Indo Australians Cricket Series

International matches are hotly contested. It’s good to see balanced teams fighting hard to win, but what bothers me is the overreaction to match results. The India Australia series, better known as the Border Gavaskar Trophy, has brought to light some issues that urgently need to be addressed. We are forgetting all the thoughts of playing for the glory of the sport and thoughts like “It is not the victory or the defeat that is important, but the participation that is more important”. Is the present thought of winning good for sport or sportsmanship? It should be seriously thought to protect the game.

When India lost to Australia last year, there were all kinds of reactions to the Indian team, like the Tigers at home and the Leopards abroad. The press goes beyond its limits by overreporting and overreacting. This builds an opinion that creates a hype that is difficult to deal with. We forget that athletes like us are human beings who may not perform at the same level all the time and in all games. An athlete who is good one day is suddenly painted as the worst the next day? It seems that the game is not played by human bodies, but by machines that have to launch the same product every time.

Now the Aussies have lost four test matches in a row. When the Aussies lost the second, the Australian press had no hesitation in saying their team was dead. This is the worst comment that any press in the world can make. Why did you forget that the Aussies have consistently performed very well in the past? They have ruled the world of cricket along with the former West Indies side when Viv Richards, Clive Llyod, Gordon Greenidge, Holding, Marshal and Garner were there on their side. What does the Australian press expect from their boys and why don’t the Australian public support their players by accepting that they are an integral part of the game? If the Indian press was wrong in the previous series, the Australian press is wrong now. Both are zeroing out their heroes.

Professionalism has added to the problems of players and support staff. All accept nothing less than a victory. This affects the morale and the union of the teams. Players also overreact at times. They worry too much about their egos. This leads to incidents such as Shane Watson and his teammates leaving their teammates to fight their opponents alone. This can also be referred to as childish behavior where some words affect you so much personally that you leave the team and return to Australia.

I appreciate Indian captain Dhoni’s post-match statement in which he refused to call his team’s victory revenge. He was right that in sport there is no place for revenge. Here, former cricketers, press commentators, radio and television commentators and press reporters have an important role to play. They can make the game hotly contested and even more sporty. It is not wise to make unnecessary and avoidable comments about the performance of a player and a team. The public must realize that players cannot perform at the same level at all times either. Give them your support and help them meet your expectations. Never advertise the games as Ashes (England-Australia series) and as a war to settle scores between India and Pakistan teams just to satisfy commercial interests. This way you do more damage than the money you collect. You can count the money, but remember that you can’t assess the amount of damage you deal. Let the sport be played in the right spirit.

I just wish and pray that we continue to enjoy good games. We love going out to see close matches where the winners and losers share a drink after the game.