SUNDAY MUSINGS
May be that cricket has taken a back seat now with the ongoing unparliamentary sports meets with new sports like Chili Throwing and the Chair Throwing taking pride of place. Yet, perennially cricket has been our favourite pastime and will remain to be so for the next umpteen number of years. Having said that, we keep asking, 'Are we happy with the status quo? Are we ready for the 2019 World Cup as our guys at the crease keep faltering?' We keep asking these questions over and over again.
The Sunday Times got the opportunity of firing the salvo at national coach Chandika Hathurusingha. However, the concerns came from another angle. He feels taking the cricketing poses by the horn is an occupational hazard and that is his forte, but, what he did not expect was the eroding discipline that has hit us like a bad dream.
Describing it as a big challenge, he said “I never expected our discipline to be at this level. It’s international cricket and playing for your country is a pride. How we behave when you wear that cap is very important. Even when you are not wearing the cap, discipline is very important on and off the field. When you are wearing the national cap, you are not just Chandika Hathurusingha, you become an ambassador representing your country. Then only the responsibility of wearing the national cap comes into focus. So morning, noon and night, a national cricketer must act with that responsibility in mind. It does not matter when you are with your kids, the rest of the family or just friends, there is a certain responsibility resting on your shoulders. Yet, I am disappointed; we have dropped our guard at this juncture and this has caused some serious concerns.”
When we asked how he hoped to combat that situation, Hathurusingha said, “I am not a policeman. It is up to the individual player to add value to the national crest and act responsibly. If there were instances when we had faced certain dicey situations in the past, it is time to close the doors behind them and think of the future and move on. This is a challenge that I did not foresee before I moved to this position. Now I have to maneuver through these obstacles and give second chances to those who deserve them and