Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes hero-worshipping culture has played a big part in India's awful slump in Test cricket.
His comments came after India’s 0-3 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand at home and 1-3 drubbing on the tour of Australia.
In his recent column for Hindustan Times, Manjrekar wrote that the slump that the Indian team is facing is nothing new. He mentioned that India faced a similar setback in 2011-12 as well, losing 0-8 to England and Australia under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
Manjrekar called the recent outcome under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy a generational slump. He didn’t mince his words and said that the iconic players let the team down.
"India are a sought-after cricket team that the world wants to eagerly host. They play a lot of matches in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries, so it is fair to be judged to the highest standards. This ‘generational slump’ is inevitable for all teams. It’s what we know as the transition phase and among the best teams in the world, I believe it affects India the most," Manjrekar wrote.
"The one foremost reason behind this is the icon culture we have in India and the hero worship of certain players. Be it 2011-12 or now, it’s the same scenario that gets played out -- iconic players featuring prominently doing the opposite of what they did their entire careers, thereby dragging the team down with their diminished performances," he added.
Manjrekar cited the examples of legends such as Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, who had failed in the transition period of 2011-12, and compared their downfall with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who endured a terrible time in Test cricket last year.
"When India lost 0-8 to England and Australia, Tendulkar averaged 35, Sehwag 19.91 and Laxman 21.06. Only Dravid stood out and got runs in England (he averaged 76.83) but in Australia he too was given a harsh reality check (he averaged 24.25)," Manjrekar said.
"Thing is, when it comes to the big players, we as a country are just not able to stay rational. Emotions run high and those in positions to take decisions on these players are influenced by this climate. Cricketing logic goes out of the window and then the selectors hope the player leaves on his own so that they don’t look like the villains who brutally ended the career of a great who millions of fans worship. They just fear the backlash," he remarked.
