Cut the hype

In a country where Sachin's drives and Bajji's "doosra" are the talk of every red-blooded Indian, the sparse media attention on the team's departure to Old Blighty has come as a surprise. For once, the magic of Ronaldinho, the histrionics of the immensely gifted Rivaldo, the pace of Owen, the resilience of Oliver Kahn and last but not the least, the dark horses of them all -- Senegal have made way to the sports pages of every leading newspaper. It has come a breeze of fresh air.. blowing away the usual pre-departure hype that surrounds the Indian cricket team.

But once the World Cup gets over, the guys in the media will get back to business, analyzing Sachin's reaction to the proposed "English Leg Theory", Hussain's Indian connection and other trivial information that will drown the last pages of every newspaper in the country.

The media is partly responsible for creating an image of the Indian team... portraying them to be potential world beaters, when in reality they are not. However, we too must share a part of this blame as we get sucked into this vortex due our naivete.

We do not have a regular opening pair, a middle order that can be relied on, a wicketkeeper who is a capable batsman and a bowling attack that can bowl out the opposition twice. Yet, the common man feels that the team would fare well overseas.

The media (both print and electronic) have created demigods out of a bunch of fairly mediocre players. They might be brilliant individually... but collectively they are nothing short of ordinary. I know that I would be a fool to cast aspersions on Sachin's abilities, on Dravid's technique, on Kumble's commitment and the young left arm seamers in the side who seem to be maturing with every outing. But the crux of the issue is that the performances are never collective. It is always individual brilliance. Sheer talent that blasts the opposition away. The media seems to be more concerned about the individual performances rather than the collective effort of the team. It is as if the media is pandering to the tastes of those in the gallery.

When young Sehwag in the company of Sachin scripted a brilliant partnership in the series against South Africa, the men behind the microphone went gaga over India's embarrassing batting riches. Little attention was paid to the fact that South Africa won the match in a canter. Again, when Yuvraj Singh came to the fore along with Zaheer Khan, the media went berserk over their raw talent. Little did they know that in the course of a very short period of time the two would struggle to maintain their respective positions in the side.

Krishnamachari Srikanth shouted hoarse that Ajit Agarkar was the ideal replacement for Kapil Dev. A couple of years down the line, Agarkar is not even in the Test side and the little I talk about his batting skills the better.

Young Parthiv Patel is considered to be India's best bet for the English tour. But was not Ajay Ratra India's answer to its wicketkeeping woes after he had performed splendidly at the junior level. Does Ashish Nehra become a Wasim Akram after a few tips on telephone?

Anil Kumble did show tremendous courage when he came on to bowl after being badly hurt. Every Indian truly applauds his commitment. But does that act make him any better a bowler when we play abroad? Does he merit a place in the Test side in England?

"The team has talent." This is what the media says. But of what use is this talent if it does not graduate into results. It would benefit the team immensely if the media does not place its players on ivory towers after a solo performance.

The tour of England is going to be a tough one. The weather in the second half of the English summer is kinder than in the first half, but still very adverse for the Indians. The ball will swing and dance and will test the technique of the very best in the Indian side. This, coupled with gray skies and intermittent rainfall, will make surviving a tough task for the Indian batsmen.

The tone of this article might seem to be very cynical, but there is only a fine line of difference between being pragmatic and being cynical.

The overseas record of the Indian team is pathetic, and I am being kind to them when I say this. Once the tour gets under way the media will have a lot to say and write about, and no matter what they say I am not putting my money on the Indians.

"Hope is a very dangerous friend to have," says Navjot Singh Sidhu, in the course of his verbal diarrhea, and I would advise every Indian fan not to expect much from the current crop of players. For, they only flatter to deceive.

P.S: As much as I like to read others' opinions, I prefer to play safe and not receive replies to this article, as my inbox gets flooded with e-mail viruses from those readers who do not agree with my point of view. Again, a sincere request to all readers: please for heaven's sake do not send me viruses. I am just making a point through this column; either take it or leave it.

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