Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

It's just a game

The Indian cricket team's shocking exit from the World Cup has disappointed millions of fans. Its desultory performance came at a time when cricketing icons were ruling the ad world. The hype of the players by the cricket buffs made them complacent and casual. Greg Chappell's experimentation hindered India's success to an extent. But a coach only provides a strategy. It is for the team to implement it. The team was on the defensive, lacking aggression. But let us not forget that cricket is a game. We have a right to criticise but not to insult.

V.U.V.S.N. Prasad,
Hyderabad

Irate fans behaved the way they did because Team India surrendered meekly. Had it lost in a nail-biting finish, the players would have got some sympathy. The so-called top slot players should step down and pave the way for youngsters. Our players lack the ability to score singles. This increases the pressure in the later stages of the game. Players lose their wickets, attempting to go for boundaries. Selection based on statistics will only lead to humiliating defeats.

J. Kripa Sagar,
Chennai

The whole nation is plunged more in sorrow than in anger over the way the team performed and meekly threw in the towel. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were not even considered invincible. Our players can sometimes fire on all cylinders and at other times can't even start the engine. This weakness is very pronounced and it is reflected in other sports as well.

K.G. Koru Kuttan Nair,
Cherplassery

As the article "Beyond the humiliation at the World Cup" (March 27) has rightly pointed out, media-manufactured hype can sustain imagination and nothing more. Victory on the ground requires consistent performance and support from fans. Unruly fans make things more difficult for players. One can imagine the plight of M.S. Dhoni when he is expected to perform even as irate fans are demolishing his house.

Priya Narayanan,
Thrissur

When players become brands, questions on their performance are relegated to the background. We are carried away by the aura created by advertisers and fail to ask searching questions.

K.A. Suresh Kumar,
New Delhi

Those were the days when players played as a team and took pride in representing their country. They travelled by train and stayed in ordinary hotels. But now, players feel selection in the national team is a stepping stone to modelling and advertising. Where is the time to think about the game? Every player, including the captain, is to blame for the debacle.

Sudha Satyanarayana Rao,
Hyderabad

Our dashed World Cup hopes do not mean that the sun has set on Indian cricket. The failure should be viewed as an eye-opener of sorts — an opportunity to undo wrong practices of the past, and look forward to a successful future with young blood and renewed spirit.

D. Balakrishnan,
Coimbatore

Now that our champions are back, let them watch the matches they lost and see where they went wrong. Australia is the team to emulate in commitment and in running between the wickets. We don't require legends but committed players who put the nation's interest before their individual glory.

V.S. Ganeshan,
Bangalore

They may be in a minority but there are many who are fed up with a diet of cricket in the morning, evening, and night. Would it be too much to ask for a five-year ban on ODIs in India? It will give newspaper readers, television viewers, bookies, manufacturers of expensive consumer goods and, most importantly, the players, some rest.

N. Khosla,
Panchkula

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