Former running great feels Olympic medals, not Kochi IPL fiasco should be sporting focus; calls cricket's latest controversy a national shame

A love interest angle, pots of cash and a healthy dose of controversy -- the Kochi Indian Premier League team continues to raise dust clouds of debate. Even as Shashi Tharoor insists an IPL cricket team from Kerala will help boost the sport in God's Own Country, Kerala's most famous athlete, Pilluvalukandi Thekkeparambil Usha, (P T Usha) who earned the moniker The Payyoli Express (she was born in the village of Payyoli) for her international running exploits, slams the cash-rich league.

On the Kochi conundrum
I like football more but I follow cricket too. Yet the IPL does not interest me. IPL is a business, not a sport. It is pure business, and that too an ugly one. It does not evoke nationalistic feelings in the players, since they are working for their owners, not for their country.