Importance of grooming our cricketers

You - yes, you the reader - I have some questions for you.

10 years ago, did you know that calling someone gay for fun was wrong? Did you know calling someone by the skin of his/her color was wrong? Did you understand the how women are often objectified?

If not 10 years ago, has there been any point in life when didn’t know these things?

If you are like me, someone who grew up in India, there is a solid chance that you said no to one of those questions. But you know better now - you have grown up, probably gotten more exposure to the world and realized there is nothing wrong with a particular color or having a certain sexual orientation and women are just as good as men at nearly everything (if not better).

Would you consider that ‘old you’ a criminal? Probably not. How about an idiot? Maybe yes. Do you think it would be fair to hold the views of ‘old you’ against you for life?

I am guessing you answered no. And that’s exactly why cricketers like Hardik Pandya, Shannon Gabriel, Sarfraz Ahmed and KL Rahul need to be forgiven. Instead, what they and all cricketers around the world need is grooming to enhance their awareness.

Why is this important?

Many people’s first reaction after watching the Hardik Pandya-KL Rahul interview was to conclude that today’s cricketers are not worthy of being role models like the Dravids, Tendulkars and Kumbles were. But the truth is, if you live in a commonwealth nation that plays Cricket as one of its major sports - you know Cricket is a huge part of the culture. The kids of your community will likely grow up watching and playing cricket. Whether you like or not, our cricketers are icons and often role models for a lot of kids growing up. And this is even more likely, if you live in the Indian subcontinent.

The other big reason is the all the technological advancements. Today, we can almost always hear and comprehend what our cricketers say on the field due to the availability of stump mics. Most broadcasters have 32 cameras covering an international cricket game and that’s why nothing is missed (remember Sandpaper gate?). Even off the field, access to a player’s thoughts, pictures and actions has increased considerably due to the advent of social media. Therefore, it is crucial for cricketers who understand where to draw the line.

What is the solution?

Is a temporary ban good enough to teach a lesson? It will obviously discourage the behavior that the cricketer exhibited but is that good enough? Sarfraz Ahmed now knows that he shouldn’t be using the words he used for Andile Phehlukwayo, but does he completely understand what casual racism is? Probably not. Same with Hardik Pandya - he will probably not never mention his adventures with women in public anymore, but does that mean he understands what is appropriate to say and what isn’t? Probably not.

And that’s the problem with bans. It discourages the actions but doesn’t go far enough to explaining the issue to cricketers who, at least in some cases, might simply be naive. And that is exactly where sensitivity training is required. Harsha Bhogle was one of first commentators to point this out, when he tweeted this:

It is all very well to issue show-cause notices now to KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya. But I do wish the BCCI spends time in sensitising these young players to life beyond the dressing room; to getting them outside the bubble that is inevitable given the adulation they get.

India U-19 Coach Rahul Dravid too agreed and said mistakes were made in the past too, urging people not to overreact. He even talked about how psychologists were brought in to talk to the U-19 players prior to the last to U-19 World Cups.

And yet, a month after the infamous interview BCCI has taken no concrete steps in this direction. They thought about creating a behavior counselling program but haven’t followed up on this plan. PCB expressed disappointment over ICC banning their skipper even though it was obviously a breach of ICC’s code of conduct. It clearly shows that the only way forward is for ICC to step in and mandate all international teams to create a program where cricketers are groomed and sensitized right from the U-19 age.