Many forests will be felled abusing Indian cricketers, postmorteming India’s performance. Blame will be assigned and scapegoats will be found. That’s always fun and we, in South Asia, have much expertise in that blood sport.
I am sure the same will happen in Pakistan. But the additional misfortune of losing their coach, Bob Woolmer, under such suspicious circumstances makes such an exercise even more tragic.
Much has been written on the grave moral and existential crisis (indeed, series of crises) cricket is passing through in the last decade or more. More will be written.
None of that is moot for Indian and Pakistani cricketers. Their crisis is more fundamental. For anybody who watched their performance, and has followed cricket as well as cricketers in these two countries for some time, it is obvious how jaded and listless they look. This is perhaps one of the consequences of attaining everything (money, fame, women and opportunities) very easily.
Some day, very soon, they need to rediscover why they play this wonderful game.
That perhaps is the only thing that matters.
PS: On the World Cup itself, see this typically insightful piece by Ashis Nandy in the Times of India.
Post a Comment