One bad night does not mean India are a broken team

 

Indian team players. Image: Debasis Sen

Social media has been a case study since India lost to South Africa in Ahmedabad. Of course, it was a bad loss. India played poor cricket and the lack of application was glaring. But one bad game doesn’t make it a bad team. One bad night doesn’t make everyone a bad player. You read social media and you tend to think: how is it that any of these players got selected? It seems everyone outside the squad is actually better. Each player who isn’t part of the 15 is supposedly better than the ones picked. The entire discourse is like a conspiracy theory. Social media gives poison a platform and maybe that’s why it can’t be taken seriously.

On my shows, the one recurring question is: will Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir be sacked if India doesn’t make the semi-final? It is as if the men and women asking this question want India to fail. It is as if they want Surya and Gautam to fail, and get sacked. There are still two games left and India can very much make it to the semi-finals. The perverse pleasure being derived from the Ahmedabad loss can wait a few days and be unleashed only after the final result is known.

Australia too couldn’t make it and were out of the World Cup. Does it not hurt? Of course it does. But there is no over-the-top reaction. Neither is there a victory parade with 10 lakh people coming out on to the streets when Australia win, nor is there abuse and castigation when they lose. In India, we lack balance. A World Cup win means players are immortalised and deified. They are worshipped as gods and given truckloads of money. A defeat, on the other hand, means they are torn to shreds and humiliated. This is my problem with Indian cricket fandom. It is time we mature and find some balance. Perspective is what we lack and, at times, it becomes too much to digest.

Can the players cocoon themselves from this meltdown? While it is much needed, it is far easier said than done. In an age where social media is intrusive and all-pervasive, it is nearly impossible to switch off completely. The face of the bus driver, hotel receptionist, airport check-in staff or room service attendant will all remind you of what has transpired. It is as if the nation is in mourning.

The truth is that’s not the case. Ahmedabad is done and the world has moved on. Indian cricket fandom too needs to move on and embrace reality. And that reality is that India face Zimbabwe tonight and West Indies face South Africa in the afternoon. Only after these games are done should there be a Mayday call – not before, for then it’s a false alarm.

I, for one, still believe India will make it. I am confident they will bring out their A game in the next two matches and step up. The team has shown enough in the last 18 months to back them – and that’s what fans need to do at the moment.

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Also read Control the Controllables: India’s T20 World Cup Moment of Truth

The post One bad night does not mean India are a broken team appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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