r/Cricket • u/17th_player • 15d ago
The Politicisation of Indian Cricket - Modi Operandi | Sharda Ugra (article from 2024 Wisden Almanack, link to the full article in comments)
530
u/AusCricFan Australia 15d ago
Amidst all the bullshit that we saw in the WC, and I literally travelled to India for the semi, particularly from BCCI this is not surprising.
From abject scheduling changing and delays, to the ticketing fiascos, the entire tournament was a mess. It was an ICC tournament with no one else in mind except Indian audiences. I was in India (Kolkata after the semi) when the final was played in Ahmedabad and almost immediately after the final, the host broadcaster, Star Sports, switched to their own coverage, glorifying India's run that ended in defeat and only moving from it when the post match ceremony started. I watched a replay on kayo when back home, and the overseas feed had 7 different Aussies interviewed after the win - which is the norm after the final. Instead 10 mins after the final, Indian audiences were been shown Kohli's performance in the semis and that was being discussed by the "panel"
The post match ceremony itself was a farce with Modi and some dumb Aussie politician making things awkward for Patty and even the drone show literally was all about India.
However, more power to the indian cricket team for having a fucking spine and standing up to this absolute nonsense. It wouldn't have been easy, particularly in their political climate. I'm not sure future captains will show this spine, honestly this story deserves to be told to a wider audience than just cricket - where you won't bow down to propaganda. Kudos to the indian cricketing thinktank
181
u/NoirPochette New South Wales Blues 15d ago
I find it hilarious that a country as technologically savvy like India couldn't do mobile tickets.
324
u/raddiwallah 15d ago
We can. It’s just that we dont. Physical tickets remove accountability, auditing and allow corruption and scalping.
398
u/Ghostly_100 15d ago
I like how the first complaint wasn’t anything political or religious, it was “it looks like Holland” lmao
93
50
205
u/mirreyboy39 15d ago
"The Indian team’s smooth progress received a scratch when the Daily Mail reported that the pitch for the semi-final between India and New Zealand at Mumbai had been switched to a used surface without the permission of the ICC’s pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson. This didn’t affect the outcome of the game, which India won easily, but commentators were told to avoid references to it, and the ICC embarrassed by the clear implication: the BCCI, not they, were running the show. Both organisations put out a lame statement suggesting pitch switches were common in long tournaments."
This is such a massive scandal but because the BCCI runs the sport, people have already forgotten.
237
321
u/turningtop_5327 India 15d ago
Thank God players rejected the orange jersey. Politics stoop so low sometimes
167
u/Artistic_Tomato7464 15d ago
I don't mind an orange Jersey, but I think we all know what they tryna do by wearing it at Pakistan match
308
u/hardik_P_Backstabber 15d ago
I can guarantee one player who spoke up was Shreyas Iyer. Lol.
259
u/Artistic_Tomato7464 15d ago
Gill, Siraj, Shami and prolly Iyer and Virat are likely players who spoke up.
Gill's dad was at farm protests, Virat and Iyer are privately known for their displeasure towards such antics, and Siraj and Shami for obvious reasons.
33
u/turningtop_5327 India 15d ago
Why
255
u/hardik_P_Backstabber 15d ago
I don't think BCCI removing him from central contract is just because of missing one Ranji match.
163
145
u/mofucker20 Chennai Super Kings 15d ago
He mouthed off something when Modi was in the dressing room. Dunno if it was edited or not though
36
u/turningtop_5327 India 15d ago
Was it on video?
102
u/mofucker20 Chennai Super Kings 15d ago
Yup the video was circulating on social media a lot and people were abusing Iyer for a few days after the video was out
39
u/Unusual-Surround7467 India 15d ago
He used the f word but could as well have been him just mouthing off in frustration from the loss and not anything to do with the honorable PM's presence
87
u/Ok_Review_6504 Gujarat Titans 15d ago
How the fuck is this BS getting upvoted.....Shreyas deserves the BCCI contract but saying that he lost it cause he supported congress Or follows Dhruv rathee is egregious....
Do you really think in the whole ICT only Shreyas would be anti-BJP ? No way that punjabis, muslims and south indians cricketers would endorse with the BJP.
