On Tuesday, the 19th of January, the entire country was blooming with happiness as India had defeated Australia in the Brisbane ground (The Gabba)- a venue where the latter team had a record of being undefeated for 32 years. Headlines like the 'fortress has been breached' and '36 to 328-the remarkable turnaround' were circulating in all the news channels. People who predicted that India couldn't achieve anything without captain Kohli were proven wrong.
The equanimity and classic knock of stand-in-captain Rahane, the stoic demeanor of Pujara, the aggressive batting by Rishabh Pant and Shubhman Gill, the terrific bowling performance of Ashwin, Siraj and Natarajan and the impeccable 7th-wicket stand of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar- all were crucial for the team's victory. The young stars created history and this was considered as India's best performance. Tuesday had ended on a very dramatic note with the entire country gushing over the magnificent win.
Suddenly, all the cricket lovers started to feel very weird on Wednesday morning as there was no match. They were missing the early morning 'chai-charcha', the nervousness and excitement that surrounded the game and of course their self-commentary on the cricketers' performances. From this, one can imagine the degree to which Indians enjoy cricket and get completely invested in the game.
For the world, cricket may just be an ordinary game like any other sport- but in India, it is not so. Cricket is not just a game, it is an emotion. It is relished by people across all ages. If the team wins, it is considered as the win of the entire country. It is celebrated like a festival everywhere. There are parties, tasty food prepared and even family reunions! There are bets that take place everywhere (though it is not good) and the money won is used to satisfy food cravings and giving treats and gifts to each other.
Compared to others, it is children who have a lot of interest in cricket and news about the sport. They follow the regular updates and collect player cards to get rewards. Also, they stay up late night to watch matches with a bunch of snacks. The best part is, even though some of them don't understand the game and the intricacies of the rules, they end up watching the game due to the craze around it, their own inquisitiveness and their liking towards a particular player.
We are aware of the fact that the higher the level of involvement in the game, the higher is the tension about the result. People have some sentiments; they pray to their favourite God or Goddess before the match. They fix a particular place at home and usually don't move from there. They offer prasads to God, take oaths and become very spiritual that day.
How can I write about cricket and not mention about Gully cricket? This has its separate fan base. The best part in this way of play is that the rules are modified according to our convenience. Choosing captains for such teams is the funniest part as several petty quarrels take place. But whatever said and done, it is really fun to play cricket amidst the fights of friends and sounds of the locality.
Cricket is played in different forms: T20, IPL, ODI and 50 overs match. All these variations are thoroughly enjoyed by people. But the most-loved format amongst these is Test Cricket as it tests mental and physical endurance, stability and patience. We get to know the worth of a player and his innate abilities only through test cricket. That's why it is the most complex and celebrated formats of cricket as every match brings out new stars previously unknown to the world.
During the earlier days, cricket was not considered as a career choice. But now, the scenario has changed. People have understood that sports too is a field where one can achieve success and get a high pay. Due to this positive change, many youngsters are pursuing their careers in the sports arena. They are having higher trust on their talent and intuition.
Cricket is known as the 'gentleman's game' since it was being played since the time of aristocrats. The reason it was called so was because there was no false play; everyone was genuine and played for their country's honor.
But sadly, now the things have changed a lot. There is betting, match fixing, ball tampering and hurling abuse on the opponents. Many bad things like racial abuse in the stadium and partiality towards a particular team is taking place. Cricket has completely become commercialized .
The question that arises here is that- has cricket lost its former glory? The answer is not a complete yes. Yes I agree that sports have become more inclined towards profits in certain aspects and few players are crossing the boundaries, but the charm is not completely lost. It is not correct to blame the fraternity if the mistake is committed by a single person.
Now to the next question-Why do these players make these mistakes when they are aware that their actions would cost them their career? There is a very simple reason for this. The rush of adrenaline, the sky-high tension, not weighing the priorities correctly, keeping one's personal vendetta above national honor and the thought that they can't be caught when they cheat makes them to commit such errors. The players do realise their blunders later on and even ask for an open apology, but the damage is already done right?
One must think twice before speaking and many times before performing any action. If the players get a feeling that cheating will save the country from defeat, they must immediately stop that thought as their actions would cause disgrace to their nation. If this one point is taken care of, then cricket can surely get back its original status and love the people once had towards the sport.
As I stated earlier, cricket is not any normal sport, it is an emotion. This had several positive and negative outcomes. The positive aspect is that the entire country comes together regardless of their differences to cheer the national team. But the negative aspect is that there are communal fights with people from other countries. There are unwanted controversies and defaming of people.
If a match is played between two countries, it is taken as a prestige issue. If one of the team loses the match, they will have to face trolls and backlash from everywhere. Their sincere efforts will be ignored; they don't get their due credit and only their flaws will be pointed out. They will be poked fun at and will become a laughing stock. The shocking part here is half the defaming and negative comments come from their own countrymen!
The irony in the situation is that, if the same team wins the match, those people whoever had spoken very badly and had no hopes of recovery will be the first one to celebrate. What hypocrites!
We are no better than others. Think about it, how many times we would have made fun of players and their efforts? The only difference between them and us is that we don't talk about it on national TV, make trends about it in Twitter or start the blame-game.
Learn to respect those who put in their 100% in order to keep up the national pride. Not always things work in their favour, right? Cricket is all about ups and downs and how one manages to stay afloat amidst heavy competition. We should understand that and act as mature fans and not as those waiting for a chance to pull the team down and dampen their spirit. We should support our team both in win and loss; we should have their back. If not us, then who will do that? We must keep encouraging our team to push their limits and aim higher. If we are successful in doing so, we will surely get to see outstanding results.
Finally, I would like to conclude by saying one thing. Every sport is similar to two sides of a coin. There is both victory and defeat- one must accept that. We proclaiming that a team can never be defeated is sheer stupidity as the tables can turn any time. We can create history by being the most successful team as well as the team with the lowest total. India's test series in Australia is an example that a team that slumped to an all-out with a meager score of 36 can roar back ferociously and can come with a bang by breaking Australia's winning streak.
Cricket is a beautiful game when watched with the right eyes and complete knowledge that it (cricket) is only a mixture of three things: probability, hard work and trust. So, keep your differences aside, come together and enjoy the unfolding of the greatest games of all times-cricket-the celebration and the metaphor of sportsmanship and unity.
- Anusha Sridhar
