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The decline of Cricinfo and their obsession with India: A disservice to global fans

No one globally cares about Pakistan cricket except Pakistanis..As long as it is showing as priority in pakistan edition, there should not be any concerns..
 
Cricinfo stopped pretending to be a global cricket website a decade ago if not longer.

Osman and Daniyal are good but I can just follow them on X, I rarely open the website directly anymore and definitely not for updates on Pak cricket.
 
This is false.
Pak cricket is going through nazuk soratehal but that’s ALWAYS been the case. This is what being a pak cricket fan is about. Our cricket is a reflection of our country and we own it. Proud of what we bring to world cricket.

Oh yeah we love Indian cricket too.
Kohli is a superstar in Pak regardless and he’s a superstar here on PP. but so are AB, Lara, McGrath and so on… you get the point.
 
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Obaidd said:
This is false.
Pak cricket is going through nazuk soratehal but that’s ALWAYS been the case. This is what being a pak cricket fan is about. Our cricket is a reflection of our country and we own it. Proud of what we bring to world cricket.

Oh yeah we love Indian cricket too.
Kohli is a superstar in Pak regardless and he’s a superstar here on PP. but so are AB, Lara, McGrath and so on… you get the point.
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I'm not sure why my previous quote was deleted, but let me try to put it in a sophisticated way..I appreciate you people celebrated Kohli..I appreciate the passion of all Pak cricket fans who look for the betterment of their team..but following this forum over years, what I observed was only constant comparisons of Pak players with Indian players, downplaying the emergence of any Indian cricketer, conspiracy theories, topics or post solely created to trigger Indians,..etc..the same celebrated Kohli was also ridiculed many times and was sinfully compared with Babar azam who is not even half his talent..your ecosystem revolves around India and off late the obsession has turned into a frustration and anger..there are other political things which I would not like to speak as this is not the right forum..just to put in simple words, stop blaming India and BCCI for everything and focus just on your cricket team, there are million things to fix..If your cricket improves, then your stature and status will also improve..that's what India did in last 15-20 years..Be a worthy rival first before fighting with us..
 
Rafale Nidhal said:
Global should be giving preference to ICC news and International cricket.
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Curious what news would come out of the ICC. Because the people there actually have work for something to happen.

For now they are just perfectly happy sitting on their rear ends and cashing that BCCI check.
 
IPL and WIPL is not till next year, but knowing what's on Ashwin mind for CSK is very important news 1 year ahead of time.
 
BDfanforever said:
IPL and WIPL is not till next year, but knowing what's on Ashwin mind for CSK is very important news 1 year ahead of time.
Click to expand...
May not be important for you. May be important for few others. CSK has a massive fan base. What is next? Twitter is not trending Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe match?
 
chakdeindian said:
No one globally cares about Pakistan cricket except Pakistanis..As long as it is showing as priority in pakistan edition, there should not be any concerns..
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Tell that to BCCI who don’t have the balls to avoid playing Pakistan because of the money it brings them.

BCCI got bullied into moving the Asia Cup to India because Pakistan cannot play in India, whereas the so-called richest and most powerful board could have stood its ground and stayed adamant that the Asia Cup will continue to be played in India without the participation of Pakistan.
 
chakdeindian said:
No one globally cares about Pakistan cricket except Pakistanis..As long as it is showing as priority in pakistan edition, there should not be any concerns..
Click to expand...
Who made you the arbiter of what global cricket fans should or shouldn't care about ? Countries like Sudan and Afghanistan are largely globally irrelevant, yet the major news networks still cover events in those nations and send reporters there. I doubt it's a profitable venture for them, but that's part of their remit.

Let's try an experiment and read Cricinfo's homepage. Even if you change the priority to Africa, the lead top story is "R Ashwin asks CSK for clarity ahead of IPL 2026."

If you click on Editor's Picks, we see the latest articles from their writers. 40% of the 20 features on Page 1 are about an Indian series, IPL or WPL. The headline advertising their latest Quiz - "Which Indian player was banned for two years in 2019 for age fraud ?" - wow if ever there was an enticing advertisement for a quiz.

Their quote of the day at the bottom of the page is from, of course, Shubman Gill.

