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After legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan’s rant following Team India’s 1-3 defeat in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), former India cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a blunt dig on the culture in the Indian cricket team. The 59-year-old stood up to blame “hero worship” culture while citing the slump in Indian Test cricket.
Writing for a column in Hindustan Times, Manjrekar opined that this isn’t the first time that Indian cricket team has seen a slump. He cited that a similar phenomenon was visible in 2011-12, when India lost 0-8 to England and Australia under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, terming it as a “generational slump”.
Sanjay Manjrekar points out “hero worship” as reason behind generational slump
Speaking in his column in HT, Manjrekar wrote, "India are a sought-after cricket team that the world wants to eagerly host. They play a lot of matches in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries, so it is fair to be judged to the highest standards. This ‘generational slump’ is inevitable for all teams. It’s what we know as the transition phase and among the best teams in the world, I believe it affects India the most."
“The one foremost reason behind this is the icon culture we have in India and the hero worship of certain players. Be it 2011-12 or now, it’s the same scenario that gets played out -- iconic players featuring prominently doing the opposite of what they did their entire careers, thereby dragging the team down with their diminished performances," he added.
Citing examples of legend Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman during 2011-12 era and comparing it with the one consisting of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Manjrekar added, "When India lost 0-8 to England and Australia, Tendulkar averaged 35, Sehwag 19.91 and Laxman 21.06. Only Dravid stood out and got runs in England (he averaged 76.83) but in Australia he too was given a harsh reality check (he averaged 24.25)."
"Thing is, when it comes to the big players, we as a country are just not able to stay rational. Emotions run high and those in positions to take decisions on these players are influenced by this climate. Cricketing logic goes out of the window and then the selectors hope the player leaves on his own so that they don’t look like the villains who brutally ended the career of a great who millions of fans worship. They just fear the backlash," the former batter concluded, adding that the phasing out of players has become difficult in the Indian cricketing setup.
