Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth shook hands in front of hundreds of flashing cameras. They smiled, and they hugged. Only the laddus were missing, or it would have been a perfect pre-wedding exchange between two brothers-in-law to be.When cricket embraces entertainment so wholeheartedly, can old-school Bollywood drama — family feud threatening to play spoilsport before love conquers all — be far behind? In any case, both Harbhajan and Sreesanth are known for their antics. What’s a little slap-and-bawl between two theatrically inclined buddies? But the authorities have not looked at the issue so light-heartedly. Harbhajan Singh’s whack has cost him Rs 3 crore, with more punishment likely to follow, and Sreesanth has been rapped on his knuckles for once again being the agent provocateur.At a time when India — the board and the media — has encouraged, embraced and celebrated these players as icons of a new, young, aggressive team, here is my question: How would they have reacted if Harbhajan had slapped a foreign player? Would the moral outrage have been replaced by justifications of extreme provocation? Would the player who now stands in shame have become a symbol of national pride who gives as good as he gets? Would there have been stories of how a peace-loving Indian who respects all other cultures can only react so viciously when pushed against the wall? Would the nation, instead of looking at his crime dispassionately, have rallied around him? All these issues had come up during the racism row in Australia just a few weeks ago. And — notwithstanding the final verdict — we had exonerated Harbhajan for all those reasons even before we knew what the truth was. Then the off-spinner, who’s been on the wrong side of the law right through his playing years, was a hero who inspired India by getting under the skin of the Australians. A charge against him had been treated as an allegation against the entire country. Hardly anyone cared if he had called Andrew Symonds a “monkey” or not; he had been incited. An inquiry finally showed that Harbhajan had not made the offensive remark, but — intended or not — it may have seemed to the players that they were being sent a message that any bad behaviour, unless it is racist, is fine.It’s almost surreal that a man who was part of the team management that gave the “Lord Hanuman is worshipped back home” analogy to defend Harbhajan during the crisis Down Under, Lalchand Rajput (then India’s assistant coach and now coach of IPL’s Mumbai team), has been punished as well. Video evidence shows he did not stop Harbhajan from delivering the monumental smack that resulted in Sreesanth’s torrent of tears. As for Sreesanth, he bowled the spell of his life against South Africa at the Wanderers in the December of 2006. He hit the deck seam-up, got the ball to dart in and move away with such random regularity that he single-handedly took India to a historic victory. But what endeared him to us that afternoon wasn’t his technical brilliance. It was his scowl to Smith, his verbal exchange with Prince, his wild appeals, and the pelvic thrusts after he hit Andre Nel for six that really captured our imagination. The break-dancer had arrived. There is a thin line between aggression and hostility, and Sreesanth crosses it too many times. But he is called brilliant on the morning he gets five for 40 and uncouth when he goes wicket-less for 40 from six overs. It’s no surprise then that he has today been reduced to a confused, unfortunate caricature of a flawed system.So, as we sit in judgment over Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth, it would perhaps be prudent to evaluate our own attitude. There is no denying that the off-spinner is out of control and the fast bowler is no saint. To put it bluntly, they have both got what was coming their way for a while now. But weren’t we standing and cheering as these players became emboldened with every misdemeanour they committed? If Harbhajan and Sreesanth are monsters now, aren’t we all guilty of creating them?kunal.pradhan@expressindia.com
