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Only a game

Sir, — Your Editorial, `It's only a game' (Feb. 18) strongly rose to the defence of Indian cricketers now struggling to put bat to ball. Admittedly, destroying personal property of the cricketers and attacking their homes is despicable.

But, in a country where the Government gives freebies of land and customs duty waiver of Rs.150 lakhs on gifted fancy cars to cricketers at the cost of the honest tax payer, it must be said that public resentment bordering on rage is not altogether misplaced. It is the official recognition given to cricketers and, in a lesser vein, to other sportsmen, at the cost of the exchequer that is the root cause of the problem.

N. Parthasarathy,

Mumbai

* * *

Sir, — You have rightly pointed out that victory and defeat are part and parcel of any sport. However, if the defeat has been due to atrocious and careless performance, the sportsmen are bound to be targeted by irate fans. One could have appreciated the Indian cricketers if they had agreed to endorse products after proving their worth in the World Cup. This could have perhaps saved them from embarrassment too.

Sujatha Karthikeyan,

Gurgaon, Haryana

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