Real cricket

Real cricket
IPL has been the fountainhead of glamour and entertainment and cricket was the last thing on the organiser’s mind. That is why our team failed in the World T20 championship where they had to play real cricket. But the T20 World Cup final was a treat to watch, where the formidable Australians were held under a tight leash by the English bowling attack (‘Redemption,’ DNA, May 17). The ground was good, the crowd was less noisy and there were no cheering girls.
G Venkataraman, via email

The T20 disaster
This is the second time that India’s T-20 WC competition has ended in ignominy (‘Team India returns after dismal T20 World Cup campaign’, DNA, May 15). The reasons for it are not far to seek. First, the BCCI should get its act right. Right from the beginning the circus of IPL was nothing but a tamasha with more emphasis on dubious deals, TV rights, ad ventures (pun intended), cheer girls, midnight parties which sidelined cricket. Now the BCCI is more involved in the Modi ouster game rather than setting things right from the cricketing point. Playing 54 matches in a span of few weeks is no picnic. The basic aim of IPL as envisaged by Lalit Modi was to make money. Either the IPL should be rescheduled with a less punishing program or we should continue to expect the same results. BCCI are you listening?
Shanmugam Mudaliar, Bangalore

Avoidable mishap
The unfortunate stampede at the New Delhi railway station was a result of mismanagement by the railway staff and could have been averted (‘Platform swap stampede kills two in New Delhi’, DNA, May 17). It did not make sense to announce a switch of platforms at the eleventh hour. To make matter worse, the foot overbridges at busy railway stations serve as bottlenecks and should be phased out by redesigning important railway stations as terminuses with large concourse, similar to
railway stations like Howrah or CST.
JN Mahanty, Puri

Incentive to teach
This is with reference to ‘Maharashtra govt wants better English in Marathi schools’, (DNA, May 15). The best way to ensure that the students of Marathi schools do not lag behind in English is to give incentives to foreign travellers who are fluent in English to teach in Marathi medium schools. The incentives could be in the form of free accommodation, free travel and food. This will be most cost-effective method, as foreign tourists keep on coming to India to travel. China is doing this to encourage the spread of English language. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation should take a lead in this regard.
Deendayal Lulla, Mumbai