Not so long ago, Indian cricketers used to be unfailingly polite, nice and gentle, always gracious to their opponents, respectful towards the umpires and other authoritarian figures, friendly and charming with the media. You would never get an Indian cricketer to utter a word in public that was out of place in a polite conversation. Indian cricketers were the “good boys”.
Often, their basic decency turned out to be a drawback in many cases, as the taciturn Indian cricketers were subjected to hyper aggressive behavior by the opposition players, condescension by the foreign media and contempt by the cricket watching public, especially outside India. Everything about Indian cricket was open for criticism, the fact that the Indian team relied far too much on one player – Sachin Tendulkar; that the Indians were tigers at home but lambs abroad, who unfailingly failed outside the subcontinent; that the Indians couldn’t bowl fast or play fast bowling; that they were poor fielders; that the Indians had an excuse for every defeat. The criticism was fair in many of the cases, but not appreciated by the cricket watching public in India as it carried with it a hint of prejudice and even, what many thought to be, racism.
Enter the 19-year old kid, trying hard to look older than his age with his permanent stubble, who after scoring his first Test century in Adelaide against the mighty Australians, rather than raise his bat and thank the Australian crowd for their polite appreciation, flayed his bat around, pumped his wrists like a boxer, letting loose the choicest Hindi expletives against his opponents. The boy was no timid, self-effacing, obsequiously polite Indian worried about leaving the right impression. The boy was a fighter, a swashbuckling street fighter, with just one purpose – to win. That boy had a name. Virat Kohli. And in that moment in Adelaide, he became the personification of an entire generation of young Indians, cricketers and non-cricketers alike, who’d have nothing to do with past, and who weren’t afraid to step on the toes of other people to get what they wanted. This generation is fondly referred to as the Virat Kohli Generation.
The Virat Kohli generation can be seen in all Indian towns and cities. Young men who are tired and bored of the old ways, who want to get somewhere and get there fast. Niceties and politeness be damned. The only thing that concerns them is winning – whether it is at sports or at the boardroom. This hyper aggressive behavior of young Indians hasn’t gone unnoticed by sociologists, who are still unable to decide whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. But one thing is certain, Indian as a nation is a country in a flux – the followers of the old ways look lost, while the jury is still out on the efficacy of the new ways.
Nowhere is this confusion more rampant in how cricket is played and run in India. In a country where majority of the towns and cities lack a decent cricket facility, where the pitches are substandard to say the least, and where majority of the cricketers give up the game for lack of support, Indian cricket’s administrative body, the BCCI seems more interested in squandering the billions of dollars gained from advertizing in cricket on gargantuan cricket stadiums that are used no more than half a dozen times a year, and closed to the public for the rest of the time.
The confusion is also visible in how young Indian cricketers approach the game. For those who have made the cut and got into an IPL team, money is no longer an issue. These young men are inundated with wealth and fame long before they have actually done anything of note. Not for them the hard labor that goes into becoming a top Test cricketer – who has the patience to stand on the field for 5 days anyway?! This Virat Kohli generation is a Twenty20 Cricket generation, who want money, fame and women, and want it now! Patience is for the Rahul Dravids of the world – and their time is over.
Nobody knows yet whether this hyper-materialism and aggression that has seeped into not just Indian cricket, but much of Indian life is a good development or not. There are a plenty of countries in the world that are not happy with the way Indians today run world cricket as though it is a personal fiefdom. While the fallout has been limited so far, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Indians and Virat Kohli to tone down on the aggression and approach things a little calmly. Try to be more conciliatory towards others.
Nobody is disputing the fact that Indians have arrived on the world stage anymore. But leading on the world stage is not just about being richer or more powerful than everybody else. Being a leader is about carrying everyone along. A true leader leads, not dominates.
