Related Links : Sreesanth : India’s tour of England
I read somewhere that Sreesanth has not been picked for the Twenty20 version because of his erratic bowling and behaviour on the ground does not have too many approvers. Munaf got nod ahead of Sreesanth. Aren’t we making and taking too much out of the Trent Bridge incident? Did you ever hear Graeme Smith stating something about Andre Nel, the crackpot of South African cricket having done PhD in untoward words? I never heard anything of that sort. When Gibbs called Pakistani team members and players animals on the ground, the Match Referee caught him on the spot and reprimanded him with the ban, but there was nothing coming from the South African camp against Gibbs, except long silence. Because they think that it is one, going against your own player and secondly, losing on aggressive cricketers who can win them matches in the future. If they do it themselves, then the whole cricketing fraternity will get after certain players. But in India and Pakistan, we do it ourselves.
What has Sree done? Something which has never been done before on the cricket field, something which has been part of history books from now on or has he been negating holocaust sitting in England. He just showed a bit of unceremonious aggression. If the same is done by some White bowler, would he have been dropped from the team for such an event where aggression will be considered as an added advantage?
It has been culture in Pakistan and India. Instead on honing the skills of such aggressive characters, we are bent on to scare the hell out of them either by urging media war against them or bent on changing their natural styles by dropping them from the team for worst. Don’t go too far. Sehwag has been the case. Afridi is another. We tried every possible thing in our resources to alter their natural flair into the mold of our own likeability.
Here we need to support Sree. If we have to talk to him then we can shut our doors and say whatever we want to say to him. But not in the press conferences, not in the papers and certainly not through the meetings of selection committee. If he bowls bad, drop him but don’t drop him on the grounds of behaviour. There are hundreds of foul-mouthed Aussies playing the game and have played from their side, but they never ask anything to them about their dirty-talking as long as they remain performers of highest class. Michael Slater was probably the worst talker on the cricket field, but they stuck with him. Give Sree and characters like him some support to help them in becoming cricketers with mighty hearts, than shaping them into meek chickens. If you need chickens, you can contact poultry farms. But if you need winners, rear them up with bit of support and encouragement.