A final that was not to be, for India. The Aussies won and credit to them. Having said that, our team and coach deserve our wholehearted applause, support, sympathy, and love. They played ten brilliant games, and if the final one turned this trajectory on its head, then that’s fate. Reasons for a defeat have no place in cricket, especially in such a spirited, give-it-all Indian campaign. No post-mortem is required. Only the ‘glorious uncertainties’ and ‘ifs’ apply: If ‘Travis had dropped a rampaging Rohit’, if ‘Iyer had gone ballistic as usual’, if ‘Virat had carved out another ton’, if ‘Cummins had chosen to bat first’.
Nevertheless, let’s leave the ‘ifs’, and come to the ‘buts’.
Just not cricket
The World Cup has come and gone; and thankfully, no sledging. But, the political narrative has nastily increased, building up to a shrill crescendo. A final may have been lost, but those with political prejudices have completely lost it.
Unbelievably, there are many who spitefully link the cricket team’s defeat to a BJP loss; stating that it is retribution time for the political party. Countless posts on social media harp on this bizarre theme. They allege that the BCCI is a politically-hampered, BJP-led organisation, and therefore deserves this defeat.
True, the perception exists that the BCCI has been politicised. This perception, albeit not a glorious one, has existed for decades now. The Congress, under Indira Gandhi, initiated the process when Congress leader NKP Salve became the Cricket Board’s president. Congress’ Madhavrao Scindia and NCP’s Sharad Pawar have also headed the BCCI. But now, the BJP has taken it to a different pitch.
However, even if we assume that the wildest allegations against the BCCI are true, it is the Indian team that plays the game, and no politician can step into these very special cricketing shoes.
It is, therefore, warped minds that can seemingly wish for an Indian defeat, and gloat on it, to suit their political ideology.
Before I go further, let me say that this writer is not affiliated with, nor follows, any political party, philosophy, or organisation. Rather, I am a devotee of the Indian Constitution, a proud daughter of the Armed Forces, and an all-weather Indian cricket fan. I have liberally criticised the ruling party, and other political parties, on anything constitutionally amiss, or outlandish. I take on the issue, not the party; whether against bigotry, polarisation, bulldozing, Hindutva electoral politics, or environmental concerns.
Having cleared that ideological fence, let me come back to the matter at hand.
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A new low
Considering this is election time, the campaigning will no doubt be stormy. Invectives will fly thick and fast; wild accusations will fill the air. But, in the aftermath of the World Cup, the ‘strike rate’ has shot up, the mud-slinging is pitiful. The opposition, in particular, is stooping to make political hay out of a sporting event.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tops the pettiness list when he says that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the Ahmedabad stadium proved unlucky for our team. That our boys were playing well before the PM arrived. “Panauti” (bad omen) is what the Gandhi scion called Modi. That’s a real below-the-belt delivery, even in electioneering. Perhaps Gandhi wasn’t aware that his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had in a recent election campaign triumphantly stated that 19 November (the day of the final) is Indira Gandhi’s birthday, and therefore there is no doubt that India would win the World Cup. Will the late Prime Minister then be named a panauti? Ridiculous, isn’t it?
The Congress boasts that India won three World Cups (including a T20 one) under their rule (1983, 2007, 2011). It stumps me that any political party can take credit for an Indian cricket win. This is not to say that if India had won on Sunday, the BJP wouldn’t have taken political advantage of it. They would’ve thumped their chests and glorified the victory that happened under their watch.
But, for the opposition and for those who have an aversion to the ruling party, it is crossing all boundaries of decency to exploit an Indian loss. It seems as if an obsessive dislike for a particular political party, and an eagerness to connect any mishap to that party, far outstrips the desire for an Indian win.
When our cricketers go over the top, we catch our breath and rejoice at the exciting shots. When some of our politicians, and intellectuals, deliberately unleash their beamers—we gasp at the danger and the unfairness of it all and for the sportsmanship it so evidently blots.
Mina Anand is a Bengaluru-based lawyer and writer. She tweets @minacricket. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)