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

[DeadlyVenom]

Thank you for the explanation. Now read the thread title. It is about Cricinfo. Stick to the topic .

You are shifting goalposts. You started with podcasts, reviews and platforms, asking for one that even has features on Pak cricket, and when you couldn't name any good Indian ones, and posters named PP, you have decided to stick to the thread topic. Very naughty behaviour

Despite 250 million + overseas Pakistanis , it's truly a shame that PAK haven't produced a decent platform for features even on PAK cricket, let alone international cricket.

PAK podcasts and reviews are full of mediocrities like Behram Qazi and their ilk . Even Indian Cricinfo is better at covering PAK cricket .

 

[DeadlyVenom]

So i have not seen much evidence on cricinfo "ignoring" other cricket matches. Mostly whinging about why they are covering Indian cricket. They cover all the domestic matches. Just a standard whining. It is a well designed website which allows you to visit different categories. It looks more a problem not knowing how to use a website with simple interface than any bias. All they have to do is click the teams and pick your team if will display all the news related to the country.

Out of interest do you believe that the Indian aunty retiring from women's cricket is as big news as Federer retiring from tennis?

 

[jnaveen1980]

Out of interest do you believe that the Indian aunty retiring from women's cricket is as big news as Federer retiring from tennis?

Not sure which news you are referring to. Much like you won't find news about Federer in NBA website you won't find about Federer on cricinfo.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Thank you for the explanation. Now read the thread title. It is about Cricinfo. Stick to the topic .

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

You are shifting goalposts. You started with podcasts, reviews and platforms, asking for one that even has features on Pak cricket, and when you couldn't name any good Indian ones, and posters named PP, you have decided to stick to the thread topic. Very naughty behaviour

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

You are shifting goalposts. You started with podcasts, reviews and platforms, asking for one that even has features on Pak cricket, and when you couldn't name any good Indian ones, and posters named PP, you have decided to stick to the thread topic. Very naughty behaviour

I remember reading comments from fellow Indian fans on 'The Pavilion' YouTube channel, saying it was far better than any Indian show, which are usually full of bias and cringe. Even Indian fans enjoyed it.

And here we have some andhbhakhts who spend most of their day on PP but still lack the basic decency to acknowledge the freedom they get here to express themselves. This is something sorely missing on Indian forums and news portals, where any disagreement with the majority quickly turns into an abuse fest.

 

[Obaidd]

cricinfo was never great sports journalism to begin with and it has greatly regressed under Sambit Bal.

I stopped checking out cricinfo ages ago and it’s nice to see that other serious posters share my disdain for it.

As @TheSultan mentioned, their writers are too wannabe-ish.

Broadly speaking: in US universities and other places the demographic ’Indian Male IT’ is the least fancied. At cricinfo though, it seems like they have filled their ranks with this particular demographic. The non-showering stats guy from Bangalore who’s never been out of India.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

It's interesting to note that while Cricinfo has become dominated by "non showering" Indians , there hasn't been a single example of a cricketing news website from any of PAK/WI/SL given in this thread that covers their cricket even to whatever degree CI does.

 

[TheSultan]

It's interesting to note that while Cricinfo has become dominated by "non showering" Indians , there hasn't been a single example of a cricketing news website from any of PAK/WI/SL given in this thread that covers their cricket even to whatever degree CI does.

And you’re a prolific poster on a Pakistani forum! There’s obviously something missing from your comrades for you to have a desire to engage in quality education from Pakistani posters

 

[Nikhil_cric]

And you’re a prolific poster on a Pakistani forum! There’s obviously something missing from your comrades for you to have a desire to engage in quality education from Pakistani posters

This is a fan forum . Cricinfo is not . A difference too many people seem to miss. Perhaps you should consider furthering your education

 

[Obaidd]

They let the actually funny ones like Jarrod Kimber and Andy Zaltzman go and are now filled with the ‘cringe-wit’ staties I described earlier.

 

[TheSultan]

This is a fan forum . Cricinfo is not . A difference too many people seem to miss. Perhaps you should consider furthering your education

That’s not my point young one. The point is, if Indian cricket journalism is so great, is there any need to frequent a forum that is predominantly a country you don’t really have much love for.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

That’s not my point young one. The point is, if Indian cricket journalism is so great, is there any need to frequent a forum that is predominantly a country you don’t really have much love for.

Again , I don't see where I have said anything about the quality of cricket journalism

I asked what the alternatives are and there has been no answer .

