The name of the game is blame!

First, I'm not a cricket freak. But what interests me is the fact that, not very unlike life, cricket too is a blame game. With shattered hopes about our recent performance in World cup 2007, we've already begun picking on some individuals to point fingers at, having lost a concept called collective responsibility.

These are times when its also difficult to find out the root cause, per se, since its been a downward spiral for a while. If you watch a kid grow up, you don't know he's growing up on a daily basis. Similarly, if things keep on worsening with the team, especially on multiple fronts, its difficult to realize so, till a shock reveals that. Collective responsibility is somewhat like a company or social culture. Who's responsible for a good or bad culture? Everyone involved is. In cricket, that is right from players through to the board.

I feel that so-called fans idolize the cricketers placing them high enough to pressurize them, adding to a breakdown too. If he's really a fan, he should stand by the thick-and-thin of the Indian team, akin to a friend through the good and bad phases of your life. I'm sure that the Indian team feels more painful of what happened and individuals will work on themselves and as a team to correct things, moving on, be it rebuilding an entire team. However, catching some *individual* by the neck, burning effigies, attacking his house because he failed to deliver a good game is sheer stupidity!

Thats not to say that the Indian cricket team is to be let loose on their own. The only sensible statement I heard as response to the match was that players in form should be allowed to play, those who are not should take a break and return when they improve. Although I rarely watch cricket, I feel that the earlier days were better. Even now, if cricketers spend less time advertising and play counties instead, apart from their regular net-practice, they'd make better players.

Well, just a thought.