India cricket teams of the past and present might have endured difficulties on-field but there have been many few cases that highlighted off it as well!
India cricket teams of the past and present might have endured difficulties on-field but there have been many few cases that highlighted off it as well!
But here’s a rare case which included Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and his father Kiran Pal Singh. The reason – a bottle of champagne. Yes, the bowler’s father has requested to fend away with the practice of giving away champagne bottles in post match presentations that included his son.
During the post-match presentation of the 5-match Test series between England and India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was awarded with the Man of the Series award for India that included a bottle of champagne and a cash prize. But, Bhuvi’s father had other reasons. He said in a quote given to a newspaper, “I watched the presentation ceremony after the Test match on Sunday. The huge-margin defeats (in the series) hurt more than Bhuvi winning the MoS award. My son is a teetotaller and don’t know what he would do with this bottle. Bhuvi does not smoke, or even touches a glass of wine. I don’t think this practice of gifting champagne bottles exist in other countries. It should be stopped.”
In 2006, the current Indian team director Ravi Shastri was also embroiled in a controversy which saw a case being filed against the former captain for allegedly hurting the religious feelings of Hindus by reportedly eating beef. Was it knowingly or unknowingly that caused Ravi to eat the dish or was there no options at all? Indians are precarious as far as religious sentiments are concerned and thus face many problems while touring abroad.
The following reasons are one of many that bother our Indian cricketers while on away tours. Take a look:
Drinks –
As highlighted above, we Indians are quite sensitive by nature. When our players go abroad to play, most of them rarely get acclimatised to the culture of the particular country. In places like UK and South Africa, drinks like beer, wine etc. are the toast of the town and thus is not comfortable for our ‘small-town’ cricketers. Whereas in India, the winner walks away with a bike or a car, in places like England, champagne is most commonly used. Not only in cricket but football, F1, Tennis winners are also awarded with the same.
Food –
One of the main talking point amongst the cricketers especially who are touring for the first time. Westerners are meat eaters with the likes pork and beef as the main cuisines but for our Indian cricketers that’s a pure ‘no-no’. Most of the Indian touring party are vegans and it takes a lot of time to get adjusted to the ‘new surroundings’.
Weather –
Another most important point that comes to bother our young Indian turks is the weather! England and New Zealand are mostly soggy and overcast during the June-August periods whereas South Africa and Australia can be hot and humid. The best case scenario would be that Indian team (in the month December where it is cold) travelling to Australia in temperatures that are beyond imagination!
Language –
Most of our Indian stars hail from small villages and towns where English is hardly taught. So when coming onto the grand stage, learning the language becomes an utmost priority. In the past, many of our Indian cricketers have struggled to keep pace with the Western language (English) that included the likes of Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and even Ravindra Jadeja. Usually, some of them take along other stars to translate them and thus learning English is a hassle for these rising stars.
Religion –
Last but not the least, religion is mostly practised by the Indian players. Some of them hail from Hindu backgrounds and thus going off shores, visiting temples are a pain. At times, foreign cities have a temple and another which is far off. Even though the Indian cricket boasts few Muslims or Sikhs, for them finding a shrine in the nearby location is at top of the list!
So far, none of the cricketers have made any noises about wrong food or language issues but deep down their minds, it’s surely bothering them! Isn’t it?
