an ordinary test side with some extraordinary players... but relentless pursuit towards making it a team to beat and now the team that has scaled the test summit is not the story this post will talk about...
it's about how the nation falls pray to praising individual players like sachin... praising individual performances rather than team's performance... and develops obsession with heroes...
the experts who used to accuse us for following individuals performances never paused for a moment to ponder why one does that...
what does a fan, who follows his team so passionately, do when his team is not fairing as well at international level as he would like to see...?
more often than not... he searches for a hero who keeps him hooked to the game thinking one day his team will perform as a team...
yesterday when mushfiqur rahim was tonking indian bowlers all around the park when the result was a forgone conclusion... the crowd was cheering him in the stadium... i am sure the deshi fans who were watching the match live on tv would have been doing the same... and the way mushi celebrated his well deserved maiden century... it was the epitome of the mood of whole bangladesh... somehow the pain of inevitable loss would have felt less if not completely gone...
when indian team used to be at the lowest of international ranks... there still used to be some players with extraordinary skills in our team who with their individual performances used to keep the indian fans going...
i find bangladeshi fans and their team standing at the same cross road... so i can really empathise with them for we too had to cross that long road of frustrations and disappointments... not that it's over now... but still...
it's not that bad to cheer heroes and their individual performances provided team keeps improving...
bangladeshi team seems to be improving and are definitely more competitive in pushing opponents than they were earlier... if only some of their player look at larger goal rather than playing for gallery... they will be even more competitive in a time to come...
in this light... i came across this very sane, sensible and assuring statement from bangladesh captain shakib al hasan (at nathan's the prindiville end)...
Losing hurts, but there is no use hanging on to it [emotion]. We want to keep improving and learning from our mistakes. Look, the first generation of cricketers had an average of 15 to 20, the next had 25 to 30, this lot is pushing 35 and the next generation will go over 40.
i hope and wish they find the new lot bit quicker... which averages over 40 and not with ball...
12 comments:
Nice piece, SP and feel the warmth of genuine sympathy.
thanks som... the 'connection' is obvious... :)
It's understandable but you don't want it to reach a point where individual achievements or star power take precedence over team goals. I can't understand why they keep picking Ashraful. The kid might have all the strokes in the book but he doesn't know when to play them. Drop his ass and make him realise the need to get his act together.
It's understandable but you don't want it to reach a point where individual achievements or star power take precedence over team goals
depends whom you are addressing here... if you are talking about a fan i am afraid he can't do anything...
but if you are addressing player, team management, or selectors then yes... they must keep an eye on larger picture...
about ashraful... no doubt he has talent but as i said there are many players in deshi tesm who plays for gallery rather than team... they should be marked out and told in no uncertain terms about their individual roles, responsibilities as well as team goals...
It's fans who fuel the egos of cricketers. The chances of a player putting himself before the team are greater if he knows the fans are there to watch him and not his team. Besides, it's fans and their kids who take up cricket as a profession. If they already have a mindset which puts individual achievements over team goals they're bound to play their cricket the same way.
tch tch tch... poor fan... :)
I can't believe I didn't see this before! Thanks SP :).
cheers purna... and then there are players like ashrafool blocking the path of bangladesh progress...
Improvement of Bangladesh's performance is just good for Cricket,because they were previously criticized for bad performance and they were tending toward loosing complete membership of ICC.
yes vikas...
bangladesh performing competitively not only augurs well for them but test cricket in general too...
We need to drop him. What is it with subcontinent teams not dropping 'senior' players in bad form?
its mystery yet to be solved... but i guess it won't be long before he is dropped if he keeps trowing wicket this way...
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