KRISHNA PRASAD writes: Call me what you want—a traitor, an anti-national, or a naive idiot—but I have no problems with India’s defeat to Bangladesh on Saturday.
You chose ‘naive idiot’? No problem.
In fact, now that I have your attention, let me also say this: I have no problems whatsoever with India losing not just this match but any of the other matches they may lose in this World Cup.
Or any match in any tournament, anywhere, any time.
Before I tell you why, you might like to hear a nice story. It involves Lance Klusener, not from this World Cup, or from the previous one, but the one before that in England.
After a ridiculous run-out with Allan Donald spelt finis to South Africa’s World Cup campaign in the second semi-final in Edgbaston against Australia, everybody—media, players, fans—went for Klusener with a relish that has now become familiar.
What did you do, ‘Zulu’? Didn’t you talk to Alan? We needed only one run to win. There were still three balls to go. Where was the hurry? How does it feel to drown an entire nation’s hopes and dreams like this?
Et cetera.
Klusener, later adjudged the tournament’s Most Valued Player (MVP), was a farmer from Natal. His deadpan reply is something which only a farmer could have uttered: “So what? No one died.”
“So what? No one died.”
That is the “crawler” I wish the TV channels would run at the bottom of our TV screens after two teenaged boys guided Banglaesh home. And that is the sentiment I wish newspapers had expressed on Sunday morning.
Instead, to see an entire nation beating its breasts (Call back the team-Sona on CNN-IBN), to see the faux ferocity of ex-players on TV (Zimmedaar kaun?—Aaj Tak), to see headlines like “Disaster Strikes India” (Deccan Herald), to see “heartbroken cricket fans” in Kanpur burning Mahendra Singh Dhoni‘s effigy, you wonder, who are these idiots?
I am not suggesting, even for a moment, that it is the taking part which matters, not the winning. Hell, no. We should win, no question about that. But is it unreasonable or unpatriotic to say that we should also deserve to win to start with?
Unfortunately, in all the din of the manufactured excitement and fabricated expectations, amid all the yagnas and poojas for the team’s victory, we seem to have ignored one very important aspect. Which is that two teams play cricket. Usually only one team wins, and usually it is the better one.
Yesterday we were not.
But the corporates, with no greater aim than to sell more motorcycles, more mobile phones, more tyres, more televisions, more ‘chyawanprash’, more biscuits, and more cola have hammered a very subversive idea into our gullible skulls.
That only India is there to win, and that the other 17 teams are there only to help them do that.
When that doesn’t happen, as it didn’t on Saturday and as it doubtless won’t again in the future, the neo-literates of cricket, who don’t know which side of a bat to hold, act as if the end of the world is nigh.
Relax, guys. This is cricket. And this is the essence of sport. If you haven’t caught it, you should be watching WWF.
You’ve probably heard all the cliches. But it doesn’t hurt to hear them again. This is a game of glorious uncertainties. It isn’t over till the last ball has been bowled. And, yes, cricket is a funny game, but it is such a funny game that only one team is left laughing in the end.
# Simply because the newspapers and magazines, tell us through the mouths of our ex-players—who will say anything for a few thousand rupees—that we have best batting line-up in the world, it doesn’t make our batting line-up the best batting line-up in the world, no matter how many times they say it.
# Simply because Pepsi dresses up the players as tigers on a railway platform and lets them loose on a bunch of boys who have deprived them—good heavens!—of a bottle of cola, it doesn’t mean the real tigers (Bangladesh in this case) are going to tuck their tails between their legs and run away.
# Simply because our corporate giants, who have perfected the art of stabbing the nation by not paying their taxes, suddenly develop a conscience about the country and exhort the team with corny crap like ‘Come on India dikha do’ or ‘Ladega tho jeethega‘, it is not going to make India win.
# Simply because Priyanka Chopra pirouttes on stage as the West Indies team watches, or Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bachchan wish the team good luck, it doesn’t mean everybody will make way for our boys in blue.
# Simply because our players ride motorcycles which are titled victor and pride and passion and ambition, it does not mean they will be automatically imbued with those qualities.
