Indian cricket needs âknowledgeable Chennai crowdâ to salvage country's reputation - now more than ever
It was 20 years ago that the term âKnowledgeable Chennai crowdâ was born, after what the folks from the Southern part of the country did following Pakistanâs stunning victory at Chepauk: they gave a standing ovation to their fierce rivals who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
On Sunday, in the first ODI against West Indies, there will be no obligation for the Chennai crowd to cheer (or) give a standing ovation to the Windies should they end up on the winning side. But they will, arguably, face a much bigger, much more difficult task: resisting the temptation to jeer and humiliate one of their own - Rishabh Pant.Â
That has been the flavour of the month - or a few months - for the âcricket fansâ in the country, hasnât it? Going to the stadium with the binoculars on and waiting restlessly for Rishabh Pant to goof up so that he can be berated and humiliated in front of thousands (technically millions, if you include the people watching at home). The habit of cheering every Pant gaffe has become a pastime for the Indian crowd, who have been shaming and publicly parading the youngster around as if heâs some sort of a detestable criminal whoâs committed a set of heinous crimes.
Has Pant done justice to his talent or his place in the team? Probably not. But does he deserve this sort of a criminal-esque treatment that has been dished out to him? Absolutely not. The kid is 22 years old and heâs facing the wrath of something that is not his own fault. He is not to be blamed for the undue expectations that have been put on his shoulders, nor is he to be blamed for stepping into the shoes of MS Dhoni who, as we all know, is a once-in-a-generation cricketer.Â
Virat Kohli, ahead of the Windies series, pleaded the crowd to not disrespect Pant by chanting Dhoniâs name every time he erred, but the anti-Pant agenda seems to be intravenously connected to every fanâs veins that not even the word of the skipper is strong enough for them to listen; they put on quite a show in all three T20Is versus the Caribbean nation.Â
Could you imagine a 22-year-old version of yourself being humiliated, chastened and worse, cheered on for every little blunder that you make in life? Of course, thereâs no denying that the stakes are higher, way way higher, when it comes to professional cricket and representing the country, but that doesnât give the rights for fans to treat players like meat, pounce on every second opportunity to shame them and publicly humiliate them.Â
In the case of Pant, the reasons to abase him have been different. For some, itâs the sheer preconceived notion that their âThalaâ, their beloved ex-captain who is, of course, a literal God behind the stumps, is irreplaceable in the team; they just cannot bear to see anyone else taking his place. Hence, the âDhoni, Dhoniâ chants for dropped catches and missed stumpings. For a few others - the Kerala crowd, to be precise - itâs the disappointment of not seeing âone of their own boysâ, who also happens to be able to keep wickets, play in front of their own eyes and instead just warm the bench. And for others, just a few others, itâs just schadenfreude: getting sadistic pleasure out of seeing a helpless young cricketer fail. Â
There is a breaking point for every cricketer and if thereâs one thing that sport has taught us, that even the strongest of people are capable of getting broken mentally. At 22, Rishabh Pant should not be bearing the brunt of an angry mob for whatâs not completely his fault. However, whatâs concerning, condemnable and alarming is the fact that there are grown men who go to stadiums thinking itâs okay to humiliate and take their frustration out on a youngster; thereâs a limit to everything and the Indian crowd, in my opinion, have already crossed the line.
The fact that the first ODI will be played in Chennai, âThe Lionâs Own Denâ, a place where Dhoni got a thunderous reception like no other when he walked out to bat against Australia in 2017, makes me fear the worst, for the same could happen to Pant on Sunday, with the cheers being replaced with jeers. For a country that takes so much pride in the sport and its players, the crowd behaviour of late has been disgraceful, distasteful, detestable and condemnable, and it needs to stop.
So here we go, âknowledgeable Chennai crowdâ: the ball is in your court now. You can either stay classy, conduct yourself well and salvage pride for the nation whilst also maintaining your elitist tag, or fall into the same drain that every city, one after the other, has been plunging into.Â