Has big money and fame (ads, sponsorships, IPL, celebrity hobnobbing) destroyed "hunger"?

[fineleg]

Easy access to money and fame. And they all come too soon. Will we get "hungry" and "passionately driven" cricketers with SINCERITY-and-Hard Toil like when Kumble started his career, or Kapil started his career or Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly were HUNGRY when they all started. Yes, we will get hungry people when they start out the career even today. But after 5 years of excess money and fame, will hunger for hard-work retain for another 8-10 years!?? Cricket has changed big time!

[Desi Cartman]

Yes it has but I can see that in fast bowling things have changed since there is competition. Same thing in ODIs since the guys know that if they dont do well there are 10 people waiting to take their spot. We need to do the same thing in Test cricket. We have too many players in the side currently just because of their records. Money is good if they deserve it .. I hope they make more & more money but at the same time WIN MORE AND MORE GAMES ...

[DomainK]

Yes fineleg, money has found its way into cricket and the game has changed a lot in the last decade. A part of it is influenced by money and a part is not. But then change is something that we can not change. Everything in the world changes. Look around and you will find that its not only cricket, almost everything else around you has changed. You yourself have changed, have you not? The thing is that the change is not entirely for bad. Like every other change, we have lost something and we have gained something. However, if you compare the positives and negatives of Indian cricket in two generations, you will notice that we have improved immensely. This is one bad series in progress and thats why the mood is depressing right now. We are a much better team than before. We are now expected to win abroad, we are supposed to be the toughest opponents to the world champions. We are supposed to lead the game into the next phase. We might not be the world champions, but we are surely the world leaders in the game. Our team is in the right shape. With many positives, there are some negatives that we have to accept.

[fineleg]

Domaink, This team has players like Kumble, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman. They are greats, but they will fade away sometime in the near future. My post is not questioning the hunger of these folks. They had great hunger, and they have achieved great things, and their time is coming to a close. They (each of the 5 above) will be remembered as all time greats for India. My post is about the next generation - the Rohit Sharmas, the Yusuf Pathans, the Ojhas and Piyush Chawlas. Will these next gen folks keep the hunger and flame burning for long enough? Or, will 5 years of success spoil them so much that after 5 successful years, they become lazy and contented? Time will answer this, but I fear certain complacency will creep in - since 4 to 5 years of success at Intl level will bring HUGE fame and fortune today, than it would have 10 years ago. There is no comparison - it is like 100 times or 200 times more. Previously, accomplished cricketers could get huge fame and fortune. Nowadays, even budding cricketers are getting it. That seems too pre-mature, and too many rewards and remunerations too soon (when there is lot to be accomplished still).

[DomainK]

Yes, certain complacency will definitely creep in. And that will test character as well. All this money and exposure will also bring in a lot of competition and if one shows complacency, there would be a 100 ready and waiting to fill in. Finding 11 out of them who would truly want to give 100% will not be very difficult.

[fineleg]

Yes' date=' certain complacency will definitely creep in. And that will test character as well. All this money and exposure will also bring in a lot of competition and if one shows complacency, there would be a 100 ready and waiting to fill in. Finding 11 out of them who would truly want to give 100% will not be very difficult.[/quote'] Hopefully, keeping the fingers crossed.

[Fontaine]

It depends on the person. Like RP Singh who continued his studies into his international career and wants to go back to get a Masters. Or when he still visits his old bowling coach and sits with the kids from around the neighborhood and asks about how such and such kid is bowling. He doesn't pull up with a entourage, Gucci sunglasses and brand new car. If you didnt' recognize him he would look like any other guy and still shows the same respect to elders as he always did. Money and fame doesn't change people, it only brings out the good and bad from them that was always there. If someone like Harbhajan struts around in a fashion shoot, taking off his turban and sacriligously showing his hair, it's not because money and fame have changed him, it's because I'm sure he was always a little bit of a deviant chump anyway.

[King]

I should have expected this one. For haven's sake keep all your criticisms in one single thread Finey. This sounds like mayhem on forums. The test series hasn't even finished yet and he ODI series is yet to begin.

[punjabi_khota]

Football(Soccer) has so much more money, cricket can barely hold a candle to it. It has survived, flourished even. Cricket will too. Maybe T-20 will be the format of the future. Don't worry too much :-)

[fineleg]

Football(Soccer) has so much more money' date=' cricket can barely hold a candle to it. It has survived, flourished even. Cricket will too. Maybe T-20 will be the format of the future. Don't worry too much :-)

Thats part of the worry! Dimnishing importance given by players to Tests.

[bharat297]

I 100% agree with you Finey ... I feel it has ... The perfect example was Dhoni ... he chose to play through injury in the IPL so he could get his 1.5 mil, and then sat out the test series. I dont see the same passion and commitment from these younger guys to play Test cricket. What T20 has done is allowed these younger guys to get the glory of being an international cricketer for doing well at a very simplified version of the game. Now for a young cricketer, they wonder ... why even bother with Test cricket? Its harder to play, I need to work harder to get into it, I get less money, and I dont get much more adulation than what I am getting with T20. Players like say Albie Morkel for SAF are making very good livings as specialist ODI and T20 players, and from a financial point of view will feel there is no need for them to even play Test Cricket.

[fineleg]

I 100% agree with you Finey ... I feel it has ... The perfect example was Dhoni ... he chose to play through injury in the IPL so he could get his 1.5 mil' date= and then sat out the test series. I dont see the same passion and commitment from these younger guys to play Test cricket.

Absolutely. Just the thing that is so annoying. Whoever thinks he did not have the injury before and did not play with injury in IPL are just kidding. He just bore the brunt of injury through IPL and odis, and later could not take it anymore by the time Tests came around.

What T20 has done is allowed these younger guys to get the glory of being an international cricketer for doing well at a very simplified version of the game. Now for a young cricketer, they wonder ... why even bother with Test cricket? Its harder to play, I need to work harder to get into it, I get less money, and I dont get much more adulation than what I am getting with T20. Players like say Albie Morkel for SAF are making very good livings as specialist ODI and T20 players, and from a financial point of view will feel there is no need for them to even play Test Cricket.

The game will be reduced to a farce if this fascination for T20 over and beyond Test cricket continues!