Prophet of doom

Just spare a minute from your hectically multi-tasked blur of a schedule. Just one mi-nute to hastily mutter a declaration of gratitude f...

Just spare a minute from your hectically multi-tasked blur of a schedule. Just one mi-nute to hastily mutter a declaration of gratitude for a cosmic order that has so providentially delivered to us J.Y. Lele, the Board of Control for Cricket in India8217;s pint-sized seer, who also doubles up as its powerful secretary.

So what if India8217;s autumn fixtures against a lacklustre Kiwi squad passed by so uneventfully, never mind the mammoth run chases? So what if lovers of the game are a trifle anxious about the Indian XI8217;s chances down under against the world champions who have amply proved their grit and determination to claw back to victory from certain defeat? So what if fans are more than a little worrisome about Ajay Jadeja8217;s injury and the prospect of Javagal Srinath shouldering more than his fair share of the burden of bowling on bouncy wickets? They have Mr Lele to remind them of the futility of taking the cricketing cauldron so very seriously, of fretting when the case is so hopelessly lost.

In stating in a freewheeling interview that India will be quot;wiped out 3-0quot;, Lele has offered sound advice to the easily excitable: stay glued to your television sets at unearthly hours if you must, but don8217;t even think about victory, don8217;t unnecessarily work yourselves up towards a depressing anticlimax. Indeed, the merit in that statement goes a long way deeper. In announcing a complete wipeout in Australia, the BCCI secretary has performed a signal service to the cause of Indian cricket. For long now Indian cricketers and their minders have complained of unrealistic expectations harboured and lustily voiced by millions, of how this pressure cramps their game and stifles innovation and results in a string of failures. Lele has taken the lead in what will hopefully be a miraculous turnaround. It may just work the other way around, overwh-elming expectations of defeat may just produce exactly the opposite.

Lele has a delightful perspective, an enviable capacity to despatch to the boundary wicket-worthy deliveries. If millions may be inclined to quibble that the Board is not addressing cricketers8217; fitness management, just turn around the whole issue of accountability. Witness Lele8217;s distress over Ajit Ag-arkar8217;s irresponsibility: quot;Can he promise that he wi-ll not break down again? He is so delicate.quot; How inconsiderate of a youngster who sprinted to the fa- stest 50-wicket haul in one-day history! If the cricket establishment is accused of doing precious little to foster a support team for Srinath, otherwise hailed as India8217;s best fast bowler ever, just bowl a bouncer, just argue that in fact there is nothing quite so exceptional about the Karnataka pacer. Simply adjudge him a quot;complete failure in the World Cupquot;, a cup India could have won quot;if we had taken more spinners to Englandquot;.

It is a different matter that the less perspicacious may dwell on nitty-gritties like the green wickets in England, and in Australia; they no doubt miss the point. But seriously. There are millions within and beyond India8217;s borders who bring to cricket an eclectic mix of passion and sedate contemplation. The BCCI secretary8217;s outburst is merely a pointer to how the powers that be in Indian cricket honour this interest.