Virat Kohli Drives Through the Door; Curtains Drawn in the Theatre of Cricket
Virat Kohli dismissed all talk about him being unavailable for SA ODIs.
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Communication, like coffee, is a brew that can be deliciously intoxicating or unpalatably bitter. A lot of it depends on the beans, the words and just the right amount of cocoa, their spirit. Indian cricket seems to be forced to savour some of the latter as they deal with another crisis in the corridors of power.
“I was and I am available for selection all this time,” insisted Kohli, miffed at the recent stories of an apparently strained relationship with the team he built. “As far as I am concerned, I was always available. I have not had any communication with the BCCI to say that I want to rest. The people writing all these stories and their sources, to me they are absolutely not credible.”
The cricketer with those crisp cover drives, drove a wedge on Wednesday. And his words left Indian cricket scrambling for a shirt to cover its hairy chest of secrets. Barely a minute into a pre-series presser, his steaming words dispelled the winter fog with an explosive rush. A few days ago, BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly insisted that Kohli was advised not to relinquish his T20 captaincy. In response to the second question of a packed presser, Kohli debauched the suggestion as if he was playing a typically dismissive slap through the covers.
“Whatever was said about the communication that happened during the decision that was made was inaccurate,” submitted the Captain. “I was contacted one and a half hour before the selection meeting on the 8th for the Test Series. There was no prior communication to me.”
And the covers came off a saga that has gripped our mad nation of ardent cricket followers.
Leaders are meant to create, build and nourish. The millions of fans that afford cricket its lustre in India, expect these custodians to construct an edifice. One that is glorious, imposing and indestructible. Unfortunately, the custodians of our cricket seem to tread with heavy feet. The bricks are crumbling, the edifice is tumbling. And no one seems to care. There are not enough answers to put the discomforting questions to bed.
The fallout from this latest chapter of drama in Indian cricket is layered.
Players Diminished
The actors at the centre of this episode stand depleted, perhaps not as cricketers, but certainly as professionals dancing on the edge of excellence in their sport. Their acts have opened the door to perceptions, some as relevant as the facts of this situation. The injury to Rohit Sharma, which is expected to heal in time for the limited overs series feels less physical, more a choice. Despite a stern assertion to the press, Kohli’s preferences appear nebulous. The silence of Rahul Dravid gives away the sign of a man, not particularly in charge of his wards. Ganguly, once a player, appears to have lost the pulse too.
There are no winners in a team of individuals. The idea of Team India seems like a rich imagination in the minds of its naïve followers. In construction since the fallout from the match fixing era of Md Azharuddin, Indian cricket continues to firmly remain a theatre for individual brilliance.
The role of a captain in a team sport is not merely directing resources on the field. He or she ought to nurture relationships beyond the boundary, build bonds, dream a vision and draw energies needed to deliver on those dreams. Unfortunately, it appears that the Indian team is bleeding from self-preservation and a persistent desire for power and control.
Virat Kohli waiting for his turn to bat.
Image: BCCI
Media Stands Discredited
The narrator of tales is losing its voice. The unholy marriage of attention seeking eagerness and spurious ‘sources’ is eating into the soul of Indian cricket. During simpler times, enthusiastic supporters could trust the printed word for gospel. Opinion was measured. Criticism tended to be constructive, raising relevant questions, seeking sensible answers. Integrity was paramount. Facts cross checked.
Not anymore. Primal instinct seems to prevail over prudence. The need to be first trumps fidelity. Social media leaves dirty laundry out to dry on the surface. There is no hiding. Journalists and those that pretend to be are taking a hiding. Much of it deserving too, for their own lack of diligence. The Board appears to covet courtiers that sing their tune rather than honest interlocutors of the richly nuanced sport.
A discredited narrator is a price that no sport can afford. Not even cricket in India.
Fans Remain Irrelevant
Fervent fans keep a sport alive. They wear it around their chest like a sacred thread. But their journey to the heart of sport remains turbulent; the journey full of torment. Despite the infusion of technology, even the right end of a ticket is dressed in sweat, torn pockets and crumpled shirts. Weathered seats and the stench of broken toilets fill the experience with a putrid scent.
Spectators are the heart of any throbbing sport. The BCCI takes them for granted. Fans in India remain the most neglected. The least powerful. The most voiceless.
Even as the fans starve and perish, no tribute is adequate to admire their spirit and desire to persist. Desperately in love, there are millions clinging to the religion with a mysteriously elastic string of hope. One slender hope is that the custodians of this wealthy adventure can act before their hubris snaps this holy thread.
Delusion, Decadence and Decay
Much like the British, their forebearers, the custodians of Indian cricket are at the helm of a divisive cesspool soaked in rampant power, unimaginable wealth and evident hubris. But even for a thriving sport, this isn’t sustainable. At least for the production of excellence, if not wealth.
The change in leadership for white ball cricket merited an obscurely dismissive line at the end of a press release meant to present the Test team for the South Africa tour. That was nonchalance of the highest order, almost dismissive of the work done by the erstwhile captain.
The Indian Express suggests that the change was in the making for a while. “The BCCI wanted absolute clarity between red-ball and white-ball cricket. The BCCI wanted a complete (leadership) separation between the longest format and shorter formats to avoid any confusion. In the end, it was left to the selectors to take a call. They decided to appoint Rohit as new ODI captain,” the IE report said, quoting a source in the Board.
If that were indeed the case, why wasn’t there a flow of communication with the skipper and the larger team management? That is just one of many questions that hang over Indian cricket right now.
In any event, the captain has made his stance explicit. And it is no longer tenable for the BCCI to speak from behind shrouded curtains. Even if those curtains were made in the finest satin, there is barely anyone enamoured by their gloss.
It is time to draw the strings and present a bold face. Indian cricket needs transparency and accountability, as it always has. The present crisis is another golden opportunity for structural correction – of healthy communication, transparent selections and transformational leadership.
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