Pujara's Retirement Sparks Row, India Obsessed With Farewell? | First Sports With Rupha Ramani |N18G - video Dailymotion

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Indian cricket fans love a fairy-tale goodbye - but is the obsession with farewell matches outdated? From Cheteshwar Pujara’s quiet exit to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s low-key retirements, the fuss over “deserving farewells” raises tough questions. Has Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic Wankhede farewell romanticised a tradition that no longer fits modern cricket? With T20 leagues, commentary gigs, and endless cricketing avenues – do fans even get to miss their heroes anymore? Rupha Ramani dives deep into India’s fixation with farewell games. Are they unfair, unnecessary, and out of place in today’s times?  Also on the show, cricket in America is "dead", says West Indies great Chris Gayle. The cricketer stated that Major League Cricket (MLC) has failed to attract a significant audience. Despite ICC's repeated attempts, why is the America project failing? And Dream 11 has joined the list of unlucky brands taking a hit after becoming India's jersey sponsors. They have pulled out of the deal after India imposed a ban on money-based online gaming. Is the Indian jersey cursed?   ---  Indian Cricket Team | Cheteshwar Pujara | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |  Sachin Tendulkar | T20 leagues | T20 Cricket | Cricket | Test Cricket | Wankhede Stadium | Dream11 | Indian Cricket Jersey | Major league Cricket | Chris Gayle | America | First Sports | Rupha Ramani | Firstpost | Sports News  #indiancricket #chiteshwarpujara #pujara #viratkohli #rohitsharma #sachintendulkar #t20leagues #t20cricket #cricket #testcricket #wankhedestadium #dream11 #indiancricketjersey #majorleaguecricket #MLC #chrisgayle #america  #firstsports #rupharamani #sportsnews #firstpost  Firstpost is an Indian news and media website. Get all the incisive opinions, in-depth analyses and other visual stories that matter to you and the world right here on this channel.   Subscribe to Firstpost channel and press the bell icon to get notified when we go live.    https://www.youtube.com/@Firstpost  Follow Firstpost on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstpost/   Follow Firstpost on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firstpostin/   Follow Firstpost on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/firstpost  Follow Firstpost on WhatsApp: https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va6zOIrEQIamseyg762V  # news #breaking #24x7

Transcript

00:00Hi you're watching FIRST SPORTS, I'm Rupa Ramani. Let's get the show started.

00:18On the show today, there is a lot of cricket heading your way. The latest Indian cricketer

00:32to announce retirement from all formats of the sport is Cheteshwar Pujara, but fans

00:36and experts have lashed out at the Indian cricket board for not granting him a farewell

00:42match. What's the nostalgia surrounding this concept and is this flawed in the times that

00:46we live in? USA and Donald Trump in recent months are doing all they can to create more roadblocks

00:52to big sporting events that they're going to host, whether it's football, cricket or even

00:56the Olympics. But is the cricket venture facing a massive uphill climb? T20's biggest mascot

01:02Chris Gale says cricket in the US is dead. Is America's dream with cricket dying a slow

01:07death? And what does that mean keeping LA 2028 games in mind? And the Team India jersey jinx

01:14continues. Dream 11 seemingly joins a long list of sponsors who have collapsed post their

01:18association with the national jersey. Who were the others in this infamous list? But first

01:23the headlines on Sports360. Starting with football, Premier League champions Liverpool edged past

01:30Newcastle 3-2 to make it two wins in as many matches this season. Liverpool were leading 2-0

01:37in the first half. Newcastle struck twice in the second to make it 2-all. And while the match

01:41was headed for a draw, Rio Numoha scored the winner in stoppage time.

01:48On to tennis, Carlos Alcaraz has cruised into round 2 of the US Open, beating Riley Opelka

01:53in straight sets. He faces Matia Bellucci next. In the women's draw, 45-year-old Venus Williams put up

02:00a fight in her first round match but lost to Carolina Muchova, 3-6, 6-1, 1-6.

