SynopsisThe World Cup football tournament begins tomorrow. Many Indians will watch. Some lament India's absence from the sport. This article suggests India prefers cricket. It highlights cricket's perceived spiritual qualities. India's strategy for football is to not play and simply watch. This allows India to claim world-beater status in cricket.Vishwa’s most popular sport isn’t Vishwaguru’s — deal with itBeing world-class spectators of anything put up for display, many Indians will follow the month-long fest of top-notch football that is the World Cup that kicks off tomorrow in Mexico City. While this is also the time many anti-nationals bemoan the cliche of 'the world's most populous country not being able to enter the planet's most popular sporting tournament', this time around, India has found the perfect way to deal with this minor embarrassment: by insisting that football is a frivolous pastime for people in shorts and little enlightenment.Swami Vivekananda may have once said, 'You will be nearer to heaven through football than through the study of Gita.' But that was clearly a clerical error. What he must have meant was cricket - because nothing says spiritual awakening like watching a batsman adjust his pads for 20 mins, or blurs of sixes in T20 cricket. So, while the rest of the world kicks balls around fields, India climbs rooftops to shout, 'We are world-beaters in cricket!' Frankly, why bother with 90-plus mins of near-constant running, sweating, regular physical entanglements and occasionally scoring, when you can dominate a game seriously played between ourselves and against fewer countries than there are fingers and toes on a human body? Our football strategy is simple: don't play, don't qualify. Just keep watching. ...moreElevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea.Subscribe Now