# Simply because we sent goodluck messages on the web sites of television channels or signed a giant bat or ball, simply because we send some silly SMS messages to TV channels to “Cheer for India”, it is not going to greatly improve the team’s performance.
Victory requires all this, certainly, but the only victory this will achieve is on the balance sheet of the corporates and the BCCI—not of the Indian team. The only team which has won so far is the one that comprises our TV channels who pumped in millions of dollars, the companies which spent crores in advertising their products, the media, and the players who signed up endorsements.
But victory on the field, now, that is a totally different thing. It requires the 3Ds — discipline, determination and dedication — and it requires the 3Ts — tactics, technique and temperament. Did you see it in the ‘Boys in Blue’ on Saturday night? Your answer will tell you how foolish we have been about this World Cup thing.
Hype is a very funny commodity; in fact it is funnier than cricket. In cricket, you can actually come back from behind, as the Indian team will one of these days, maybe as early as Monday when it takes on Bermuda. But hype is different. It is like toothpaste. Once you have pulled it out of the tube, you cannot put it back in.
Indeed, as you look at the expectations and the manner in which they have come crashing down, the one product you wish the Indian team was really endorsing are antacids. There has been such hype about this team that anybody who seriously loves this game and possibly even loves some members of this team should be suffering from severe indigestion by now.
But we shouldn’t hold the corporates responsible for this state of affairs. They are here in the business of selling and they will use any method that will enable them to sell more of what they make. The fault lies with us, in that we can so easily be sold so many lemons so often by the BCCI, the corporates, the media, and every other broker in between.
For more than two years now, we have been told that everything the team was doing was being done with the World Cup in mind. Teams were chosen with the World Cup in mind. The experimentation was done with the World Cup in mind. And dozens of one-dayers were played against West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka with the World Cup in mind.
And this is what we have to show for it?
Before the team left for the Caribbean, everybody was agreed that this was the best team that could have been chosen. Everybody was agreed that the infirmities of the recent past were behind us and that we were on a winning streak with a good chance of bringing home the Cup.
The hype-meisters—and that includes the astrologists, tarot cart readers and assorted cads television is so good at rustling up—are so adept at the art of spin, that before the Bermuda match tomorrow, we will be told that the horrors of the Bangladesh match are behind us.
And you know what? They are right. That’s the only place reverses and ghosts and defeats and horrors can be. If he could put it ahead of him, Rahul Dravid would be Nostradamus—and even the TV wallahs will concede he isn’t after he opted to bat first.
It is unkind to kick a team that is so down and out. But imagine the plight of the perplexed cricket fan to get a fix on the current fury. He, the perplexed Indian cricket fan, buys a credit card and a colour television hoping it will fetch him a “pass”. He applies for ‘sick leave’ to skip work. His son buys biscuits. He bunks school and college. He goes to a fancy restaurant to catch the action. He SMSes breathlessly…
He, the perplexed Indian cricket fan, spends so much time, money, and energy for this?
Make no mistake. The Indian fan is no fool. He is well equipped to stomach defeat because he has faced greater defeats in life. It is the manner of the defeat that rankles him. He wonders, who are these dudes who mess up so often and so badly and still end up getting paid millions for it.
He sees Virender Sehwag‘s feet stuck in cement as he faces club-class bowlers. He sees our young turks like Robin Uthhappa and Dhoni not even putting up the semblance of a fight like say Saurav Ganguly. He sees our “fast” bowlers who can’t strike fear in an ant hurtling across the turf. He sees our famed batting order perishing on grounds where records are being set by the dozen.
He, the Indian fan, is flummoxed. That’s why he utters all that he utters.
Pathetic, spineless, shocking, overpaid, overrated.
It is easy to get all those feelings, of course—sport evokes very primal feelings. But now imagine this from the point of view of the only people who matter in this whole debate: the players.
Here are a bunch of young guys, most of whom have never gone to college properly, most of whom cannot speak cogently, and most of whom have no other skill other than the ability to smack a ball or make a cell phone call, being asked to shoulder the expectations of a whole nation.
