Is it Just a Game ???

Museum of Cricket……

Yesterday was the last day of my working holiday (if there is such a thing) in Melbourne, Australia. To cap the holiday, all of us visited the world famous MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and the MCG museum. While the grounds have been used for Aussie Cricket, Football and even Beatles and Madonna concerts, it remains the single most important venue for Australian cricket. And Cricket was what we were interested in. After all it is the greatest religion in India.

It was fitting timing as IPL3 is on and cricket fever is high all over the world. While we were late and could just see the grand stadium (it seats 110,000 fans) from a few meters away, we did spend a lot of time in the museum.

Trust the Aussies to create such a beautiful and informative edifice to the game of Cricket. From 1838 when 5 settlers registered the MCC (Melbourne Cricket Club), till date, they have collected everything of relevance to the game from Aussie point of view and displayed it for all to see. I was surprised to see that these pioneering guys had already printed the first rulebook in 1841.

3D video presentations have been added lately and you may just be fooled into believing that Shane Warne is being interviewed live a few meters away from you. That is if you did not know that he is in India leading his team in IPL….

There are too many items on display to list or even talk about.

But I would like to throw a question. In the richest game in India, whose players have broken all records (except Sir Don Bradman’s scoring average of 99+), where sponsors pay Billions of Rupees and Hundreds of Millions of Dollars per season, why can’t someone, especially BCCI (the richest Cricket body in the world) build something like MCG museum?

Because Indians don’t take things seriously….Lot of talk and no action. If there is action, it is substandard.

If it is just a game, why take it so seriously? If it is not just a game, do as the Aussies have done. Take it very, very, very seriously. Do something to honour our greats. From Ranjit Singh Ji and Duleep Singh Ji to Nari Contractor to Ajit Wadekar to Prassanna to Bedi to Gavasker to Kapil and Sachin and Yuvraj and all those who beat the Aussies to pulp many times if not regularly.

While Indians (players and businessmen alike) enrich themselves from this amazing game, does anyone think that it may be time to give something back so that the future generations remember what we accomplished?

Wake up BCCI!!!!