Asian Games or ICC schedules?

By Rajadhyax

Refusal by the Indian cricket board to send Team India to the multi-discipline Asian Games has sparked a searing debate among cricket lovers in the country. A surprising majority seem to be in favour of the Sports Ministry of India what with the state honchos portraying it as an unpatriotic thing on part of the cricket board. Some have, however, taken the other path and supported the daring cricket board. I represent that small minority who are completely with the cricketers and the cricket board on this. I intend in this article to project some good reasons for siding with the men in blue.

Firstly, this hullabaloo about patriotism is all misplaced. Even when our cricketers stick to the ICC schedules they will be representing India and we all will be pining for them as Indians. Even when they win the T20 Micromax Cup against a lowly ranked Zimbabwe we feel proud by the virtue of the fact that ‘India’ won a trophy. So there are dollops of patriotism involved even when India follows the ICC matches. And the flame of patriotic spirit is not kept going only by multi-sport events like Asian Games or Olympics.

Secondly, most team events have floundered to find a deserving place or status at these multi-discipline sporting events since they are much more tuned to individual sports. A Mark Spitz or Carl Lewis is what everyone looks for. People pay ticket money to watch a Sergie Bubka or a Jesse Owens make merry with Golds at these events. How many people come to the Olympics to watch Spain play England in football? For that they will prefer the World Cup.

Thirdly, there is the issue of commitment. ICC schedules are prepared well in advance and the different boards commit their teams for certain matches or Cups. Now pulling out of those commitments is not very professional on part of the Indian board. Even countries who will be sending their teams to the Asian Games have planned to send their ‘B’ teams as the main teams are committed elsewhere in the ICC calendar. Unfortunately for the Asian Games India’s team ‘B’ is also committed elsewhere. If we send a team from the remaining players, then that could be considered as a veritable insult of the big event.

Fourthly, one does not understand why a team that is already representing India in one set of internationally acclaimed, televised matches change its pre-declared schedules and arrangements to accommodate their presence in another event? And that too a lesser viewed event, if I may add. How does that help cricket to be specific and how does it generally help the world of sport? And things turn even more nasty when the same sceptics later turn around and state that India plays too much of cricket!

Lastly, one also has to look at the vexing issue of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which has asked ICC to make its members follow its anti-doping code. Indian cricketers, due to genuine difficulties regarding the ‘whereabouts clause’ have refused to follow the code. ICC is negotiating with the Indians and a solution is likely to come out later. But before that solution comes up, the Asian Games will be over. So is the organising committee of the Asian Games and WADA going to allow the Indian team exclusively to participate even without being a follower of WADA’s code? And will the other sportsmen accept that as a routine matter and ignore it? So how do they expect the Indian cricket team to participate?

In my personal observation a large contingent of the Indian cricket fans are getting increasingly emotional than ever before. To them a few newspaper reports with biased views are enough to sway their opinions. The small clutch of people who are perennially jealous of cricket are always waiting to pounce on the slightest opportunity to demean cricket in India, probably because they feel their favourite sport cannot take roots in India unless cricket is removed from its pedestal. The genuine cricket fans need to be more circumspect and informed than that. Keep your head on your broad shoulders, study the available evidence and then arrive at reasonable conclusions. And if you do that you will have no hesitation in supporting the decision taken by the Indian board.