Wanted: Commitment, passion, accountability

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">The Indian cricket board seems to be divided in ruinous factions, the Indian cricket team appears to be in a shambles, and it does not need an Aristotle to infer that there must be a co-relation between the two.<br /><br />The mind-boggling events of the past couple of days in the BCCI could compel even Ekta Kapoor to review her success recipe for TV soaps.What <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">saas</span> or <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">bahu</span> and their tales of trust, deceit and double talk could compete with the saga of chicanery and power-lust that the stalwarts of the BCCI have shown?<br /><br />What saddens is that the BCCI has been the most ably administrated sports body in the country till recently. There is talk now of the government stepping in to take indirect - if not direct - control, yet, who will deny that the BCCI has wrought this crisis on itself through utter unconcern for public sensibility.<br /><br />The saddest outcome of this seems to be the deleterious effect it has had on the team. If the parent body shows disdain for excellence at the sport and instead brandishes a healthy balance sheet as the more desirable achievement, the players at some stage will start thinking likewise.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">The performance of the team in the past few months has been dismal to say the least. Performances in the Asia Cup, the Holland Cup, the NatWest Trophy and the Champions Trophy have been pathetic. Just when every cricket follower believed that Indian cricket had come of age, the team has played with unimagined delinquency.<br /><br />Obviously the players have not lost their skills overnight. That defies the logic of sports. But it does appear that after the successful tours of Australia and Pakistan last season, they believed that everything that had to be achieved, has been, which has led to complacency and a devil-may-care disregard for national pride and public opinion. <br /><br />In other disciplines, players have been sacked for less. In cricket, which offers vast financial rewards and great glory, there will always be the demand for more. That comes with the turf, and those who are unfit to meet those demands will have to willy-nilly vacate the coveted space they occupy in Indian society.<br /><br />That''s why I think Sunil Gavaskar''s role as cricket consultant should now have less to do with teaching technique and more about commitment, in which he excelled equally. He must reignite the passion that comes with wearing the blue India cap in this team. It is not that India''s cricket <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">deewane</span> cannot accept defeat. But unwillingness to put up a fight — when all the perks are accepted willingly — is clearly becoming unpalatable.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal">And history tells us some interesting things of what happens when the people feel cheated.<br /><br />Our in-house stats whiz Anant Gaundalkar informs me that the Bangalore Test is only the second time in the history of Indian cricket that there is not a single player from Mumbai in the playing eleven. Sachin Tendulkar''s tennis elbow, as we know, refuses to behave and while Ajit Agarkar has reportedly been on his best behaviour, was not considered good enough to play the Aussies.<br /><br />The first instance of a Mumbai-less Indian team was the Kolkata Test against the West Indies in the 1966-67 season. India were whipped by an innings and 45 runs then, and while an innings defeat has been prevented in the Bangalore Test because Adam Gilchrist refused to enforce the follow-on, the whipping has been no less. <br /><br />I am interested in knowing what Sharad Pawar, who stumbled at becoming president of the BCCI, but is at the helm of the Mumbai Cricket Association, thinks of this.</div> </div>