As I write this Indian team is on its way to its third humiliating defeat in the four test series in England. Most of us cricket lovers who enjoy watching test cricket are dismayed with this kind of pathetic, dismal performance from a team which boasts of five world class batsmen and quality swing bowlers. Why did they fail?
Among other reasons, the main one is that there is no hunger to win. As I have written on earlier occasions, fat cats don’t fight. These players are a pampered lot with all the fame and money showered on them. There is no need to win when you are guaranteed a fabulous income. The Indian cricket board has used these players to make money is the common complaint, but then what about the players? Should they not object to this too much cricket? Why do they acquiesce to the unreasonable demands of the board? They do so because of greed.
These defeats should make the board and players realize that they cannot take us, the viewing public and patrons of cricket, for granted. The first step would be to stop the silly form of game called the twenty twenty cricket. This is destroying the true format of the game which is test cricket. Players who play twenty twenty cricket will not know how to play test cricket or if they do know then they will soon forget. This is what has happened to the test cricketers.
Injuries are a part of any sport. The more you play the more injuries you suffer. The greed makes them hide their injuries or declare them too late. This is why our bench strength is so thin.
I, though unhappy with the defeats, see a silver lining. This should make the board sit up and take notice of the deterioration of standards and the reasons why. I hope the paying and viewing public will boycott cricket matches and teach both the board and players a lesson.
No comments:
Post a Comment