Yesterday's play during the third day of the second test match between India and England has thrown up an issue which has been simmering in the background for the last few years. Namely, the increasing discomfort with India's rise both as a competitive team and as the financial driver of the game. While it was amazing to see our erstwhile colonial masters and their kala panied descendants squirm during this period, the euphoria is beginning to wear off. India is no longer the upstart, the rebelious child of World Cricket. The Indian team is the best in the world today and that is a fact. With this new status a weight of expectations have been firmly planted on our not so strong cricketing shoulders. Unfairly so.
Why is the onus of playing the game within the so called undefined concept of 'spirit' with India alone? Why is it that India is still expected to behave in a manner which will appease the white colonial racist custodians of the game? Why do not we see an effort from the established cricket boards to adjust to the new realities of the changing pecking order in world cricket? It is annoying that we are still treated as outsiders, like the village bum in an exclusive gentleman's club.
While Dhoni's decision was commendable, it was absolutely unnecessary. Can one imagine such 'sportsmanship' during the Ashes series? Kevin Peitersen recently commented that the Ashes was much more intense than the Pataudi Series (India-England Series) because of the genuine shared hatred between the Poms and the Aussies. Would the spirit of the game be alive and kicking in such circumstances! The double standards adopted by the English players, commentators, the viewing public are manifestations of greater issues, which we shall not dwell on at this point.
It is time that the ECB (English Cricket Board) and CA (Cricket Australia) and the ICC establish a level playing field. It is of greater importance that they lose their white man's burden, of teaching us the gentleman's way of playing cricket. From Ranji to Sehwag they have always failed.
They need to realize that cricket is a sport and not a royal warrant or a diktat from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
nice piece. but i don't see how the boards come into this. it was the team's decision and we could have gone with our original appeal. whether we decided to because we were wary of looking like bad sports or because we lack killer instinct should be the only matter of debate. as for the crowd booing - well, indian crowds have done worse.
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ReplyDeletei am luuurving and agreeing! :-)
ReplyDelete@ a fan apart...its the overall attitude whether it be Vaughan accusing VVS Laxman (of all the people!) of cheating or how they treat incidents like the one from last time (jelly beans. There is a method to such arrogance. Everytiime.
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