Skip to main content

Club Vs Country

By Anonymous

With the IPL safely behind us, let us look at the Club Vs Country debate dispassionately.  We will focus on cricket, but learn generously from sports like football - which have been grappling with this issue for a lot longer.   There are 2 primary questions to answer – 1.  If a player has a conflict between a country game and a club game, what should he/she choose?  2.  If the player has to miss playing in order to rest the body (an increasingly important aspect of modern professional sports), should he/she choose to rest country games or club games? 

Alas, it is not a easy choice to make because of a few key reasons – playing for the country is considered patriotic (equating players to soldiers in some instances) thus making players feel like they are traitors if they choose club over country.  On the other hand, players do make more money per game playing for a club – and it is hard to choose country over club and end up the poorer because of the choice.  Let us face it – a professional sportsperson has a shelf life that is much shorter than in other professions.  He/she has a responsibility to maximize earnings – just like the rest of us in all other professionals do regularly.   

So where does the coin fall on this one?  Here are my thoughts on this subject -

Let us face it – it is all about choices.  Country gives you fame.  Club gives you money and longevity.    Players need both, obviously.  Players should absolutely prioritize country over club, ONLY for really important tournaments.  Like the World Cup or Olympics.  As far as lesser tournaments and other tours are concerned, the players ought to decide for themselves. There is nothing patriotic about playing for India in an India Vs New Zealand 7 match one-day series.  I will never hold it against a Gautam Gambhir if he choses to play for KKR and then skip the following Bangladesh series. The media and fans have to grow up and stop making a fuss about this.  Simple as that.

Those are just my thoughts - what do you think?

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 27, 2012 at 12:28 AM

    Players should be responsible enough and rest their body and should draw up a regime for that. As an example, take a month off after 3 months of playing to regain strength, fitness, work on technicalities and of course to take rest. This should be the guiding light. During playing time, the player should be allowed to choose games but the preference should be for the country. I dont necessarily agree that clubs fetch you more money - maybe for a Tendulkar but a player like Rahul Dravid, the stakes would have been the same. After all, BCCI pays what they commit which is not the case with clubs!! BCCI has insurance, healthcare coverage etc wheras clubs would dump you if you get injured... I like the important series part but country over club, especially for cricketers in India...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From all of us Fans to Players & Officials: Please don't treat us with kid gloves

By Anonymous
As any fan will tell you, we not just love, but understand the sport and our teams like no one else. And that’s also why they keep bankrolling the big fat salaries of the players, the profits of the clubs and the boondoggle of officials. The recently concluded test match raised, in my mind, three instances where the thought process seems to be – it is OK for us to handle it, but it is too hot for fans . Common, now, please don’t treat us with kid gloves. One: The first one, inevitably, is about the DRS and taking the dugouts inputs in it. The rules are clear – the decision to ask for a decision review stays with the players on the field. Within a few seconds of the umpires’ decision, the batting team can dispute an out decision or the bowling team can dispute a not-out decision, without consulting with anyone outside the playing field. The controversy of Smith’s ‘brain-fade’ and Kohli’s allegations have played out ad nauseam on TV and cyberspace, so I will spare you that
2 comments
Read more

Need for co-ed sports

By
Now, this is hardly a feminist piece. I am not here to tell you that women can do anything that men can and better too. One, you know it too. Two, this is hardly about women. I am not here to praise women and demand better rights. I am talking about the possibility that the entire field of sports can take a whole new meaning if gender is not made the criterion. So this is how the idea for the blog started. The Women’s Indian Cricket Team performed really well at the world cup this year. Mithali Raj praised her team for their hard work, persistence, and passion for the game. She also added that there should be an IPL tournament in the country for the women’s team now. Raj believes that the team’s fantastic game has increased the fan following for the women’s team as well and that they have earned their place here. While I am honestly not sure about an IPL tournament for women, it did get me thinking. Why not mixed sports? Now that girls play almost all the games that the guys do, w
3 comments
Read more

Editor’s Pick: England Vs Australia

By
Group A. Wide Open. With Bangladesh having won the match, Australia and New Zealand have been dumped to the bottom two. This adds pressure to the match today. A do-or-die clash always has its charm. Coming back to us fans, while the men hope to do a good job on the field, we need to pick a good lineup for our dream team. Let’s get on with it. England first. England is on top with four points from two wins, yes. But there is no need to slack and take it easy. They would want their best men in front. 77% have added Alex Hales to their lineup. With a salary of 8, I’d want him on my team too. But then, that’s just me. Jason Roy is under pressure to perform, so he will want to put on a good show. I might risk him as well. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, still fresh from their IPL tournaments are pretty good bets. Joe Root is a must, along with Morgan of course. The Captain. Now, the bowlers. Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett and Jake Ball should be in. Australia Star
1 comment
Read more