Sports

The proverbial Sinhala poem about ‘Ambalame Pina’ always intrigued me. The poem talks about a villager who is watching the episode of clay pot seller walking into the village rest room (Ambalama) to have a minute’s break. While ‘Pina’ was at it a raging bull jumps into the rest room and smashes up all his merchandise. This is a story that goes hand in hand with its English parody -- “a bull in a china shop’. Both stories give the message about the consequences of a square peg in a round hole.

Nonetheless this episode devotes itself to a more intricate problem which now has become a global phenomenon, but with our own ironic attitude how we have contributed towards the destabilization of cricket in Sri Lanka.

Lean times ahead for Sri Lanka cricket ahead

On the opposite page the English newspaper talks on how the global financial crunch is affecting sports in general and how serious it is becoming. It talks about English cricket hitting low with their twelve year partner Vodafone calling it a day while other sports like motor sports, soccer, golf and even an individual like Tiger Woods putting itself to the rough as a result of sponsor pullouts.

The other day Sri Lanka Cricket hit a new low when they came across some empty bins for the bids of annual sponsors which included Dilmah which has almost become a household name in the country.
An insider to the deal said that SLC had not made any overtures about a renewal prior to the expiry of their agreement and also pointed to the current state of affairs at the cricket headquarters.

Lean times ahead for Sri Lanka cricket ahead

Another sponsor has taken a different stance. They say this is a good chance for them to exploit the situation. They definitely will not make any bids. But, they will wait until the cash strapped SLC comes on their hinds to them asking them to reconsider a bid for their merchandise. At that point they make their demand and try to get the same privileges which they had for a very much lesser amount.

One thing that is quite certain is that however attractive a sport coverage would be a sponsor would now think more than twice on taking on a sponsorship owing to the prevailing global crunch.

With the commercialization of sports and most of the icons becoming overnight millionaires mainly due to individual sponsorship packages and the sports governing bodies making money once again through a selling of various facilities, the word sport has gained another meaning from the sport that prevailed three to five decades ago. However when the going was good it looked so healthy and convenient and in cricket the purity of the game was often bartered to suit the whims and fancies of the sponsors. But this is the twenty first century and we have to live with the current realities.

Talking of current realities a classic example is the pipeline tour of Sri Lanka to Pakistan. In the present context it does not seem like India will tour their neighbours – Pakistan in their FTP assignment. At the same time Pakistan first made it public that they would look at Sri Lanka as an alternative if the Indian excursion crash lands. At this end Sri Lanka who are almost on the same flight as Pakistan were more than interested may be for more than one reason, but now Pakistan Cricket Board’s Chief Operating Officer Salim Altaf says that hosting Sri Lanka would be almost impossible due to financial constraints as they would not be able to pay guarantee monies. On the other hand even after the Mumbai carnage which the English cricketers witnessed first hand, the visitors who ran back home were back on the field on the correct date once again to resume the tour of India. What does that short message spell out? If you like it or not it is India who plays the shots in World cricket and when they hit the ball it stays hit.

Back at home the SLC Interim Committee Chairman Arjuna Ranatunga has decided to run in the opposite direction. A man who was very close to Indian cricket and the country itself at one point of time now has chosen to distance himself from the Indian cricket hierarchy for reasons best known to him alone. At the same time it is learnt that the Indian power house is not ready to take up the challenge posed by Ranatunga lying low. They are also going ahead with all their guns ablaze trying to neutralize the wrath of their one time closest ally.

With these developments where is Sri Lanka Cricket heading? If someone wants to play cricket against Sri Lanka it becomes a problem because of financial constraints. Sri Lanka Cricket at present is short of cricket and short of sponsors right now. India does not want to have any cricketing ties with Sri Lanka in the present context. Ten Sports TV deal has also hit a legal snag and the end result may spell asphyxiation.

In the inner-citadel the state of affairs is also not so pleasing. From the beginning of this year at least three former national cricketers who were performing well in their given posts left SLC to serve in other capacities elsewhere overseas for reasons which were well known by their employers. Then in another unbecoming move the Sports Minister himself had to intervene to stop the termination of employment of sixteen persons who were shown the guillotine. All this was being done while giving sanctuary to a top person who is well known for his crooked activities.

All in all there is gloom on the horizon. The future of cricket and its environ looks very gloomy.. The saddest thing is there is no solace even as a song in the wilderness.

Is this the result of one man’s stubbornness?

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