India is a fascinating place. The people, their thoughts,
their actions and their activities in general are affected by many external
factors which may or may not play any significant role in the lives of
non-Indians. Symbolism is one such factor. Be it political, or socio-economic,
or regional, or linguistic, they all define the general mind set of the masses
at a given period of time. The game of Cricket is one such symbol which has
been an important part of our lives for many years. It would be interesting to analyze
how this symbol affected us from even before independence to all the way today when
we are one of the fastest growing economy in the world.
The British introduced us to Cricket. We were under their
rule at the time, and pretty much only the Indian elite and the royalty could
afford to be associated with the game of Cricket. It was a matter of pride for
the young Indian princes who got the chance to rub shoulders with the
Englishmen and tried to match them in their own game. These princes would go to
England for the higher studies and there they would learn the nuances of the
game. But their stint in England would not necessarily be a pleasant one
because of the prevailing racism. Even if they were royalty in their own
country, they were not given an equal status outside. However, It was 1932 (15
years before we got independence), when India played its first Test match
against England and lost horribly. It was expected, as we the ‘slaves’ would
never have thought in our wildest of dreams to defeat our ‘masters’. Still,
people like CK Nayudu, Lala Amarnath, and Vijay Merchant etc. left their
indelible mark on the face of International Cricket even in that era.
Then came 1947 when India became independent but faced the
brunt of partition and another country, Pakistan was born which grew on to
become our arch-rivals in everything including Cricket. Such was the rivalry
(border-line animosity) that if either team on tour were to lose a test match
against the other team which were the host, the losing captain was sure to lose
his job as soon as he landed in his country after the tour, sometimes even in
between the tour. Thus, there was a time when Indian team played for a draw
from ball 1. They knew they couldn’t risk a loss, as they were not confident
enough that they could win. Hence it can be safely assumed that this period in
Indian Cricket was much like India’s political and economic policies of that
time i.e. making cautious decisions so as not to slip further rather than
taking risks and plan ahead of time to reap the benefits in future. The whole
idea of mediocrity was synthesized in this era.
In came Sunil Manohar Gavaskar or as later he was called ‘The
Little Master’. In the times when the West Indies pace battery comprising of
Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Colin Croft
was wreaking havoc and forcing the mighty opposition teams like Australia and
England to bite the dust, Gavaskar faced them without any protective gear or
helmet. His game was built around a near-perfect technique and enormous powers
of concentration. It is hard to visualize a more beautiful defense – virtually impenetrable
and it made his wicket among the hardest to earn. His everyday grind and
professionalism was an inspiration to everyone else in the team and together
with them he orchestrated many memorable test match wins overseas. Much like
the tough political and economic decisions taken during that time by the
incumbent government of India to keep a check on the prying neighbors like
Pakistan and China, and to successfully initiate the Green Revolution in order
to satiate the hunger of the masses. The message was clear – we are here to
stay and we are ready to work hard. We can no longer be ignored globally and it
was just the beginning.
A young Kapil Dev’s team won the limited overs’ Cricket World
Cup in the summer of 1983. It was considered an anomaly, a fluke, a mistake.
But those who thought this way didn’t know better at that time. Beating the
two-time champions – the mighty Clive Lloyd’s West Indies and that too in the
mecca of Cricket at the Lord’s Cricket Ground was a like a fairytale for most
of the Indians staying in or abroad. But the dream did come true. Kapil Dev’s
team didn’t have big enough names to win a World Cup. It was just the right mix
of talent, grit, youth, able leadership and a tinge of luck. Much like the
hip/pop culture which had started to grip India during the 80s. Educated youth
of the country was finally opening up. They were looking towards the west for
inspiration. Some of them felt liberated, others felt frustrated. But at least
they were not content with the status quo like the previous generation which
came immediately after the independence. Cricket changed too – from all whites
to colorful clothing. From day games to playing under the lights. More money
came in, more media coverage, and glamor started to get mixed with the game and
as India hosted the 1987 Cricket World Cup, it was clear that this fever was
only going to increase with time to come.