02:09Over in Formula One, Sergio Perez is set to return to the sport in 2026. The Mexican will

02:14reportedly join F1's new team, Cadillac. Reports also say he has signed a two-year deal here. Perez

02:20last raced for Red Bull in 2024.

02:27News from badminton. Star Indian shuttler Lakshus Sen crashes out of the world championships in Paris.

02:32The Indian went down against Chinese top seed Shari Che, 17-21, 19-21. At the same venue,

02:40Sen lost his Paris Olympic semi-final last year.

02:42And summing it up with weightlifting, star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the gold medal in

02:51the Commonwealth Championship at Ahmedabad. The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist lifted 84

02:56kilograms in snatch and 109 in clean and jerk to take the top spot in a field of seven.

03:02And when you're reading a book, let's say a thriller, as you consume more and more pages,

03:08as the story wears on, what are you looking forward to the most? The ending, of course.

03:13How is the author going to wrap this one up? Will it be a fitting finale? Worth your time,

03:18worth all that you invested into this one story? Indian cricket and its fans have a pretty similar

03:24relationship. Once they are hooked into the story of a cricketer, it has to have a great farewell.

03:31The cricketer to retire from all formats most recently was India's Chet Ishwar Pujara,

03:36and fans and experts went up in arms about one of the best test batters India has ever produced,

03:41not getting the goodbye he deserves. Making me ask, is this now a concept that needs to be properly

03:49canned? Should we politely say farewell to the whole idea of a grand farewell?

03:55The two biggest test cricketers of this generation, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli,

04:00called it quits just some months ago. No drama, no commotion, no last test, nothing. The biggest

04:06stars stepped away quietly from the scene, contrary to how they burst onto it years ago. In fact,

04:12the last test match for Rohit Sharma was when he decided to step down and not play in the 11.

04:17So why this fuss over farewells?

04:29I strongly feel it's an emotion that has been romanticized in India. The biggest example or episode

04:58of this was Sachin Tendulkar's farewell, coupled with that elusive wait for the 100th 100 and all

05:04of that coming together. The goodbye happened in Mumbai at the iconic Wangkire Stadium, where Sachin grew

05:09up. It was dramatic, it was nostalgic, emotional. Broadcasters, organizers, everyone who were part of

05:15that circus-like event planned it all to be one goose-pump-filled ride that you would never forget.

05:32I remember that day as if it was just some days ago. I was at the stadium. There were pictures that were

05:59later uploaded, giving everyone a 360-degree view that you could zoom in on, where you could spot

06:06exactly where you were in that ground when Sachin struck his last ball or when the day wrapped up.

06:13Of course, Sachin getting emotional when he was giving that speech only added to the fanfare and the

06:18celebrations. There's this notion in India, and this particular event only reinforced it, that every

06:24superstar or great cricketer deserves a farewell game. So his or her fans can prepare themselves

06:31of seeing one of their favorites for one last time.

06:45This romanticized concept somehow doesn't fit into this current landscape anymore,

07:03for various reasons. Number one, the team dynamics has changed drastically and you do not feature in

07:07the plans anymore. Cricketers probably feel and they justify to an extent that they still have some more

07:14years of the sport in them. They still have some time to contribute to the country, but somehow fail

07:19to see where the game has progressed or where the squad has gone to. Can they really come back in to

07:25the scheme of things? They understandably fail to stay objective in their quest, in their passionate

07:31pursuit of the sport. Number two, it is very rare for cricketers to call time in the most apt manner and

07:38say bye-bye on the grander stage knowing they are done and that coincides with an iconic tournament or a

07:43series. Most cricketers crave this and very few have been fortunate to get it. Like Saurav Ganguly, he

07:50almost wrestled himself one, with MS Dhoni graciously calling him on to skipper his side briefly for one

07:56last time and getting the crowd, the entertainment they all came for. We all remember the press conference

08:02as one. All of this stands the test of time. But so many really couldn't get that. Like Rahul Dravid,

08:09Yuvraj Singh, Virendar Sehwar, Gautam Gambhir, they were all match winners and there are many more.

