As I type this one, India and Australia are engaged in a T20 series. Oh! by the way, did you know that India won the first and second T20? Yeah, so? Did you know India may win the series in the next game? Yeah, so? Did you know that with the kind of firepower that India possesses, India may well win all the 5 games? Yeah, but who the bloody hell is bothered about such a nondescript series anyway? That is what it is. I really do not see any reason for this meaningless and disorganised T20 series just 4 days after a humiliating defeat in the World Cup final. The irrelevance of the T20 series cannot be more profound.
BCCI in their desire to fill their coffers with lots of money, never misses an opportunity to host any cricket, be it against Australia or Sri Lanka or anyone who is willing to travel to India. This is not new by the BCCI’s standards. They have always done this. I remember India played a few game after the ODI World Cup in 2019. This is more or less a ploy by the BCCI. They want the people to forget the loss in the previous World Cup, be it T20 or ODI and concentrate on the next set of games. Actually, the board is afraid what if fingers are pointed at them for India not winning a World title for a longtime? They need some kind of diversion and what is best to achieve that other than a lot more games?
The final loss
That is exactly what is happening. India lost the World Cup final to Australia on the 19th of November. They were back in the park 3 days after that loss. It does not really matter that except for Surya Kumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, the rest did not take any part in the World Cup and they are all fresh. The whole nation was dejected and disappointed after that loss. India afterall, had performed exceptionally well upto that point with comprehensive wins against all the sides. They were horror-struck on the night of the final. It was clear from the way Kohli, Rahul and Jadeja batted. They were rendered strokeless. It was painful to watch but that is what it was.
The final went against expectations. India was the only team that remained unbeaten till the final and every expert was of the opinion that India would win the World Cup. However, what transpired on the 19th night was unbelievable. The best method to divert the attention and criticism from the Indian team and by extension the board, the board went ahead and organised these games. Ofcourse, these games were planned well before the final but the idea behind the series is to make the supporters forget the loss in the World Cup.
Fans do not matter
What matters is the fact that it is the Indian team that is in the park. We the supporters will support any team that has the name India written on their jersey. We also need to detox from watching the game after 6 gruelling weeks. The BCCI will have none of it. They do not care about the supporters. Just visit any of their stadium. One will feel that he made a huge blunder by watching the game from the stadium. Every stadium is ugly, horrible, miserable and poorly maintained. Lack of options when it comes to food. Even if someone does not have any disease, the moment he or she steps into the toilets, they are bound to be infected with some disease.
Supporters to be blamed
The board knows that Indians cannot resist themselves from watching games and hence they schedule lots and lots of games. However, I will not lay all the blame on the board. We the supporters are to blamed as well. All of us criticise our team after every loss and we want our team to win every game of cricket and every trophy that is available. We know that it is humanly impossible but we still demand that of our cricketers. That is because we sought to rule the world through our cricketers.
Do we desist ourselves from watching these meaningless games? Absolutely not. The stadium in the two grounds so far, was jam-packed. The locals had thronged the stadium to watch the Indian team. They seem to have forgotten the loss just a few days ago. So long as the people fill the stadium, Indian cricket will never improve. The board will not care about the supporters or the cricketers as long as we watch and follow every game. The day we raise and announce enough is enough, that is the day the BCCI will start to RESPECT the fans.
Indian B team
I cannot resist but chuckle when I read an article in Sydney Morning Herald by Daniel Brettig that Australia will be sending reinforcements to prop the team in India. He has also mentioned that Australia were defeated by what is essentially an Indian B team. I would like to ask Daniel how does it even matter? Why he is even worried about these inconsequential games? Australia, afterall won their 6th World Cup just a few days ago. What is more important? The Australian players deserve some rest and recuperation. Ideally, Cricket Australia must not have agreed to these games at all in the first place. They must have ensured that the Australian team is back in the country immediately after the World Cup. Perhaps, the power of the BCCI influenced the Australian board and they agreed to these games.
I am sure most of the Australian players are playing these games uninterested. They already have their minds in travelling back to Australia. Hence, their performance is bound to suffer. Cummins has hit the nail on the head. “They’re humans, they’re not robots. Putting everything into a World Cup and then playing a couple of days later”
Wrapping up the irrelevance of the T20 series
Until we, the Indian supporters wake up and resolve that we will not watch every stupid and meaningless game, Indian cricket and the fans will suffer.
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