Cricket: Whose game is it anyway?

Are players taken into consideration when deciding series? (Getty Images)

The announcement of West Indies’ arrival in India to play two Tests and three ODIs has been received with joy and celebration. With the imminent retirement of one Sachin Tendulkar looming large over our shoulders, this could give us an opportunity to witness his swansong on home turf.

However, very roughly sketched into my schedule (as well as the ICC’s, coincidentally) is a Test match against South Africa which would demarcate the great man’s 200th Test and possible departure. With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) placing its weight wherever it wishes to, the much anticipated tour to South Africa will almost certainly be further truncated to give team India a little breathing space before heading to New Zealand.

The BCCI’s ire towards Haroon Lorgat is no secret, but in this case the board seems hell-bent on providing him with as much pain and suffering as possible. The biggest fear that the BCCI brings with all these ‘squabbles’ of theirs is the threat of bringing in blatant politics into the game. The moment Lorgat passive-aggressively tries to create any further tension between the two, we’re pretty much treading on political ground. Blows will be traded, remarks will be passed, and players will be standing on fields being puppeteered by big men in suits and ties.

The BCCI threatened to pull out of the tour to South Africa when Lorgat was front-runner to becoming Cricket South Africa’s chairman. The fact that the schedules of eleven men, who play cricket for their country for pride, for the love of the game, are subject to their boards whims and fancies is worrying. Thankfully, good sense prevailed in its battle with ego, and the BCCI did not pull out after Lorgat’s appointment. But it is indeed trying its level best to cause any hindrance to the running of the tour, and the surprise series against West Indies could be such a ploy.

And it’s an excellent ploy at that with a multiple-fold advantage for the board. Not only will it give Lorgat sleepless nights, but the retirement of possibly the greatest cricketer of all time is in their control now, and it gives a good financial boost to the board as well.

But that is, if it really is a ‘ploy’.

India are set to play West Indies in a bilateral series (Getty Images)

The move could signify a perfect farewell to Tendulkar. One game at the home of cricket in India, Eden Gardens, and the other in his hometown, where it all started. And why wouldn’t you want your greatest player to play his last match at home? Sachin Tendulkar is not just a player, but he’s an event for cricket the world over. The amount of eyeballs and reverence this man has received over the past twenty years is on a scale comparable to any messiah the world has witnessed since the advent of religion. It seems only fitting to watch him play his last game here.

While it is fitting, if the series indeed is to oversee the retirement of Tendulkar (as is being whispered throughout the world), it’s rather unfair and even bordering on unethical. Granted Tendulkar is a man deserving of all reverence, but to go out of your way to make special accommodations is misplaced. The joy of watching Sachin Tendulkar is to know that he is human. He has all the qualities we have, yet when he’s off the field he gives us this belief that we can be as great as he is. By granting him special powers and requests, it deadens any such emotion.

Many will say ‘but he deserves’ it’, but I for one am completely against that argument. If he isn’t playing well, you must not hesitate to drop him. Cricket is a team sport and to raise any individual higher than the game is a sin, even if that player happens to be Sir Don Bradman‘s favourite.

The ODI series against Australia later this year is to be the only series in India during this financial year. And what with the markets dipping like a Parle-G into chai on an especially cold Sunday morning (but less gracefully), this series could provide a little injection of funds into the board’s kitty. Seemingly a valid reason, and though my knowledge on all things economics is hilariously weak, one has to wonder – doesn’t revenue received via the IPL alone equate to far more than what any other board manages to recover?

Comments on various blogs and websites suggest that the fans are immensely happy with having this series in lieu of Tendulkar’s retirement. The last few weeks we’ve seen many comments made about the satisfaction of fans, most prominently when the Aussie media and cricketers lashed out at England for their ‘boring’ cricket and questioned whether fans should be refunded their ticket money.

While it is of utmost importance that fans remain happy and continue funding the game (and we’ve seen hat they will enjoy regardless of off-field controversies – read IPL), taking into consideration the players’ needs and requirements is also equally important. In all the hue and cry of adding in a series and fans being ecstatic about it, we know nothing of what the players think. Of course, it’s all very possible that they could be extremely happy with this arrangement.

But let’s say a player does come forward and claim he isn’t happy with the schedule – will the BCCI reprimand him? And who has a bigger say? The players or the board?