The spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League is no doubt a matter of shame. But the clarion call by some to ban IPL cricket is unwarranted. Are public or private sector enterprises banned if there are charges of corruption against some of its employees? Has the Railways been banned after the Rail-gate exposé? The wrongdoers, not the organisation, should be taken to task.
Prasanta Kumar Bishoyi,
Koraput
It is not fair to seek a blanket ban on IPL matches. Cricket has evolved over decades and today we have three distinct formats of the game. No other sport can boast of such flexibility. The twists and turns cricket can offer are amazing. In fact, Test cricket lost much of its sheen mainly because of its largely predictable results. Thanks to the advent of ODIs and T20, even Test cricket has become result-oriented and attracts good crowd. Where there is money there will be corruption, and sport is no exception.
R. Kalyanaraman,
Chennai
Rich people like businessmen and film stars buy cricketing leagues like purchasing a commodity in a village market. Another set of rich people indulge in spot-fixing, match-fixing and treat the cricketers as saleable goods. Crores of money is transacted in IPL while the poor, unemployed youth and students pay at least Rs 200 a ticket and sit under the hot sun watching cricket hoping they will become Sachins and Dhonis one day.
Cricket matches continue all-year round destroying the economy of the country, wasting electricity, and distracting the youth from their jobs and studies.
G. Srimannarayana,
Hyderabad
Cricket should be banned; 365 days of cricket play, in some form or the other, is not warranted. The crores that flow are hardly accounted for. The younger generation is hysterical about the game. In most offices, employees watch cricket on their mobile phones. No work is done. Newspapers, including The Hindu , allot more space to cricket. Heavens will not fall if the coverage is stopped and the space used for reporting on corruption.
P.K. Balachandran Nair,
Konni