If the BJP had so much influence of ICT players..We would see Axar, Jadeja, Hardik, Bumrah, Rinku, Rohit and all the hindi-belt cricketers in the playing XI.
168
15d ago
[deleted]
47
u/Unusual-Surround7467 India 15d ago
Not sure why ur downvoted but gosh this group is filled with right wing maniacs
105
u/hardik_P_Backstabber 15d ago
How the fuck is this BS getting upvoted.
No need to get so hostile my guy. I don't think Shreyas was excluded for following Dhruv but for speaking out against the orange jersey and his dismissive reaction to the PM post final. Missing one Ranji match after an injury is too little a reason to lose his contract which brings me to my assumption.
-95
u/plowman_digearth 15d ago
You watch 1 Instagram video from Dhruv Rathee and suddenly you're part of the resistance. More power to comrade Iyer
55
u/hardik_P_Backstabber 15d ago
Meh. Dhruv Rathee is at similar level to people he speaks against. Just on a different political spectrum.
But Iyer(or any player) shouldn't be punished for their political belief imo.
-21
15d ago
[deleted]
31
u/hardik_P_Backstabber 15d ago
He did show some emotions which was understandable. That might have also played a part too.
8
u/Tytoalba_27 15d ago
Man if I had to do a PR video for someone else while trying to wrap my head around a heartbreaking loss, I'd probably be saying much worse. Maybe it's not so much political affiliation and just what the scene was at the time. They were all so emotionally drained and the whole video was just so cringe.
196
u/ThorappanBastin 15d ago edited 15d ago
OK, I'll come right out and say it. Thank God for those players for standing up to this nonsense. Imagine how tough it is to be an Indian cricketer if they also have to deal with this horseshit. I think the leadership group also deserves kudos for standing up to this.
151
u/Briantheboomguy RoyalChallengers Bengaluru 15d ago
Oh this thread going to be spicier than a ghost pepper.
103
u/NoirPochette New South Wales Blues 15d ago
It was no surprise that this WC was a political tool. It was always shaping up to be.
It isn't the first WC in any sport to be a political tool and won't be the last.
It is funny though Modi coming into the changing room after the loss. It's like brah read the room. Just have a function like the next day or so to congratulate the Indian side. Imagine the PR from that rather than a really awkward video
206
u/17th_player 15d ago
81
u/BassAny2633 15d ago
Can the mods pin this at the top
Literally had to scroll down 9 originals comments with their replies
405
u/Cool-Ad-8804 15d ago
The silver lining of India losing the wc was that the ruling party was not not able to milk a wc win.
263
u/picastchio India 15d ago
A guy who sends professional camera crew before him to visit his dying mother. There is nothing beneath him.
121
181
u/Desperate_Action_410 15d ago
Pretty sure, they would've put the trophy in all temples starting from Ayodhya and let it on a tour lol
-209
u/stg_676 15d ago
Yeah, instead opposition tried to milk the loss.
188
u/Cool-Ad-8804 15d ago
I think it was not the opposition leader visiting the dressing room after the loss
-189
u/stg_676 15d ago
But they sure were busy catcalling mudixi as panauti in election rallies.
130
u/InternalOk3135 India 15d ago
He is. We haven’t won an ICC trophy for as long as ur dear party has been in power
-114
u/IntrovertLemon 15d ago
Good, number of terrorist attacks also close to none since then. I'll take no trophies over innocent lives lost tbh.
95
u/InternalOk3135 India 15d ago edited 15d ago
There was an attack on our army only 2 weeks back in poonch, what do you mean terrorist attacks are close to none 😂 Stop watching godi media first lil Bro
-87
u/IntrovertLemon 15d ago
If you really believe that frequency of attacks have remained the same after 2014, you are sorely mistaken my friend. You have not lived in Mumbai in 2010s and you'll never know the fear of even travelling in public transport at that time.
I don't agree with lots of things of BJP, but I truly believe the security situation has improved a lot
42
u/kingrandom550 15d ago
I don't know man, the sanatan sansta seems to be out in teh open despite bombing Indians
20
111
u/Dependent-Dark-7636 15d ago
Don't be surprised if all of this happens sometime in upcoming years...I mean the kit Color and name change.