Again, this is the Africa Edition. I completely appreciate the commercial reality that Indian finance and Indian audiences underpin the global game (BTW it's a disservice to many Indian fans to assume they wish to consume Indian team fluff pieces 24/7 and aren't interested in events elsewhere). However, Cricinfo should be honest with its audience and stop pretending to be the custodians of the global game or journalists who hold the powerful accountable because those days are long gone.
 
Looking at Cricbuzz, I'm pleasantly surprised by their homepage. The lead article is on two tier Tests. There's a former WI cricketer with a piece on the crisis in Caribbean cricket, another piece on bat manufacturing and one on Marnus Labuschagne's position in the Australian Test team.

The three featured videos in the sidebar are all Indian-centric, which is fine, it's an Indian website at the end of the day. However the rest of the news are a nice spread of global cricket news.

So really the issue is Cricinfo and their embarrassingly one-sided content.
 
Mamoon said:
Tell that to BCCI who don’t have the balls to avoid playing Pakistan because of the money it brings them.

BCCI got bullied into moving the Asia Cup to India because Pakistan cannot play in India, whereas the so-called richest and most powerful board could have stood its ground and stayed adamant that the Asia Cup will continue to be played in India without the participation of Pakistan.
Click to expand...
Oh..mensa certified genius..!! How many points did you reduce today to type the below incorrect sentence sir..
Mamoon said:
BCCI got bullied into moving the Asia Cup to India
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I agree for once that BCCI should have boycotted this Asian Cup..but as I had mentioned in another post, BCCI means business and they only work to fuel the cricket and keep International cricket alive for their larger perspective..No one can bully BCCI. Last time a team tried to do their way in CT and you know what happened..let's see, always BCCI is known for giving some sucker punch to Pakistan at the last moment like it did in CT2025..wait and watch
 
Markhor said:
Who made you the arbiter of what global cricket fans should or shouldn't care about ? Countries like Sudan and Afghanistan are largely globally irrelevant, yet the major news networks still cover events in those nations and send reporters there. I doubt it's a profitable venture for them, but that's part of their remit.

Let's try an experiment and read Cricinfo's homepage. Even if you change the priority to Africa, the lead top story is "R Ashwin asks CSK for clarity ahead of IPL 2026."

If you click on Editor's Picks, we see the latest articles from their writers. 40% of the 20 features on Page 1 are about an Indian series, IPL or WPL. The headline advertising their latest Quiz - "Which Indian player was banned for two years in 2019 for age fraud ?" - wow if ever there was an enticing advertisement for a quiz.

Their quote of the day at the bottom of the page is from, of course, Shubman Gill.

Again, this is the Africa Edition. I completely appreciate the commercial reality that Indian finance and Indian audiences underpin the global game (BTW it's a disservice to many Indian fans to assume they wish to consume Indian team fluff pieces 24/7 and aren't interested in events elsewhere). However, Cricinfo should be honest with its audience and stop pretending to be the custodians of the global game or journalists who hold the powerful accountable because those days are long gone.
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Not accurate. Africa edition has OZ vs SA series in top
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Not accurate. Africa edition has OZ vs SA series in top
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No that's match coverage - look at top stories underneath.

Why on earth is CSK's plans for IPL 2026 the top story for an African audience ?
 

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Markhor said:
Looking at Cricbuzz, I'm pleasantly surprised by their homepage. The lead article is on two tier Tests. There's a former WI cricketer with a piece on the crisis in Caribbean cricket, another piece on bat manufacturing and one on Marnus Labuschagne's position in the Australian Test team.

The three featured videos in the sidebar are all Indian-centric, which is fine, it's an Indian website at the end of the day. However the rest of the news are a nice spread of global cricket news.

So really the issue is Cricinfo and their embarrassingly one-sided content.
Click to expand...
Cricbuzz is, frankly, a terrible website; cluttered content, a dreadful color scheme, and a UI/UX that feels like it was designed to actively repel readers. Also, I can’t take any site seriously that hides articles behind a paywall.

