The cricket extravaganza and soccer tamasha are both entertaining carnivals. Whether these will improve the standards of the games and promote the development of Indian sportsmen is a speculative far cry. The immediate gains are modernisation of infrastructure but limited in a few pockets of India and have no widespread benefits. Few players who are already in the reckoning will not find placement or demand outside our shores and will be content to retire after their usefulness. Maybe their emoluments are slightly better off.
In comparison, the foreign recruits stand to hugely benefit in monetary terms and privileges compared to their Indian counterparts. The huge sums of money spent on foreign coaches, players and expert commentators is a drain on our resources. There is no doubt that these popular sports carnival is a source for large scale betting for enthusiasts and also lead to manipulations of the results of the game. Wonder if the evils associated with these two most popular tournaments outweigh the development of sports. The sponsors are Indian companies but the sportswear and other materials have no Indian suppliers.
