So, the Manchester test between India and England was cancelled. In the meanwhile, ECB and BCCI are still discussing the possibility of having an one-off test in 2022 when India will again go back to England for a short limited overs series. There certainly is huge pressure on BCCI to fulfil their commitment either now or in the immediate future. Lot of former players and commentators have expressed their opinion on the cancellation. Some of them have supported the Indian players and some of them have opposed the Indian team bordering on uncharitable remarks. Few of them were more understanding. Let me also share my thoughts on the cancelled test in Manchester test cancelled and my views.
Just a bit of background
Before, I get on with it, all of us will have to understand onething. The Indian team have been on the road and inside the so called bubble for close to 4 months. This is discounting the fact that they were inside the same bubble for the 6 previous months with a small window of about 3 weeks because of the postponed IPL. They are, especially, the ones who have played most of the games must be exhausted. Humans are not designed to survive such long spells of challenge.
Sports is a tough business. It requires lot of mental toughness, skill and endurance to outperform competition even at the lowest level. At the highest level, international sports, it requires more than just skill to not only survive but to thrive as well. It takes a huge load not only on the body but even mentally. Combined with the extraordinary situation that we all find ourselves in, only the most toughest can survive the struggle in modern day sports. Cricket is not an exception to this. Infact, cricket is mentally much more draining than any other sport on the planet. No other sport can even come close to the entire duration of the game. Bloody, even the shortest format of the game is longer than most sport.
It simply is impossible to play under such strenuous circumstances. The human body requires constant rest to rejuvenate and so does the cricketers.
The fickle Indian fan
For the Indian fans who are critical of the Indian team and they that they are a bunch of mercenaries, must understand that it is not always about money. They are rewarded for what they have sacrificed in trying to play for the country. Even the 9-6 office worker needs a break every weekend. Otherwise they start to get all jittery. Take the example of most of us staying indoors during the pandemic. All of us with very little exception are longing to taste the fruits of freedom once the pandemic starts to recede. Of experiencing the fresh air. Why should the cricketers be any different? They exert so much before, during and after the play that their careers are invariably short.
Some of the Indian players were with their family including children. It is not wrong to be mindful of the threat to the families. Will a player who is thinking about the safety of his family be able to perform in the middle? If a Bumrah or Kohli is unable to perform at their best because they are worried about their family, the same fans will roast them. The fans rather than criticising the players must be empathetic with them. They have given a couple of reasons for them to be cheerful. Though England did not have the services of their better players, they were still in their own environment. This makes the twin victories, achieved after 35 years much more sweeter. You never know. India may have still won the series. That depends on which way will the ICC’s dispute resolution committee will sway.
Uncharitable comments
Some of the former players like Michael Vaughan have commented rather uncharitably that the Indian players do not want to miss out on the lucrative offers of the IPL and they did not care about the fifth test enough.
‘IPL teams chartering planes .. 6 days quarantining required in the UAE .. 7 days till the tournament starts !!!! Don’t tell me the Test was cancelled for any other reason but the IPL…’ Vaughan tweeted.
Paul Newman “No India player with an IPL contract wanted to risk playing in this Test, then testing positive and being forced to stay in England for another 10 days, so missing the restart of the tournament in the UAE on September 19.”
Pictures of Rohit Sharma, Bumrah, Surya Yadav and a few others surfaced online the very next day did not help quash the rumours. It certainly looked like they were more than happy to have escaped to Dubai. Moreover, Rohit Sharma tweeting “Back home” must have definitely ruffled feathers. Such things must have been avoided when matters are still fluid.
What Vaughan and Newman failed to realise?
Michael Vaughan and Paul Newman, writing in Dailymail have criticised the Indian players. They have accused the Indian players of prioritising IPL over test cricket. What they failed to understand is that none of these players are depended on their IPL salaries for survival. Most of them are playing the highly paid league for more than 10 years and are rich beyond question. To suggest that the decision of the Indian players not to take the field is because of IPL is disrespectful. From what I understand, if any player is unable to take part in IPL because of injury or because he is Covid positive, they are still eligible to be paid in full. Therefore, the question of the Indians getting infected and thereby will have to forfeit the IPL money have no basis at all.
The people who are criticising the players will do well do understand this simple point and that it wasn’t because of IPL they squad wanted to leave early.
Shastri’s book release
Shastri and Kohli primarily and the other players who were at the book launch cannot escape being blamed. They went against Covid protocol and did not even take ECB’s permission to attend the launch of the book. This was irresponsible behaviour. Remember, Shastri had earlier attended Wimbledon without a mask when UK were undergoing a spell of Covid infections. The head coach on an important tour of England must not have attended a crowded event. Few other players attended the Euro Cup football tournament and Pant was diagnosed with Covid. Now this book launch. Shastri and the team must know better. They are responsible for their action. Shastri, Kohli and anyone who participated must be suitably punished for attending a non-sanctioned event. For the players it could be a ban of 15-20 games whereas for the support staff, they must be fined upwards to 50 lakhs Indian Rupees.
Players will realise that after 20 games, they may not find a spot in the team itself. They would have learned a good lesson. It will ensure that they do not take certain mandatory protocols too lightly.