ESPNCricinfo isn’t perfect, but it remains the best cricket website. As I said before, like any business, their strategy is heavily geared towards the audience that brings them the most revenue, which is why their coverage of Indian cricket far outshines everything else. That said, I still visit it regularly because they employ some of the finest cricket writers, people whose opinions I genuinely value, like Osman Samiuddin, Sid Monga, Andrew Fidel Fernando. A few of their English writers are solid too. And of course, the UI doesn’t give you eye cancer.
 
We need a cricket website that is neutral.

Cricinfo and Cricbuzz are practically Indian sites/Indian propaganda mouthpieces. :inti
 
chakdeindian said:
I'm not sure why my previous quote was deleted, but let me try to put it in a sophisticated way..I appreciate you people celebrated Kohli..I appreciate the passion of all Pak cricket fans who look for the betterment of their team..but following this forum over years, what I observed was only constant comparisons of Pak players with Indian players, downplaying the emergence of any Indian cricketer, conspiracy theories, topics or post solely created to trigger Indians,..etc..the same celebrated Kohli was also ridiculed many times and was sinfully compared with Babar azam who is not even half his talent..your ecosystem revolves around India and off late the obsession has turned into a frustration and anger..there are other political things which I would not like to speak as this is not the right forum..just to put in simple words, stop blaming India and BCCI for everything and focus just on your cricket team, there are million things to fix..If your cricket improves, then your stature and status will also improve..that's what India did in last 15-20 years..Be a worthy rival first before fighting with us..
Click to expand...

Yes we compare our players to Indian players. There are dozens of such threads on PP but many created by Indian posters too.

As the centre of power in cricket yeah sure responsibility for where cricket is today should lie with BCCI.

There are lots of threads here on PP that discuss lots of different things in cricket and beyond. The obsession with India is very real but trust me a lot of it is banter.
It’s a sports forum at the end of the day and this is how rivalries go.

It is to PP’s credit that fans from across the globe visit this forum. Not just to check the pulse on Pak cricket and our special relationship with Indian cricket but there are threads on series happening from around the world right now.

PP’s coverage is so diverse in spite of being a Pak forum. As I said earlier, Cricinfo stopped pretending to be a global cricket forum at least a decade ago.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Cricbuzz is, frankly, a terrible website; cluttered content, a dreadful color scheme, and a UI/UX that feels like it was designed to actively repel readers. Also, I can’t take any site seriously that hides articles behind a paywall.

ESPNCricinfo isn’t perfect, but it remains the best cricket website. As I said before, like any business, their strategy is heavily geared towards the audience that brings them the most revenue, which is why their coverage of Indian cricket far outshines everything else. That said, I still visit it regularly because they employ some of the finest cricket writers, people whose opinions I genuinely value, like Osman Samiuddin, Sid Monga, Andrew Fidel Fernando. A few of their English writers are solid too. And of course, the UI doesn’t give you eye cancer.
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Yes, but all of that becomes moot if they are going to brand themselves as "ESPN Cricinfo" i.e. Global, but 90% of content and coverage is geared toward one type of audience.

They should have separate dedicated website and title it something like "ESPN Indian CricInfo". They are absolutely welcome to post all the WPL, what's on Ashwin's mind, Day in the life of Indian Crickter, etc.
 
BDfanforever said:
Yes, but all of that becomes moot if they are going to brand themselves as "ESPN Cricinfo" i.e. Global, but 90% of content and coverage is geared toward one type of audience.

They should have separate dedicated website and title it something like "ESPN Indian CricInfo". They are absolutely welcome to post all the WPL, what's on Ashwin's mind, Day in the life of Indian Crickter, etc.
Click to expand...
Well cricket is also regarded as a 'global sport', but we all know that it is a completely Indian-dominated sport at this point. It’s run by Indians, watched mostly by Indians, and the biggest profits are made by Indians. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the biggest cricket website in the world is also tailored first and foremost to that audience.
 
