Children prefer to pick up a cricket bat rather than a hockey stick. Just reaffirms that we still remain a single sport country.
An essay by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra about his childhood begins with an account of his Len Hutton-inscribed bat which he had soaked in linseed oil. Besides being pleasantly surprised that the renowned poet had a sporty side to him, this is another example of how the unlikeliest Indian men get misty-eyed when talking about their first bat. A Midnight’s Child, Mehrotra must have been referring to the late 1950s or early 1960s — which explains the Hutton inscription. Most of his contemporaries and seniors would remember the Don Bradman bat, while those born in the 1970s grew up with Gavaskar bats or Sunny Tonny. From the 1990s onwards it’s Sachin Tendulkar all the way, with Mahi bats coming in now to herald the rise of a new cricket superstar, M S Dhoni. It’s interesting to see how with time, foreign names were replaced by those of homespun heroes on the bat face.
While the cricket bat has held sway, other sporting equipment has undergone a sea change. The hockey stick, ubiquitous in the 1970s and 1980s, seems to have disappeared from every urban Indian child’s sports kit. It has been quietly replaced by a plastic golf set, complete with little flags, plastic dimpled balls and multi-coloured plastic holes.
Sports goods shops feel that hockey sticks are a slow moving item, and while some kids do get one initially, most lose interest in it. There has been a small revival over the last couple of years, but one hockey stick sells for every 30 cricket bats — and that’s a very conservative estimate.
What’s really disappointing is that there is no move to encourage those with an aptitude to pursue the game. There seems to be very little interest and excitement around the sport. Hockey rarely makes headlines for on-field reasons and that negativity keeps kids, fans and sponsors at bay.
Cricket, on the other hand, holds sway with brands like Reebok and Nike offering a variety of options to youngsters. Parents invest on a cheaper Kashmir willow bat to intiate their young ones into cricket. If the indulgent parent then sees signs of a Sachin Tendulkar in their son, he invests in an English willow bat which starts at a pretty steep Rs 6,000. Cricket bats are way ahead, with badminton and tennis racquets finishing a distant second and third.
Football is gaining ground among urban kids thanks to the telecast of English Premier League and other European matches. However, the lack of space means that we have a generation of armchair soccer players entering their teens.
Cricket therefore remains the game that pulls more children outdoors than any other sport in India. Every sporty, athletic child naturally gravitates to cricket, and the result is that other sports get neglected. Teenagers may discuss Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, but if they want a future in sport they pick up a cricket bat. Hockey telecast does not have the style and flair of cricket on television, and other than at the Olympics or the World Cups, not many watch these. In today’s TV-centric universe, a sport that’s not popular on TV will not have many takers. Our national sport’s most enduring image today is Shah Rukh Khan in Chak De! India.
Whether we like it or not, we remain a single sport country. What else can explain the fact that March 12 and not March 13 is the date every sports fan is waiting for. The Indian Premier League starts on the 12th, the World Cup hockey final is on the 13th.
(Malavika R Banerjee is director, Gameplan, a sports marketing company)
