Cricketers are popular and rich, for which they need to pay a huge sum of money in taxes. All this money comes from Cricket. But making it the national game can directly discourage the inclination towards other games. It can even hurt the sentiments of the hockey players. So, should cricket be the national game of india?
IPL happens every year, and you can see people changing their work schedules to watch the IPL matches. It is all about the craze of Cricket, and not for the first time, and Indians can manage their jobs by watching Cricket.
As of now, our country does not have a national game. We knew 'Hockey' as our national game right from our childhood. But the Sports Ministry clarified in 2012 that our country had not announced any national games.
Hockey vs cricket – Real Debate
We have given here information in favour and against of should Cricket be the national game of India.
Should Cricket be the national game of India? What if yes:
· For the last twenty years, India has been performing excellently. As cricfann website suggests that Cricket is the most famous sport in India, and you can see even Children madly passionate about it, and almost all people get deeply involved in the game. In simple words, a cricket critic in each Indian house exists.
· The BCCI has been marketing and encouraging Cricket. It is the richest cricket board in the world. In addition, it is the richest sports controlling authority in India.
· No sports authority can manage their game in India like the BCCI. India has won 3 World Cups, 2 Champion Trophies, and many prestigious tournaments.
· There is money and popularity along with raw passion. In Cricket, even players at the Junior level can earn handsomely, whereas players of other sports don't. It is also one of the motivating factors offering financial security and motivating players to play well.
· Change resides in the law of nature. If Indians want to change the national game, we welcome the change.
· People find the game more connected with them. In addition, they also enjoy Cricket more compared to Hockey.
· Whether you look for the overall craze of Indian citizens for any sport, it is only this game. Indians treat cricketers even as gods.
· People blame the government for not putting effort into encouraging other support. But no efforts will become lucrative unless local people don't support it.
· Cricketers have both money and fame. Besides, they have to pay a big sum of money in taxes. All these things come from the game of Cricket.
· Cricket has the most fame compared to other games in India.
· Large popular companies invest plenty of money in Cricket.
Sport in India means different types of games played in our country like tribal games and mainstream sports, including Cricket, badminton, and football. The diversity of culture, people, tribe, and its colonial legacy is seen in multiple sporting disciplines in our nation. Cricket has hosted and won multiple Cricket World Cups, making it the most famous sport in the nation.
The game unites our nation in different ways no other thing does. All people forget the differences in language, beliefs, cultures, etc., while watching our national cricket team. After seeing our Indian cricket players, we forget about racism or hypocrisy.
It doesn't matter who belongs to which state or which religion, and we consider them as one team, our India. If you are a kid who grew up in the 90s, you must find cricket something that made a deep inner connection immediately. Cricket takes a major place in your heart where Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, etc., are famous names of Indian Cricket.
Should Cricket be the national game of India? What if no:-
· The origin of Cricket is England, and it gained fame in the colonial countries as the English masters used to play. Previously, the fine Englishmen used to bat throughout the day, and locals of the colonies did the job of bowling. Cricket is a sign of the presence of colonialism.
· India was the champion of Hockey even when we did not get independence. We have got 8 Olympic gold medals in Hockey, the most ever in any sport. India has a glorious past and is trying to restore it. Therefore, if Cricket is made the National game of India, it may overshadow Hockey.
· Besides, making Cricket the national game of India can discourage the inclination directly towards other games.
· It can hurt the sentiments of hockey players. Moreover, it will not give any good message to the other sports.
· No one sees the future. Cricket may be popular now, but other sports can be famous tomorrow. Then, people may want to change the national game.
· Government, media, and people are responsible for making other games famous. Football and Hockey have fans, but you do not find the proper source to encourage the other games.
· If we make Cricket our national game, it may seem like we copy British culture entirely.
· If we change our national game today, there is no guarantee we won't change our national song, theme, flag, pledge, etc. So it is not the point to consider.
· We should not decide on a game as a national game only because hockey players are not winning many matches or performing not up to expectations.
· Government should pay attention to Hockey so that it will get popular again.
· India has ⅙th of the world's population, but still, one game is famous. On the other hand, Russia, China, the USA, and other countries equally give importance to all games.
With 12.3 billion impressions, Cricket has a major contribution to 93% of the total sports content in our nation. We got the magical number while there wasn't any major international cricket competition.
According to a report, 93% of the 766 million viewers watched Cricket. Even the number of impressions for Sports viewership has grown from 43 billion in 2016 to 51 billion in 2018, and the growth is at a CAGR of 9%.
The game has also been stated to have gained 65% of viewership year-on-year, whereas Kabaddi, Wrestling, Football, and other sports have also gained fame.
Final words
Should Cricket be the national game of India? If Cricket becomes the national game of India, it will not get any extra benefit. Besides, it won't have any other impact on the cricket fans. However, if Cricket becomes a national game, it will attract a lot of criticism from many other areas.
Youngsters can get the wrong message from the decision, and it can even hurt the spirit of the game. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to make it our national game.