Kolkata: Talk of bonhomie in a team, Bengal teammates Pragyan Ojha and Ashok Dinda don’t personify it. According to a PTI report, the two were involved in a spat during a practice session at Rajkot.
It all happened during a football session, when a shot from Dinda went past Ojha’s ears and the latter confronted the seamer. It could have culminated into something worse had it not been due to the intervention of skipper Manoj Tiwary, coach Sairaj Bahutule and manager Samir Dasgupta.
The team is on a roll and such aberrations complicate things. This takes us back to the 2003 World Cup in England when Pakistani players Inzamam-ul Huq and Younis Khan almost came to blows during a practice session.
Let’s not forget Suresh Raina and Ravinder Jadeja exchanging unpleasant words some years back. VVS Laxman refused to acknowledge Harbhajan Singh’s thanks after the former caught one off his bowling. Bhajji has vented his anger on Laxman for fumbling in a Test at the Eden Gardens.
The Gentleman’s game is only getting uglier thanks to extreme competitiveness not just between rivals but also between compatriots. Gamesmanship is taking its toll on the spirit of the game and these are worrying signals. In the ‘80s Javed Miandad almost hit Denis Lillie with his bat. Trevor Chappell bowled underarm against New Zealand.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), rival captains Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli confront each other. Michel Stark and Kieron Pollard are involved in a spat. And there is no dearth of such instances. Let’s not forget the infamous incident involving Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels in the Big Bash. The days of a Courtney Walsh refusing to run his Pakistani opponent out while the latter walks out of the non-striker’s end during the 1987 Reliance Cup are over.
Extreme enmity is attributed to a mind game that even compatriots are part of and the Dinda-Ojha incident only vindicates it. Intense enmity on and off the field are leading to such ugly incidents. A GR Viswanath calling Bob Taylor back in a Test match in Mumbai because the former feels the batsman has got a raw deal is history. We want to win by hook or crook. That’s the mantra.
Psychologically, the pressure to succeed with so much at stake boomerangs. And it compels cricketers to take that extreme step to have the last laugh. There’s no giving away even the smallest of inches. It’s all about triumph.
But does this send the right message to wannabe cricketers? Think about it.