JEFF CROWE'S response to the query, whether his team would continue with the triangular series after the destruction of aircraft and damage to the international airport in Colombo, underscores the need to have a sense of humour on a tour, especially to countries where the culture is different to the one at home.
The New Zealand team manager's reply, apparently with a straight face, was that since flying was not an option and swimming to India was a long way to catch a flight, they will be staying on. When the manager himself has such a splendid, light-hearted way of looking at a situation which must be alarming, then it does help to dispel any tension that the rest of the team may have had.
Sri Lanka is a lovely country, but the political problems there mean that the players have very little to do. Being cooped up in hotel rooms for four to six weeks is certainly not the way to enjoy a tour, or for that matter, the game. One remembers Vasu Paranjape, the coach at the National Cricket Academy, going down to the restaurant of the hotel he was staying in for several weeks, and when asked if there was anything from the menu he wanted, replying that all that was left for him to eat was the menu card itself, for he had eaten just about everything on offer on the card. That's what happens when you are in the same room for weeks, as he was during the NCA camp in Bangalore last year.
The Indian players have plenty of friends in Colombo and they will certainly not be short of invitations to go for dinners, still the fact that there will always be security personnel around will make them realise that danger lurks nearby. Frankly though, the real danger has been on the field where at the time of writing, the performance has been eminently forgettable. What has been disappointing more than the results is the thoughtlessness that has been the dominating aspect of the defeats.
Discipline, dedication and determination are the three Ds which are essential for success in any field. Franscoir Piennar, the South African rugby skipper, added two more Ds when he addressed the cricket world champions Australia at a dinner before the second Test. They were desire and delight. The Indian team would do well to reflect honestly how many of their players are actually following any of the Ds, leave alone all five of them.
In cricket, the discipline involved is not just about getting to bed at a reasonable time, as prescribed by the manager or the tour committee, but to discipline one's game according to the situation and the needs of the side. Dedication is practicing with sincerity and analysing one's game thoroughly so that flaws can be tended to and rectified as much as possible. It also means being sincere at practice and matches so as to derive optimum benefits from the exercise and thus also contribute to a good outing by the rest of the team. Determination is not to give up, come what may, and to keep on trying even when the position looks bleak and hopeless. A player has to be determined to wait out the tough spots so that he can take advantage of the easier ones.
But as Piennar pointed out to the Australians, that before all these there needs to be the desire to succeed, for the team as well as for the individual. Without this there will be no other Ds especially the fifth one, the delight at the team and the individual doing well. Only a fierce desire can create the other Ds. It would be an interesting exercise for the readers to mark out the players in the Indian team and see on a scale of one to 10 how many points they would score against the different Ds. It would then be apparent what is lacking in this Indian team.
Another exercise would be to see the Cs that the team possesses, starting with complacency, carelessness, contempt for learning from others and from previous mistakes. Once again against each individual player give marks on a scale of one to 10 and you will find the answers to why Indian cricket is not moving forward as it should, especially after that stupendous series win over Australia at home recently.. The absence of the little champion was a wonderful opportunity for the players in the team to come out of his shadow and show that they too can rise to the occasion when needed. Unfortunately, with the established players also failing, the youngsters just haven't been able to pick up the gauntlet and put their hands up for doing the job. Perhaps, by the time this piece sees the light of the day, some sort of wisdom will have dawned upon those for whom it is a heaven sent opportunity. Or perhaps it is, because some of them know that come what may, opportunity after opportunity will be given to them because they are the darlings of the men who matter. Batting positions will be created for them, bowling opportunities be given to them so that one, yes just one, performance will ensure that they go on the next tour again.
Hopefully there is some humour in all this, though it is hard for the Indian supporters to find any reason to smile. The Sunday Club is an old idea, one which works if there are less egos in the team. But then the fact of life is small minds have big egos and unfortunately even smaller deeds.
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