In one of the most candid comments ever, Lance Klusener, when asked about their exit from World cup semi-final after that run out with Allan Donald, said…”So what, no one died…”
Well, yesterday somebody did…!
Bob Woolmer died under tragic circumstances yesterday and his death brings into perspective the pressures faced by modern-day cricket. I watched the drama unfold on all the news channels by midnight on Saturday and my first thoughts were “Please let this be a natural death”…Though the vomit and blood might suggest otherwise, I hope for the sake of sport, that there was no malice involved…!
There have been cases where football team managers have faced heart ailments related to stress of managing their teams…The cases of Glenn Roeder(West Ham Utd) and Gerard Houllier(Liverpool) readily come to mind. Fortunately, both of them recovered and returned to team management again…Woolmer though, was not so lucky…
With passions running high, India and Pakistan are under unreasonable pressure to perform and the mercurial nature of the players involved in the Paki juggernaut makes it doubly difficult for any soul brave enough to attempt managing the team…Already struggling to cope up with the loss of Akthar and Asif for whatever the reasons might be, the early exit from the world cup was something they would not have anticipated. Coupled with the demolition of democracy by the Prez back home, this is a week the Pakis would like to wipe off their calendars…!
And we witnessed bizarre things by crazy Indian “fans”, who went about damaging the assets of the “men in blue”…! In the recent past, Indian hockey team has lost matches by bigger margins, playing far worse than what Dravid & co did…Its an open secret that India is the honey comb of cricket, The line between being a fan and being a fanatic is neither thin nor blur and the fans(read fanatics) have left no stone unturned (un-hurled, in this case) in expressing their disappointment at the result. Yes, the same fanatics, who just a week ago were holding prayers and performing Yagnas in the hope that the cup would come back to us…Thankfully, nobody is blaming the gods for not accepting the offering and helping team India in its quest…:)
I am a big fan of sport in general and have had the good fortune to follow a lot of sportsmen thanks to globalization of various sports. One thing that characterizes all the players is that they expect a standing ovation on the good performances and constructive criticism on the bad ones. Anything beyond these boundaries on either side is bad for everyone. Indian cricket, for quite some time now has bred the negative trend and I believe that the media has to take the bulk of the blame for it...With 24/7 news channels dissecting each and every ball and seeking the “expert” opinions of the former players is a disturbing sight. These former players by no means, were great players and a look into their cricketing credentials doesn’t reflect Bradman-esque statistics either…However, we see them day in day out, all dressed up for the crucification of the players whenever they fare badly.
Corporate India, with all its big bucks is another major culprit. With so many lucrative advertisements coming their way, the cricketers are making more money than their counterparts from other countries…Coupled with their bad performances, these ads tend to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the spectators…Ironic as it was, even as India was losing, the prominent ads during the India vs Bangladesh were the one of Sachin promoting some biscuit and the war cry of “ooooooo aaaaaaah”…!
Let cricket be just another sport. Getting too emotional and passionate is good neither for the team nor the sport itself…Enjoy the success of the team and criticize them in a civilized manner whenever they fail…It bodes well for everyone…!