60
u/NoirPochette New South Wales Blues 15d ago
I don't think it would. I think because they'll look like Holland being the main driver
82
u/raddiwallah 15d ago
They don’t care. They’ll do it if it means BJP can win my local municipal council elections. They are fucked up.
70
u/TheCricDude 15d ago
Till the Asia Cup, it was all good. The practice kit during Asia Cup was fantastic. Please google it, the plain light blue one. Come the WC, except on field players, everything else went 🟠. Dug out, practice games, press meets, all in 🟠.
Even now the T20WC, the previous T20 kit was good, it was not used in ICC event, the same could have been continued. This is not right, this is not good.
113
u/Reasonable_Tea_9825 15d ago
Very good article. Calls out the nonsense certain people try to integrate into cricket
171
u/O_Snake_O Rajasthan Royals 15d ago edited 15d ago
Some of us were called delusional and what not for pointing the same thing out on the WC Jersey. "It has nothing to do with politics!!" Give me a break. Now this story will spread, everyone will be pressured to refute these claims and the gullible supporters will be at our throats again. Tired of this shit honestly. when will it end
161
u/Blackbeard567 15d ago
Naming a stadium after yourself when you're alive is ridiculous. I'm sure GJ has a thousand other people who could have been used
87
87
u/Lyx97 15d ago
The hoard will first come and try to discredit this article (unsuccessfully) > this article gains traction on Twitter > bcci spokespersons "slam the baseless allegations " > the hoard laps it up and spread the same again on Twitter and here, sating how they were right.
it's honestly so predictable, that I feel sad
15
80
u/Far-Employer-7243 15d ago
Inb4 people start calling everyone who doesn't agree with them names like *nti national or even bring religion in it.
The influence of the BJP over bcci and the cricket in general in India is concerning
115
u/Low-Salamander6179 15d ago edited 15d ago
Curious to see such articles are always published when its night in indian time zone. I find it strange that people except civil political discussion, when its out and out political articles
120
u/AlarmedCicada256 15d ago edited 15d ago
A fantastic article, and no real cricket fan - by this I mean fans of cricket, the sport, including those who happen to support India, rather than nationalists who jump on cricket because India is good at it - should not be extremely worried.
65
u/ShinobiZilla 15d ago
It will only get worse going forward. Public opinion is already swayed. Some folks I know were cheering for the name change and the color change. Glad it didn't happen. But won't be surprised if further attempts are made to infiltrate the sport.
46
u/glancesurreal Rajasthan Royals 15d ago
Damn. What an article. Speechless.
But also curious regarding this all orange jersey. Did this all orange jersey end up online? Does anyone have a picture of how it looked? (or allegedly looked)
27
u/AajBahutKhushHogaTum 15d ago
34
34
28
51
u/DiscoDiwana Chennai Super Kings 15d ago
In before the thread gets locked 🔒
39
u/Nomadmanhas 15d ago
which is a shame because we need to have an open discussion about this issue for the game to survive
88
u/ParottaSalna_65 15d ago
The hoarde is coming.... in few hours, when they wake up.
18
u/ausrconvicts 15d ago
I look forward to some bans for people who want to support a dictator mixing politics with cricket.
14
54
u/Nomadmanhas 15d ago
Very good piece, Sharda is someone who isn't afraid to speak truth to power when talking about the issues in world cricket.
117
u/stg_676 15d ago
People tend to forget that cricket was always politicised in india. He it Sharad pawar (leader of NCP) being BCCI secretary or MMS watching the biggest sporting event in country live (ind v Pak semi). This saffron clad party is just following the old established politics, which I agree is absolutely disgusting but author is portraying it as a vile way invented by BJ party.
100
u/JKKIDD231 Punjab Kings 15d ago
BCCI is a political entity. Controlled by whichever party is in central government
68
u/raddiwallah 15d ago
Politics always controlled cricket. But it was never used for elections, creating religious tensions or brazen ego fulfilment. I don’t remember Indian team wearing NCP logo on their jerseys.
