 | | Captain MS Dhoni looks on after Australia won the third Test by an innings and 37 runs at the WACA ground in Perth on Sunday. (AFP) n See Sport |
Aren't I glad to be on holiday in Calcutta rather than facing the drudgery of another working day in my East Perth office, less than an Aussie mile from the WACA! On second thoughts, it's not a bad working environment. It's more the taunting and subtle-as-a-sledgehammer comments of my Australian colleagues and friends that I'm pleased to be away from, as the Indian cricket team gets whacked at the WACA across the road from our workplace watering hole at the corner of Royal Street. The 'cricket test' or Tebbit Test is one dilemma all migrants, especially from the subcontinent, must face in their country of adoption. The reference is to the controversial phrase coined in 1990 by the British Conservative politician Norman Tebbit in referring to the 'loyalty' or 'lack of loyalty' of immigrants and their children from certain parts of Asia and the Caribbean to the English cricket team. Tebbit suggested that those immigrants who root for their native countries, rather than Great Britain, in sport, might not be sufficiently loyal to their new country. It would be no exaggeration to suggest that every Indian living in Australia is also put to this test every time India and Australia play a cricket match. I know I am! "Which side do you cheer for?" is the common question your Australian colleagues ask. If you happen to have a television in one corner of the office broadcasting the match live, your colleagues look up to see your expression every time an Indian batsman loses his wicket or an Indian bowler bags an Aussie. My situation is perhaps slightly more complex compared to some of my other Indo-Aussie brethren. Two reasons for this: first, on a day-to-day basis I openly wear my Indianness. Second, having been a sports journalist in India from 1983-1996, I try, when convenient, to hide behind the philosophy that journalists, even former ones, should remain impartial. My Aussie mates call this "a load of garbage". The blue Indian cricket T-shirt I showed off when India won the World Cup is a clear give-away that the allegiance in my heart does not match the nationality on my passport. It was a pity (and now a little ironical) that I was on holiday here in Calcutta when India won the 2008 Test match in Perth. Apart from the Indian victory, it was a different kind of elevation to see the name of my adopted hometown, considered the most isolated capital city in the world, splashed across the headlines in Indian newspapers. At last Perth had gained some recognition in the eyes of Indian cricket fans. Oh, how dearly I would have loved to wear that Indian shirt to work that day and flaunt it! Alas, it seems it is now time to retire, for the time being, the Indian T-shirt to the furthest corner of my wardrobe and wait patiently for another glory day. For that to occur, Indian cricket needs to undergo a few changes, mainly in mindset. When I speak about Indian cricket, it not only includes the players but the whole kit and caboodle: fans, media, marketers, commentators, administrators, analysts, etc. Blind Man Buff can see what's wrong Even Blind Man Buff would be capable of spotting the differences between the aggressive attitude of the modern Indian cricketer, compared to the more carefree and laid-back attitude of the great cricketing heroes I watched as a boy at the Eden Gardens in the 1970s. Then came my good fortune of being a sports journalist from the time India won the World Cup in 1983 until my last assignment prior to migration to Australia — the World Cup final in which Sri Lanka beat Australia, Lahore 1996. The metamorphosis of the aggressive Indian cricketer and cricket fan had begun and has continued until today. But perhaps it is time to ponder if that positive aggression and over-zealousness have at times given way to a self-defeating, overconfident cockiness. Although I still follow the vagaries of Indian cricket, I am now an outsider looking in. It seems to me that Indian cricket has become too cocky. Arrogant. You may ridicule this comment especially because it comes from the Aussies, who have their own level of cockiness for sure. But when positive belief in yourself gives way to the attitude of "all we have to do is turn up at the ground to win a match", then you have a problem, my friend. When I arrived in India for my holiday in early December 2011, I remember commenting to my brothers that I was shocked to find that India (media, public et al.) had taken it for granted that the series was in the bag. Even the most pessimistic Indian cricket fan thought it would be a close affair. My prediction of a 0-3 defeat seemed way off the mark and had to be whispered only to my trusted brothers or was made in jest for fear of falling foul of the fanatic Indian cricket follower. All they seemed interested in was not the result of a Test match or series but Sachin Tendulkar's milestone — one not many non-Indian cricket fans knew about or cared a hoot about anyway… until the Indian media played it to death. If one was to compile international media clippings of this tour, mention of Sachin's milestone would probably outnumber 10:1 any analysis of the outcome of a Test match or the shortcomings of the Indian team. Come on guys, get over it and get on with the cricket. Move on. Let the milestone come when it will. And give that great man a break, or as they say in Australia, "Give him a fair go." Are Indian cricket fans more interested in Sachin getting his century of centuries or in winning a Test series? Or is the truth that this almost cosmetic overemphasis on the peripheral is a coincidental cover-up of the fact that, by and large, Indian cricket reporters tend to be too soft on their cricketers? Not many are willing to bite the proverbial bullet and risk their "contacts" with the team or the hierarchy. It always seemed to me, even when I was a part of this wonderful hardworking group of people, that the business is not so much about writing or cricket, but what contacts you have and can tap, to produce a "cosmetic/glamour" story with banner headlines. That trend has grown and as a result many reports now deal with either the mundane or the inconsequential part of the game. A couple of groundsmen drinking beer at the WACA the day before the Test match outshines any discussion about whether India should play a spinner despite the nature of the wicket. Come on, that's what Aussies do after a hard day at the office! It's the 'use by' date, silly Get over it, especially when there are more pressing issues for Indian cricket. For example, isn't it quite obvious that some older players in the Indian team have been given more than their fair go? Quite obviously, not many are willing to bell the cat. Even great players have a shelf life. To draw an Australian parallel; all products in supermarkets must display a "use by" date. Some of the longer lasting products display a "best before" date. Australian cricketers in general seem very shrewd in recognising their "use by" or "best before" date. Not so in Indian cricket. Look at the Australian team. My father who watches a good deal of cricket commented on how he was confused by the number of new names he had come across bowling for Australia in this series. "From where do they come up with these blokes?" was his comment. They are prepared to take the gambles and risks, blood players and give them a fair go, was the only answer I could offer. Surely the scorecards from the first three Tests of this series are screaming out that the "use by" date for some players has now come. No doubt they have been great contributors, but why can't someone say the bleeding obvious? India could not have asked for a better time or a better excuse (if they required one) than now. It's time to let go and move forward. Please do this with the never-say-die Indian spirit, and letting go of that cockiness and arrogance. I want to wear that blue Indian cricket T-shirt again, before I keep my promise and hand it over to my son when he is big enough to fit into it.
Andy O'Brien was born and educated in Calcutta where he worked for 13 years as a journalist with Sportsworld magazine, an ABP Group publication edited by the late Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. He migrated to Australia in 1996, where he is currently a communications manager with the Government of Western Australia, living in Perth with his wife and two sons. He returns to Calcutta often to visit his family and is currently
on holiday in the city. | 
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