Little thingie. Not

Avinash Subramaniam

Will someone please tell me since when has the crest become an option on the helmet? Last I remember, it was supposed to be worn with pride by every player in the team. Instead, time and again, we see players masking the area meant for the crest with an unsightly white tape covering an even more unsightly manifestation of capitalism well and truly seeped into the most unnecessary places on earth. (Like instead of the national crest.)

Worse, players who are supposed to set an example... captains, vice-captains, big name stars ... to name a shameful few, seem to have no qualms about walking out sans a crucial element of playing for the country. Pride. (Correction, visible pride.) Example: Rahul Dravid, of all people, showing off an untidily cut (the least of my grouses), unsightly (the second least of my grouses), monstrosity staring back from the helmet in place of the adrenaline pumping Indian 'chakra'. If Rahul, our most worthy and intelligent vice-captain, of all people won't care for the symbolism of the national colours how can you expect the youngsters to?

And no, it's not a small thing. It does matter a great deal. And the countries that care do make it a point to get things like this right. (I won't even bother asking you guys to check out the Aussies the next time they play. We all know how much respect they have, and make it a point to show it, for the baggy green.)

Make no mistake. This is not a rant against Dravid. I love the man. The commitment he brings to his game... the ideas in his head... his immense hunger to be part of a series' win abroad. Which is also precisely why I so hate, absolutely positively detest and feel most miffed about the fact that a man with so much going for him could even consider doing something so silly. (And he's not the only one.)

Incidentally, and most infuriatingly, the incident I am referring to took place, at least twice, during the Nairobi tourney -- the one that was supposed to be about 'pride' making a comeback to Indian cricket. Just after the match-fixing scandal and at a time when symbols like this needed to be re-asserted into the player and spectator consciousness. (Hah! Some pride we saw on display. From, of all the people in the world you wouldn't expect and hope this of, our vice-captain.)

Unfortunately, Dravid is not the only one guilty of this kind of... of... blasphemy. (Too strong a word? Not in my lexicon.) I mean how else can you describe it? What could be a valid explanation for not having a helmet or a piece of equipment with the country's colours when each and every player so sincerely professes to want nothing more than play for the country? And it's not like these guys are playing for the country for the first time. It's not like they don't have enough of the 'right' equipment. It's not like they don't know they won't be allowed to display logos of certain sponsors. (Anyway, why on earth should a stupid logo be in a place so sacrosanct?) And when did this trend start being condoned? Was it when Azza was captain? Ok, I take that back. Shouldn't kick a man when he's down.

So let me put it this way, the first time I began to notice the egregiousness of it was when Azza and his team would often come out looking like a bunch of jaded circus performers and sandwich men. In caps of all hues and shapes, logos staring back from all parts of their anatomy and with little or no pride of performance to show in place of the paraphernalia. Again, as in the case of Rahul, perhaps to a lesser extent, both Azza and Jadeja were favorites of mine. But if there was one thing they, Jaddu more than Azza, needed to be spanked nice and hard for, and again and again, was attitude. (Easy girls... this is not about Jaddu's bottom.)

The man, Jaddu, was clearly not the one to look up to for lessons in seriousness and commitment. The same, to a much lesser degree, went for Azza. (Actually, Azza's fault might well be his inexplicable greed for manna and the good things of life.) Of course, not for a moment am I suggesting they were the cause of this reprehensibly mercenary trend. (That would be downright and completely moronic. And am not quite completely a moron. Well, not just yet J)

So, to cut a long story short, we don't need more logos and sandwich men in this side. Of course, you don't need me, either, to tell you what we need. You can tell me what at avinash@eurorscgindia.com. It's good to be back. (Hope you guys feel the same way too.) Till next time.

Avinash Subramaniam

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