Yawn……first a disclaimer…..I hate cricket. I used to play it fairly well, and played it at some level, at some time, however insignificant that was in the larger scheme of things. But, I find the national obsession over the sport a tad tiring, and inexplicable. Since, cricket is in-your-face, both on TV and in the print media, you cannot avoid the damn thing, and I too, like millions of others, knew that the nation was waiting with bated breath over Sachin’s 100th Hundred. How very interesting? I mean, I do not say this with a supercilious feeling of arrogance or whatever, but to think that a statistic could actually interest people…… a sort of vicarious pleasure over someone else’s achievements.
I have nothing against Sachin. I am neither a fan….nor a critic. I am not competent to be either.
I like the guy’s dogged perseverance. I like the fact that whether people call for him to be dropped or not, he carries on undeterred and persists to go on making (or is it breaking?) more records. I like the fact that he has largely been out of controversies. I like the fact that he has so far not been implicated in fixing/betting or other stuff that would tar his legacy. I like the way he has kept his personal life out of public scrutiny. I like his unassuming self. I love his hard work, because, he correctly realizes that success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. He has never had a short-cut to success and he has worked very very hard to reach the pinnacle he is at now. He deserves all the accolades that we shower on him.
But I do not like that he is not much of a team player. His contributions have not resulted in too many memorable victories. They have however, been victories for him at a personal level. His stint as captain has been forgettable, which shows his dogged single-mindedness in his pursuits. It may be argued that leadership is not everyone’s forte. But then, isn’t that the test really, of being able to use your genius, to inspire others to come out with their best, so that the overall ‘team’ objectives are met? Of what use is genius in isolation (it’s useful in chess though!)?
In any case, who the hell am I to question Sachin’s greatness? This blog is not about him. It is about the janta….the janta for whom the issue of his 100th Hundred is a landmark, an earth-shaking event, and a matter that calls for national celebration. But wait….it’s not the janta that is to blame for this obsession, it is the media. All the time, you have headlines like, “Will Sachin get his 100th Hundred, in this series?”, as if it has the potential to reverse global warming, or ease the situation in Iran or North Korea, or to make our immediate neighbourhood in the subcontinent, a safer place. You have screechy TV anchors spending hours debating on whether this or the next series will see him score his 100th.
Now what….now that he has reached that milestone (he would have in any case….if he kept at it long enough, and the selectors obliged him by letting him decide his own exit plan)? The media simply surfs on to the next inane question! After of course, writing reams on his records and spending hours of TV time debating on how great he is. Australia’s professional treatment of Ricky Ponting putting national interest over individual sensitivities vis-à-vis our fawning treatment of Sachin, tells us a lot about ourselves, and why excellence in sports is not something this nation of over a billion people is known for.
God help us, if the media now starts debating on his capability to reach the 150th Hundred!!!
