Market-driven compulsions may send newspapers scrambling to break the day with exciting front-page news, yet, even cricket-crazy Indian readers do not expect a daily of the standing of The Hindu to highlight the IPL auction bids on its main page when there is no dearth of key issues before the nation (Feb.21). Ben Stokes going for a song or a fortune is not the news a serious and informed citizen of this country is waiting for nor is it the bread-and-butter issue of the common man. Heavens would not have fallen had the IPL extravaganza been relegated to the inner pages. Being relevant to youth alone should not be the objective of the new design.
Sivamani Vasudevan,
Chennai
It is surprising that
The Hindu opted to allot prime space on the first page for the IPL auction. This is an event that has been dogged by controversies and which resulted in legal intervention. This non-stop, two- month cricket event consumes so much of electricity and water, an issue which the media hardly ever highlights even as large parts of rural India continue to suffer in silence.
V. Subramanian,
Thane, Maharashtra
Any sane connoisseur of cricket can read about the ignominious action of auctioning cricket players only in utter disbelief. If it is true, the IPL is no more than an unethical commercial venture. A sportsperson may represent his/her country, State, institution or department with which he/she is associated. When they offer themselves to be sold as animals in a shandy to the highest bidder, they are but unscrupulous agents who are prepared to play for their masters. Claims of reforming sports bodies such as the BCCI and the IOA exist only in the imagination.
Annadurai Jeeva,
Srirangam, Tamil Nadu
The payments being offered to cricket players around the world in order to play in the IPL matches are mind-boggling. It is apparent that the IPL is highly profitable. I hope that the income tax officials are doing all they can to probe the sources of payment by the sponsors. In fact the details should be made available online. Alas, cricket is no longer a sport.
T.S.N. Rao,
Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh
