Grumble with Gaurav | Gaurav Kalra
I am sure many of you like me have followed our cricketers throwing toys out of the cot on the anti-doping debate with a level of mild amusement. At least the impression now is that the inconvenience of a few (the chosen ones) has become the reason to argue against a measure that sport around the world accepts. Grudgingly yes, but does accept...
So where did it all go pear shaped for India's cricketers? Was there another way of perhaps handling the issue? Knowing that voices around the world such as Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams; even the European Parliament was upset with the "whereabouts" clause maybe our cricketers could have done exactly what they had? Signed up under protest, gone through a couple of these out of competition tests and asked the BCCI to put pressure on the ICC to press for this clause to be removed. In the end I suspect this battle will be won by the superstars of sport. Privacy is a persuasive argument. Continue reading below
Instead, by refusing to sign altogether and making their high-handed and much rebuked board an ally, our cricketers have sent the worst possible message. That they live in a golden cage of their own, where no rules except their own apply. Where sanction for throwing a document their own board signed into the dustbin is provided by that very same board. Where petulance is the norm, concession is for the meek and flexing muscle is what grown men do.
Some of the arguments to my mind have been laughable. Yuvraj Singh says, "We travel more and we play more and we get very little time with our families. So should be given more space". Now if Saina Nehwal finds that offensive can you blame the kid? Compare a young Indian cricketer's life to hers. The cricketer has a virtual family on tour. Senior players who can mentor him. A state-mate to break the ice with the rest of the team. An army of coaches to soothe his nerves and chisel his technique. Adoring Indian expatriate fans ever willing to supply endless Indian food and other goodies on long tours.
What about Saina? She plays her sport mostly in the far east and Europe. Lonely after a hard day on court perhaps because a coach isn't always travelling with her. Eating on her own, managing her own laundry, her own travel arrangements, practice schedules. For friends, maybe a Chinese or Indonesian player who speaks a couple of sentences of English. So who needs time with family more? Couldn't Saina make the argument about intrusion into private time? She hasn't. She has had the grace to say just sign up and get on with it guys, it really is no big deal.
The BCCI made yet another fundamentally flawed argument. "We have no problem with testing, but it should be done either in competition or training." That flies in the face of the problem that confronts modern sport. As cheats get smarter, measures get draconian. Didn't they just catch a cyclist in an out of competition test who finished 11th at the Tour de France? How come they couldn't catch him during the competition? How is it that for years Marion Jones escaped drug tests. Because cheats are smart.
Transfer this scenario to cricket. What if a fast bowler recovering from injury chooses to use a steroid to build strength. He isn't being tested out of competition so our bad boy pumps himself with the best stuff. Then uses a masking agent to hide the drugs and returns to the Indian team. Bowls over after over, spell after spell and takes the place of say an Ishant Sharma. Would that be fair? Wouldn't that allow a cheat to take what is rightfully someone else's? What will the one who misses out do with all the "private time & space" he earns then.
What the last few days have also done is opened up the one can of worms that I felt was being shut off. The cricket versus other sports debate. New India's sportspersons bear no grudge against cricket and its riches. Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Kumar; all go on with their business. Suddenly, they feel compelled to react. Why? Because sport by its very nature is played on a level playing field. When our cricketers demand a separate one for themselves and find spurious arguments to justify them, it angers the rest of our sporting heroes.
One final thought. Among the 11 Indian cricketers in the testing pool is a certain Sachin Tendulkar. I wonder if the legend needs now to take the lead to settle this. Pick up the phone to the BCCI President and the rest of his India colleagues. Accept on their behalf that perhaps they need to drop all this for now. Sign up. Issue a signed statement saying we are doing so under protest. And get on with life. If the dope inspector comes calling, just get it over with. And go back to watching TV with the kids or shopping with the wife. That's all there really is to it.
Write in: Are Indian cricketers being isolated on the WADA issue?