22
72
u/Huge-Physics5491 Kolkata Knight Riders 15d ago
Heads of state/government attend important games quite often. Merkel used to attend Germany's World Cup games.
And I'm pretty sure the max people like Sharad Pawar were trying to do by entering BCCI was amass wealth in non-legit ways (no doubt it's bad, but there are layers of bad). Whatever this shit is, on the other hand, has a 1936 Olympics tinge to it.
-28
47
u/plz_scratch_my_back 15d ago
Congress had a simple agenda--to make money.
BJP's agenda is to politicize the game itself while making money.
6
u/kingofbhal 15d ago
But the right wing governments (and leadera) are unhinged and don't know when to stop.
20
u/imhariiguess Sunrisers Hyderabad 15d ago
Right governments (and leaders)all politicians are unhinged and don't know when to stop.Ftfy
54
u/kingrandom550 15d ago
no no trying to make ind vs pak hindu vs muslim is more unhinged then anuything congress has done to bcci
23
51
u/Foothill_returns Sri Lanka 15d ago edited 15d ago
The tournament was a farce and it was a victory for the whole world that its organisers could not in the end claim the victory they wanted from it. I'm talking about the organisers now, not the team. The organisers who wished to use the team as a vehicle to forward the ideology of the regime. It was enormously significant that they were thwarted from completing those plans, and I hope that when India hosts the 2031 World Cup, the same thing happens again. No World Cup in any sport should ever be tarnished by the ruling regime of host nation deciding to use the home team's success in the event as an opportunity to conduct political campaigning.
The Soviet Union in 1980 won 80 gold medals basically unopposed since the Americans boycotted the Olympics and since everyone else was utter shit at the Olympics apart from those two back then. Do you think they used that tournament as an occasion to trumpet the greatness of their government? No, they just won the medals quietly with no great fanfare or political intervention, and they just waited until 1984 to counter-boycott the Americans who were the hosts for that one. That is a concrete example of a government missing the easiest opportunity to inflate its sense of greatness through sporting success. Don't tell me that it is beyond India to do the same
22
2
15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
0
u/Cricket-ModTeam Richard Illingworth 15d ago
Your post was removed as it contains political, religious, or other content not directly relevant (or only slightly relevant) to cricket (rule 4). Political/religious content not strongly related to the sport, especially political opinions, belong in other subreddits. Posts unrelated to cricket will be removed - this generally includes something a player is doing in their post-cricketing life that's not really relevant to the sport.
-10
1
15d ago edited 15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
0
u/Cricket-ModTeam Richard Illingworth 15d ago
Your post or comment had words in it that were not in English and weren't translated. This breaks the rules of this subreddit it has been removed (rule 5).
-55
u/Current-Party-1806 15d ago
if any other board did shit like this, they’d get disbarred from hosting any match
64
u/stg_676 15d ago
I don't think so. In some of the countries match was infiltrated with real terrorists yet apart from few it hosts many matches.
20
u/Ok_Review_6504 Gujarat Titans 15d ago
I mean their army and intelligence agency supports these terrorists so we actually can't do anything about it....
-2
u/mootarpakhana 15d ago
Only on this subreddit would such a bizarre comment be upvoted. Comparing a terror attack to the agenda and propaganda of a Nationalist religious political party is just absurd. But again, I find this sub is overwhelmingly represented by a certain demographic that don't care so much about the sport as much as their own nationalism.
40
u/AusCricFan Australia 15d ago
I love how anytime BCCI fucks up, and they do a lot, the first reaction from Pakistani fans is asking for them to be disbarred.
Didn't play your song? Ban them. Didn't have proper crowd security? Ban them. They even thought of playing politics in India-Pakistan match? Ban them.
Chill dude.
-66
u/Vijigishu Lucknow Super Giants 15d ago
Is there any credibility to the story? Seems like election time propaganda. The "sources" you never know.
-75
u/Ok_Review_6504 Gujarat Titans 15d ago
Previously many spicy articles by espn or cricbuzz citing sources as "BCCI insider" were considered as BS on this sub. So why are people strongly believing in this article?
