My first memories of Australia are that of a country, serene, beautiful, orderly and of a people caring and sensitive to an outsider and his “quixotic” needs. This was at a time, 1999, when its cricket team was strong, unbeatable in home conditions, and India, led by Sachin Tendulkar, were literally whitewashed, not offering even a token resistance to their opponent’s victory march.
More than the defeat, what was disquieting was that the Australian print media was unrelenting in its criticism of the Indians, and through its condescending and vitriolic reporting, tended to cross the line. Sample this: in one of the Tests, the light became poor but the Indians refused to agree to play under the floodlights, as playing conditions did not stipulate such.
No doubt India’s refusal to play under lights was dictated by their fear of defeat, and any time wasted would have gone in their favour. The headline in one of the leading papers the next day screamed: “India go back to dark ages.”
Clever yes, but the kind of reporting one had seen in papers, the headline smacked of racial undertones and clearly did not go down well with us, the brown-skinned Indians, already feeling low at the drubbing the team was receiving at the hands of the Australians. I remember writing a piece in the Indian Express, saying “Australian media seems the most racist in the world.”
This extreme reaction may have a lot to do with being part of a team losing badly and unable to take harsh criticism sportingly, though there is no doubt in my mind that the Australian press in unison unleashes its might on a visiting team like a pack of greedy hounds.
India, as a team and a cricketing nation, has come a long way since then. Sourav Ganguly’s aggressive ways, his rubbing Steve Waugh the wrong way and the team giving it back as it gets, transformed the meek Indians into a formidable pack, where rivals could take nothing for granted. Couple with its financial clout, the Indians, many would say, became the new Australians, with monkey-gate serving as an example of how a new order was emerging in world cricket.
With power should have come responsibility, and that is where the Indians could be faulted. Many of the decisions they started challenging were not all based on fair play, and there was a touch of arrogance and muscular intervention.
Today, Virat Kohli is not just a mere extension of Ganguly, he is much more than that. He represents that transformed India, which may not always go by sane reasoning but scream back in your face, even if the situation demands sobriety and calm responses.
In a series that has produced thrilling cricket, the focus of newspapers is still on who is saying what. The Australian media is back to what it loves doing most, while the Indians are springing to the defense of their captain.
It is a piquant situation, much to the delight of advertisers and broadcasters, as it pushes TRP ratings. That may be good for Test cricket’s popularity, as it is starving for audiences, but it does no credit to the image of the sport.