Getting ridiculous with cricket
When quotes and controversies are found wanting, channels are resorting to invention in an attempt to keep the viewer interested.
DIPU SHAW says that the last time the media had hyped up the team so much, it was eliminated in the preliminaries.
Cricket fever was apparent in the run up to the ICC World Cup. More with the news channels than with the usual cricket fans. So anything and everything that anyone said about India winning the premier cricketing tournament found a respectful place.
When Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said in a lighter vein that winning this World Cup would be a gift for batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, it was carried by news channels. Sachin, who is a role model for most young cricketers, is in all probability playing his last World Cup.
Several cricketers were asked to comment on Dhoni’s statement (which by now was changed to dedicating the World Cup to Tendulkar) until it snowballed into a controversy. Former all-rounder Kapil Dev snubbed Dhoni’s remark (Of course he was asked by a reporter to comment on the Indian skipper’s statement) arguing that the World Cup was equally important for other Indian players. Legendary cricketer Steve Waugh was asked the same question and he replied: “This is not the attitude that the Indian team should have.”
When there was no controversy to whip up the media resorted to invention. India News termed Zaheer Khan, Yusuf Pathan and Harbhajan Singh as Yamla, Pagla, Deewana respectively taking a cue from the latest Bollywood movie featuring Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol.
On another occasion, the anchor of India News landed in his studio with cricketing gloves and a bat practicing strokes in front of the screen. News 24 can rival any channel in their eccentricity about the game’s coverage. It has almost become a full time cricket channel.
At one point News 24 did an extensive story on Yusuf Pathan’s diet juxtaposing his face with the torso of a body-builder. One channel showed the mighty Hanuman (Hindu deity) fighting his enemies with his ‘gada’ (mace) as Yuvraj Singh’s batting highlights were shown in the foreground.
In a country where cricket is almost a religion, equating the players with Gods may not surprising but to portray our opponents as demons is just not cricket. Incidentally vice-president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rajiv Shukla, owns News 24 that has been beaming these programmes.
In cricket, players of opposing teams shake hands at the end of every match and the losing captain is called first at the prize distribution ceremony. This is to emphasise the importance of participating.
On February 16 News 24 announced that it would make the biggest disclosure of the ICC World Cup. The ‘revelation’ to which the channel devoted a complete show was about the Indian team’s preparations for the World Cup. The channel said that it had acquired a 51-page manual that detailed the teams plans. After building all the drama the ‘revelation’ it made was that the Indian team would be careful of their opponents and would focus on their game!
While all this hype is being built up it is noteworthy to remember that the only time that India won the World Cup was when they were clearly considered the underdogs who would be eliminated in the preliminary rounds. The last time India played the World Cup amidst the same expectations and media craze - in 2007 - the team had exited in first round.
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