| Published on 01-04-2007 In National |
| Viewed 1882 times |
| Beginning of the End, unless… |
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Written by
K. S. Dakshina Murthy |
Let's bet (dangerous word, never mind…) on how long Indians will mourn the loss of their cricket team at the World Cup. Right now, it seems the wailing and the chest-beating will go on forever. And that the top cricketers will have to get used to their personas being ground to dust under the feet of every other Indian. But they need not fear.
The first win in a post-World Cup series, even if teeny-weeny, will wash away the sins, faults, ignominy, humiliation and insults and like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes, Indian cricketing heroes will emerge again clean, shining and flawless – all set to make every fan proud. Advertisers will start queuing up again and sponsors will flood Team India with offers worth millions of dollars. Until the next major defeat…
Nothing will change. The cricketing system, with all its flaws, will continue. At most, a head may roll, a captain may resign, a new coach may appear on the horizon, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may have new office-bearers. That's about it. To gain the initiative, some smart office-bearer will fix a series of matches between India and newcomers Scotland, Ireland and Canada in which the Sachins, Dravids, Gangulys and Dhonis will shine, break records and bring back the lost glory of Indian cricket.
In a piece in these columns, this writer had wondered whether Indian cricket was heading the hockey way. Even while writing the piece, there was a sliver of hope that it would not and should not come true. But the performance at the World Cup has truly laid the hope to rest.
Reasons
Apologists are making out any number of reasons why India lost – pressure, hype, excessive media attention and mere bad luck. At this level of the game, with the massive payments that go with it, are these not a given? And if top cricketers like Yuvraj Singh and M S Dhoni cannot stand up to such pressures what were they doing there in the first place?
Unfortunately, problems go much deeper – so deep it would need a mole-like initiative to burrow into the labyrinthine ways that go into making an Indian cricketer. Procedures that were introduced in the distant past when cricket was still a "gentleman's game" continue. Those associated with cricket and who have invested in it in terms of time and effort say selection procedures are flawed and opaque.
It helps if an aspirant at the under-19 level is connected to a well-known cricketer – either as a son, or nephew or as family friend.
If an unattached youngster were talented he would have to choose between his academics and cricket. There are no adequate systems in place that would facilitate doing both without compromising on either. So many youngsters let go cricket and its uncertainties opting instead for the safer and reliable world of academia.
And state cricketing associations leading up to BCCI, the nodal body, are mainly run by non-cricketers and working politicians who never had anything to do with the sport. How can a Sharad Pawar or Jagmohan Dalmiya ever understand the intricacies of the game like a professional cricketer would? And, what would be their commitment to the game?
More often than not, working politicians bring in the dirt, grime and intrigue of party politics into the sport. One has seen the cases of the Indian Hockey Federation and the Indian Olympic Association that have gone to seed at the hands of politicians. It does not take one to be a rocket-scientist to conclude that ex-cricketers should handle cricketing affairs, from top to bottom.
Having played the sport for the best part of their lives, the commitment they would have for the game would probably be far beyond that of a Johnny-come-lately politician.
Personal initiatives
If a Prakash Padukone, Sania Mirza, Vishwanathan Anand, Michael Ferreira or Pankaj Advani made it big in their respective sport that was more because of their own personal initiatives than to any great support from the state or its sporting bodies. Similarly, if a cricketing talent has emerged in the past, chances are that it was more due to the personal initiatives and sacrifices of the family.
Obviously no sport can expect to depend on personal initiatives or sacrifices to make a lasting mark in the international arena. Especially at a time when world sporting teams and individual players are touching new heights and crossing the farthest frontiers to achieve unthinkable feats and set mind-boggling records in the quest for perfection.
Some may argue that as long as the money is flowing into the game and there is widespread support nothing can really shake Indian cricket, doomsayers be damned. And that the World Cup loss is just a negative blip.
Time will tell who is right, and hopefully by then, it won't be too late… |
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