I would rather suggest to read the following article, it would give some insight about Cricket and its implications. Sachin is the part of game, so I thought it is a right place to discuss about the game itself.

The following article has been written by one of my colleague and friend Alex. I have not taken his permission to publish it here but I am sure he would have no objections because this forum would invite more views over what he thinks.

A Cancer Called Cricket – just another point of view
By Alex M Santiago

Let me warn you that the odds that you will curse me after reading this article are 99 to 1. I guess that any new thought against common beliefs or sentiments would usually be invited with wrath from the multitude. I proceed to write this article fully aware of the consequence, because I dare and volunteer to tie the bell around the cat’s neck.

Let me come to the point. I am going to talk about one of our country’s favourite topics – Cricket. The difference is that I am neither going to praise the game nor its stars with zeal. I am not going to analyse the ailing Team India's failure to win matches and give solutions to BCCI. I am not going to give an unbiased review on a recent match.

So what am I going to talk about? I am going to talk about ‘A Cancer Called Cricket’ that has plagued our nation. I write this article after I failed to find any convincing answer for the following questions:

Why is this game treated as a religion in this great nation?
Why treat cricketers like Gods, after all it’s just a game and the players get paid more than what they give?
Why so much publicity and noise about this game alone when there are so many other sports which cry for attention?

Trust me. I too was a kid who screwed up in the +12 exams like millions of other students in this country watching the 1996 World Cup matches. I too was a guy who spent the whole of summer holidays on the government playgrounds and streets playing cricket during hot summers in Chennai. I too was a guy who believed in wasting a whole day watching a cricket match and thought that Team India's victory brought salvation to our great nation. I too was a guy who believed that cricket was a game that demanded good physical fitness, a strong mind and more talent than luck. Then what made me change my mind? Well, I started playing other games and grew up.

I am going to throw some questions for you to ponder upon. I am sure that if you think over these questions you can see the light just in case you are blinded by cricket.

Once I started playing basketball in college, I realised that one has to be ten times fitter to play ten minutes of basketball than to play cricket the whole day. Games and sports are supposed to make a person more strong and fit. Tell me which game is played without much sweat (barring the sweat caused by standing under the sun doing nothing) and least amount of physical strain can cause maximum amount of injuries? Yes, you are right. The answer is cricket.

Which game in India has maximum amount of vulgar sledging and yet is called as a "Gentleman's game"? Bingo! The answer is cricket.

There is this game whose outcome or result is generally dependent on the kind of pitch on which it is played, the outfield of the ground, the climate, the lighting and colour of the ball. Sometimes I don't understand if these were the determinants of the result of the game, then what do the players do? Why play this game? Well, that's not the question. The question is: what is the name of this game where players have very less to do with the result of the game? Spot on! It’s cricket again.

Do Tendulkar and Sehwag represent India? Do they play for the Indian Team? I am sorry if you thought so. The Supreme Court of India passed a ruling in favour of BCCI saying that "Team India" is not the Indian Team but rather BCCI's team. A pity that millions of us waste our time and money believing that BCCI Team is synonymous with Team India.

Name one game on this planet which can be played for five whole days? I repeat, a game that can be played for five whole days and have no result. Does it not sound crazy? If there is no result, then why on earth do they play it? So, what is the name of this game? No prizes for guessing. It’s got to be cricket. Here is one more hilarious question. What do you call those people glued to their TV and computer screens following this game for five long days? Search me. I don’t have an answer for that one.

You won't blame cricket if you knew its history. The English aristocracy played the game. It was for the elite who had too much time on hand and not much to do. Then what is this game doing in a country where the vast majority of the population is struggling to eke out a living?

India is a country with more than a hundred million people below poverty line. There are millions of issues plaguing our country. There are hundreds of thousands of selfless doctors, social workers, lawyers, honest IAS and IPS officers and many others who work day in and out to bring a semblance of hope into the lives of the helpless everyday. Are cricketers bigger heroes than those invisible angels who serve the society and improve the lot of those less privileged than us? After all, cricket is just a game. Its victory or loss does not in any way impact the society. How does cricket contribute to the good of this country or for that matter to the good of a single person by scoring more runs or taking a wicket? All the runs and wickets the cricketers take only help them amass large amount of personal wealth. In what way does cricket really improve the condition of an ordinary Indian? It would be no exaggeration to say that the game has almost been elevated to the status of a religion.

Can a nation like ours with a large population of working class who work on daily wages dream of turning into an economic super power by 2020 if we waste a whole day to watch a cricket match? It is even worse if it is a Test match. Cricket distracts people while working. Is it not uncommon to find people taking breaks from office to watch a match or to see people neglect work in order to keep track of the scores? How do you think we will become an economic super power if our countrymen waste their time in front of TVs, radio sets and websites which constantly keep updating scores throughout the year, what with one series of games following another?

When there are so many faster and shorter games and sports such as kabbadi, tennis, badminton, squash, volleyball, hockey (our national game) which cry out for attention, why do we focus only on cricket? The answer might be hard to digest but it is very much a fact. As human beings we naturally expect our favourite teams to win the matches we watch. Right now the honest truth is that cricket is the only game in which odds are stacked in favour of the Indian team to win a game. It should be noted that cricket did not enjoy the star status before Team India won the 1983 World Cup. Before 1983 World Cup, it was our hockey team which brought home laurels and enjoyed the number one status, though, not to the level of being celebrated as a religion.

This craving for victory that all of us share has been exploited by organisations like BCCI for their own vested interests. When there are hundreds of sportsmen and women sans aid, BCCI spends more than Rs.1 crore for every meeting it holds. When there are millions of homeless people, the so called saviours and heroes of our nation are busy endorsing products and appearing in commercials.

Wake up my brethren. The need of the hour is not a new religion called cricket. Let's envisage an India that does not attain satisfaction by defeating Pakistan in a cricket match but by learning to live in peace with our neighbours. Let's dream of a future where youngsters don't waste a whole day watching a game when there are better things to do in life. Let's pray for a future where India ‘Shines’ in various other games that we don't have to look up at just one sport for rescuing our pride. Let's work for a future where we respect and motivate social workers and activists who make huge personal sacrifices in an attempt to alleviate and improve the standard and quality of life for those less fortunate than us. Let's work to help India get over the addiction of cricket and get rid of the cancerous effect it has on our daily lives.