Does big money take away the true spirit of sport?
| 11:09 UK time, Monday, 26 April 2010
It's the league that's made cricket glamorous. And for many, it's the big bucks and display of power that make the biggest controversy to hit cricket in many years .
This morning, Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi was over corruption allegations that have touched India's top politicians, Bollywood stars and leading businessmen. It's thrown the credibility of sports' into question.
How do you ensure accountability in sport when big money is involved? If you are cricket or sports fan, do you care how your sport is funded?
feels that big money has cheapened a treasured game.
'Perhaps it was inevitable that the Indian Premier League (IPL), with its unprecedented high profile at the time of its creation, the extraordinary publicity around the spectacle of our nationally iconic cricketers being "sold" and "bought" by equally iconic filmstars and corporate heads, should also stir up the most hysterical and feverish speculation when controversy reared its ugly head. I still remember the visuals of the first auction which in itself was a telecaster's dream. Many watched the spectacle with shock and awe some watched it in shock, some in amusement and many with a faint sense of dismay that the game of cricket had come to this.'
Others are so disgusted that they feel the game should just be .
And for , a Dubai-based commentator, the IPL has been fundamentally flawed from the very beginning.
'You need at least 500 rupees to watch and enjoy an IPL match in any stadium in India today. And we are still a nation with nearly half of the population living under the so-called poverty line. '
´óÏó´«Ã½ reader Niranjan got in touch from India to ask why he couldn't find coverage of yesterdays IPL final on the website and why news of the controversy is the top story today. Despite being hijacked by news of scandal, loyal fan are finding ways to express their joy. 'What can I say....absolutely ecstatic cos my team Chennai Superkings won the IPL!!!' says natrickt on Twitter.
So are sports fans quick to forget scandals? Are the glamour and glitz a part of the entertainment as here? Does big money bring ?