I don't see what the confusion is.

 

[chakdeindian]

If you replace "cricinfo" in the thread title with either "Pakistan cricket" or "PCB" or "Pakistan fans", the meaning still won't change and would be more relevant..

 

[rpant_gabba]

Again , I don't see where I have said anything about the quality of cricket journalism

I asked what the alternatives are and there has been no answer .

I don't see what the confusion is.

forgive him. our britistanis are still coming to terms with the test series result

 

[TheSultan]

Again , I don't see where I have said anything about the quality of cricket journalism

I asked what the alternatives are and there has been no answer .

I don't see what the confusion is.

There’s not an alternative because there’s no market for nonsense.

All the cricket analysis most people need are sky sports discussions

 

[rpant_gabba]

There’s not an alternative because there’s no market for nonsense.

All the cricket analysis most people need are sky sports discussions

so what exactly are you whining about?

As has been explained multiple times, ESPN owned cricinfo is commercial site with main goal of driving revenue.

Too bad there are 7 useless leeches in ICC in this regard.

Atleast 2 of them, SA and NZ put up good teams.

rest of the countries are circling the proverbial drain, all while living off of BCCI hand outs

 

[jnaveen1980]

so what exactly are you whining about?

As has been explained multiple times, ESPN owned cricinfo is commercial site with main goal of driving revenue.

Too bad there are 7 useless leeches in ICC in this regard.

Atleast 2 of them, SA and NZ put up good teams.

rest of the countries are circling the proverbial drain, all while living off of BCCI hand outs

I always feel for guys who do cricinfo commentary for poor cricket matches like the one that is happening now at Tarouba. They should get bonus for doing this.

 

[rpant_gabba]

I always feel for guys who do cricinfo commentary for poor cricket matches like the one that is happening now at Tarouba. They should get bonus for doing this.

Yup and it should taken from ICC distributions for these countries. If you want coverage pay for it.

BCCI had to pay doordarshan before.

Let these losers fund the coverage they are asking for

 

[TheSultan]

so what exactly are you whining about?

As has been explained multiple times, ESPN owned cricinfo is commercial site with main goal of driving revenue.

Too bad there are 7 useless leeches in ICC in this regard.

Atleast 2 of them, SA and NZ put up good teams.

rest of the countries are circling the proverbial drain, all while living off of BCCI hand outs

I’m not whining, just giving my opinion.

I didn’t read the rest of your nonsensical post. Note to Indians - less is more bud buds

 

[rpant_gabba]

I’m not whining, just giving my opinion.

I didn’t read the rest of your nonsensical post. Note to Indians - less is more bud buds

Thanks for clearing that up

 

[DeadlyVenom]

It's interesting to note that while Cricinfo has become dominated by "non showering" Indians , there hasn't been a single example of a cricketing news website from any of PAK/WI/SL given in this thread that covers their cricket even to whatever degree CI does.

This is a dumb argument. Just because there is no alternative then people should applaud the falling standards of Cricinfo?

What's wrong with comparing it to the way it was run before and the high standards it set for cricket analysis?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

This is a dumb argument. Just because there is no alternative then people should applaud the falling standards of Cricinfo?

What's wrong with comparing it to the way it was run before and the high standards it set for cricket analysis?

There's nothing wrong with it.

But one would assume that there is a gap in the market for alternatives. But they don't seem to exist

 

[TheSultan]

There's nothing wrong with it.

But one would assume that there is a gap in the market for alternatives. But they don't seem to exist

As I said, there’s no gap in the market. No-one wants to read nonsensical, bloated articles and nerdy stat comparisons.

There’s enough cricket content on sports channels and various podcasts to satisfy everyone

 

[TheSultan]

And just to show my impartiality I’m not a big fan of the likes of Daniyaal Rasool or Osman Samiuddin either. Osman was good initially, but he contracted the bug that got Rameez and Bazid by trying his hand at humour

 

[U$ofA]

This is a dumb argument. Just because there is no alternative then people should applaud the falling standards of Cricinfo?

What's wrong with comparing it to the way it was run before and the high standards it set for cricket analysis?

The question that immediately pops up is....Why is there no alternative?

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I’m not whining, just giving my opinion.

I didn’t read the rest of your nonsensical post. Note to Indians - less is more bud buds

That's probably the best decision you have made. Giving attention to frustrated Canadian cabbies should be the absolute last thing on your mind.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

As I said, there’s no gap in the market. No-one wants to read nonsensical, bloated articles and nerdy stat comparisons.

