Keep cricket away from Olympics

Keep cricket away from Olympics

I have read and heard a lot about the importance of Olympics in a sportsman life. According to many, winning a medal in this extravaganza is the ultimate glory. Taking a clue from this thought, cricketers and fans have also started demanding the inclusion of their beloved game in the Olympics. Adam Gilchrist, the former Australian wicketkeeper, was pretty vocal in his demand in 2009.  Apart from him, Steve Waugh, Kumar Sangakkara, Sourav Ganguly and Stephen Fleming have also spoken in support of the inclusion. However, if we look deeply, an Olympic medal is not the best prize as far as cricket is concerned.

How important is Olympic?

Olympic Games could be the best thing in an athlete’s life but when it comes to a cricketer, there is nothing as important as World Cups (ODI & T20), Champions Trophy, Ashes and other important series. The reward of winning any of these is far greater than the Olympics. It is not a wise thing to put a cricketer and an athlete on similar ground.  The ultimate height of athletic glory lies in the number of Olympic gold medals he/ she has won in his/her career but the success in cricket is measured in terms of trophies one has won over the years.

Globalization could prove disastrous

The cricket fraternity wants globalization of cricket in order to keep it moving. According to such people, the participation in Olympics could lead cricket to all parts of the world as this event is the biggest sporting extravaganza on our planet. But let’s be true to ourselves. The gentlemen’s game is played among very few countries with the sub-continent being its main revenue generated point.  Apart from all the administrative requirements, this sport requires high level of investment and efficiency to prepare stadiums and pitches. This could prove burden for the host nations of future Olympics as they hardly know anything about cricket.  Moreover, the inclusion could prove disastrous as the fans of prominent countries won’t invest their time and money to catch the glimpse of a sport, which is like an alien for them, meaning huge financial loss for the host countries.

Jam-packed Calendar

Cricket is played for 365 days these days with one of the big country involved against the other. Test Cricket, ODI format and themadness of T20 and its leagues have put a lot of strain on the bodies of international cricketers. Further, including cricket in the Olympics would mean more hectic schedule. This would increase the injury rate among the cricketers and also extend the boredom to regular viewers who are already tired of too much cricket and its overdose.

Revenue and participation issue

The entry of cricket in Olympics would lead to political tension among the countries. England, Ireland, Scotland play as different nations in cricket but when it comes to Olympics they are unified under one umbrella. However, the case is different in case of Caribbean Islands. Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Antigua are known as West Indies in cricket but act as different nations in Olympics, meaning an occurrence of never ending problem. I don’t think the above mentioned countries would like to change their current position just for the sake of one event. If cricket is made to see the day light in Olympics, the governing body of the game will have to shift T20 World Cup to a four-year cycle from the present biennial one. This would incur huge financial loss in revenue as T20 World Cup is one of the most profitable assignments for ICC

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