Is cricket killing other sports in India?

SURE cricket is killing other sports in India. How? By claiming the largest share of the commercial sponsorship, by raking in millions of rupees and dollars through television rights, by taking away much of the audience even for lowly rated one-day internationals.

This sport also takes chunk of space in the newspapers and magazines. When compared to cricket's advancement, the other sports in India are lagging far behind.

J. Edwards, Jalandhar

CRICKET is dominating over other games in India. This is due to the wide coverage in the media. I am not jealous about the popularity of the game, it deserves every bit of it. No doubt cricketers bring laurels to the country.

I feel this is the only team sport in which India has some reputation in the international arena.

Pushpak Jasani, Gondia

CRICKET is killing other sports in India. While a drawn Test series in Australia takes so much of space in the newspapers and magazines, Anju's bronze in the world championship is not given the prominence it deserves.

Our athletes, chess players and shooters deserve a better treatment. They need the support of public, sponsors and the media.

Vikram, Chennai

THE decline of other sports must be attributed to poor administration, marketing and the interference of government.

Each nation has its own favourite game. In Europe, football is popular compared to other sports. David Beckham is more popular in England than Nasser Hussain.

The media coverage also goes according to the popularity of the game. But I find The Sportstar gives due coverage to all the sports.

Saikiran, Kurnool

I DON'T think cricket is killing other sports. I feel the other sports are killing themselves. The role of the BCCI is commendable in this regard. It has an excellent administration.

Another factor is that cricket can be played with limited resources. The game also enjoys the support of media. Channels queue up to get the telecast rights. Since the game is popular among the masses, it attracts sponsors by the dozen.

The other sports should tone up their administration first. They should be more professional.

Thomas Kurian, Thrissur

THE victory in the 1983 World Cup has helped cricket to grow in popularity. Better administration and proper marketing are the main reasons for the game achieving this status in India.

The other team sports can take a cue out of cricket. They should excel in the international arena. This will help them to find sponsors for their growth.

Mayur Lookhar, Mumbai

MANY think that cricket is killing other sports in India. But this is absolutely wrong. The BCCI has the best of administrators to run the game. The other sports federations lack in this direction.

Infighting and politics are the order of the day in other sports set-ups.. They should learn a lot from BCCI, especially when it comes to marketing.

Deepak Mishra, Kolkata