There’s enough cricket content on sports channels and various podcasts to satisfy everyone

So, you don't believe there was a decline and that it was always rubbish? Begs the question what are you even doing on this thread?

 

[Obaidd]

On a serious note, to their credit, statsguru is a service to cricket. People who know how to use it like @W63L35 have educated us all on cricket with numbers.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

On a serious note, to their credit, statsguru is a service to cricket. People who know how to use it like @W63L35 have educated us all on cricket with numbers.

Yeah. That's the best thing about them.

 

[jnaveen1980]

If anything they have gotten much better. THey have their own awards. They have added MVP to the stats. Ask cricinfo is a great feature. They have included ICC rankings. Also they have added fan voting. Keep doing the job cricinfo.

 

[jnaveen1980]

There's nothing wrong with it.

But one would assume that there is a gap in the market for alternatives. But they don't seem to exist

Quality = Lack of India related news . That is the definition for some. People should worry about what is missing rather than what is being covered.

 

[Obaidd]

I think a lot of fan behaviour is also reactionary. IPL ‘banned’ Pak cricketers so most Pak fans boycotted IPL. That doesn’t happen without also ‘boycotting’ cricinfo.

It didn’t help that the quality also actually regressed. The lack of diversity in that group is unsettling.

 

[Abstraction1]

I agree, the decline has been evident - but it is to be expected unfortunately.

It's the same reason why you get some random footballer sheepishly wearing an Indian Jersey despite not knowing what Cricket is (Let alone watching it!).

It's about money and sponsorship.

The people over at CricInfo couldn't really care less about Indian Cricket. That's probably the Indian journalists there too - It's all about clicks.
Clicks = Revenue.
Indians bring in the most clicks by virtue of a high population and they'll eat up and crap you through at them so long as it is positive. Quality therefore suffers to allow for quantity.

 

[BDfanforever]

If anything they have gotten much better. THey have their own awards. They have added MVP to the stats. Ask cricinfo is a great feature. They have included ICC rankings. Also they have added fan voting. Keep doing the job cricinfo.

Their Statsguru is really terrible though. They have made zero improvement on that. They need to implement more AI solutions especially for this feature.

For T20I I have to filter through hundreds of countries for the Top 10 teams now that T20 is played by many countries.

I havent tried AskCricinfo much yet, but their top tips are for IPL and CSK not surprising.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Lol some people defending cricinfo here as if their life depended on it.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Their Statsguru is really terrible though. They have made zero improvement on that. They need to implement more AI solutions especially for this feature.

For T20I I have to filter through hundreds of countries for the Top 10 teams now that T20 is played by many countries.

I havent tried AskCricinfo much yet, but their top tips are for IPL and CSK not surprising.

If you haven't tried Askcricinfo then that means you don't know much about site much. lol Statsguru is for different purpose. Filtering T20I why do you filter through hundreds of countries? Choose test. Select the countries. then switch to T20.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Lol some people defending cricinfo here as if their life depended on it.

Reverse is what happening. You are attacking purely because you saw a couple of Indian related news lol

 

[sweep_shot]

To put it bluntly, Cricinfo is garbage.

 

[jnaveen1980]

cricinfo has made me check the scorecard with their caption

Live - Hope's blitz helps WI make 119 in final ten​

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Lol some people defending cricinfo here as if their life depended on it.

let them post one negative remark for the mighty Indian cricket team... then we will see the real bhangra!

 

[BDfanforever]

If you haven't tried Askcricinfo then that means you don't know much about site much. lol Statsguru is for different purpose. Filtering T20I why do you filter through hundreds of countries? Choose test. Select the countries. then switch to T20.

AskCricinfo doesnt seem all that intuitive to be honest. It seems to work mostly for their predefined queries. It's also in Beta.

 

[Kaptan]

What has declined over the past few years is the performance of Pakistan's cricket team.Yet, their fans remain convinced their borderline minnow squad deserves the same spotlight as powerhouses like India and Australia. Any person or platform treating them like minnows is swiftly labelled a sellout.

 

[jnaveen1980]

AskCricinfo doesnt seem all that intuitive to be honest. It seems to work mostly for their predefined queries. It's also in Beta.


View attachment 156830

That is why every website has a feedback section where you can share your feedback instead of talking about it in a forum which none of the cricinfo staff is going to visit.

 

[Obaidd]

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.

The fact that they don’t have a correspondent from WI is shameful but hey who’s worried.

