Dear India, Back Desi Sports Talent, Not Just a Bunch of Foreign Celebrities

If you are planning to attend the International Premier Tennis League in New Delhi in December this year, you will have to be really lucky to be able to get tickets. Just about half-an-hour after Phase 1 of the online sale of tickets went underway on Friday, users were shown a message that said, "Tickets sold out."

While it cannot be denied that the IPTL will be one of the biggest events ever to be held in India in terms of star power, the matter of concern here is the sheer neglect of domestic sporting events in India by fans, whether it be the prestigious Ranji Trophy or even National Championships.

The same comparison holds true for the recently inaugurated cash-rich Indian Super League and the I-league, India's domestic football league. Even FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, has told India that it should never deem ISL more important than the I-league, because supporting grassroot level football is the need of the hour.

In 2017, India is going to host the Under-17 FIFA World Cup and with it will come an opportunity to also host the 2017-18 FIFA Club World Cup. But FIFA has made it clear that there is a condition to all of this. India will only host the Club World Cup and only grow as a football nation if it's Under-17 team in the preceding junior FIFA World Cup is a quality one. And for that, work should start on the grassroot-level now!

With six foreign players being allowed to take part in a match in a single team, the ISL is clearly not looking at promotion of players from India. There are good things, of course, in the fact that the sport of football is gaining new ground in India. The average attendance of ISL so far in its inaugural year has been 27,217 compared to 23,736 for Indian Premier League's 2013 edition.

Coming to the Premier Tennis League, people will be more excited to see Roger Federer play just half-an-hour of tennis than watching Rohit Sharma make a century in a 'List A' match. While taking nothing away from the popularity and greatness of Federer, this is not a good sign for the future of sports in the country.

If tennis is what you want to promote, why not watch the Vijay Amritraj-owned Champions Tennis League; something that is wholly based in India. Being a legend of the sport, Amritraj is someone who realizes how important it is to bring up new tennis players from the country. And this is the reason why he has given the opportunity to two junior Indian players from each franchise to travel, train and mingle with top tennis players while being a part of the league.

At a time when the whole country is talking about a below-par performance from the Indian contingent in the Asian Games, the almost crazy affinity to commercial events like the ISL and the Premier Tennis League comes as a dangerous sign.

Although money-making is an important aspect of any event in the world, sports should not only be about making big bucks but become a culture that along with embracing budding talent, salutes strength and character.

There will be no motivation for athletes if you don't go to watch them compete and no reason in their mind to fight for your country. Support and encourage the athletes who work hard for the nation; not just a bunch of foreign celebrities.