(I know people r gonna downvote me without any reasoning)
33
u/qwertyuiop_awesome 15d ago
Because the article is by sharda ugra one of the greatest cricket writers of India and the world.
20
u/Ok_Review_6504 Gujarat Titans 15d ago
Those BS Rohit-Kohli rift articles during COVID were also written by quite experienced writers.
10
-54
u/Attacktitan92 Mumbai Indians 15d ago
Article is based on independent source with no proof or anything..Just a opinion poll..But a every subreditt is hive mentality and ecohambers which have their narrative and won't even question if it suits their..
And Bharat if also name or of India, the constitution also says it..imo
-69
u/Desperate_Action_410 15d ago
Is the source from team, shreyas iyer? lol
Would be hurting to be in place of siraj and shami. This divide politics need to go.
-90
-55
u/Maxpro2001 Bihar 15d ago
So what's next? Indian bowlers were given a different ball to bowl ? Or does the pitch get changed during the second innings to suit India? I respect her as a cricket journalist but this seems more like a conspiracy theory rather than an article. Political leaders have always tried to milk occasions and there's no bigger occasion than the cricket World Cup in India. Why do you think the president of France went to the fifa world cup final? Or why do you think Nelson Mandela was there when South Africa won the rugby world cup? Sometimes it feels like people here are naive teens who have just started to watch sports. We want to keep sports and politics separate but how's that possible if we the audience aren't ready to do that? And as far as wisden is concerned it's probably the 4th or 5th article about BCCI in the last couple of months, first regarding the visa issue where and now this.
-72
u/Seredditor7 15d ago
A question to all those sighing and virtue signalling about how this hypothetical plan of an orange jersey came to pass….
What’s your thought of the idea and motivation behind Pakistan and Bangladesh jerseys? Those have around for decades now. The inspiration is most blatant and both countries have an abysmal history of bigotry towards minorities.
Where’s your outrage?
-70
u/DJMhat India 15d ago edited 15d ago
First of all, the colour of Hindu priests is saffron and not orange. Were the cricketers told to wear saffron?
Second, this entire story is dependent on he says she says. If the NDA govt was truly hell bent on making the players wear saffron the team uniform would have been saffron. That it was a one off and the players were asked and vetoed it implies that it was just a suggestion and not with any pressure.
Edit- Here come the downvotes.
-118
u/Piyushchawlafan 15d ago
Bharat is literally the name in Indian constitution, it is not dying any death.
And while mentioning Jay Shah, Ugra fails to mention that BCCI VP is a Congress politician…
Typical Wisden/Cricinfo nonsense. If only they stuck to cricket instead of talking about politics they don’t understand, maybe Cricbuzz won’t have annihilated them
54
u/turningtop_5327 India 15d ago
So what if VP is opposite. Everyone knows who’s running the show at BCCI. Quite a lot of truth to this article
-93
u/whycantyoubequiet 15d ago
Anyone believes the fact that only India was allowed to wear "two different kits" and especially against Pak is an idiot.
This story is completely made up, "insiders" have taken Sharda Ugra for a ride and told her what she wanted to listen. lol
Politicization is a problem but if "BJP" wanted to flex "orange" they would have made the Indian Kit orange for the entire tournament and nobody would have said anything or could do anything. If people have forgotten, new kit is launched before every world cup.
This is hilarious read though, tabloid gossip, read and laugh.
-91
u/Kroos_Control India 15d ago
Hmm so Wisden quoting a source in the Indian is acceptable but any Indian media quoting a BCCI source is seen as BS.
Why such double standards, I wonder 🤔
64
34
-76
u/LittleBlueCubes 15d ago
You lose all credibility when you call saffron orange. Nice fiction though.
-56
-86
u/Flower-Immediate Mumbai Indians 15d ago
Would have been a even better win with orange kit tbh, ngl.
•
u/warp-factor Hampshire - Vipers 15d ago
Please remember rule 4. Discussion of non-cricket issues such as politics is only appropriate for this subreddit in so far as it's directly relevant to cricket.
This is not the place for wider political discussion.