Is it fair to place such a huge burden on their generally slender shoulders?
Let’s not even get into the semantic swamp of whether sport really is an expression of national identity. (If it does, Saturday’s defeat should have convincingly showed what we are made of.) No, I am talking of a different kind of burden that we have placed here on our players.
We are a nation of coasters, the type who cruise along. We show so little bravery when a girl is getting raped in our train compartment. We take so few risks that people spend their entire careers at one table in the same office. We show very little nerve when our neighbour of many decades is being burnt and killed. We show very little spine to stand up to corruption, skullduggery and injustice and all those things for which we have justly become so notorious. That doesn’t bother us.
Out on the green, though, we want our cricketers to show the bravery, spine and nerve we lack, to take the risks we ourselves wouldn’t in our dreams.
If you think that is bad, what is worse is our expectations of victory at all costs and at all times. We don’t expect our Prime Minister and his team to deliver 8 per cent growth each year without fail. We don’t expect our bureaucrats and police to end ineptitude, inefficiency and corruption at close of working hours this year. We don’t expect our courts to clear their backlogs next year. We don’t expect our government to provide food, clothing, medicine and housing to all by the time its tenure ends.
Somehow, we are willing to pardon them that. But, somehow, we aren’t that accommodating about our cricket team. Why?
It has been said that the reason our impossible movies are so popular is because they offer relief, howsoever fleeting, for three hours from the poverty-stricken, disease-ridden, corrupt, communal, casteist lives so many of us lead.
In investing so much hope and so many expectations in cricket, we are obviously using cricket as a release from the misery and horror of daily life. But there is a key difference between cricket and cinema.
Movies are planned and made to script. Cricket is not, cannot, and should not be made to script (although some tried and a few are still trying). Expectations are good, but they should be reasonable. Anger, disgust, disappointment are good, but again in reasonable limits.
Let’s do everything in moderation, including moderation.
By just expecting one country (ours) to win all the time, just because Mandira Bedi‘s minders can’t see any other, we are missing the woods for the trees, and beating about our tiny little bush.
The greatest, most talented, cricketing talent is on display in this World Cup showcase. If you cannot cheer for a Gibbs or Boucher, a Hussey or Gayle, a Styris or McCullum and always expect Sachin, Sehwag and Ganguly to score all the time, every time, you have missed a vital ingredient of sport.
If you cannot cheer for a West Indies, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, or South Africa, and always expect India, India and India to win, you have missed an even more vital ingredient.
To paraphrase C.L.R. James, “What do they know of cricket who only India and Sachin know?”
K.S. Ranjitsinhji, the very same man after whom the Ranji Trophy is named, wrote a small prayer. It is a prayer that should find place on the tables of everybody who loves and watches this game, the day after India was felled by the better team of the day.
‘O Powers that be, make me to observe and keep the rules of the game. Help me not to cry for the moon. Help me neither to offer nor to welcome cheap praise. Give me always to be a good comrade. Help me to win if I may win, but—and this O, Powers, especially—if I may not win, make me a good loser.”
***
(Adapted from a piece by the author on rediff.com. The original version of this piece was written after a similar defeat in the first match of the 2003 World Cup. But there it was mighty Australia, yesterday it was tiny Bangladesh. In 2003, India bounced back to the finals. Will it in 2007?)
***
A very well written article…..
The piece tells much more than cricket, the message is play cricket in all the fields of life in the spirit it is to be played
The single most quality lost by the Indian fan, is beautifully said by you, is to appreciate cricket.
“The greatest, most talented, cricketing talent is on display in this World Cup showcase. If you cannot cheer for a Gibbs or Boucher, a Hussey or Gayle, a Styris or McCullum and always expect Sachin, Sehwag and Ganguly to score all the time, every time, you have missed a vital ingredient of sport.
If you cannot cheer for a West Indies, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, or South Africa, and always expect India, India and India to win, you have missed an even more vital ingredient.”
Since the cricket is taken over/hijacked by media- by which i mean TV by persons who may hardly have played or understands the moments of the play.
