Cricket rage

Chroniclers of Kargil have already delineated the long, rough path two adversarial nations have negotiated this year, but the scenes being played out in a 22-yard mirror too are enlightening. To wit, Pakistan Cricket Board de facto chief Mujeebur Rehman8217;s interview to an Indian daily. Injecting a sharp, and so far rare, dose of aggression and machismo in official bilateral sporting ties, he claimed that the reason India had backed out of the Toronto series was that its team was 8220;scared of playing Pakistan8221;. And as he went on to cite the performance of Sachin8217;s men against Australia this Monday as proof, he no doubt suffered temporary amnesia about a Sunday not so long ago when his players effected the most abject of surrenders to the same men in yellow one sunshiny English day. But that8217;s nitpicking. The point, in fact, is, Rehman8217;s descent into personalised, parochial commentaries on Indo-Pak fixtures is not just contrary to the amicable postures routinely adopted by the two cricketing establishments evenamidst strategic face-offs; it could have an enormously detrimental fallout vis-a-vis the resurgent sense of enmity among millions on both sides of the borders.

But then, in these increasingly globalised times, when trends sweep across thousands of miles almost instantaneously, perhaps we are being a trifle unfair on Rehman. Perhaps he too has been afflicted by Cricket Rage, which is sweeping across England, warranting laments about the state of a game that defined the Englishman8217;s USP of gentlemanly behaviour. At sundry county grounds, as bowlers denied lbw appeals prostrate in protest, as others of their ilk get clobbered by batsmen whose wickets they have added to their bounty, the authorities while redrafting the rules of the game have decided to include a chapter called the Spirit of Cricket on what constitutes acceptable behaviour. They would do subcontinental cricket a whale of a favour by despatching a copy of this preamble to Rehman and any other Indian or Pakistani colleague inclined to think likehim.

Was it just this year that the after-a-decade India tour by Pakistan was heralded as the dawn of a more conciliatory era? And Rehman would do well to ponder whether it was just this year that his triumphant team was given a standing ovation at Chennai. It8217;s a different matter that Calcutta dimmed the glow of that sporting gesture. It may well be that a mere series was invested with far too many expectations, that such extraneous burdens on twentysomething cricketers to play a part in bettering international relations took away from the pure pleasure of the lazy old game of glorious uncertainties. It may well be that letting the Kargil bitterness seep into cricketing fixtures has added a new confrontationism to a traditional rivalry. It is time the cricket establishment, players and administrators alike, as well as keen followers of the game put their heads together and sought to revive the spirit of cricket.