Time to Ponder - T20 Rout and its Inferences

The T20 debacle in the West Indies has raised a huge furore in India. I wonder what the fuss is all about. Did we really believe that this current Indian team would scale the summit in the West Indies. Are we really so naive? I don’t think that this is an unexpected or a shocking result. It was always on the card but we refused to heed the warning signals present since the last two years. After the marvellous victory in the inaugural edition of the latest fad in Cricket, we thought that Indian cricket has turned a corner and this was the beginning of a golden era as soon we were also crowned as numero uno in Test cricket. However, at the same time, a fundamental shift occurred in the thinking process of current generation of Indian cricketers because of the sudden advent of the ratmatazz of IPL and the bounties it showered on the professional cricketers. The loss at the international events didn’t pain our cricketers anymore and the work ethics became corporatized with players doling out explanations such as cricket is a job and you will have some bad and some good days! The average Indian fan was hoodwinked by this spin (Googly!) given by the smart current generation of Indian cricketers into thinking that it doesn’t not matter for India to lose as long as the IPL wins. The basic tenets of game went into an abyss of spurious money and instant fame which made modestly talented cricketers such as Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan etc into huge saleable commodities (overvalued stock commodity).

The common factor amongst all these cricketers is their abject failure at the Test level, the ultimate form of the game. Barring perhaps Harbhajan who has had a chequered history with disciplinary issues and a few sporadic match winning performances, all other current generation products have struggled at the test level. Yuvraj who has spent close to a decade at the international level but is yet to find a regular spot in the Indian test line up is a classic example of a failure to put in the hard yards to be successful at the highest level. Why? Its not that Yuvraj doesn’t have the talent, but because the returns for putting in the extra effort is not worth it. Yuvraj is symptomatic of this malaise that afflicts the Indian sports in general. Lack of world class sportsman who is revered as global champions aka Roger Federar, Football stars such as Ronaldo etc. As an ardent fan of the game of cricket and sport in general, I am heartbroken to see India surrender so meekly at the global events on a regular basis such as the hockey world cup, tennis grand slams, and football . As they say, one swallow doesn’t make a summer, the victory at the 2007 T20 world cup was a false dawn which sowed the seeds of the current crop of pathetic performers who dont believe in taking pride in representing their nation, who think losing is part of the game and value IPL contracts over India cap. The silver lining in the current storm is India's status as the top dog in Test cricket but the end is nigh even in this arena with the impending retirement of stars such as Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, and Laxman who belonged to a generation who valued their India cap more than anything else. Recently, Dravid so aptly summed up the psyche of the current India caps " Rainas and Sharmas don’t have the hunger to play test cricket". He could not have put it more aptly and the disappointment is that these cricketers are not excelling even in their chosen format the slam bang version leave alone the test version. All will be forgotten as soon as the team will win a few meaningless ODIs in their own backyard and a few cheap victories in one of these farcical tri nation series held in a faraway Harare or a Dambulla. Here are a few questions for my fellow countrymen who should reflect and ponder and find answers for the same.

Can we produce Indian teams which are world class in the true sense who will win a test series in Australia or South Africa?
Can we dream to see an Indian squad donning the tricolor jersey in a FIFA world cup final?
Can we create Indian companies which will SHINE like a global brand such as Sony, Airbus, and Microsoft?
Can we manufacture standards of operational excellence as revered as Six Sigma?
Can my beloved nation ever be able to provide elementary education, health facilities, electricity, Law and order to thousands of villages and towns?

Suddenly, you will find answers to all the questions troubling you. All your doubts and agony will wither away and hopefully awaken you from your deep slumber!

JAI HIND