It might be a bit uncomfortable to accept. But Jhaveri's right. One can argue that the 20-20 team won the world cup, and that it is very important.
Viswanathan Anand does much tougher things day in and day out, and so did Paes and Bhupathi in doubles consistently over the years. The fact is these other sportsmen have a much tougher competetion than the Indian cricket team which deals with only 7 other test class teams, with lots of easy matches against teams. Logically, if we are really celebrating acheievement, Vishy Anand must be the biggest sporting icon in India.
Further, this 20-20 tournament is now on the map, only because India won. Nobody would have taken it seriously, if say NZ or WI or any other team won it. At most, it would have been considered a successful exhinition event.
Let's not kid ourselves. This is a good achievement. But most teams didn't even take this seriously. Now, after winning, we might say this is great. But if India didn't win this, this 20-20 tournament would have been much (and a lot) less relevant than the upcoming series against Australia and Pakistan. Reality changes, based on result. Twenty20 is great, because India won in this format. It wouldn't have been, if India lost.
RE:Jhaveri's right
by joydip bhattacharya on Sep 27, 2007 10:14 AM Permalink
think of the sport ....Can you think how many families in India may be living in earnings from Cricket...and now with Cricket Leagues are coming up I will see it as a very good profession for many youth Indians......so its quite natural Cricket will have the upperhand as it is more close to our society........Even a poor guy(only thing required Cricket Talent) if he succeed he may end up with huge money in his life...........So it is giving a hope to our youth.....
RE:Jhaveri's right
by Adrian on Sep 26, 2007 09:46 PM Permalink
Sarath when Indian sportsman win they should get their recognistion, and just because the tennis duo, Anand and the hockey team did not get the same recognition does not mean we should not celebrate the 20/20 victory. But not appreciation and recognising this 20/20 victory is also wrong. Two wrongs don't make right. Yes, I do agree there is a disparity between cricket and other sports in india.
We must as sports follwer celebrate each victory with equal vigor. Plus you saying that our team had a easy ride no team took this event seriously is nonsense. We didn't have the so can big 3 and zaheer in the tournament. No one gave us an outside chance of winning this tournament. Our young team fought hard and played without fear. Plus if no team took this game seriously , you wouldn't have seen the dejected face of smith , pointing, or Misbah on his knee crying.
RE:Jhaveri's right
by Sarath Chandra on Sep 26, 2007 09:53 PM Permalink
Adrian, I do agree with you. Only words are a bit different. Those who played did play very seriously. What I meant was most weren't sure how important this tournament is. Ponting said so himself and boards dropped many senior players. Also, one of the reasons why the big 3 in Indian team dropped is because they thought of preserving thhemselves for bigger tests ahead (while also recognizing their unsuitability). Surely, if they gave this the same kind of importance as the 50 over world cup, they would have made themselves available for selection.
Other than that, 2 wrongs don't make right. So we must celebrate well. But I am not sure this is as big an achievement as is made out. I don't think anybody would have cared, even a 100th of what they cared for the 50 over world cup, if India didn't win.
