Opinion God of big things
Tendulkars few rumblings are heeded. What about Sehwags rebellion?
With great power comes great responsibility. Pop culture in the 20th century propagated that thought incessantly in different forms through Peter Parkers Uncle Ben in as many words,and through the actions of other caped crusaders who prowled its colourful streets. In sport,a land that pop culture often visits for its inspirations,the debate on whether top players should use their clout to change things for their peers has always been an intriguing one.
One pop icon who understands the power and responsibility relationship better than most others is Sachin Tendulkar. Hes never allowed the adulation of millions to go to his head; hes always managed to conduct himself like a role model; and hes chosen his words with care,aware of their power and their ability to create a controversy.
The first time he raised an issue in public was after the 2007 World Cup,when he reacted to coach Greg Chappells comments against the senior players with an idiom made famous by Kader Khan in Hindi pop culture: Paani sar se ooncha ho gaya hai. The BCCI had no option after that Chappell was sacked,order was restored,and India soon had a famous Test series victory in England.
Two years after that,he said neutral venues were robbing the excitement of the Ranji Trophy. The decision was repealed immediately,things will go back to normal from the coming season. And on Tuesday,in a discussion on Cricket in Changing Times,it was refreshing to watch Sachin speak freely on cricketing policy,rather than cricketing excellence,by laying out a simple plan to help revive the popularity of Test matches reserve a stand for students,give them free entry,and allow them to soak in the experience.
Other than these forays into uncharted territory,however,Tendulkar has chosen to keep his opinions on larger cricketing issues to himself. So much so that hes given the impression that he could have perhaps played a more proactive role in cleansing Indian cricket of several of its ills.
Tendulkars opening partner in one-dayers,a batsman he says is more like him than any other,showed a dramatically different approach to problem-solving this week when he raised a banner of revolt against the DDCA.
Virender Sehwag thundered that he wanted to quit the Delhi team because of the pressure on captains to pick certain players close to the association,and got instant support from an array of players from the city past and present including his two most prominent team mates Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma.
If ever there was an aggressive way to make a statement,it was this,and such a rebellion is unprecedented in Indian cricket,save for Bishan Singh Bedis successful campaign against the DDCAs Ram Prakash Mehra in the early 80s.Sehwag has said that he wants to move to Haryana,and while there have been some allegations of ulterior motives,it was about time a discussion was raised about the power wielded by officials in the Indian cricketing structure. Delhi cricket has been dogged by such allegations for years,but Sehwag indicated that the dam had finally broken (paani sar se ooncha ho gaya hai?).
While not many expect his long list of demands to be met in a meeting with top officials on the weekend,the DDCA is in a spot because its hard to see Delhi cricket surviving without Sehwag and his high-profile colleagues.
The BCCI has so far washed its hands of the issue,saying its an internal matter. But the worrying thing for the board is that pop culture thrives on sequels. If one set of players has risen up here,will another group rightly or wrongly ask for more somewhere else?
kunal.pradhan@expressindia.com
Share
