A sport called life, or a life called sport?

I know I know, India breathes and lives cricket. So in a way cricket is indeed the life of the nation, a religion of sorts here. And you do indeed have a whole segment of the population that watches any available cricket match, as long as it involves 20 men, a bat, a ball and the whole 22 yards! Ask any cricket enthusiast and he or she'd say that the Government is being mean by not hosting the IPL here. Let me be frank. I sincerely care very less about the sport and people who know me would vouch for the fact that I somehow prefer sports with 2 racquets, one ball and two players or one man in a car on a road instead of the crowded game called cricket. So my point of contention is - a free and fair election in the most populous democratic country in the world is a nightmare. Security provision for all constituencies, not to mention the rallies, the speeches, the booths and so on in the remotest of villages is difficult. So, asking for a deferment in the game, is not tantamount to displaying a failure to provide security. P C even went on to say that the state government machinery could provide the necessary security as long as the match and the election do not clash in that particular state. Elections are a delicate time in the country. To ensure our next government is elected freely, fairly and without any untoward incident, I guess must be foremost on every Indian's mind. After all, if we get a weak government at the center, we could actually jeopardize the developmental future of the country, since most of Parliament's time would be spent saving the government, rather than working the government. That said, now that South Africa is the anointed location, and they too are heading poll side, I ask, what is one trying to prove? UK lost out, apparently on account of the G20 summit. So can we assume that UK cannot provide security for sport at such a time and so UK is also rather incompetent???? Or must we assume that elections in South Africa are too safe and so they can take the burden of protecting the IPL players as well? Oh yeah! We saw how Kenya and Zimbabwe vote, safe indeed.

So the fact of the matter is, that there is no fact in the matter. Some reason somewhere, roils business into politics. Yes, I say business, since IPL according to me is just A-list cricketers in multi colored outfits playing county cricket, TV rights bring in the moolah. There was a newspaper poll once, asking whether moving the IPL outside India, would make the sport lose some of its 'Indian Flavor'. I say, when was it Indian anyway, save for the names and the club owners? The case is a lot like Force India in F1. The claim that India has arrived on the F1 scene, because Mallya has a stake in a team, sounds ludicrous to say the least. Well, every F1 enthusiast knows that Mallya watches the Monaco Grand Prix, every year when he goes yachting at Monte with friends. And if you have the money, you can own a team or a club or be gifted a club like some of our Bollywood beauties were 'gifted' IPL teams!

So its just gimmicks galore in the life of sport, with people playing 'passing the parcel' with the blame, or providing expert opinions, as did Shilpa Shetty when asked where the IPL should be held. "I really don't know... The best place that best suits the sport is where the IPL will be held" !!!!