The flag versus the logo

The fizz and the froth, the magic and the moolah of all those cola and beer promos can be distracting -- and understandably so. But when ...

The fizz and the froth, the magic and the moolah of all those cola and beer promos can be distracting 8212; and understandably so. But when it goes straight to the head, when corporate funding threatens to wipe out national pride, when the sponsor rather than the country calls the shots, when the sponsor8217;s logo rather than the nation8217;s flag raises emotions, then it8217;s time to think again, boys.

Today, you strut about like superstars on the greens 8212; in London and Cape Town, in Kuala Lumpur and Toronto, secure in the belief that it is your name that those thousands, why millions, out there are screaming out. But never forget, boys, that it is this lot that has made you. That has paid their hard-earned money to watch you. That want you to delight them by giving of your best to the game and the country 8212; your country and theirs. Without them you are nothing, you are not worth even those Reeboks you stand in.

It8217;s easy to be blind to this when the strobe lights of fame flood out your vision but then, boys,remember that lights can be switched off at a flick of a wrist 8212; and the encircling darkness can be a bleak destination.

So what happened at Kuala Lumpur, boys? How was it that you got bundled out at a miserable 110 for 9, after you had at one point in the same game the Aussies gasping for breath at 84 for 5? Did the flight schedule to Toronto have anything to do with the final result, or is that being unduly cynical?

Perhaps it is, but you should forgive the cynicism when it8217;s common knowledge that some of your tickets were booked to take you way beyond Kuala Lumpur 8212; all the way to Toronto, in fact. And there was no way you could get on that flight if you had happened to win against Australia. As it happened, you couldn8217;t get to Toronto even after having fortuitously lost that crucial match. Too bad, but fate can sometimes play cruel tricks even on golden lads.

It8217;s true of course that there was a great deal that went wrong in the planning for the two encounters 8212; the Commonwealth Games and theSahara Cup. The stand-off between the Indian Olympic Association and the Board of Control for Cricket in India was ugly, long drawn out and demoralising, with politicians also contributing their bit to queer the pitch. The solution that emerged from that slugfest was also no solution. Sending four 8220;stars8221; 8212; Tendulkar, Jadeja, Kumble and Robin Singh 8212; to bring some shine to an otherwise unexceptional team heading for Kuala Lumpur, far from adding to its worth only served to detract from the strength of the team playing in Toronto.

But it is the spirit with which you played the game, once you found yourselves in Kuala Lumpur, that people find hard to swallow, boys. Not just people in India but the thousands of expats in Malaysia who had long cherished the idea of waving a home team to victory. Your five-star tours have softened you so much that you have only disdain for the communal living of a games village, it seems. And when was the last time you sat on the stands and cheered an Indian hockey player onor clapped your hands when a compatriot won a gold for weightlifting? Sport at its best is when individual effort inspires national emotion. Never forget, boys, you are a part of a team. Not just a fancy cricket team, but a team called India.