So, sorry for being a voice of dissent in these times when everyone wants to celebrate the power of India’s cricket economy, but true loyalty is not easy to buy — especially not in a country such as ours, where cricket is linked so closely with national pride.

Think about it. Indian cricket is almost jingoistic. We feel shame as a nation when the team loses, so we go into the streets to burn effigies and carry out mock funerals. When Harbhajan Singh is charged with racism, we forget that he’s an individual and react as if the whole country has been called racist. The print and TV media show us non-stop live coverage of a victory march following the Twenty20 World Cup victory, and programmes such as Match ka Mujrim become instant TRP leaders.

Picture this: if Brett Lee of Mohali is bowling to M.S. Dhoni of Chennai, sitting in the heart of Punjab, whom will you support? Will you feel enough loyalty for your city that you cheer against a national hero? Will you jump up in joy in Jaipur if, with four runs needed to win, Mumbai’s Sachin Tendulkar is caught on the fence by Shane Warne off the last ball of the match?

The entire auction in Mumbai on Wednesday was a reflection of that same national pride. Ishant Sharma was bought for Rs 3.8 crore and Ricky Ponting for 1.6, Rohit Sharma went for Rs 3.1 crore and Matthew Hayden for 1.5. Corporate India showed where its priorities lay. They wanted crowd pullers, not necessarily the best team available. Nationalism was the mantra, not cricketing logic.

... contd.