As a nation, we are always on the lookout for scapegoats, as failures are many and triumphs few and far between. Many retired judges hope to be hired to head commissions that will pick out more scapegoats and culprits — something they did not do while they were judges.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that scapegoating has become a national pastime, as we now seek to dig out culprits from over 200 years ago.
It is no wonder that India’s richest sporting body, which is actually a bloated corporation registered as a charitable organisation and thus pays no taxes, is now trying to pin the blame on various people following two back-to-back Test series routs.
Blame the women
Finally, it has pinned the blame on women — more precisely, the wives who accompany cricketers on tour. Reports say that the wives of cricketers will be allowed to accompany them only for two weeks on tour, as it affects team bonding.
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The BCCI is used to the Indian team winning most of the time, so two series defeats have made it scowl. The cricket body does not have the guts to sack some of its superstars but has summoned enough courage to sack the wives of superstars.
Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma travelled with their wives for all or part of the Australia series.
Myths and social taboos
The argument put forward is that such players spend more time with their wives than with the junior players, thus affecting team bonding. There is no doubt that, in any sports team, there is a hierarchy based on seniority, and the cricket team is no exception, apart from, of course, accumulated wealth.
Juniors on their first tour are likely to feel a bit left out and nervous, though there is no indication that seniors have shown condescending behaviour toward the juniors.
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Rohit Sharma, the captain, could often be seen talking to juniors all the time, displaying maturity, grace, and a sense of humour. He has proven to be a good leader on and off the field. When he lifted the World Cup last year, everything seemed hunky-dory.
However, the BCCI has now taken issue with the sight of nattily clad wives sitting on the terrace watching the game. Instead of addressing more pressing matters, such as R Ashwin’s decision to leave the team mid-way — likely due to humiliation over team selection — the BCCI resorted to the safer route of blaming unnamed enemies.
All sports teams the world over travel with women and girlfriends, but in a patriarchal and misogynistic society like ours, blame is often easily and unfairly placed on women.
Eternal temptresses
Decisions like these perpetuate the long-held belief that women are the eternal temptresses who distract men from the actual job at hand.
This myth is at play here, but the problem is these myths are turned into social taboos far too easily and begin to inform such decisions.
Adding to this issue is the enduring belief in the myth of abstinence, propagated by figures like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Over the years, these accumulated beliefs have led to blame for various national disasters being laid at the feet of women.
The idea of conserving so-called “vital fluid” has been scientifically disproven, but these ascetic notions persist widely in India.
Even the national ascetic, Baba Ramdev, has been reprimanded multiple times by the Supreme Court for spreading such myths through advertisements for his Ayurvedic company.
Bonding notion is suspect
The much-touted notion that bonding well is at the very basis of a team’s victory is also suspect. A team wins if at least half the players perform at an optimum level.
If three or four players are in top form during a series or season, the team becomes nearly unbeatable. During an entire season, it is improbable for a player to maintain top form because form is fickle, while mediocre form tends to be long-lasting.
Kohli scored a century in Australia, but no one seems happy with his performance, and, unsurprisingly, fingers are being pointed at his wife, Anushka Sharma.
Some of these notions and myths that dominate sports here have been dealt with in detail in my book Top Game.
Defeat analysis
The problem, however, is that both cricket fans and the BCCI believe that since players are well-paid (each Indian team player earning close to Rs 2 crore annually from playing fees alone, with many also receiving a contract fee), they must score centuries one after another.
Fans and the BCCI fail to understand the reality of “high salary and low performance.” Defeat needs to be analysed more scientifically.
The BCCI does not seem to believe that a player having his wife with him could help overcome bad phases and loneliness, thereby improving performance.
Boys’ club at play
Team meetings are attended by everyone, and the dressing room is where actual bonding occurs, frustrations are vented, and centuries are celebrated.
The BCCI, essentially a boys’ club with office-bearers chosen by mutual agreement and back-scratching — as seen last week when a new secretary took over —has made a decision that aligns with what one would expect from such a group.
Cricket is a national game, and it is high time that a modern, forward-thinking management takes over the cricket body.
(The Federal seeks to present views and opinions from all sides of the spectrum. The information, ideas or opinions in the article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Federal.)
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