About the the followers or new converts TO CRICKET THE LESS SAID THE BETTER, AS MOST OR THERE JUST COZ ITS IN THING OR PEER PRESSURE
I agree with what you have to say, Zulfi. But of the expectations of the average fan? Surely, you don’t expect the Indian team to submit meekly, do you? That’s what gets my goat…
Adulation is a double-edged sword. The very same madcaps who are baying for Sehwag’s blood will sing a different tune were he to score a century, say, against Bermuda. It’ll be said of the Nawab of Najafgarh, that he redeemed himself! That’s how fickle public opinion is in this country, on a wide range of issues!
Arrey, let the Men in Blue lose by 10, 20 or even 30 runs; I’d say they fought hard. But to surrender in the manner they did against Bangladesh is despicable. Cricket’s greatest carnival isn’t a walk in the park, it requires skill, determination, guts… and only then does glory follow. It’s not gonna be offered on a platter simply because you have a player who has scored more centuries than any other on the planet, in your team.
No, I do not believe that India should and will win every time they walk onto the field, that’s a ludicrous thought to entertain. I was delighted that Bangladesh won. I respect them for their discipline and the manner in which they went about their business… unfettered.
But grant me the space to regret the loss my team suffered at the hands of an ‘inexperienced’ bunch. Don’t expect me to clap my hands like the wine-sipping gents in the whitewashed stands at Lord’s and say: “Jolly good!” I cannot view sport with an apartness; I wish to wear my heart on my sleeve. That is my Right, and I shall live by it!
KP,
That’s a brilliant piece. You’ve touched every nerve of the the Indian cricket fan. The following paragraph is a gem:
“The greatest, most talented, cricketing talent is on display in this World Cup showcase. If you cannot cheer for a Gibbs or Boucher, a Hussey or Gayle, a Styris or McCullum and always expect Sachin, Sehwag and Ganguly to score all the time, every time, you have missed a vital ingredient of sport.”
Unfortunately, we have lost the essence of a good game. We neither have the knowledge nor patience to appreciate good cricket.
That said, I am your typical Indian fan. I was talkiing on phone with my uncle after the Inidan innings and I insisted that India is going to win. He disconnected the phone saying I am “that typical impossible optimist”.
It pains to see when we lose a game the way we lost yesterday. When it was quite clear that we were going to lose, I had made up my mind to watch the complete game and cheer the Bangladeshis. They deserve all the accolades!!!
It just bugs me that wrong decisions are made all the way. What in the World was Dravid thinking when he decided to bat first ? Was S. Africa, Aus and SL an inspiration for him ? Did he hope that his team could break more World records ?
And again, back to the same old question….Why was Sehwag in the team yesterday ? Why the heck was he selected at the first place. Our man in high chair, Vengsarkar has conveniently put the blame on Dravid.
It’s time someone asks Dravid to really “think”. Dude, let Ganguly and Tendulkar open the innings and let Uthappa come one down and you can seal your two down. Veeru is not your Brother-in-law, throw him out of the team.
Thanks for the heads up Dravid. We are well prepared to watch the Ind vs SL game now. Go India, yeah right……….
That was a revelation… you hardly write your posts and when you do… boy… so much anger, insight, patience… can’t tell you how deeply satisfying a read it was. This is from someone who knows zilch about sports.
Excellent piece.
Let’s get over this collective madness and misplaced belief about Team India winning the World Cup and cheer for the best cricketing team!!
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Like everything else cricket has also become a market driven commodity. The media, which is already been swamped by the market driven economy, has been using cricket to make more money. There is no question of anybody wanting India to lose except those who have not been bitten by the bug of India winning every match. The quality of the play is determined by whether India wins or loses. If it wins, there is hysteria all over about what a fine blend of team it is. If it loses, scorn is heaped on them, because all those who had put their wagers lose.
Nothing is lost if India loses not only this series but all others, so that the nation gets freed from the cricket mania and cricket would lose its steam like the hockey. If cricket as a result exits from India, it should be a good riddance.
Only lazy people play and watch cricket. Others have no time to waste since their are using their energies elsewhere.
Go ahead KP. I am with us – perhaps the second naive-idiot.
