The post of captaincy in the cricket team is referred to as the hot seat. And rightly so. If the position was rejected by The Great Little Master, there must be something un-wanted about it yes? Sachin Tendulkar did not think it was worth it.
So let’s take a quick look at the hot seat. And how India as a cricket fanatic nation thinks of it.
We have had quite a few successful Indian Captains. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Kapil Dev. And the really really popular ones as well. Mohammad Azharuddin. Sourav Ganguly. Mahendra Singh Dhoni. ( I am not adding Virat Kohli here for now because he is one of the key points of this blog). It’s not like they had a walk-in-the-park type feeling while donning the captain’s cap. They have had their share of pure hell.
And now to Kohli. Remember the time when he didn’t perform well and had trouble connecting the ball with the bat. It is one thing to call him on it and ask him to pull up his socks. It is completely another to start throwing stones at his mate and accusing Anushka Sharma because Kohli did not bring his runs to the board.
There is a fan. There is fanaticism. And then there is pure insane behaviour. Where do you draw the line? Even Tendulkar has been slammed left, right and center. The God of Indian Cricket. Him. He has been accused of being selfish. Seriously. This happened. As it is, when the man walked in, he had the weight of the entire nation on his shoulder. It really is not easy being Sachin Tendulkar. He thought that was enough. Captain of the Indian Cricket Team did not entice him at all. And boy, was he right or what from his perspective.
If India is such a cricket crazy nation, why are we not expecting so much from the women’s team as much as the men? They have done pretty well so far. They have reached the finals of the tournament before. Now, they have won the first match of the world Cup 2017. What are we trying to say?
The silver lining of this could be that Mithali Raj and her Girls are escaping this insanity. I am sure they are under pressure going into the world cup and all. But I don’t think they will fear stones being thrown on their houses if they do not do well. Which, by the way, has happened to some of the men in blue. The men we worshiped, we have abused to no end as well.
Virat Kohli and boys did extremely well in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Yes, they lost the finals. Yes, to Pakistan. Yes, a couple of bad calls were made. But asking him to step down? Is that the solution?
His spat with Kumble is also breaking the internet. And Kohli is blamed for it. Well, to be honest, I don’t know the entire story myself. And we have known Kumble for what can be described as an era. What could have really gone wrong? Unless they both come out together and talk, I personally think we should stop attacking Kohli. Especially after this tournament. Especially since he is in the middle of another tournament. And most importantly, because Kohli is a human being with feelings.
Your thoughts please
Indu
Good article. Can't comment on what happened without knowing the inside scoop. And we will never know. But as an individual, I am more a fan of Kumble than Kohli. Probably he did not want Kumble to call the shots as much as Kumble did.
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