Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
That an otherwise brilliant Indian run should be interrupted by an embarrassing pitch fiasco at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in the concluding fifth ODI match between India and Sri Lanka on December 27, 2009 at Delhi was truly a travesty of justice deserved. Forget the usual cynics and skeptical doubters who will keep harping interminably on the home advantage factor, but the Indians were truly playing outstanding cricket during the bilateral confrontation with their Colombo neighbors. What one saw was uncharacteristic consistency, high tenacity in perilous positions and amazing coalescence in team-work. Interestingly, India shone refulgent in all three tricolors of the game; Tests, ODIs and T20s. And then suddenly on a cool winter morning in Delhi, we saw the familiar 'we are like that only' self-created desi snafu.
As I write, even before the New Year hangover blues are beginning to wither away in most heads, the Indian cricket team is off to Bangladesh for another tri-series. Frankly, it is such an atrocious level of overdose. I am surprised how no one questions the prudence of such literal excesses as it is bereft of any logic; this is just pure commerce at play. I am glad though that MS Dhoni, India's captain did not flinch in stating his perceptible discomfiture with BCCI's unilateral decisions, in this case, the summary sacking of erstwhile fielding and bowling coaches in Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad. Assuming they had found some evidence of collateral damage against the docile duo, could not the BCCI have by now found apposite replacements? Gary Kirsten is surely stretching himself but it belies reason that the cricket world's ATM nation cannot even churn out small change for the betterment and support of their own real assets. I suppose BCCI will open a small window for auctions of recommended players for these vacant spots. Continue reading below
Be as it may, what has surprised me of late is the fast dwindling interest of Indians in the fortunes of other non-Indian Test playing nations. It is an alarming spectacle happening most imperceptibly. Once upon a time, true cricket enthusiasts followed the game irrespective of the contesting teams simply to savour the exciting thrills of a competitive combat.
Obviously, we did not have the feather-brained overkill that we have today in terms of surfeit of international matches.We would hook up to Radio Australia to hear commentary on the West Indies-Australia clashes, follow Pakistan's travails in the Kiwi mountain-sides and of course, the Ashes was always a traditional favorite appearing with assured reliability every two years.
Over the last few weeks we saw a remarkable resurgence of an emaciated West Indies team under the hurricane-like Chris Gayle resulting in two tantalizing finishes against the Australians. The Englishmen are locked in a bitter battle with the unpredictable South Africans flavored appropriately by the colorful presence of Kevin Pietersen. And the Pakistan-New Zealand matches have been equally arresting.
But ask the average Indian viewer about any of them and he will be as clueless as Barack Obama was on receiving the Noble prize. So what has caused the massive dissipation of viewer interest outside of Kanyakumari ?
I think primarily it obviously has to do with the massive media blitz that now encapsulates Indian cricket; Indian cricketers have become oppressively omnipresent like Bollywood celebrities for whom though understandably enough media consumption is part of survival strategy.
The cricketer unfortunately is following the same orbit. Forget the match-days itself , but there are pre-selection talk shows, event appearances, commercial adverts, experts huddled in inane dissections on just about everything and of course, the unerring supply of melodrama, political chicanery, ego clashes, and even rival camps engaged in fist fights (the Rajasthan Cricket Association elections involving incumbents against the one and only Mr Lalit Modi is an example), courtesy the most entertaining conglomeration of all-time, the BCCI.
They should consider launching a GEC channel called Just Imagine! I would have loved to see the live action proceedings that followed the Delhi pitch fiasco when reportedly retired cricketer Kirti Azad was roughed up.
Cricket which once had a seasonal flavor and was impregnated with impatient anticipation whenever played has given way to a round-the-clock exposure not just by dedicated sports channels but also by general news media.
Once upon a time we would start our calendar countdowns a month before a series began, now the majority are unawares of what a cricket schedule looks like because of it's predictable frequency. There is neither mystery, suspense nor an intriguing wait. It is like watching a porn film, you get exactly what you expect.
The IPL has now become a summer holiday retreat that comes announced with much fanfare into Indian drawing rooms with a cheerleader procession accompanying Shivamani, the ace percussionist. The plot thickens when Katrina Kaif looks angularly from the VIP box towards the setting sun leaning her shapely frame generously on a Bollywood colleague. That sets pulses racing faster than Usain Bolt's lightning speed. At that point a French bearded man resembling a rotund beer barrel makes his royal presence felt even while the three hour extravaganza is exploding into some mindless hitting. TV viewers in the meanwhile are busy doing guess work on whether the Shetty sisters will be there in his highness's after-match party on a well-decked yacht. IPL is the true manifestation of you work hard, play harder and party hardest.
The IPL has not just ended up repositioning a cricket-format, it has drastically impacted the game itself. Test cricket, not guaranteeing results, becomes a natural victim. With India itself playing throughout the year, it makes it even more difficult for someone to track the destinies of their counterparts elsewhere. Even a thrilling draw in a Test match (remember Gautam Gambhir's magnificent effort of 137 in Napier, New Zealand ) is considered "big deal" after 30 hours of "time investment" - a term usually associated with bulls, bears and jackasses.
Once people enjoyed a five-day battle, now they apply the principles of opportunity cost to it. IPL actually makes a case for attention deficit disorder by pandering blatantly to a short-term remedy and making it a business model.
With IPL's India-centricity the foreign player who was usually such a massive draw is now becoming a cipher in public perception. Several talented overseas players had no buyers in the highly televised auctions and candidly speaking many are just grateful for the small crumbs they received, which is relatively better than their home earnings. When one of the greatest players of modern cricket Ricky Ponting plays alongside a local unknown who even the country has not heard of till then you will agree the magical aura of the Aussie captain vanishes somewhat.
When Glen McGrath no less warms the dug-out for a long spell, you know, that the lethal lanky man is now low on perception stakes. And the irrefutable impact of the open knowledge that some of these illustrious names are willing to forsake their national teams to play for a million dollars more in the bustling financial supermarket of IPL. All of it has robbed the earlier inaccessibility, unknown heroism, novelty factor, the quintessential charm of the overseas player.
Once you saw a player once in a few years, maybe more, now you are assured of his availability for a definite period every year with monotonous regularity. Viewer fatigue is inevitable.
Times have changed, but a new decade begins with cricket actually getting more polarised as opposed to being globalised. The cricket connoisseur is now history. Welcome the birth of it's new avatar; the cricket consumer.
Happy New Year!
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