Match fixing

I am amused to see that match fixing has become a crime  and being a match fixer, a stigma for life . In good old days, match fixing  was considered a valuable social service  and fixers were  held in high esteem  by all  especially those anxious and worried  parents who were on the look out for  a ‘suitable match ‘  for their  sons and daughters  before  it was too late. In the social context, the match fixer of either gender was a go between ,  credited with uniting   two families  through matrimony. I am instantly  reminded of Shankari tai ,  the  match fixer in the daily soap   “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata hai “- and what a match he finds  for Akshara  ! In real life also the services of these fixers are  sought and availed by people subscribing to the conventional way of life , who do not believe in other options available these days.

 Coming to the  Cricket match fixers, be it   some of the  players  or the   managers or the  sponsors or the much maligned    speculators aka   ‘satorias’ or the satte baaz    , they  have done irreparable harm and disservice to the game . It is  disgusting to see players playing to lose  rather than win  in lieu of  some wads  of currency notes or maybe some other gratification. This reminds me of the old  Bollywood song – chandi ke chand tukdo ke liye, iman ko becha jata hai…… – sung beautifully by Hemant Kumar . These game changers take millions of spectators for a ride, who  throng the  Cricket  stadium  after purchasing  costly tickets or  who  remain glued to the idiot box , making virtual  idiots of themselves, watching , who knows , may be a fixed match ! Cricket played  in this manner is no longer a game of  glorious uncertainties but  ignominious ‘ fixties’.

 George   Bernard Shaw is proved half right !