Cricketers must be told they are citizens first

At the root of the problem is their belief that they can afford to be nonchalant and supercilious.
Updated on
2 min read

Cricketers are demigods in a country where the game enjoys cult following. But this does not justify the way they behaved in London, forcing a former cricketer to comment pithily, “they have grown too big for their boots”. What earned his ire was their conduct that led to the cancellation at the eleventh hour of a reception Indian High Commissioner Nalin Surie had organised in their honour. The high commission had no other option, as they preferred to attend the launch of a charity — Sakshi Foundation — named after skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s wife.

The charity may have raised an impressive `3.26 crore but that does not soften the snub the Indian squad willy-nilly served up to the high commissioner. The team was also accompanied to the charity dinner by the BCCI officials, who did not have a proper explanation for their breach of protocol. As it is, the BCCI regulations insist that the team members attend functions organised by the Indian high commission/embassy and give them precedence in case there was a clash of dates or time. The embarrassment Surie faced is understandable. So is his complaint to the external affairs ministry in this regard.

It is not the first time that the cricketers have behaved funnily in London. Old-timers recall the squad arriving late for a function on one occasion and violating the prescribed dress code for another function. At the root of the problem is their belief that they can afford to be nonchalant and supercilious, because of their wealth and the adulation they receive. As for the cash-rich BCCI, it even got away with shifting a whole IPL season to South Africa, when the government expressed some reservations about the dates. It is high time they are told in unambiguous terms that they are citizens first and cricketers later.

Related Stories

No stories found.

X
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com