Six and Out - Some Serious Cricket

Sreesanth: The Way Out?

by Dinsa Sachan on October 11th, 2007

Following some of Sreesanth’s antics in the first two one-dayers, Warney was quoted as saying:

I don’t think anything was over the top, so I think it’s going to add a bit of spice to the summer.

and

Everyone’s going to be looking for Sreesanth to do his stuff and it shows with a bit of passion. I think it’s going to be good for the summer.

I thought ditto at first. It *is* fun. And verbal skirmishes are OK, but just have a look at how he flared up on getting Symonds out, and how he looked Clarke in the eye, and the *really* wild appeal:

Whew. And did you notice Bucknor’s mediating? Singh was lucky there.

I heard Sreesanth was leafing through selp-helf books; that relieved me a bit and I thought maybe the reading would drive some sense into him. But, na da. Neurobiologically speaking, he’s formed deep synapses for aggression. The more he gets into it, the stronger the connections are getting.

Are the Ozzies putting him on? I don’t think so. Sreesanth seems to be one to engender the sparks all the time. And you don’t expect to be hurled expletives back at you when running into guys like Roy and Hayden? And all this pseudo-sledging is going to boomerang, no doubt. Ponting isn’t Bucknor, after all.

Especially, what he did at the last match was extremely disappointing. You are a 12th man and dishing dirt out at the opponents– what does that show about your attitude and motives?

Harbhajan caught on too. You know, everyone wants to try their hands at a new trend. I heard about his dropping bombshells on the field, but I hadn’t imagined the guy was capable of such gutsy stuff. Pseudo-gutsy, IMVHO. Raising bats at others and all.

All those who had been churning out blog posts corroborating an Indian team solely comprising of youngsters, do you now see the exploits of the dahling (pun intended) ducklings. That, when the seniors are around.

His behavior, in my opinion, has crossed the boundary of acceptability. He’s gone overboard; he either doesn’t know how to exert control over his impulses or he’s just not trying to. Or maybe there’s something else, but we know private blah-blah rarely meddles with a guy’s game. Oh, wait. But this isn’t about the game, is it? Yeah right, private blah-blah.

As some have said before, sledging is second nature to Ozzies, and that’s how they play their game. It’s neither good, nor bad. It’s just how they do it. And they don’t do it because they have anything personally against their opponents; this is their way of getting an edge over them. Their sledging is more psychological than abusive. I am not sure, but it involves, apart from other things, using “negative suggestions” like “You are going to get out now” against batters on field. And of course, we know about the psychological wars they wade against the other competing team via the media. So if that’s something you can train yourself in, good. Else, shut up, and just play the game.

Cricket certainly doesn’t need maniacs. India can find many of Sreesanth’s talent.

Some of you might disagree with what has been said. You have the right to do so. But if you think Sreesanth’s a hero, you’ve got to have a strong argument for that. Do chime in. I am all ears.

Oh, and take the poll.

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