Those six extra members
Tahsin Subhan - 24 May 2002
When the Indian cricket team is on tour, it does not have 17
members; it actually has 23. I am not implying here that the
Indians smuggle abroad six extra players. The six other members
are: Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Geoffrey Boycott, Harsha
Bhogle, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Alan Wilkins.
They are all very good commentators in their own right, and their
understanding of the game is unquestionable. Geoffrey Boycott, in
fact, is a personal favourite of mine. However, it must be said
that the Indian team (especially on tour) comes in from heavy
criticism from these gentlemen. Which is not to say that the
barbs come only from the commentators, for the media back home is
equally, and possible even more, critical. But the commentators
are people the players know very well, and although it is only a
guess, the cricketers may take their thoughts and opinions to
heart.
In almost all of India's tours in the satellite television era, I
have seen the Indian teams' mistakes being put consistently under
an immense magnifying glass. Good performances are perfunctorily
praised, but the poor ones are dissected threadbare. Why did the
selectors pick this team? Why are the spinners impotent?
At one point during the 1999 World Cup, when the Indians were
faring badly, I remember Sunil Gavaskar saying that maybe they
(the team) were not hurting enough. If memory serves me right, it
was after the loss at the hands of Zimbabwe; India were not even
out of the tournament then. I cannot imagine that the players
would be anything other than hurt and disappointed when they lose
games at the World Cup, or that they would be anything other than
hurt when a former great questions their integrity and commitment
at the World Cup. All credit to them that they came back to win
the next three matches and advance to the Super Six stage.
The Indian team plays badly abroad, which is different from
playing bad cricket abroad. The latter, we know, has been
overcome by the Indians, for they play very good cricket at home.
So it is not just a matter of helpful and unhelpful pitches;
India at home take the field in a positive frame of mind and play
their best. As Ravi Shastri points out, that positive outlook is
absent when they are abroad. When things do not go their way,
India are far too quick to become defensive and negative. The
fear of losing is a huge factor in this; they know that a loss
will entail public murder, both by the media back home and by the
six extra touring-party members.
With the possible exception of England, no other team comes under
such scrutiny. Even the English do not so much criticise their
team for losing as elevate the opponents. The commentary team and
the media may thus need to take a step back and leave the team -
the 17 actually involved in the matches - to their own devices.
I am not for one instant saying that this is the sole reason
India lose abroad. The team has many other problems while touring
overseas. In the West Indies, for example, it can be said that
the opposition had a better wicket-keeper batsman and a better
opening pair. But the Indian cricketers are grown men and must be
expected to solve their problem on their own. I am looking
forward to that on the tour of England, despite history telling
me to expect little.
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