India suffered two shattering jolts – first New Zealand and now Australia – but in the gloom there is a silver lining, what teams call ‘positives’.
The major plus from the carnage is that it sparked an honest conversation about Indian cricket and its structure, players and team culture. After the twin disasters everyone is holding up the mirror to register their disapproval.
That tough questions are being asked following the BGT loss is indeed positive. For once, unpleasant reality is being confronted, not brushed under the pitch covers. Politeness is put aside as the criticism is direct and sharp. The clear message is that nobody is exempt from scrutiny. Also, this time the outrage is collective with fans, experts, observers and critics all echoing what an angry Gautam Gambhir (supposedly) said in the dressing room: “bahut ho gaya” (this is too much).
Social media is flooded with strong opinion ranging from the sensible to silly, lots of it over the top, driven by emotion, stemming from a sense of deep hurt. This can be largely ignored but it shows that cricket fans are important stakeholders who have a voice and an opinion and a platform to say whatever they want to.
In their line of fire are Indian cricket’s superstars – the big guns who fired blanks. For long, they enjoyed immunity against criticism because, in the eyes of adoring fans, they couldn’t do anything wrong. Post BGT that protection is gone and it’s time the ‘superstar culture’ also went. After the loss in Australia, India is ready to withdraw privileges to players who were entitled and pampered.
With India’s biggest names failing spectacularly in Australia, an era has ended. Captain Rohit Sharma scored fewer runs (31) than wickets (32) taken by Jasprit Bumrah. King Kohli’s royal status is tarnished, his stature and aura diminished. His numbers in Tests in the last five years are no better than that of Zak Crawley, KL Rahul or Shubman Gill.
The strong pushback against star players is not just due to lack of runs – the current outrage is a result of breach of faith and trust. Batsmen go through phases when runs dry up and it’s difficult for them to find the middle of their bats. Form going up and down is okay but people are angry with cricket’s superstars taking their lofty status for granted and missing matches and rejecting domestic cricket.
Rude questions seeking accountability and commitment are legit because cricket is a team game where all 11 players are theoretically equal. Some are more equal than the others, having earned that privilege by past triumphs, but sport has to be performance driven. Top players deserve a top-end cricket credit card but nobody gets one which has no limits and is valid lifelong. Even mobiles have to be recharged from time to time.
The question being asked: How much overdraft is permissible – 5, 10, 15 failures? Extending a long rope in exceptional cases is understandable, but at some stage the axe has to fall.
Interestingly, post BGT, even past legends are spewing venom. It’s not outside noise that can be dismissed because Sunil Gavaskar, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Sanjay Manjrekar are calling for an end to the ‘superstar culture’ that corrodes Indian cricket and demanding more commitment from players.
The other positive among the BGT rubble is the realisation that domestic cricket deserves more attention and respect. A first step in this direction will be the return of top players to Ranji Trophy; not inventing reasons for giving the four-day red-ball grind a miss. Without their presence cricket is devalued, leading to the situation that successful players (Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan, for instance) are picked but not considered good enough overseas. Players prioritising IPL over Ranji is another concern; also workload management and recurring injuries to fast bowlers.
There is also the larger question of team culture, its values and brand of cricket. Is Virat deliberately running into Sam Konstas normal gamesmanship and acceptable aggression? Or, is it disgraceful behaviour because cricket has no room for physical contact?
Post script: Cricket is our national obsession and it has a special place in our life. We rightly celebrate the accomplishments of our heroes, find joy in Virat’s cover drive and admire Rohit Sharma’s front foot pull that clears midwicket. But such is our devotion that we put cricketers ahead of the game.
The biggest positive post BGT is to be realistic about success in sport and tone down expectations. At the same time, players must not take stardom for granted. After Australia, a line has been drawn in the sand, and when anyone, however big, crosses it, a shrill alarm will go off to signal a no-ball.