Markhor said:
Who made you the arbiter of what global cricket fans should or shouldn't care about ?
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I'm not an arbitrator but an observer..an observer need not be made..
Markhor said:
Countries like Sudan and Afghanistan are largely globally irrelevant, yet the major news networks still cover events in those nations and send reporters there. I doubt it's a profitable venture for them, but that's part of their remit.
Click to expand...
Im not clear are you referring to cricket or global politics..if its global politics every country is relevant and the news channel cover only the news that is globally relevant..and even in that these news won't come in prime time slots or breaking news..w.r.t cricket it's the same concept, reports and reporters are present for all countries but priority is given based on viewership..
 
chakdeindian said:
Oh..mensa certified genius..!! How many points did you reduce today to type the below incorrect sentence sir..

I agree for once that BCCI should have boycotted this Asian Cup..but as I had mentioned in another post, BCCI means business and they only work to fuel the cricket and keep International cricket alive for their larger perspective..No one can bully BCCI. Last time a team tried to do their way in CT and you know what happened..let's see, always BCCI is known for giving some sucker punch to Pakistan at the last moment like it did in CT2025..wait and watch
Click to expand...
I didn’t say anything incorrect. You are just in denial.

India was the one that isolated itself when it came to the CT. They peddled the narrative that Pakistan isn’t safe to travel, but no other cricket board gave a damn about India’s sentiment and played their respective matches in Pakistan.

India ended up playing their own matches in the UAE, whereas their expectation was that other boards will also refuse to play in Pakistan. That didn’t happen.

In the Asia Cup, PCB did what BCCI failed to do in the CT; they forced the whole tournament out of India.

What stopped BCCI and other teams from playing their matches in India with only Pakistan playing their matches in the UAE?
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Well cricket is also regarded as a 'global sport', but we all know it is a completely Indian-dominated sport at this point. It’s run by Indians, watched mostly by Indians, and the biggest profits are made by Indians. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the biggest cricket website in the world is also tailored first and foremost to that audience.
Click to expand...

I think BDfanforever, Markhor and others are reminiscing about the golden days from around 2006- 2010 when there still was significant coverage of international cricket involving Pakistan & West Indies in addition to Big 3 countries.

That era is long gone. International cricket's importance has reduced significantly, leagues have grown and there is significant women's cricket coverage now as well.

And their editorial policies over the years have reflected these changes imo .
 
Nikhil_cric said:
I think BDfanforever, Markhor and others are reminiscing about the golden days from around 2006- 2010 when there still was significant coverage of international cricket involving Pakistan & West Indies in addition to Big 3 countries.

That era is long gone. International cricket's importance has reduced significantly, leagues have grown and there is significant women's cricket coverage now as well.

And their editorial policies over the years have reflected these changes imo .
Click to expand...
Above all, it's no longer owned by the people who started the website. It's owned by a giant corporation that wants a return on its investment. Even if it's editors want to give more lime-light to other countries, ultimately they are beholden to their corporate bosses.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Above all, it's no longer owned by the people who started the website. It's owned by a giant corporation that wants a return on its investment. Even if it's editors want to give more lime-light to other countries, ultimately they are beholden to their corporate bosses.
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It’s editorial team is so biased and has a narrow outlook imo. I’d stop reading at Sambit Bal..
 
I use Cricinfo just to check scores.

I don't care about the articles and haven't read those articles in a long time. Those articles tend to be biased and low-quality like the Indian media. :inti
 
sweep_shot said:
I use Cricinfo just to check scores.

I don't care about the articles and haven't read those articles in a long time. Those articles tend to be biased and low-quality like the Indian media. :inti
Click to expand...
Honestly, difficult to find mature writing on cricinfo.
 
chakdeindian said:
I'm not an arbitrator but an observer..an observer need not be made..

Im not clear are you referring to cricket or global politics..if its global politics every country is relevant and the news channel cover only the news that is globally relevant..and even in that these news won't come in prime time slots or breaking news..w.r.t cricket it's the same concept, reports and reporters are present for all countries but priority is given based on viewership..
Click to expand...
This goes back to my earlier point. Cricinfo, unlike other cricket websites, profits from its reputation as the longest running and most definitive online source for world cricket news. Its a pioneer in its field and holds a unique respect amongst fans.

Therefore it has a responsibility to reasonably cover the global game. As stated above, even after switching editions to your preferred region, it's disproportionately Indian centric.