WI we all know has one of the richest cricket cultures and with significant history, what someone would call real ‘cricket heritage’.

The thing with cricinfo is that they do not pretend to be a global platform.

 

[sweep_shot]

They should rename Cricinfo to CricIndia. That would be a fitting name.

It is not a global cricket site (practically speaking).

 

[ElRaja]

They let the actually funny ones like Jarrod Kimber and Andy Zaltzman go and are now filled with the ‘cringe-wit’ staties I described earlier.

its a cultural thing, the people who replaced them cater to indian humour, which is very very different to non-indian humour. theres a strong element of psychophancy that runs through indian discourse of celebrities, which has bled into the fabric of cricinfo. its a website for indians, the stats and scorecards are cool, thats all the sites good for to a non-indian.

 

[Obaidd]

its a cultural thing, the people who replaced them cater to indian humour, which is very very different to non-indian humour. theres a strong element of psychophancy that runs through indian discourse of celebrities, which has bled into the fabric of cricinfo. its a website for indians, the stats and scorecards are cool, thats all the sites good for to a non-indian.

This is true but it goes a bit further. Even from India they hire for a typical profile. Writing styles also, folks would agree, are very similar across their local writers. It’s a really narrow spectrum.

For example their editorial board (even team) lacks gender diversity. Firdose Moonda comes to mind for SA and the occasional piece from Sharda.

If it was ESPN’s global site it would have been a scandal but hey.. here Indian posters would remind you of the feedback section.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Are you happy with the coverage?

 

[saimayubera]

Improve your economy and you will get "coverage" too.

Poorer country and cricket team than Bangladesh now.

 

[Hikaru]

Truth is, no one care about Pakistan Cricket including Cricinfo.

 

[pratiktc]

Cricinfo's analysis or writeup pieces are now no longer good storytelling nor are they much interesting. It is interesting to see their observations on control figures or play and miss data but it seems too cut and dried cause and effect statistical analysis for casual fan like me.

Especially now with focused podcasts/analyst shows each which have their own USP.

In past for an Ind -Eng series I would read daily report, wait for end series player evaluations eagerly that Cricinfo generates.

Now I can watch Iffi-Wasay for analysis/forecast in Hindi-Urdu with irreverent humour twist. I can also watch 'Stick To Cricket' podcast which happens after every match with Bumble, Cook, Vaughan and Tufnell for English version with their own humour style. For IPL match analysis I much prefer Cricbuzz post match video breakdowns with likes of Sehwag and Nehra in Hindi.

Whether India focused or not, Cricinfo is losing its old audience (maybe it is attracting new one which enjoys all this)

 

[RexRex]

Cricinfo's analysis or writeup pieces are now no longer good storytelling nor are they much interesting. It is interesting to see their observations on control figures or play and miss data but it seems too cut and dried cause and effect statistical analysis for casual fan like me.

Especially now with focused podcasts/analyst shows each which have their own USP.

In past for an Ind -Eng series I would read daily report, wait for end series player evaluations eagerly that Cricinfo generates.

Now I can watch Iffi-Wasay for analysis/forecast in Hindi-Urdu with irreverent humour twist. I can also watch 'Stick To Cricket' podcast which happens after every match with Bumble, Cook, Vaughan and Tufnell for English version with their own humour style. For IPL match analysis I much prefer Cricbuzz post match video breakdowns with likes of Sehwag and Nehra in Hindi.

Whether India focused or not, Cricinfo is losing its old audience (maybe it is attracting new one which enjoys all this)

It's a pretty boring site tbh apart from the Statsguru section. Or maybe it's just because we're all growing old and our childhood heroes/pundits have long been retired. And yes the indianisation doesn't help.

 

[BouncerGuy]

STAY ON TOPIC NOW

 

[Bhaijaan]

Cricbuzz has been my go to website to keep track of scorecards and series stats for a long time.

I only use Cricinfo for the Statsguru feature.

 

[JibranAnsari]

They sell what people want to buy. I use it for scorecards and stats and does a wonderful job in that.

 

[Mesozoic]

Are you happy with the coverage?

Absoute Gold...

 

[U$ofA]

They sell what people want to buy. I use it for scorecards and stats and does a wonderful job in that.

Agree. Their main product is scores and stats. That is what people come in for. The rest are just add on. Take it or leave it. We have you in, take a look at other things if you want type of situation.

