Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Cricket protests

The reaction of cricket fans to Team India's defeat in the opening match against Bangladesh in the World Cup smacks of childishness. Every Indian must feel ashamed of not the defeat but of our reaction in Ranchi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna, Varanasi and Indore. Bangladesh defeated Australia and Pakistan at different times. It only goes to prove the glorious uncertainty of the game. I don't think Australians went about burning the effigies of their players.

MV. Pattabhiramana,
Secunderabad

* * *

The picture of M.S. Dhoni's half-completed house in Ranchi being ransacked (March 19) exposes the ugly face of the Indian fan. Cricketers are human and anyone who has played or watched competitive sport knows that success and failure are two sides of the same coin. We swing between two extremes — elevating cricketers to the status of god when they win and reviling them when they do not perform. The media must shoulder a large portion of the blame for the irrational expectations and subsequent disappointment of fans.

Ajay R. Kamath,
Mangalore

* * *

The crazy fans should not miss what the disappointing defeat offers them — opportunity to reassess their heroes' abilities. They can now ask themselves whether the faith they have reposed in their cricketing gods is worth it or not. Be it cricket or any other game, at the end of the day how a team plays is what counts, not the past statistics of individual players.

Arun Dash,
Hyderabad

* * *

The fans' reaction is condemnable. Time is to back our players who have run out of form, and demonstrate our support for them.

Rahul Srikonda,
Guntur

* * *

With angry fans reacting violently, the pressure on the team will only increase. Things will be better for everyone concerned if the fans accept the fact that Team India winning is just a matter of chance irrespective of what our expert commentators want us to believe.

V.V.S. Mani,
Bangalore

* * *

The Indian team has lost just one match and everyone who considered it the favourite to win the World Cup has started criticising it. If we do not support our team during a crisis, who else will? Ransacking homes, burning effigies and staging ugly demonstrations clearly show that we do not have the equanimity to treat victory and defeat in the same way.

R. Devikumar,
Tiruchi

* * *

A poster displayed at the stands during the match said: "Cricket is our religion and Sachin is our god." Such an attitude is perhaps the cause of hostile reactions. It is a dangerous trend that should be curbed. No team is invincible in cricket and upsets are common.

K.K. Cherian,
Bangalore

* * *

In the run-up to the World Cup, our television channels went berserk in praise of our team and players. Hour after hour, experts and anchors discussed cricket and described our players in superlatives. People danced and sang paeans to them. Now the humiliating defeat has burst the cricket lovers' balloon of super ego. They demolished Dhoni's house under construction and burnt players' effigies. Are we not a nation of immature and impulsive cricket fans?

K.S. Bhalla,
New Delhi

* * *

I do not understand why only sportsmen, particularly cricketers, are subjected to such treatment. I don't think people from any other walk of life are treated thus for their failures that do not affect people's lives in any way.

J. Prabhakar,
Hyderabad

* * *

In this cricket crazy nation, made crazier by the unprecedented media hype, our team's defeat in the first match is being seen as a national disaster. It has even spawned riots by fans. It is time the nation realised that there are other more important national concerns that need our attention and emotional engagement.

K. Vijayakumar,
Bangalore

* * *

Everyone is talking about India's defeat and not about the Bangladeshis' spirited performance. The team deserves praise for pulling its socks up over the years. India's defeat is the lesson handed to it for underestimating the Bangladeshis.

S. Raja Mohamed Kamil,
Vaniyambadi, T.N.

* * *

The Bangladesh team has shown the cricketing world that teamwork works and that it can no longer be considered a minnow. It outplayed India in all departments of the game. The protests by the so-called fans reflect a dangerous trend in the sporting culture of our country.

V. Naveen,
Chennai

* * *

The ire of the fans is understandable. The observation by students of the Harishchandra Degree College of Varanasi that the Indian players spend more time appearing in ads is pertinent. The business establishments running after the cricketers are to blame for the continued listless performances by Team India.

P.R. Thiruvengadam,
Coimbatore

* * *

Cricket is no longer just a sport. In the subcontinent, it has been hyped a lot by the media and the corporates to promote various products. When an international cricket event comes up, the spectator has been worked up to such frenzy that he loses his reasoning. Coaches and players are human and all teams have their ups and downs. It would be better not to go overboard when our team is successful in order to avoid what was reported in Monday's papers.

Amrita Raghunandan,
Chennai

* * *

Amid a media build-up reaching ridiculous proportions with yagnas, yatras, signatures and what not, Bangladesh beating India comprehensively was the only way some sanity could be restored. The defeat invoked images of the U.S. basketball `Dream Team' losing to Argentina in the 2004 Olympics, and France's loss to Senegal in its opening encounter in the 2002 World Cup. There will be ample time left to enjoy cricket without distraction once the cricket nationalists have cleared the streets after burning effigies, the media witch-hunt is complete and the corporates count their losses.

A very thin line divides passion for the game and frenzy. Instead of acting as a moderating influence, the media abdicated their responsibility and added fuel to the growing fire of cricket nationalism. The corporate, with ample support from the media, has built the game into a modern day colosseum. The sponsors overstate the capability of cricketers in astronomical proportions. For the audience that gets bombarded by advertisements every five minutes, the frustration of defeat deepens when the cricketers fail.

Hari Shankar,
Highland Park, New Jersey

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