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RANT: ENOUGH with the online abuse to our cricketers

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RANT: ENOUGH with the online abuse to our cricketers | Opinion: The abuse of Indian cricketers is terrible

As the chants echo around the ground and reverberate in the minds of millions of fans around the world, all hope seems lost for 11 men on the field. 11 men who turn out to do what they know best, play cricket for their country. 

This piece may seem like an overreaction of sorts, but in this world of social media where everything is an overreaction, this can be best described as a need of the hour. The need of the hour for those millions of fans who think those 11 men do not care about them and for those 11 men who get abuse hurled at them on the field or social media.

Just because they lost two games of cricket in a year where they have found success across the seas and given their fans so much to smile about

ENOUGH with the online abuse to our cricketers

When India lost the second game against New Zealand, I was nothing but disappointed. I was not angry, because having played enough cricket in my lifetime, I know how delicate the format is and how the pendulum can swing fast when things don’t go your way. 

The problem with critics today is that they will ask why India lost the game but when someone gives them a reason, they shout “EXCUSE” from the top of a cliff. It’s easy to find an excuse but it takes deep introspection and analysis to learn the reasons. 

“India does not have the right team” is an excuse. Why? Because every single one of the players donning the blue jersey is an elite athlete. Every single one of them has proved that they deserve to be there via strong performances and reputation. If you say that teams do not pick players based on reputation, then you haven’t been watching much cricket in the last 20 years.

If you had a choice to pick Hardik Pandya or Venkatesh Iyer, 9/10 people will go for Hardik Pandya, even after knowing his injuries and his recent form, just based on his reputation and the feeling that he can pull off something amazing. That does not by any means discredit Iyer as a cricketer, that simply means that he still has a long way to go to build that reputation and by the looks of it, he will get there sooner rather than later. 

RANT: ENOUGH with the online abuse to our cricketers | Opinion: The abuse of Indian cricketers is terrible. A rant of all rants.
ENOUGH with the online abuse to our cricketers: Hardik Pandya has produced wonderful moments before.

Do I believe cricket is a situational game? Absolutely I do and cricket is one of those sports where the phrase “horses for courses” is becoming more common as the game moves ahead. At some stage in their professional career, every player picked has gone through the numerous situations that may arise during the T20 World Cup and has found a way to deal with them. That’s what is known as the psyche of an elite athlete. 

And believe me when I say this, this psyche differs from athlete to athlete and it is not for anyone of us puny average common humans to understand until and unless we are thrusted into an environment where your entire livelihood and also for some, the safety of their family depends on those 24 balls that they will bowl to the opposition.

That’s what an elite athlete does. They find a highway when no one else can see an alley. The psyche of an elite athlete is a lot different than that of the “social media experts”.

But then again, the average common human is only rational when it suits them. Nothing sums this up better than THAT commercial ad which featured Yuvraj Singh (every Indian remembers this ad vividly) where Yuvi was famously seen saying,”Jab tak balla chalta hai, tab tak thaat hai” (Till the time your bat does the job, you have the swagger)

The hardest time to be a fan is when your team is not doing well on the field. But a true fan never wavers from his aim as a fan; to support the team COME WHAT MAY. 

Is it your right to be critical when the team does not do well? Absolutely yes. 

Are you entitled as fans to get an explanation from the players of why they lost? Yes. 

Do you reserve the right to hurl abuses and threaten anyone for their lack of performances? F**K NO

RANT: ENOUGH with the online abuse to our cricketers | Opinion: The abuse of Indian cricketers is terrible. A rant of all rants.
ENOUGH with the online abuse to our cricketers: Youngsters coming through will get their chance.

That is not “support” in any sense. That is anger and hatred. By losing a couple of games, it does not mean that the players do not care. They care more than most others and that’s the reason they are there and not the average common human. That’s the reason their psyche qualifies to be that of an elite athlete and that’s the reason they are donning the blue jersey and are called the Men in Blue.

As opposed to some group of people who think they know cricket better because they are “fans” because they have an opinion.

During such times, when all hope seems lost (and trust me, as a 90s kid, I have seen enough of these days in Indian Cricket) all you can do is be rational, analyze the loss all you want but with constructive criticism. And in the end, all you have to know is everything in cricket is in phases. The good times and the bad times. It’s easy for us as fans to support our players when the phase is good, but now it is a bad phase for this Indian side and it is (like 2007) the most important time to let them know that they have our support.

Those chants will echo and reverberate in their minds throughout their career till the time they will don that blue jersey and even for years to come long after they retire.

Written by Nash Sant. Follow Nash on Twitter today

Nash Sant
Nash Santhttps://twitter.com/NashvSant
Your every day cricket tragic. Nash is a passionate cricket fan based in Australia and is co-host of The CricBlog Podcast. He enjoys writing opinion pieces on topics close to his heart.

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