Main traffic driver is the live scores. That is pretty much what Cricinfo started out as and still pretty much is.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Cricinfo's analysis or writeup pieces are now no longer good storytelling nor are they much interesting. It is interesting to see their observations on control figures or play and miss data but it seems too cut and dried cause and effect statistical analysis for casual fan like me.

Especially now with focused podcasts/analyst shows each which have their own USP.

In past for an Ind -Eng series I would read daily report, wait for end series player evaluations eagerly that Cricinfo generates.

Now I can watch Iffi-Wasay for analysis/forecast in Hindi-Urdu with irreverent humour twist. I can also watch 'Stick To Cricket' podcast which happens after every match with Bumble, Cook, Vaughan and Tufnell for English version with their own humour style. For IPL match analysis I much prefer Cricbuzz post match video breakdowns with likes of Sehwag and Nehra in Hindi.

Whether India focused or not, Cricinfo is losing its old audience (maybe it is attracting new one which enjoys all this)

Good post. Most people have migrated elsewhere for analysis and discussions. I was the same as you before, the match preview, daily report and post match reviews were excellent and I used to love reading them. I still like their smart stats and impact analysis. They are usually spot on.
It does seem to be attracting a passionate new audience as evidenced by this thread, and the passionate defence of Cricinfo by many posters, perhaps as @RexRex said it's just a case of us getting old.

 

[Markhor]

Are you happy with the coverage?

You are a better poster than to make cheap shots like this.

Nobody accuses Pakistan of being a semi-competent cricket team in any format.

However to say the depth of coverage a team gets should depend on their results is disingenous when you consider New Zealand consistently reach the latter stages of ICC events, won the World Test Championship in 2021 (which your team has yet to do) but Cricinfo don't even have a native Kiwi correspondent.

Yet we have articles on what snacks Jasprit Bumrah likes to have.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/does-jasprit-bumrah-like-british-snacks-or-indian-snacks-more-1498396

For those who grew up with a genuinely multinational, gold standard cricket website - it's sad to see it descend to this.

 

[Markhor]

Improve your economy and you will get "coverage" too.

Poorer country and cricket team than Bangladesh now.

And a big thank you for your contributions to Pakistan's ailing economy by contributing traffic to a Pakistani website, and putting money in the pockets of the Pakistanis who run it.

It's utterly comical how someone who so eagerly defends the tricolour chooses to hide under a handle named after a Pakistani cricketer.

I don't know what the Indian equivalent of the US Profile in Courage award is but I wouldn't bother nominating yourself.

 

[jnaveen1980]

You are a better poster than to make cheap shots like this.

Nobody accuses Pakistan of being a semi-competent cricket team in any format.

However to say the depth of coverage a team gets should depend on their results is disingenous when you consider New Zealand consistently reach the latter stages of ICC events, won the World Test Championship in 2021 (which your team has yet to do) but Cricinfo don't even have a native Kiwi correspondent.

Yet we have articles on what snacks Jasprit Bumrah likes to have.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/does-jasprit-bumrah-like-british-snacks-or-indian-snacks-more-1498396

For those who grew up with a genuinely multinational, gold standard cricket website - it's sad to see it descend to this.

I never bumped into this article. But it says buzz. So they have a tabloid section where they share this. It is no different from using Kohli's name randomly to gain more viewership. ESPN is going to do anything to get their revenues up. Easy marketable nature of Indian cricket is not just exploited by cricinfo but also several pakistan youtubers, social media journalists from Pakistan.

I will give you an example. Which cricket video has the highest views in youtube? Can you tell me? Dinesh karthik's last over six in Nidahas trophy final. 247 million views. Second highest? Again Dinesh Karthik's 19th over in Nidahas final 154 million views. If you go to SKY cricket check which one has the highest views

1) Virat kohli and Bairstow have a heated exchange 5.6 million views
2) DK meets Virat kohli 4 million view
3) Murali spin elivery 3.5 million views
4) 3.3 million views recently concluded Test series presentation

You don't see Ashes cricket having that many views. Most of the highest viewed videos have DK in it.

Same goes for every cricket online podcast going around the world. Grade cricketer even jokingly say before the start of the program "Kohli MSD Tendulkar... let us start the program" It is to underline how important it is to cater to Indian market.

ESPN is going to be no different. Pakistan media is no different. Pakistan online journalists are no different. Australian, English journalists are no different. That is why i say raise your concern when they completely abandon other internationals. Things like "my news is not appearing on certain section of the website" is over reaction. Most of us go there just to check scorecards and stats anyway.

