indian cricket – day of reckoning or deja vu?

another dismal performance overseas, lot of frustration vented, some knee jerk reactions.. in the near future, a home series white-wash of some unsuspecting opponent and today will be relegated to a bad memory.. the soap opera of indian cricket will go on. and soap opera is what the indian cricket has become; characters come and go,the plot remains unchanged.

and yet, there is no better opportunity to introspect – to look at indian cricket and ask the right questions.it is not a new situation that we are faced with, the questions have been the same for years now. while the standard questions on team selection, individual performance, fitness, preparedness etc will be asked, the bigger question is how do we ensure we create a system which breeds the competitive edge in its players, a burning desire to win? our cricketing history is littered with examples of so called giants of domestic cricket coming up cropper against slightly strong willed opposition? is it not because whatever competitive spirit in a player is dulled by the system that he is a part of during his developmental years??

at a more philosophical level, it is also time to ask if we are flogging the game to its death by trying to squeeze the last marketing dollar? is cricket losing its essential character of being a pure sport – and turning into a bollywood style commercial flick with its standard happy ending?

we will be kidding ourselves if we think that this is an uni-dimesional problem and there is a easy fix by making a few superficial changes. Sacking the coach, the captain and a few players will not fix the issue long term. The changes need to be far reaching, there has to be someone who needs to stand up and be counted. unfortunately, the administration of the game has shown remarkable capability to not look beyond the noses. i for one am not holding my breath in anticipation.

however, the world cup exit would do us all a good turn if it helps turn the spotlight in an another direction. the message needs to sink in that Watching a well played stroke or a well bowled delivery is just as pleasurable in a first class match, it will still remain after all the marketeers have gone home. Damn, it is the same game that is played to empty stands on substandard pitches in far flung corners of the country.

hopefully, it will lay bare the crumbling edifice that supports the game.