The Two Sides of Cricket

This week, there were  two  unique cricket-related news. One was the victory of the Indian side in  the match against Pakistan in a  World Cup engagement and the other was the  joint appeal signed by some of celebrated cricketers of the world  demanding that  the Pakistan government treat the imprisoned former Pakistan cricket captain  Imran Khan with basic dignity and provide him urgent medical care.

Thes two news represent the two sides of generational change in cricket. The first news relates the absence of the time -tested  handshake by the two captains at the end of the game a la what happened  in the final of the Asia Cup  match in Dubai a few days ago. Then too the Indian captain walked away without shaking hands with Pak players or their captain. It was thought  that this  cricket win  against Pakistan is the fittest reply and true decider of Operation Sindhoor against Pakistani terrorists.  A win or loss in a cricket match,   like in any other game,   is a  test of skill of the players. It has nothing to do with a country’s relations with another country.  By repeating the cold and unfriendly gesture of not shaking hands once again in a T20 World Cup match, the Indian team has set  a legacy of enmity not just with the players of the other side but also  the country they represent. . In any match the two playing sides are merely  rivals for the duration of  the game . They are not enemies by any standard. Players are influencers of public perception and  opinion. It was therefore no surprise that GenZ spectators were heard saying , like a war cry, ”crush / destroy the enemy”. The  Sports correspondent of The Economic Times captioned  his report “Another emphatic victory, another missing handshake- history may judge Suryakumars’s India unkindly……Surya , the captain is winner, but as a leader he stands diminished”. On the same note, I ended my  blog on the Dubai game,  “In Dubai, we won a game of cricket  but lost its spirit. “

In the second case ,  14 former celebrated cricketers spanning six decades of the game and from every cricket playing country have in a joint appeal for treating Imran Khan with  dignity and humaneness The Appeal mentions their understanding ,as cricketers , of the values of fair play, honour and respect governing their behaviour in and out of the field  and states “ A  person of Imran Khan’s stature deserves to be treated with the dignity  befitting a former national leader and a global sporting icon ……….Our shared history on the field  reminds us that rivalry ends when the stumps are drawn – and respect endures” . It is imperative to note the sentiments of respect and humanness expressed by the former players for another  player who might have even captained a rival team against them. This s points out the other side where  past players have exhibited humane sentiments for a player serving his term.  

The two news may also be seen as representing  the change in the characteristics of the game of  cricket  form  the  5 -day Test  to the present  T20 game lasting just a little over 3 hours.  The Test match reflected patience and artistry like the batters scoring through elegant off -drives , late- cuts and leg -sweeps and the pace  bowlers using  speed and swing and spinners  employing  deceit of hand and wrist and the googly. On the other side,  the T20 game  reflets  the batter’s aggression, the swing for the helicopter shot  and spooning  of the bat  over the wicket keeper’s head.  They may provide thrill for the generational change in spectators but it is not cricket  as the saying goes.

Let us make cricket a Gentlemen’s game again.