Let's take the NBC News website (not endorsing them, just using as an example). It's a commercial American news outlet. I fully expect an American slant given the overwhelmingly majority of its audience are American. Yet you can find plenty of articles on events from Africa to Asia to South America. I doubt these drive much traffic or generate much revenue - but if you claim to report world news, then report world news.

Cricinfo's coverage of non-Big 3 nations has dwindled to perfunctory match previews and reviews, squad announcements and hirings/firings. I get for most casuals that's enough - but gone are the deep dives, investigative reports or regular long-form interviews that distinguished Cricinfo from the rest.

It doesn't even have a native correspondent for New Zealand, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. NZ literally won the WTC four years ago and regularly competes in ICC finals ! WI have tons of writers and podcasters they could employ. ZIM barely plays any cricket - would it bankrupt Cricinfo to pay a local reporter for a piece every few months ? They cohost the next ODI WC ! AFG are literally the biggest success story of Associate cricket in years, and reached the SF of T20 WC last year. Also voiceless.

Thankfully Cricinfo's monopoly is over and outlets like YouTube, podcasts, forums, and blog spaces are filling the vacuum.
 
I only visit cricinfo for live scores. I pretty muchstopped reading their articles about 20 years ago. May read the odd one here and there, but so cringe. It’s all nerdy Indian stat comparisons, wannabe freshie and cringe wit in articles and all sorts of other useless nonsense.

Note to authors just write a decent article and don’t attempt to be funny / witty
 
sweep_shot said:
I use Cricinfo just to check scores.

I don't care about the articles and haven't read those articles in a long time. Those articles tend to be biased and low-quality like the Indian media. :inti
Click to expand...

Obaidd said:
Honestly, difficult to find mature writing on cricinfo.
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Like freedom of speech, there is also freedom of choice. Simple solution, just don't go to the website. There are other cricket websites.

I am sure PP will welcome more eyeballs time on the site.
 
TheSultan said:
I only visit cricinfo for live scores. I pretty muchstopped reading their articles about 20 years ago. May read the odd one here and there, but so cringe. It’s all nerdy Indian stat comparisons, wannabe freshie and cringe wit in articles and all sorts of other useless nonsense.

Note to authors just write a decent article and don’t attempt to be funny / witty
Click to expand...
There are other sites for scores too. So, easy to avoid the website all together.
 
sweep_shot said:
I use Cricinfo just to check scores.

I don't care about the articles and haven't read those articles in a long time. Those articles tend to be biased and low-quality like the Indian media. :inti
Click to expand...

Same but lately IndiaInfo is not even good for that, the scorecard page keeps sort of fluttering for me
 
Markhor said:
This goes back to my earlier point. Cricinfo, unlike other cricket websites, profits from its reputation as the longest running and most definitive online source for world cricket news. Its a pioneer in its field and holds a unique respect amongst fans.

Therefore it has a responsibility to reasonably cover the global game. As stated above, even after switching editions to your preferred region, it's disproportionately Indian centric.

Let's take the NBC News website (not endorsing them, just using as an example). It's a commercial American news outlet. I fully expect an American slant given the overwhelmingly majority of its audience are American. Yet you can find plenty of articles on events from Africa to Asia to South America. I doubt these drive much traffic or generate much revenue - but if you claim to report world news, then report world news.

Cricinfo's coverage of non-Big 3 nations has dwindled to perfunctory match previews and reviews, squad announcements and hirings/firings. I get for most casuals that's enough - but gone are the deep dives, investigative reports or regular long-form interviews that distinguished Cricinfo from the rest.

It doesn't even have a native correspondent for New Zealand, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. NZ literally won the WTC four years ago and regularly competes in ICC finals ! WI have tons of writers and podcasters they could employ. ZIM barely plays any cricket - would it bankrupt Cricinfo to pay a local reporter for a piece every few months ? They cohost the next ODI WC ! AFG are literally the biggest success story of Associate cricket in years, and reached the SF of T20 WC last year. Also voiceless.

Thankfully Cricinfo's monopoly is over and outlets like YouTube, podcasts, forums, and blog spaces are filling the vacuum.
Click to expand...
Excellent points.

Unfortunately, the podcasts, forums are started with certain content and eventually end up catering to the largest audience. Dare I say, even PP has become very India centric! :)
 
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