08:14Number three and probably the more critical one, with the advent of T20 cricket or should I say

08:20too much cricket and avenues opening up everywhere, is there truly a farewell? You can't really tear up and

08:26say bye-bye to a cricketer only to see him or her in a T20 or T10 league next. Or in the commentary box,

08:33spewing wisdom or as a coach mentoring one of the zillion T20 sites that has come up all

08:38over the world. Or in their own YouTube channel, that's the latest buzz for an alternate career path

08:44for any international cricketer. The options here are endless. So really, the expansion of the sport

08:50has made it difficult for you to quite truly miss a cricketer all too dearly. So let's snap out of

08:56these romantic notions. Maybe the best way cricketers truly need to be remembered is by what they left

09:02you feeling when you watch them shine. What is their legacy? What have they left you with? And that's how

09:08it should be. Usually a country does all it can to encourage sports to grow because that ensures

09:18investments coming in other countries visiting growth of infrastructure. It's a cycle that usually

09:23goes this way. USA seems to be doing all it can to throw roadblocks, whether it's NFL, football,

09:30cricket or even the Olympics. For cricket, the story is even worse. The ICC has tried for decades to

09:36crack the US market. Every single time, there's failure. All raising the question, is the American dream

09:43failing to take wings when it comes to cricket? The big move came just last year when the ICC took

09:51the T20 World Cup to American soil, co-hosted by the West Indies. Of course, it was meant to be

09:57cricket's grand American debut. It turned out to be anything but. Yes, there was crowd turnout,

10:03but only because of Indians in the US who came out to cheer the Indian cricket team. Beyond that,

10:09the reality was ugly. Drop-in pitches condemned by experts, weather exposing poor ground infrastructure,

10:16players complaining about shabby facilities, gymnasiums so bad teams had to move around

10:21outside their hotels to access one. And in the end, a $20 million revenue loss.

10:28For the ICC, that was strike one. The only way now was through the major league cricket tournament,

10:34launched in 2023 with huge promises. But three years on and it's still a dead league.

10:41I called my friend Chris Gale and asked what's the atmosphere like. He replied,

10:46my brother, it's dead. There was no one in the stadium. Absolutely no one.

10:53If Gale, the man who made T20 league cricket exciting worldwide, calls it dead, then it sounds

11:00like a death knell to me. And here's the irony. Cricket is returning to the Olympics after 128 years

11:06at the LA event in 2028. But even that hasn't generated buzz in America. But why? It's because

11:14of the MLC itself. The tournament in its quest to get the crowds in has failed to attract any superpower.

11:22If I'm sitting anywhere in the world, I'm not going to spend my money to watch names I've never

11:26heard of. What I want is to watch and pay to see stars like Virat Kohli, Mahindra Singh Dhoni,

11:32Michael Clarke or Brett Lee. No star powers there and he's right. Major league soccer, MLS,

11:40understood the formula. They brought in few global names like Messi, Suarez, Jordi Alba. MLC still clueless.

11:48But what can you expect from a country run by an association that is buried in distress themselves?

11:53The US cricket board is a mess. Take a look at their history. In 2007, they were suspended for

12:00irregular elections. Eight years later, it was governance and financial issues. Two years after

12:06that, it was debt. And in 2019, ICC finally made them associate members. USA cricket has been given

12:14a warning by the ICC for governance failures. Just last month, USA cricket was in danger of being

12:19de-recognized due to non-compliance of the ICC's governance laws. But given they are the host

12:27nation for the Olympics, ICC has found themselves in a bit of a spot here. The governing body had to

12:32give a three-month notice to US cricket to resolve issues. So here's the hard truth. The ICC has done

12:38all it can and multiple times over to make cricket work in America. And rightly so. The US market is

12:46desirable and a lucrative one to tap into. If the sport becomes popular there, the reach will be

12:51far more. Sure, it's a difficult one to crack, given fans' obsession for the NFL, NBA and MLB.

