Michael Clarke’s ignorant comments an evidence to his disconnection with the cricket world
It’s 2020 and the world has overseen scientific and technological advancements that have changed our lives. To quote Eric Cantona, ‘Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the ageing of the cells, soon the science will fix the cells to the state and so we will become eternal’.
Of course, every now and then there is a grounding reality - such as the ongoing pandemic to which there is no cure as of yet - that exactly shows how far we’re still behind and why we’re not immortal yet, but still the truth is humankind has taken medical, biological, scientific and technological advancements to heights that were inconceivable in the past.
Yet as the achievements of man keep skyrocketing on an upward trajectory, on one hand, he still finds himself vulnerable and defenceless against a weapon that’s his own making: his own words. In his speech at the Champions League draw last year, Cantona pointed out how crimes and wars will multiply but he, however, forgot something more deadly and contagious that has plagued mankind for centuries - ludicrous comments. They keep coming at you like bullets from the gun of Tommy Vercetti in Grand Theft Auto, and the latest one was fired last week by Michael Clarke.
According to the former Australian skipper, the Aussies ‘sucked up’ to India during the home summer in 2018, refusing to sledge Kohli and India only because they feared for their IPL contracts. To quote him directly, “Everybody knows how powerful India are in regards to the financial part of the game, internationally or domestically with the IPL. I feel that Australian cricket, and probably every other team over a little period, went the opposite and actually sucked up to India. They were too scared to sledge Kohli or the other Indian players.” The sheer ignorance and stupidity that lies in the first part of his statement alone deserve a complete, part-by-part dissection.
That India are a financial powerhouse in cricket and they arguably control everything in world cricket at the moment is a fact. However, to imply that an IPL franchise can be swayed into picking particular players due to their camaraderie with Indian cricketers is the absurdity of the highest order. If that were the case, Darren Sammy would be in the starting XI of Mumbai Indians every single year. Or perhaps, Clarke has convinced himself that it’s the only reason he played no more than 6 IPL matches. Maybe someone should go remind him that his average of 16.33 in the competition and his overall career T20 strike rate of 108.22 could have maybe played a part, too?
As refuted by VVS Laxman not so long ago, the amount of work that goes into IPL auctions is pretty unimaginable. Franchises go through a myriad of data months ahead of the auction and apart from that, they formulate no less five to six backup plans in case Plan A does not fall their way; real-time problem solving coupled with the stress of the highest magnitude. Yes, franchises do have meetings with team captains to briefly discuss auction strategy, but the role of a skipper ends just about there; he has no real power or authority to influence decisions, for he’s not going to be at the auction table anyway.
Not only did Clarke get his facts completely wrong with his statements, but by doing so, he also disrespected hundreds of players who bust their backsides off 365 days a year just so that they could land a lucrative IPL contract. And in this day and age, an IPL contract is no joke. Several cricketers consider it as the pinnacle of their careers and it holds more value than one might imagine.
Now for the second part of his comments. “The players were like: ‘I’m not going to sledge Kohli, I want him to pick me for Bangalore so I can make my $1 million for my six weeks”. It’s already been established that Clarke has no understanding of how the IPL auction works whatsoever, and now, it’s clear that his perception of Virat Kohli the cricketer is as flawed as it can get.
Kohli is a winner by every means and even in the hypothetical scenario that he has the power to influence the selection of players, there would be nothing he would love more than snapping up a player who ruffled his feathers. Like great champions of the past, Kohli has a soft spot for winners - you could be the biggest bum there is in the world, but as long as you’re good at cricket, Kohli will embrace you with both hands. After all, he himself is of that mould. Perhaps, Mr Clarke could have had a word or two about the Indian captain with Starc and Richardson before his uncalled-for shoot.
The third part of his shoot, however, details the REAL motivation behind all these comments - his inability to come to terms with the fact that Australia are actually on a quest to become a ‘nice’ team. ‘“I feel like that’s where Australia went through that little phase where our cricket become a little bit softer or not as hard as we’re accustomed to seeing. I feel that Australian cricket, and probably every other team over a little period, went the opposite and actually sucked up to India. They were too scared to sledge Kohli or the other Indian players.”
Mind you, this is not the first time that Clarke has gone on a rant against the toned-down approach of the Aussies under Paine and Langer. A year and a half ago, he went on an aggressive rant against the subdued approach of the team, saying, "If you try and walk away from it, we might be the most-liked team in the world, we're not going to win s***. We won't win a game. Boys and girls want to win."
While his comments and concerns from 2018 are completely justified, given the situation Australia found themselves back in the day, in the midst of an identity crisis, you’ve got to imagine that he’s gotten his assessment of the current team completely wrong. Does it really matter if their cricket is ‘soft’ and ‘not as hard’ as everyone’s accustomed to seeing, as long as they produce the results? Under Tim Paine, Australia have managed to retain the Ashes in England, something that Clarke himself was not able to do on two separate occasions despite boasting of really strong sides. Does it really matter if the players rile up Kohli or not? As revealed in ‘The Test’ documentary, the side went in with a pre-planned strategy of not attempting to flare Kohli’s temper and to their credit, it worked, for they dismissed him cheaply 5/7 times in the series.
The line between constructive criticism and baseless accusation is a thin one and unfortunately, Michael Clarke is sitting on the extreme end of the latter side of the spectrum, with his comments coming off as nothing but irrational spite against an ideology that, by the looks of it, he just cannot come to terms with. Many great athletes in the past have tarnished their reputation with their needless, spiteful comments post-retirement and we can just hope that ‘Pup’ does not fall into the drain that hundreds, if not thousands, of former sportsmen, have slipped into.
