The on and off the field performance of the Indian cricket team during the just concluded one day series against world champions Australia has been quite ordinary and leaves much to be desired, including the misdemeanor of some of the youngsters. Likewise, the reported racial abuse against Andrew Symonds by Indian fans is embarrassing. Such behavior is uncalled for, though it is not at all surprising given that Indians are emotional and tend to go overboard when it comes to cricket. The mind of the Indian cricket public can be something like the Stock Market Exchange postulating between periodic highs and lows. No one in the present team knows this better than Team India’s most recent Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has experienced during his short international career, the volatility of the average Indian fan’s mindset. In Ranchi (Dhoni’s hometown), India’s win in the Twenty 20 world cup was celebrated with as much exuberance as was the apathy shown when Dhoni’s house was attacked by an irate mob when India lost to West Indies in the World Cup. Interestingly, even the people (BCCI) who run the game in the country behave in similar fashion, swinging between bouts of adulation and derision—the unimaginable cash flow in Mumbai following the Twenty 20 triumph and the knee jerk crackdown on endorsement following the team’s early exit from the world cup in the West Indies.
Coming to the attitude of some younger players, while it is encouraging seeing the new found aggression—quite lacking in the past Indian teams—there has to be at the same time, a threshold limit, which every player must be able to respect. There is no doubt that the Australians have always been known for their aggression on the field and their bowlers are famous for sledging and taunting their opponents. But they have also been able to carry this aggression better than some of the other teams. Whether for the Aussie cricketers it is a natural flair or an art in itself, the display of aggression on the field by the likes of Indian pacer S. Sreeshanth does look ugly and quite overboard sometimes. And whether he needs to control his youthful aggression or better still, learn to do it with greater panache, it is for him to decide. But it has to be mentioned that no individual is greater than the game—whether it is India’s Sreeshanth, Australia’s Bret Lee or South Africa’s Andre Nel all known for their aggressive style of play—and there can be no justification if an individual behavior brings disrepute to the game, his team or the country he represents. As for new Captain Dhoni, the real challenge has just begun and hopefully he will understand better, the pressure of captaining India’s cricket team in a country where cricket is nothing less than a national obsession. The cricket loving public on their part must learn to enjoy and love their cricket and treat it like a game.
