Team India: To p(l)ay or not to p(l)ay

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Why is it so difficult for us to accept that Team India is going through a collective rough patch? We don't shout at our politicians for years of non-performance, for wasting precious tax payer's money by boycotting Parliament months on and for playing with the countrymen and women's sentiments at every possible opportunity. So why should our cricketers – rightly or wrongly elevated by us to the positions of leaders, role models, idols, in some cases even demi gods – have to pay with their contracts and salaries for non-performance? Before blaming the players for their recent poor run and the debacle in the one-day series in South Africa, especially the match in Durban that triggered the issue, you need to ask some questions to the people who run the game. First, why did the BCCI not schedule enough practice matches in South Africa? Second, why did the Board not organize a coaching camp for the players at Mohali so that they could adapt to the pacy conditions? And third and most important, where is the bench strength in a cricket-crazy country like India? It's easy to say that we should send back Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina, to name just two of the Indian top order that has consistently failed to deliver in the last six months. But have you ever wondered who will replace them in the side. The issue then is not about penalising the players monetarily but of replacing them with others who will be able to hit the road running. And those of you who follow domestic cricket, played on the various dirt tracks and dust bowls around the country, will know just how difficult it will be for these players to face up to the chin music in seaming conditions. Soul of the game It is correct that now cricket in India is not limited to the blue blooded, but provides opportunity to boys from all parts of the country. Most of them have displayed a hunger for success, especially when you consider that some of them would have known actual pangs in their early years. That insecurity has led them to sign on the numerous dotted lines that have come their way. Let's not take the moral high ground here. You and I would have done the same thing. So, what’s the solution? How do we get Team India back to its winning ways? How do we ensure that a game that has for years brought so much cheer to this country, does so yet again. The start has already been made. The stalwarts who took India to those dizzy heights are back together. No amount of money or fame could affect the way Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman made the Australians eat humble pie, or shake an Anil Kumble from bowling in spite of a bandaged jaw, or stop a Sourav Ganguly from baring his emotions at Lord's. It's time that the young players in the side are brought under the tutelage of these seniors and even be sent to the greats like a Sunil Gavaskar and a Kapil Dev. Cricket is much more than scoring runs and taking wickets. It is about attitude, it is about wearing your heart on your sleeve, and it is about understanding the honour that has been bestowed on you. Under no circumstance, should money and other materialistic tactics be employed to tamper with the soul of the game.