Where has the passion gone?

In the ‘series’ against New Zealand, India lost the lone T20 match by 1 run. I did not watch the match as I was not aware of its schedule and when I read in espncricinfo about India’s narrow defeat, my reaction was like, “Oh, India lost the match by one run; hmm… what should I have for breakfast – eggs or cereals?”  

There is nothing special about the reaction. Millions of Indians don’t have time or inclination to take an interest in cricket. But such a reaction coming from me was surprising as I have always been an ardent cricket fan. I used to know each and every detail of all the cricket matches taking place, at least those involving India. I used to know who opened the innings, who came at number 4, who scored a century and in how many balls, which batting records were created, which bowling records broken and so on.  No detail was too small to look into, no number too big to memorize. In fact one time during my college days I watched every ball of an ODI cricket match involving Kenya and Bangladesh!  That is why when I look back on my reaction to India’s T20 defeat I am surprised at the utter lack of emotions evoked by the defeat. Neither was I disappointed at the loss nor did I discuss the match with any of my friends. I couldn’t care less.

What is the reason for this apparent lack of emotions? Is it just that I have lost interest in cricket or is there something wrong with cricket these days? I would like to lean towards the latter as even as recently as last month I was keenly following the England-SA test series; I watched most of the last Ashes series and when India were routed 0-8 in their tours of England and Australia I was utterly disappointed and did feel that I have been betrayed by the Indian team on whom I had so many expectations (I am leaving out the World cup 2011 victory from the list as you don’t need to be a cricket fan to celebrate the victory).  The reason all the above matches evoked strong interest was because they were all competitive matches played between two good teams and more importantly, had a context – the England-SA series determined the new No.1 Test side, India’s tours to England and Australia put their no. 1 Test ranking through a litmus test (which unfortunately India failed to pass) and the Ashes always have a sense of history associated with it. On the other hand the T20 between India and New Zealand was an orphan match. There was a feeling that the administrators, fans and even the players themselves did not care who won the match as long as they had some fun.

Meaningless matches like these not only serve no purpose but risk alienating committed fans like me in the long run. Unless and until a victory doesn’t enthrall and a defeat doesn’t shatter the fans, the match doesn’t deserve to be played and unfortunately the number of such matches are only increasing these days.

Any sport, especially cricket as it is played in only a handful of countries, needs passionate fans for survival and if the passion is taken away, slowly but surely, the fan too will go away.

Why blame Sachin ?

The Indian cricket team for the Sri Lankan tour was announced last week and a name conspicuous by its absence was that of the great Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar, as he told in an interview, wants to spend 'quality time' with his family and hence decided to skip the tour.
A lot of cricket commentators are criticizing this move with some even bringing up the club vs country debate to the fore asking why couldn't Sachin spend his 'quality time' during IPL.
In my opinion there is nothing wrong in the desire to spend 'quality time' with the family. Everybody wants to do that. If, like me, you work in a office where you have a limited number of leaves in a year you would want to utilize the leaves to the maximum extent. But what if I ask my boss that I want to take an additional month of leave after I have exhausted my annual quota? Will the boss indulge me ? Or, will he put his foot down and tell me in clear terms that no more leaves are available ? My boss' response will depend on how much I contribute to the company on a day to day basis. If he thinks that even after an additional month of absence I can come back and not only finish off the work allocated to me but even help my team members with their work and that on a whole I will have a positive impact on the team he might grant me my wish. However, if he thinks an additional absence of a month is going to negatively impact the organization he might not allow me the luxury of more leaves.

In either case, I cannot be blamed for asking additional leaves as everybody has a right to look after their own personal interests. Then why is Sachin being blamed for asking to be rested for the Sri Lankan tour ? If the boss - in this case the selectors - think that the 'pick and choose' style of Tendulkar is harming the balance of the team and that it makes the younger players more insecure about their future , then they should have a straight talk with Tendulkar and let him know their predicament. On the other hand, if they think that even if Sachin picks and chooses the tournaments, overall the team will benefit from his experience and expertise then they should clearly communicate their plans so that there is no confusion regarding Sachin's inclusion in the team.

But to blame Sachin is completely unfair. Sachin is blamed when he scores a century, Sachin is blamed when he gets out for a duck, Sachin is blamed when India wins and Sachin is blamed when India loses. But again, it is probably a price he pays for being considered a demi-god in India. His fans and the media demand a higher standard of morality from him compared to the rest.

In my opinion the real culprit in this case are the selectors who lack the courage to take on the great man. The objective of the national selectors, who are paid handsomely by the way, is to take decisions which take Indian cricket in the right direction, even if they have to defy the GOD.

Lets not put the burden of the selector's cowardice on Sachin's shoulders. The burden of a billion people is heavy enough.