The terrible performance of the Indian cricket team during the tour of Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has come as a huge embarrassment to the Indian people. For a country that espouses cricket like a religion, the way Indian cricketers have performed, with no proper physical or mental commitment, must be a huge disappointment to the billions of people who watch, pray, eat and sleep at cricket. Of course, some will argue that cricket is just a sport and there is no need to make such a big issue out of the ongoing series in Australia when there are better things for us to think about and ponder on, such as elections and democracy, corruption and governance, healthcare and poverty. But, as we have already said, in a country where cricket is a religion with a huge following and intrinsically linked to the “national sentiment”, the performance of the Indian cricket team will be praised and ridiculed in equal measure, depending on whether it wins or loses. And the mass following of cricket-mad Indians is part of the huge commercial success of the sport in India, not forgetting the star ratings and donations of cricketers. Therefore, just as in a democracy where the government is accountable to the sovereign – the people – the game of cricket and those who play and run it must be accountable to the people.
Therefore, given the nature of cricket in India and its revered status, almost like a national treasure, the rise and fall of the Indian cricket team will be celebrated and lamented in equal measure. The recent downturn in Indian cricket, namely the crushing defeat to a struggling Australia under their new captain, must have come as a terrible shock to a cricket-loving India. On the eve of the Test series in Australia, hopes of an Indian victory were so high that the losses in the three matches so far, without even giving Australia a chance to compete, are extremely disappointing. Statistics show that after the latest defeat in Perth, India has suffered seven straight losses overseas. The Indian team has been described as “tigers at home and lambs abroad”. At home, where pitches are specially made for batting, Indian batsmen score big while bowlers struggle. Thus, unless those who run cricket in India do something to make the Indian playing fields more competitive and acclimatise to the outside conditions, the Indian cricket team will continue to be cheered loudly at home but subservient abroad.
Secondly, another thing that is worthy of our concern right now is the ill effects of overdoing the shortened version of the game i.e. T20 and ODI. Of course, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is equally responsible for the unhealthy state of Indian cricket. The BCCI is only interested in generating more cash and has forgotten about the development of the game and the players. Cricket has become a cash cow for the BCCI and this is the problem with Indian cricket. Those who run the game including the players are increasingly looking for commercial success instead of the interests of the game and the country they represent. Instead of bemoaning the latest defeat on the field, those who run and play the game of cricket in India need to diagnose the ill effects of the current system. The answer to reviving Indian cricket lies in fixing them.
