India’s 500th Test: Value of Ethics
India is celebrating its 500th Test Match win at
Kanpur. Every newspaper has reported the technical supremacy of the hosts over
the visitors while cautioning that the Kiwis can ‘surely fly’ and hit back in
the next two Tests.
I have a special association with Green Park for a few memorable
innings as a local player. Watching 5 days of absorbing cricket on TV took me
back to my cricketing days. I was reminded of the gentlemen’s game that Cricket
was and the gentleman’s spirit that has been long abandoned.
Cricket is a reflection of life like no other sport. It has been
distinctive because of long tours and a long duration of (up to 5 days)
struggle together as a team. With every generation of cricketers, the values of
the society have naturally shown up in the actions of the men in whites, both
on and off the field. Till the sixties, there was an unwritten norm, at least
for friendly matches, to smile at opponents and wish the opening batsmen “good
luck” before the first ball was bowled. As he took guard, the captain of the
batting side invariably got a friendly applause from the fielders. Appealing
for wrong claims was considered a discourtesy to the umpire as well as the
batsman.
Rahul Dravid was one of the most determined players in recent
times. He played to win with his bat and never required to talk offensively or
take his shirt off to show aggression. Unfortunately, we have had few like
Dravid, Laxman and Dhoni - the man on
the street has tended to learn more readily from the display of arrogance.
Alas! What we see on Delhi roads is what gets reflected on the cricket
field or vice-a-versa. In the on-field war like scenario, the most terribly
behaved teams in the world are led by the Australians, closely followed by
Pakistanis, Englishmen and Indians. Indians have thankfully retained one value
– they are reasonably cordial with nice opponents.
This brings me to the special feature of this 500th
Test – the absence of abuses, shoves and pushes, and interventions by the
umpires for sorting out arguing and sometimes physically threatening players.
If you discount intimidation through wrong appeals, the behaviour was excellent.
This has been possible primarily due to the Kiwis, who have
played the game hard but remained gentlemanly. Team India also deserves
appreciation for their well mannered response. However, it is disappointing
that the news media has been busy selling Kohli’s aggression, sparing no appreciation
for the gentlemen from New Zealand currently playing cricket in India.
Let us remember: “What gets rewarded gets repeated, and what
gets repeated becomes a habit”.
My congratulations to the
teams New Zealand and India for this grand show! Hope you do it again and
again, and again for all others to follow!
