It was shocking to hear a person calling up a TV channel during one of the post-match analysis shows and say, "He is a stupid captain".
And on another news channel a well educated person (with a baby in hand) comments, "He doesn't even know how to hold the bat".
Wondering who they are talking about? None other than a couple of cricketers from our world cup squad after the shock defeat the team suffered at the hands of Bangladesh. I am no great fan of the Indian team but I felt sorry for the players and disgusted with the way 'the so called fans' voice their opinion; and that too saying such words on public television is crossing the limits.
What aroused me was the fact that there are so many people who criticize Indian cricketers and pass comments saying they can do this, they can practice on their weakness, they are mentally weak, they don't have aggression, they don't have the will to win, they are playing rash shots and getting out etcetera etcetera. How many of these 'fans' do any introspection into their own lives; how many of them have told themselves 'never give up', how many of them have fought in adversity, how many of them have tried to change things around them, how many of them have been in pressure cooker situations, how many of them have been perfect in life never committing a mistake, how many of them have the strength to resist temptation, how many of them have the energy to motivate others?
Just any X, Y or Z throws comments in public as if they are Mr. Perfect or as if they have represented India at the national level. Why don't they get into the national side and prove themselves instead of passing such comments in public. Freedom of speech is good but it should't be used to mock someone. Fans might get emotional over the way their team performs and if they do badly there is limit to the kind of words used. Feeling disappointed is fine, but getting angry and personally attacking someone is downright horrible. I really wish the same people would look into their own lives and change themselves; I wish people would become more critical of themselves, scrutinize their lives and change rather than keep pointing finger at someone else. It is so easy to point fingers at someone and say "they are doing wrong", but it is so difficult to do the same to ourselves. It hurt seeing educated people talk like that in public - you learn subjects like moral science but what use is all that if you don't have basic respect for another fellow human being.
To end on a lighter note, it was a really spirited performance by the minnows Ireland and Bangladesh in the world cup - I enjoyed the way they played; especially the effort and commitment showed in their fielding and on the day they played better and deserved to win.
