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

[Van_Sri]

Pakpassion should discuss more about history of Pakistan Cricket and how it was the Asian Superpower in Cricket for First 50 Years - 1950-2000 Golden Years of Pakistan

 

[Van_Sri]

In Bowling Pakistan Contribution is huge like Reverse Swing and Doosra which shaped eventually World Cricket Bowling.

 

[ghalib kichlu]

So lovely that cricketers had to play charity matches to raise money when some former cricketer fell ill and required treatment.​

They still player over 50s league, luckily some of the older cricketers who didn’t join the rebel leagues can still analyse cricket and get a few views on YouTube

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Cricinfo’s decline has been obvious for a while now, and the biggest reason is it's unhealthy obsession with India. What was once a global cricket website has slowly turned into an extended PR arm for Indian cricket.

Every tour, every selection, every random net session somehow becomes a headline, while entire series involving other countries barely get a mention. If it’s not about India, it’s either buried, rushed, or framed through an Indian angle just to make it “relevant”. That’s not journalism, that’s market chasing.

No one is denying India’s importance in world cricket. But cricket does not begin and end in Mumbai. Fans from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and others are effectively treated as second-class readers. When your homepage looks the same regardless of who is playing, something is clearly broken.

The saddest part is that Cricinfo used to be better than this. It built it's reputation on balance, depth, and respect for the whole game. Now it feels predictable, biased, and frankly boring unless you’re only interested in one team.

If Cricinfo wants to be taken seriously again, it needs to remember that cricket is a global sport and not a single country fan blog. Otherwise, it shouldn’t pretend to be anything more than that.

 

[sweep_shot]

Cricinfo’s decline has been obvious for a while now, and the biggest reason is it's unhealthy obsession with India. What was once a global cricket website has slowly turned into an extended PR arm for Indian cricket.

Every tour, every selection, every random net session somehow becomes a headline, while entire series involving other countries barely get a mention. If it’s not about India, it’s either buried, rushed, or framed through an Indian angle just to make it “relevant”. That’s not journalism, that’s market chasing.

No one is denying India’s importance in world cricket. But cricket does not begin and end in Mumbai. Fans from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and others are effectively treated as second-class readers. When your homepage looks the same regardless of who is playing, something is clearly broken.

The saddest part is that Cricinfo used to be better than this. It built it's reputation on balance, depth, and respect for the whole game. Now it feels predictable, biased, and frankly boring unless you’re only interested in one team.

If Cricinfo wants to be taken seriously again, it needs to remember that cricket is a global sport and not a single country fan blog. Otherwise, it shouldn’t pretend to be anything more than that.

Before 2010, I actually used to read those Cricinfo articles. There was neutrality. There was good quality.

Modern day Cricinfo is just all about India. Why should any non-Indian care about this?

We sadly don't have any good neutral cricket website (alternative to Cricinfo).

 

[RidiculousMan]

Before 2010, I actually used to read those Cricinfo articles. There was neutrality. There was good quality.

Modern day Cricinfo is just all about India. Why should any non-Indian care about this?

We sadly don't have any good neutral cricket website (alternative to Cricinfo).

I read some of their old articles. They are so good. So valuable to read still.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Before 2010, I actually used to read those Cricinfo articles. There was neutrality. There was good quality.

Modern day Cricinfo is just all about India. Why should any non-Indian care about this?

We sadly don't have any good neutral cricket website (alternative to Cricinfo).

I still use it daily to check scores and read news regarding Pak cricket and England or anything of interest but not the articles anymore. As I said back in the day, their articles and writers used to be good.

 

[sweep_shot]

I still use it daily to check scores and read news regarding Pak cricket and England or anything of interest but not the articles anymore. As I said back in the day, their articles and writers used to be good.

Yeah. I also check scores. But, I no longer read articles. It is ridiculously biased.

 

[U$ofA]

Cricinfo’s decline has been obvious for a while now, and the biggest reason is it's unhealthy obsession with India. What was once a global cricket website has slowly turned into an extended PR arm for Indian cricket.

Every tour, every selection, every random net session somehow becomes a headline, while entire series involving other countries barely get a mention. If it’s not about India, it’s either buried, rushed, or framed through an Indian angle just to make it “relevant”. That’s not journalism, that’s market chasing.

No one is denying India’s importance in world cricket. But cricket does not begin and end in Mumbai. Fans from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and others are effectively treated as second-class readers. When your homepage looks the same regardless of who is playing, something is clearly broken.

The saddest part is that Cricinfo used to be better than this. It built it's reputation on balance, depth, and respect for the whole game. Now it feels predictable, biased, and frankly boring unless you’re only interested in one team.

If Cricinfo wants to be taken seriously again, it needs to remember that cricket is a global sport and not a single country fan blog. Otherwise, it shouldn’t pretend to be anything more than that.

Fair assessment.

Why hasn't an alternative site emerged? Given that Cricinfo has slanted Indian, the market has opened for a more balanced site. But for some reason no one has grabbed this opportunity. Why?

The only other alternative seems to also be Indian. From discussions on this thread, there seems to be a thirst for something new/different. Opportunity waiting? Or is it that there is no market? Or is there not enough of a market to be profitable?

 

[sweep_shot]

Fair assessment.

Why hasn't an alternative site emerged? Given that Cricinfo has slanted Indian, the market has opened for a more balanced site. But for some reason no one has grabbed this opportunity. Why?

The only other alternative seems to also be Indian. From discussions on this thread, there seems to be a thirst for something new/different. Opportunity waiting? Or is it that there is no market? Or is there not enough of a market to be profitable?

It is probably because cricket is not big enough outside of India/subcontinent. So, nobody wants to throw money in.

 

[U$ofA]

It is probably because cricket is not big enough outside of India/subcontinent. So, nobody wants to throw money in.

I guess we have the answer on why ESPNCricinfo has gone the way it has. It is catering to the market where it can be profitable.

 

[sweep_shot]

I have just realized there is an alternative to Cricinfo/Cricbuzz and that is Wisden.

Cricinfo is good for scores and records only. If you want to read good cricketing articles, visit Wisden.