Then ‘The God’ entered the Cricketing arena and soon He
enchanted the whole world with His brilliant stroke play, technique, work ethic
and masterclass. It was clear from His very first test match that He was not
going to get bogged down by the bouncers of the fiery Pakistani pace battery. He
retaliated in the same language. Much like his idol Gavaskar, Sachin Ramesh
Tendulkar took the Cricketing world by storm and challenged it head-on but His
methods were far more attacking than Gavaskar. Now we had our own master
blaster and the bowlers were terrified of him just like they used to dread Sir
Vivian Richards. Soon, He became synonymous to everything which was good and
perfect. Be it the game, or the multinational brands, or the sponsors, everyone
was benefited by His arrival. Today, it is hard to believe that at one point of
time the BCCI had to pay Doordarshan to telecast the Cricket matches Live. Now
it was an altogether different ball game. The 1996 Cricket World Cup just
completely transformed the way India was perceived in the Cricketing world. It
was not just a mere coincidence that the economic reforms of the 1990s took
place in the same time frame. It was an open market and now everyone wanted his
share of this never-ending Cricket carnival in India. Foreign investments, multinational
brands, cola-wars, advertising surrounding Cricket was recorded at its all-time
high during this era.
But as they say, excess of everything is harmful. With more
money, came in more greed, which brought in more corruption in the game. It was
the same time when India was reeling under the pressure of policy paralysis due
to the incompetency of the coalition governments. The match fixing scandal
broke in the late 1990s and the then Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin and
many other players from the team were accused of sharing pitch and match
conditions to the bookies, sharing dressing room strategy which affected the
team selection, throwing away the matches and under-perform in order to make
enormous amount of money – as if they already didn’t earn enough from
legitimate means. It was the darkest phase of Indian Cricket which tainted
everyone ranging from players to the administrators to the match officials and the
opposition players. South African captain Hansie Cronje admitted to his guilt
and was sacked immediately. BCCI, facing the pressure to take some action
against the accused imposed a life ban on Mohammed Azharuddin and multiple
other players from the team. The people of the country were disappointed and
angry with their heroes. It seemed as if that this Cricket bubble was finally
burst and the only thing left were the pieces of the souls of the fans and the
game.
But just like the Phoenix rises from its own ashes, the
Indian Cricket was resurrected under the leadership of one man – Sourav
Ganguly. His leadership, along with the abilities of his lieutenants in the
form of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and VVS Laxman and later on Virender
Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, and Harbhajan Singh gave a new life to
Indian Cricket. Who can forget the 2001 Kolkata Test match win against
Australia which roughly divided the whole of Indian Test Cricket in to two eras
– before 2001 and after 2001. Ganguly had aggression, ruthlessness, a shrewd
cricketing brain and most importantly the belief that his team can win. After
the match fixing scandal, even the players who were not involved were having
self-doubt. What would happen now? How can I be sure that the 10 players playing
alongside me are in fact playing for my team, my country? Or are they playing for
the opposition just for the sake of some money? Ganguly made them believe that
there is no place for such thoughts in his team. Work hard, give your 100% on
the field and forget about what has happened in the past was his mantra. And
don’t take anyone’s bullshit on the field – be it the mighty Australians,
Pakistanis or the English. Be the bully to the one who tries to bully you.
Reply in the language they understand better. Basically, don’t let them
dominate you in your mind. Steve Waugh, Nasser Hussain and Wasim Akram, all can
testify to this fact that Ganguly was the toughest Indian captain they had
played against. This kind of attitude was never ever heard of in Indian
Cricket. These players were ready to die for their captain. And in the matter
of months, the weak and meek have been transformed in to the mighty. Much like
the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government of that time. Pokharan Nuclear
tests happened under the nose of America and Pakistan. India didn’t care about
the economic sanctions which were imposed by the West, because we knew that it
was the need of the hour. Kargil war happened during the same time which was
the reminder to our neighbors that it was not a good idea to poke the bear.