“So what? No one died.”
Well, Woolmer just did. May his soul Rest in Peace.
Krishnaaaaaaaaa,
Ee piece na 36 koti xerox copy madsi, idi deshakk hanchana ba!
Bolero tank full madsi kayta iddini!
Ashte!
Great Piece.
I will post it on site. http://www.bestofindya.com
KP, Very well written..It’s true that the game is taken over by commercial and other interests.But, it’s difficult to keep one’s country’s away if we are participating. No matter what, our hearts would always want an Indian to win.. if Aishwarya Rai is among the top 3 in Miss world contest or Vishwanathan Anand is playing the finals..Even if he plays against Kasparov,a better player, we would want Anand to win..There’s an inherent inbuilt mechanism which beats for your neighbour, your State or Country..
But it’s such a pity Bob Woolmer is dead.Is it the presure, tension of losing or whatver it is.. it’s terrible for the family and for the game…
The loss to Bangladesh is not such a great tragedy as it is to the eternal shame of the media, cricket crazy people, corporate bigwigs and those doing havans and what not building intolerable hype that eventually took its toll. We must learn a lesson from the example of Saurav Ganguly who was neglected, taunted and ignored and boy what a come back.That is exactly what the cricket loving people should do if they have any real love for the game; ignore the cricketers, don’t give publicity, tease them and let the corporate giants not try to cash on these cricketers and see what magic it will do to the morale of our cricketers. Our every one of the cricketers is like Bheema of Mahabharata who only needed to be taunted to egg him on to achieve the desired effect.
Dear KP and Sunaad,
Neevibru swalpa yenadru thagolley beku saar!
Come on it was not such a bad defeat after all.
Well we lost a match to a superior team full of enthusiasm! That’s all. Not for them, the inane vada-pavisms; no ‘in the Zone-like’ talk; they just played and won. Fair and square. India had to face ‘Rabindro Sangeet’ as it were and they lost. Why worry when Bermuda is here?
DB’s prediction: India will win both Bermuda and Sri Lanka matches. Of course Kulla will fail in both–but he is the Greatest!
India have come back from 42 all out at Lords (in a test match). Defeat and victory are part and parcel of the game.
Sehwag failed; Kulla failed; Dravid failed; and even Dhoni failed. Swalpa namma Indian hudugru Windies alli ‘Red Stripe’ Beer swalpa jasthi thagondru anisutthe! Ameley Captain Morgan’s Rum allindhale barodhu!
Good writing…It is the same cricketers who earned millions in commercials and got their stomach full. The humiliation is deserved for these cricketers who are fit to become models. Alternatively, they could sponsor the amount to charity. Nevertheless, any game should be played with enthu and accept the loss or win in a sportive mood.
KP excellant Piece .
exclusively Sunaad ,
ree Sunaad neevenu Bhagawan(tha) na?? all Bolero nalli petrol haakkondu
cricket uddara maadak ontidheeralla? First Cauvery bagge kaLaji yirli ree.
B.T.W yellivarege banthu nimma Cauvery bagge Vichara vedhike etc etc yella???
Cross Posting to the benifit of someone visiting this post from WORLD famous KP.
Nange avathu bejaar agithu ( paapa WI astu henaay vaagi sol bardhu agithu)
The 1983 World cup forever changed the WI hold on cricket .they were never the same . Maybe this is the end of India even though they never
were at the pinnacle of cricket .Atleast they were on top on World Cricket as a richest test playing nation .
Should India divert its attention to field competition or athletics .
Atleast if it becomes a nation crazy about athletics and field sports .
We could see people back on street walking , running and cycling . isnt this a healthy development .
We could also see Police chasing the thieves high jumping and long jumping through out gullis and young boys standing on side cheering .
In that way they(policu) could keep a watch on ever growing belly’s.
We could see MLA’s resorting to shotputting ( paper weights) and javelin throws ( Guri yittu Throw PENS ) .Though this has happened in UP assemby should be a regular feature henceforth .
This should pull of steam from WWF on T.V for which our Kids are so glued .
