In a country which is passionate and emotional about cricket it is hardly surprising that the Indian cricket team has copped so much flak for their performance against the world champions, Australia. Seldom in the history of Indian cricket has the batting collapsed as repeatedly as it has in this series against the Aussies. For the talent that the batsmen have as well as their previous record the present lack of runs has to be the most amazing collective lean trot that any good team has had. Yes, in recent times the West Indies have also gone through something similar where they were being bowled out for under 100, more times in one series than ever before.
While it is understandable for the common man to look for reasons other than cricketing, to explain the lean patch it is disappointing when those others who have been in and around the game say things, which are way off the mark.
In Madras, after Virender Sehwag got a magnificent century a cricket lover asked me what I had told him that made him bat in the responsible manner that he did. My response was simply that I had told him nothing more than the usual dos and don’ts of opening the innings but suggested that the main reason for his century could well have been his shooting right through the previous night for a commercial. The cricket lover rolled his eyes in amazement and said “Don’t tell me he really did that”. My reply was, why not? After all you invariably bring in the advertisement angle every time a player does badly so why not give the same reason when he gets a big score? Of course, Sehwag had done nothing of the sort and probably gone to bed straight after dinner but at least that supporter would have realized that it is unfair to pin the blame for every non-performance of a player on his doing advertisements. Just because the advertisements with players is shown between overs during matches and throughout the days when the cricket season is on, it does not mean that the player has been shooting for it between overs or at the cost of his training and practice.
Quite naturally the advertisement showing the players endorsing a particular brand is going to be shown during the cricket season when the association of the player with the brand will be instant and far more easily recalled by the viewer than during the off season. What the public must remember is that these ads are shot before the season begins and take hardly a day or two to finish. It is seldom done at the expense of cricket practice or training and only on off days when there is no training either on the ground or in the gym. So to blame the ads for the bad performance is way off the mark and does not take into account the hard work a player puts in to play for his country. Remember too, that only the player who is successful gets the advertisement and endorsement contracts and when his performance slacks off he loses those deals too. That’s why no player worth his salt is going to do anything that will come in the way of his performance on the field. On the contrary he will strive harder so that he may get some more opportunities.
Apart from the blame game on the advertisement factor, if only the people calling for the heads of some of the proven performers in the team were to apply the same strict standard of judgment for themselves and the jobs they are holding, one can confidently say that the turnover of jobs would be as quick as the Formula One cars on the Grand Prix circuit.
Still with all the brickbats Indian cricket gets on non-performance and understandably so, the sport has to be grateful for the support it gets from the general public as well as the sponsors. The format of the game is such that TV companies are able to bid big numbers to get the telecast rights.
Apart from tennis, where after every second game when the players get to change to the other side of the net and which time can be utilized to air a commercial on TV, there is no other sport other than cricket, which gives the time and opportunity for a sponsor to show his product or brand. In cricket, the opportunity also comes at the fall of every wicket where there’s a longer break before the new batsman comes in to bat and also at the drinks interval where the advertiser can show his brand longer than in-between overs. Other sports may be faster paced and more thrilling but do not have the gaps to fit in commercials and so miss out on the sponsors that cricket attracts. Other sports also finish in a couple of hours but even a one day game if it goes the full distance takes at least seven hours of playing time plus the interval and it gives that much more exposure to the sponsor. The field area also attracts ground advertisers and because there’s pretty much a guaranteed viewership the advertisers are prepared to pay top bucks to promote their product.
If cricket is the sport for advertisers in India then soccer is their vehicle in England and though England do not win World Cups or Euro Cups the advertisers still come in, simply because of the popularity of the game. If every other boy in India wants to be a Tendulkar, Ganguly or Dravid then in England every kid wants to be a Rooney or a Beckham. It’s not only for the money that they make but for the way they play the sport and bring joy to those who follow it.
The kids just want to play like them and are hardly bothered about the money they make though their parents may well be also interested in the latter aspect as well.
The bottom line is that though England seldom win anything hardly anybody in England including former soccer players complain about the earnings on and off the field of the current stars and blame that on their non-performance.
Is there a lesson to be learned from it by India or is it too much to hope for?