Technology (primarily in the field of communication) boom, infrastructure boom,
industrial boom and 24x7 media coverage started during that time. It was an
exciting time to live in. India had changed at almost every front and it had
much to do with the way we changed our thinking. Now we had stopped playing the
‘victim of circumstances’ card and finally took control of our future in our
own hands.
Again a slump! 2007 brought Indian Cricket to a new low when
they were crashed out of the World Cup in the very first round. A new coach in
the form of Greg Chappell had joined the ranks in 2005 but that change had
created problems within the team. Sourav Ganguly was not performing well
personally and he was soon losing the respect amongst the younger teammates.
Chappell tried to took advantage of the situation by trying to oust Ganguly and
other seniors thereby creating chaos within the team. Apparently, he had
‘plans’ for the team but those plans didn’t involve the seniors. Also, he was supposed
to be the ‘boss’ in all his plans. Clearly, he didn’t understand Indian Cricket
well. However, his tenure was short-lived as he was sacked soon after the
50-Overs World Cup debacle.
And like it happens all the time, with every adversity, a new
opportunity comes along. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had been in the mix for
around 2 years now was given a young team to lead to the inaugural edition of
the T20 World Cup. T20 – a newer, younger, faster format of the game which
would completely revolutionize the face of Indian Cricket as well as project
BCCI as the new superpower of World Cricket in terms of money, power,
influence, everything – even bigger than the ICC! The young Indian Cricket team
won the T20 World Cup under the captaincy of Dhoni and he became the new poster
boy of Indian Cricket. Humble beginnings, hard work, a dash of luck and a lot
of support from people who matter. His story had everything. But it was
something else which changed that day. It was as if a switch went off somewhere
and a billion-dollar idea was born. Untapped resource of endless fortune. An
idea which will take Indian Cricket miles ahead of everyone else in the days to
come. The ‘White’ Supremacy in World Cricket was finally over. For the past 150
years, the English and the Australians were running World Cricket and although
the Indians had the potential to be the part of it, they were never truly given
any importance before. They were never considered the supreme ‘boss’ before.
But now, Indians had Indian Premier League – IPL.
The effect of IPL and the dominance of BCCI can be assessed
by the fact that the ICC had to clear its itinerary to make space for the IPL.
8 weeks of power-packed league cricket scheduled each year during the month of
April-May, every year for the past 9 years. There are cricketing leagues in
other countries as well. But not many care about them. Moreover, players from
all countries are welcome to participate in the IPL (barring Pakistan), but
Indian players are not allowed to be the part of any other cricketing league. To
retaliate, England barred their players to play in the IPL for some time. But
later on they had to give in too. Also, IPL has provided a great platform for
young Indian un-capped players to showcase their talent and earn a lot more
than they would have if they were just playing domestic Cricket. The condition
of Cricket stadiums have improved drastically in the past few years and new
venues have popped up because now the BCCI have enough cash surplus to provide
for these venues. The cash-rich IPL has generated better revenues with each
passing year and everyone involved has benefited with it. In the year 2015
alone, IPL contributed $11.5 Billion to the Indian GDP!
But then again, when everyone is getting blinded by all that
money, some people are bound to get greedy and start doing things which they
ought not to do. Allegations of illegal betting and spot-fixing were made
resulting in the suspension of franchise owners as well as players. Much like
Congress-led UPA government of that time during which the idea of IPL was
floated and became popular. It is fascinating to see that during the period
when the corruption in the government of India has increased, the corruption in
the game of Cricket has increased as well. So much so that this time, even one
of the sitting MPs from the government was involved in the wrongful auction and
procurement of the new IPL franchise. Later on, the honorable Supreme Court
ordered to set the things straight.
Everything said and done, we should accept that Cricket is
not just a game in India. It has become our identity. There may be many bad
things happening inside or around it, but the bottom line is that it is the
need of the hour. When there is a possibility to make money, one should make it
– provided it should not be made through illegal means. It’s a cycle – the game
brings in money, then that money helps build the game in a better way, which in
turn brings more money, and then it helps us to be emancipated from the
shackles of our ‘colonial masters’ who introduced us to the game at the first
place.