Finally our ladies would start Karate and kungfu so that they can beat the crap out of the Husband and MIL’s who indulge in domestic violence .
Is this the height of imgagination ?? Maybe swolpa thogondirbeku ..bisi bisi kaapi na
xcellent peace – intrueging and on the wicket.
clean bold !!_
Brillantly written yar .. A very big post , u would have taken lot of time in writing it .. Kudos for ur effort …
KP – What you wrote is known to all.
Cricket is a channel for all those people of India who want to show their patriotism and hunger for performance.
Cricketers and Movie stars have become a means of expressing their pent up feelings.
If we can replace crickers with Soldiers (there are hundreds whom we can hero worship) who fight almost everyday at the front and Movie stars with Politicians (there are none whom i can think of), we can see more rationale in our behaviour.
Our craze for cricket is a result of despondency we have about our system and which is due to Licence Raj earlier and COntrol freaks now, we have in our politics.
A nation is built on ideology. Ability to raise the emotions of the countrymen and achieve great heights is the need of the hour.
Crumbling infrastructure, open corruption, blatant land grabbing, ineffective law enforcement is driving us, the whole nation to seek refuge in a game.
Sometime back we stopped playing cricket with Pak. Did anyone complain?
We are seeking shelter in Dark Movie halls, and comforts of home wathcing cricket matches.
Madh
Fabulous! Lifted my spirits after the shocking reactions I am seeing to India’s defeat to SL. Here I was getting more and more depressed hearing and reading idiots talk abt cricket and cricketers on news channels and websites. I support Team India now – when they are down and out! I support Sachin Tendulkar now – when he got out on a duck in a match that may be his last in world Cups. I love cricket. I love India winning. But i consider myself a true fan. I am happy and ecstatic when they win…but I will support them when they lose. The team is good. I hope Bermuda beats Bangladesh. I hope we reach the Super 8. I hope we win the world Cup. and I hope after that happens the tnire Indian team retires en masse from cricket – and blames the Indian fans, media and “ex-players” for it.
Well said… if only more Indians thought like you do.
Excellent post!
Hi KP ,
Excellent article , The only reason I stopped watching these guys play was that they had really lost the interest in the game and developed a lot of interest in other areas of economics. The fans should stop worshipping these guys and should also look at other sports which all countries play to excel. This circkte is a bane on many school students who waste a lot of time chasing these 11 guys and their stupid off field comedy shows.
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Ashish, how many times have you watched “The Shawshank Redemption”? :P Love your attitude.
Great work dude keep it up… actually after reading ur article all the disappointment off india bowing out of cup hai gone…
well I think your thoughts are composed. But to some extent they seem to treat Indian Fan as just foolish senseless creatures who listen to everyone and feeds on media. I dont think everyone is like that. India is diverse country with huge population of diverse demographics. So for some cricket may be only game to show their patriotism. I would say any mass interaction is slow evolving process, Where expectations and consolations are driven by time and result , not my mind and heart.
So Indian fan is also evolving as any other fan in world. You got to give some sympathy to poor average person, who somehow rushes or postpones his work to stay glued to see 7 highly paid batsmen to bat. I would say cricket can be one platform where it connects people from all walks of life , all religions..I would say Indian fan is slowly evolving and with inconsistency woven so deep in our cricket team. It’s just matter of time we stop expecting any thing from our team. As a kid in 1992, I used to expect all those over the board miracles from cricket team.. now in 2007..after 15 years and some 3-4 world cup experience.I am more seasoned audience now. I must say we just laughed out the few last overs of indian team debacle for this world cup match with Sri lanka. If it was 15 years ago.. I am sure, I would have had mood off for atleast 2-3 days.. Now it wasnt for 2-3 minutes also.. Cos once key players behave in a way. as if it doesnot matter to them..”wether this cud be their last chance to win world cup seeing their age…” why shud it matter to us.”..for us it s just like watching a movie for 3 hours. It just some entrainment on one channel.
If one actor fails to impress in movie, we dont go and burn his house. It s he whose career is sacrificed. we just loose 3 hrs and some 30-50 bucks.
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