 

[charlie007]

Cricinfo's match coverage today

The Hundred (Men's) - seriously
Ire vs Pak (Women's T20I) - seriously
One Day Cup - You gotta be kidding now, not even heard of it!
The Hundred (Women's) - really
Pak vs Windies ODI is the 5th priority tonight

If you looked inside the stadium where the Pak-WI matches took place, that might give an indication of why! Frankly, I was shocked how few showed up and this wasn’t even a Test match being played!

 

[saimayubera]

And a big thank you for your contributions to Pakistan's ailing economy by contributing traffic to a Pakistani website, and putting money in the pockets of the Pakistanis who run it.

It's utterly comical how someone who so eagerly defends the tricolour chooses to hide under a handle named after a Pakistani cricketer.

I don't know what the Indian equivalent of the US Profile in Courage award is but I wouldn't bother nominating yourself.

You just don't get sarcasm.

It is a reference to how Pakistani fans anoint new players as saviours and say their era has begun only for it to never arrive as the players regress.

Shaehhen era. Babar era. Umar Akmal era etc.

Saim Ayub era has ended tbh lol.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

You are a better poster than to make cheap shots like this.

Nobody accuses Pakistan of being a semi-competent cricket team in any format.

However to say the depth of coverage a team gets should depend on their results is disingenous when you consider New Zealand consistently reach the latter stages of ICC events, won the World Test Championship in 2021 (which your team has yet to do) but Cricinfo don't even have a native Kiwi correspondent.

Yet we have articles on what snacks Jasprit Bumrah likes to have.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/does-jasprit-bumrah-like-british-snacks-or-indian-snacks-more-1498396

For those who grew up with a genuinely multinational, gold standard cricket website - it's sad to see it descend to this.

It seems many ( not all) of our Indian friends have randomly picked up the defence Cricinfo as their latest weird anti Pakistan stance.

@pratiktc nailed it with his post. There has been an obvious decline in quality. Yet we have elaborate defenses of the site based on the lack of alternatives, advice for where to click, random comments about Pakistanis economy and cheap trolling.

 

[Markhor]

I never bumped into this article. But it says buzz. So they have a tabloid section where they share this. It is no different from using Kohli's name randomly to gain more viewership. ESPN is going to do anything to get their revenues up. Easy marketable nature of Indian cricket is not just exploited by cricinfo but also several pakistan youtubers, social media journalists from Pakistan.

I will give you an example. Which cricket video has the highest views in youtube? Can you tell me? Dinesh karthik's last over six in Nidahas trophy final. 247 million views. Second highest? Again Dinesh Karthik's 19th over in Nidahas final 154 million views. If you go to SKY cricket check which one has the highest views

1) Virat kohli and Bairstow have a heated exchange 5.6 million views
2) DK meets Virat kohli 4 million view
3) Murali spin elivery 3.5 million views
4) 3.3 million views recently concluded Test series presentation

You don't see Ashes cricket having that many views. Most of the highest viewed videos have DK in it.

Same goes for every cricket online podcast going around the world. Grade cricketer even jokingly say before the start of the program "Kohli MSD Tendulkar... let us start the program" It is to underline how important it is to cater to Indian market.

ESPN is going to be no different. Pakistan media is no different. Pakistan online journalists are no different. Australian, English journalists are no different. That is why i say raise your concern when they completely abandon other internationals. Things like "my news is not appearing on certain section of the website" is over reaction. Most of us go there just to check scorecards and stats anyway.

Bhai I've no problem recognising the reality that India's massive audience financially underwrites the global game and agree cricket sites must cater to that market. The question is of balance.

Have your story about Shubman Gill's place in the T20I team. There, that's your Indian audience engagement.

What's questionable is logging onto Africa Edition of Cricinfo's App. You then see a piece on Shubman Gill's place in India's T20I team AND an article on India's hosting of Women's World Cup AND the first three Editor's Picks articles being related to India AND the first two Must Watch videos related to India AND the quiz headlined by a India-related question...

Cricinfo doesn't compare itself to Youtube channels and armchair podcasts but as cricket's equivalent to news organisations like BBC, NBC etc. They profit off their historical reputation as the world's definitive cricket news outlet yet don't even employ a native correspondent in New Zealand - a top international team.

You may say the cricket audience is too small in NZ but then you guys also argue Pakistan and WI should improve to get more coverage ! Damned if you do...

If you don't even cover a team in its most successful era, then how do you ever expect that country to grow its cricket audience ? It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.