`Insignificant’ Indian team is of little interest to the Sri Lankans

Praying to Gods other than those that just activate the rain. July is not a terribly great month in Sri Lanka, it being anniversary time for several unpleasant events which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have the habit of “observing”. To give you an idea, the month is usually described as Black July. So, who knows?

Which brings us back to the Indian team. Actually, most people think they are nice, clean guys. Manoj Prabhakar may have rocked the boat with his accusations, but unless he takes names, nobody here is willing to believe that anybody in the Indian side is going to throw away its matches. “This has happened before that someone is dropped from the side and he goes about making all kinds of accusations. And why did he keep quiet about it then, when the offer was made to him?” said former captain Bandula Warunapura, now a television commentator.

“It’s not fair that Prabhakar should have levelled such serious allegations and then refused to name the players involved,” said Ana Punchihewa, former chairman of the Sri Lankan Board of Cricket Control.

There is no dearth of well-wishers for Indian cricketers here. When the Australians refused to play here during the World Cup, India and Pakistan demonstrated their solidarity with Sri Lanka by playing friendly matches here. Sri Lankans won’t forget that. There are no racial tensions, always palpable with a visiting white team. And they are not known to chase women, unlike some other recent visitors.

It’s just that they don’t think Indians are such a good cricketing side any more. And when there are enough home-grown heros like Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya, who are nice and play good cricket, it is not surprising that the Indian team has paled to insignificance.

In fact, the team announced by the Indian selectors for the Cup scarcely made news here one paragraph in the sports pages and might not have figured at all had it not been for the fact that Azharuddin has been recalled to the side.

In fact, that’s about the only thing that has brought back some interest in the Indian team. “They haven’t been doing too well of late, but it’s good news that Azhar is back. He and Tendulkar could make all the difference,” said Punchihewa who has been credited with a substantial contribution to the Sri Lankan team’s World Cup success.

Said former Lankan star Roy Dias: “It’s great for India that Azhar is back in the side. He is one of the best players of one-day cricket and we are looking forward to seeing him in action.”

Despite the interest in Azharuddin’s comeback, there is also the belief in some quarters that he may not make a difference to the side’s chances. “He was dropped because of poor form in the West Indies. Between then and now he hasn’t played, so we don’t have any evidence that his form has changed for the better,” said Elmo Rodriguopulle, sports editor of The Daily News.“But,” he remembered to add, “cricket is a funny game, so who knows?”