12:58But all it needs is the kind of governance that can make it work. And this is where US cricket

13:03establishments have failed again and again. And now, with the Olympics just three years away,

13:09the question writes itself, is the ICC backing the wrong horse here? Because if the US can't get its

13:15act together soon, cricket's American dream might end before it even tries to take flight.

13:25India's cricket team isn't just a sporting powerhouse, it's the biggest brand in the country.

13:30A partnership with BCCI is often called the Midas Touch, because everything Indian cricket

13:35touches turns to gold. Well, almost everything, Dream Eleven has just joined the infamous list of

13:40brands that crashed after becoming India's jersey sponsor. Is there a curse lurking here? Here's our

13:46next report. Indian cricket is a goldmine. The richest cricket board, the most profitable brand,

13:56and the ultimate jackpot, getting your logo on Team India's jersey. Instant limelight, 24-7 promotion,

14:05and global reach. Like casting Robert Downey Jr., Tom Cruise, and Scarlett Johansson in the same movie.

14:14But here's the plot twist. It rarely ends well. Dream Eleven signed a $40 million deal in 2023

14:22as India's jersey sponsor. But last week, their India operations took a hit, after the government

14:29banned money-based online gaming. They ended the deal with BCCI and the so-called jersey curse struck again.

14:39In fact, the curse has become a running joke. Want to test your brand's survival skills? Forget the stock market.

14:47Just try sponsoring Team India.

14:57Dream Eleven isn't alone. This story stretches back almost two decades. Every single jersey sponsor has

15:11faced chaos. Take Bajus. Once hailed as India's EdTech savior, they took over the jersey in 2019.

15:22Fast forward to 2023, and you have an $18 million default, legal battles with BCCI,

15:28and a business in free form. Before Bajus, there was Micromax, the homegrown mobile giant. But with

15:37Chinese competitors taking over, Micromax's innings ended, both in cricket and in the handset market.

15:43In 2017 came a new wave, Oppo, the phone maker went big, $162 million, the costliest deal ever.

15:54But poor returns and dwindling market share forced them to retreat from India's cricket jersey for just

15:59two years. And soon, from the Indian market itself. Go back even further, Sahara in 2013.

16:09Star in 2017. Every big name eventually struggled under the so-called jersey jinx.

16:17So what's the takeaway? Yes, a deal with Team India is glamorous. Yes, it guarantees eyeballs. But

16:25stardom doesn't guarantee survival. Every brand learned it the hard way.

16:32The jersey curse may sound like meme lingo, but history says otherwise.

16:38From Micromax to Bajus to Dream 11, the list of fallen brands have only grown.

16:44Yet, here's the irony. Despite the horror stories, companies will still line up.

16:50Because one truth remains unchanged. In India, nothing shines brighter than the blue jersey.

16:57And that's why, curse or not, every brand still dreams of being on it.

17:05Time for last serve. We take you to San Francisco's Bay Bridge, an American sky surfer,

17:13glided over the famous infrastructure, becoming the first person ever to do so. Take a look.

17:26Without stomp.

17:27Instead of a solid utility, we take the power to fill in aired sign.

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17:32the most searches famous in Mississippi, so we'll continue to win.

17:33And I'll see you soon to ludzie.

17:36And at some Europac нашogrūn's perspective,

17:37as a peeks of terrified from 1970,

17:38these variants in the National Force of Investment.

17:40Go back to probably now.

17:40Youまだ don't wait a bit.

17:42That's right with us.

17:43And until then, isn't going to be in the same place for you.

17:45Isn't going to be in a secret kit.

17:46I'll turn the helt quick strid- coexist.

17:48But a part of GuamOS to be in front of the modern world.

17:50Justfrom the Trek!!!!

17:50And the people of their finlands are always coming up.

17:51that wraps it up here on first sports i'll of course see you again tomorrow till then do take care

18:21you

Pujara's Retirement Sparks Row, India Obsessed With Farewell? | First Sports With Rupha Ramani |N18G

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