The clamour after the debacle....

Cricket. The love of the nation. The craze of the people. And to quote Marx (although I doubt he would have approved) opium of the masses. If there's one sport that every Indian child, at least every boy, is expected to know something of, that is cricket. He should know the difference between off-side and on-side, between balling round-the-wicket and balling over-the-wicket, the finer techniques of the game in short.

When India is playing, it is as if productivity MUST decrease, people MUST cease work and watch or listen to the match. With every time the ball is hit across the field boundary by an Indian batsman, the hearts of the onlookers/listeners leap up in joy. Every time an Indian wicket falls, they suffer a mini-stroke. And every time India wins a match, fireworks light up the skies as if it were Diwali that day.

In such a torrent of emotion, how can one expect one to be reasonable in the face of defeat? Mind you, it isn't that India never loses; after all, it too is a human team, not an outfit made of supermen. The only difference is while the others just lose and are seen to have just lost, India loses and is seen to have capitulated. The finer points of the English language are needed here to understand the difference. To have lost is to have tried hard and yet failed, but to have capitulated is to have never tried at all. An insinuation of a most serious nature, if you ask me.

India has exited the World Cup. We lost against Bangladesh, a team considered to be minnows, in a manner described by many as 'shameful'. Our victory against Bermuda was emphatic, but experts opined, "What's the use of performing now against an infant? Where was this spirit when it was needed?" And then we lost against Sri Lanka.

I saw neither match, so I don't know whether the Indian team played with the zeal to win, or was resigned to its loss, but in my heart, I find it hard to believe that any person or group of persons could ever actually WANT to lose. I mean, the way people are burning effigies of the players, the coach, and the BCCI authorities, one would think that these blokes actually had decided before going to the West Indies that they were going to lose these matches and come back empty-handed.

People have called this a shameful performance. I fail to see how India's performance at the World Cup is any different from its performance at the Olympics. Barely 16 countries play at the Cricket World Cup, so having won it doesn't signify anything great. In comparison, 202 countries participate at the Olympics. Nations barely one hundredth the size of India get more medals and accolades than we can muster.

And that is, in my opinion, more 'shameful', if one is to associate that with something, than this. If anything, we should realize that at this juncture, we are just showing that we are simply not good at any sport. If our sports administrators have any brains in their skulls, they would start introspecting about how we can improve on our chances the next time we enter into such competitive meets.

To our players: You have done a good job at what you could have done. That you lost implies that there is more that can be done. Learn from your mistakes and improve the next time, for there always is another chance. It may not be comparable, but a chance is a chance.

To the audience, the fans: To rephrase the Olympic creed, "the most important thing is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

So, learn from this debacle, if one may term it so, and avoid the mistakes that you have made now.

India In The Blues

India in the Blues!

The recent debacles faced by the Indian cricket team in South Africa shouldn't ideally come as a surprise to people. I mean, a team that's more active on the ramp than on the field wouldn't display any better results, would it? Sure, a player is entitled to earn his bucks while he is still at the top, but isn't performance a parameter for earnings, or have we become so starstruck that we are content with vintage performances, rather than focusing on current achievements?

Maybe the team isn't to blame entirely. I mean, cricket in India is such an hectic activity, wherein barely has one tournament ended, that another one starts off. And we aren't talking about machines here; we are talking about sentient humans, people who are bound to feel fatigue, stress, and the travails of incessant playing. Where's the time for them to bond with their families, to let their hair down and relax? Of course, one would retort that they ought to cut down on their endorsements; that way, they would have plenty of time to relax and rejuvenate their body and soul. But let's be practical here. I mean, when there's no guarantee that you will remain in the team for the next match, which player will take the risk of not earning a potful of gold while he can? Besides, no one cares for a former player, besides sports channels. And mind you, the way the Indian team's playing now, I doubt that sports channels will want to host cricket shows, as they are sure not to get really interesting advertising revenues out of them.

So where does the rot lie? In the Board, perchance. Maybe the rot is endemic to the entire cricket establishment in India. When one reads of articles of how the inclusion or exclusion of a certain player becomes a matter worthy of discussion in the highest echelons of legislative and executive power, one comes to comprehend just how far politics has pervaded what was once merely a sport, a game that gave joy and delight.
Perhaps, these debacles are a good thing, as now people will want more professionalism, more performance-oriented incentives, and more sport-friendly initiatives from the powers that be. The killer instincts that we see in other teams is not so much because they are better than us; rather it is because they have no need to focus on things other than sports. Here, players must consort with politicians, bureaucrats, and other officials to ensure that they stay on in the team. Sure, this must occur elsewhere as well, but maybe, I believe, it happens to a greater extent here.

Domestic cricket in India isn't exactly seen as glamorous, and we tend to be pessimistic about the future, snatching from promising players the opportunity that they truly deserve, while aging players continue to fight on against much younger opponents, and expectedly, deliver defeat most of the time. Regionalism, while an appreciable sentiment at times, tends to get in the way of ensuring that the team that represents the nation gets the best possible talent, as and where it comes from.

Perhaps cricket in India needs to lose the moolah that has come to be associated with it in recent times. I mean, contracts worth Rs. 300 million are great, but are we seeing performances equivalent to all that expectation? This team, the current one, comprises of people who are regarded as the best sportsmen in their individual capacities, but why is it that this team of superheroes fails to work in unity? Where's and why is there a lack of strategy?
Just blaming one individual or a singular group of individuals will not work. The approach has to change for the behavior to change. We need to demand that we get what we deserve, as a right, as a privilege. And those who fail to serve, must be axed, period. Then whether they be Davids or Goliaths should not concern anyone.