Cricket - Synonym for Sports?

Three cheers to our Indian Cricket Team for winning the T20 World Cup. I was one among the enthusiastic millions watching the nail-biting final, ball by ball, with my eyes glued to the TV screen. I was elated when they rejoiced after winning the cup. Though all this celebration was going on, I did have some disturbing thoughts at the back of my mind. No doubt, cricket is the most famous and most favorite game among the Indians. During weekends or holidays we'd find most of the guys out in the streets playing cricket. However that doesn't mean that we should neglect and not promote/help other sports grow.

I read in an article that Rohit Sharma was initially living in a rented apartment and then he shifted to his own apartment in Mumbai. I also read that BCCI has offered rewards of 80L to the T20 winners and 1crore specially to Yuvraj. It is good to encourage sportsmen who make India proud, but this is very lavish. The same money could be used to develop sports facilities in rural villages and other places, promote other sports and encourage enthusiastic sports people who might be deprived due to lack of funds. We might be having lot of Viswanathan Anands,Kutraleeswarans,PT Ushas,Leander Paes,Sania Mirzas,Narain Karthikeyans waiting for opportunities to prove themselves and excel in their respective fields. Why can't India win the Olympics gold in athletics and other events?A win in such an event would also be as ecstatic as the win in T20 world cup. Being a sportsperson myself, though I haven't travelled outside TN for sports, I have seen people facing a lot of difficulties to move forward and shine in various fields due to inadequacy of funds, unavailability of proper facilities and politics playing a major role rather than merit.

The Government should promote and help sports other than cricket to make them grow and become as famous as cricket. The media is also a culprit here since they don't give a big coverage to any other sport wins as they give to cricket. The media should also project and encourage upcoming stars in other sports. This would help them to get more sponsors enabling them to participate in more international events and thus bring laurels to our country.

Disclaimer: Whatever I have expressed is my opinion and NEED NOT coincide with the views of every other Indian.