When the heart is set on achieving something distinguishing and it doesn’t come off, frustration sets in and that is expressed in various forms, ranging from sheer ranting to crimes, big and small. Sri Lankan captain for the World Cup cricket series, Kumar Sangakkara’s resignation from the post was about the mildest form of expression in this regard. That vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene followed suit was not altogether surprising, though it smacks of some prior understanding on the issue.
What Pakistani Shahid Afridi did after returning home was nothing short of a callous disregard for what the game stands for. It isn’t cricket is a familiar saying to indicate disapproval of what is not right in no realistic terms. He can’t blame almost everything around him in this country. Afridi got pitchforked as captain for the World Cup because of the unhappy ‘spot-fixing’ allegations against a couple of top men of the team. But for this he would have been put down as just another Pakistan player.
Pakistan had the occasion to meet India players only in the semifinal, which they lost after a fair show of resistance. By no means was it a walkover. Though not much is known about off-field exchanges to talk about, Team India not being friendly is arrant non-sense. As for his comment about the media in this country, it is too childish for serious consideration. There wasn’t any mention of his exchanges with the media representatives at any time. That Pakistan lost to a better team on the day could have been the simplest explanation to offer the Pakistan sports press. Four-time Cup winner Australia lost to India. In fact, India were the lone Group ‘B’ league team in the semifinals.
It isn’t just cricket alone, every other sports discipline has one strong message to convey. Losing, as much as winning, is the basic factor. The proportion may vary according to individual or team strength. What is crucial in all this is the will to overcome the odds, however difficult. Serbian Novak Djokovic wallowed in anonymity for three years before knocking out regularly established stars.