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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, APRIL 21: Mohammed Azharuddin did nothing to hide his hurt. He was yet again being lynched for his leadership — something, he felt, he did not deserve.
“The captaincy controversy is needless. It has happened to me before too,” he said in a chat with The Indian Express, hinting at his predicament prior to the 1992 World Cup when his fortunes as a batsman and skipper were at a low ebb. The media then was baying for his blood, wanting him to be replaced by Kapil Dev. Now, as the team is gearing up for the Seventh World Cup, Azhar finds himself coming in for unfavourable comparison with his deputy, Ajay Jadeja.
“Such criticism is not going to affect me personally. I am not worried about such writings as I’m used to it. My worry is about the team. At the end of the day, the country comes first. I feel whoever has written such articles (against his captaincy just before the World Cup) has not done the right thing. He should do a big self-examination and ask if these things are doing any goodto the team.”
The Indian skipper pleaded with his countrymen to “be patient”.
“We want to win too. Nobody goes out in the middle with the intention of losing. We are trying our best. People must realise that we have been playing hell of a lot of cricket… Lean patches are bound to happen. I can’t be winning every match or scoring a hundred in every match… It’s very easy to criticise the players every time. Why can’t the public and the people who write face similar criticism when they err. I’m not trying to put anybody down, it is just my general feeling,” Azhar said.
Azhar felt that if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took into confidence the team management before while chalking up tours, things may improve. The skipper was also in favour of rotating and resting key players to give them much-needed breaks in these days of hectic cricket schedules.
