Whether it is the effect of too much money too soon or sheer arrogance, the last few weeks have shown instances of blatant indiscipline in domestic cricket. A few years ago, senior cricketers managed to convince the board about the need to have a contract system with the international players and they succeeded in getting it approved, but at the state level, indiscipline is spreading like wild fire. No steps appear to have been taken to end this.
Some of the umpires and match referees are aghast at the behaviour of junior cricketers and their state's coaches. Seniors set their rules and, in connivance with the officials, continued to break rules.
First, the episode of Goa captain Swapnil Asnodkar who, for some incomprehensible reason, gave up the chase for the target. This was followed by some of the Odissa Ranji players returning to their hotel in an inebriated state and facing suspension. Perhaps the worst case was that of Ajit Agarkar leaving the team after getting dropped.
These are off the field incidents which neither the umpires nor the match referees have powers to act upon. But on the field of play, the need to implement the code of conduct has increased. As one senior match referee describes, it takes more than technique and fitness to play the gentlemen's game. It requires the mental attitude.
In the case of Agarkar leaving the team, the majority (including former Mumbai players) surmised that whatever might have been the provocation, he ought not to have returned to Mumbai.
Frank Tyson recollects an episode in the famous Ashes series of 1954-55. “In the first Test, we misread the pitch and played four fast bowlers. Along with me, Bedser, Statham and Bailey played. We lost the Test badly. Later, for the next three Tests, captain Len Hutton changed the strategy, and Bedser was replaced by a spinner, and mind you, Bedser was the senior player of the team. I never saw him sulk. He was always there to guide the youngsters in the team.”
Values respected
Those were the days when values of cricket were embraced and respected. Not anymore. The IPL may have brought about certain changes in the approach to the game, but the huge amounts for less work have definitely made players selfish.
To some of the present generation of players, money is more important than tradition. Greed landed one IPL player in jail after the first edition. The definition of commitment too has changed.
Will we ever get to hear a case like former Indian player Eknath Solkar rushing to the Brabourne Stadium from the crematorium after his father's funeral to win the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal? A decade later, he was unceremoniously dropped from the final XI of the Mumbai team on the morning of the match.
Not only was Solkar seen cheering the youngsters from the boundary line, he even carried the drinks and fielded briefly for debutant Shishir Hattangadi.
That was Solkar's last first class game. Incidentally, he was the captain of the Mumbai team which had won the Ranji Trophy previous year.
Indiscipline needs to be curbed. The only way to do it is to make penalties more stringent through contracts.
Each state association must have contracts for all the players, coaches and support staff. The message that ‘The game is greater than the individual' has to be brought home strongly. Things are going from bad to worse. We need to have a solution that will last, and the willingness to ensure appropriate cricket culture.
