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The "great" Indian cricket follower

One of my most common laments about growing up as a cricket aficionado in India is the fact that the average Indian cricket fan is more of a fan of the Indian team than of the game itself. And even here they are fickle in that the same players go from hero to villain and back to hero every other day depending on Team India's fortunes. This piece (and especially the passage below) by one of my favourite cricket writers, Siddhartha Vaidyanathan sums it up nicely.

 "I have also been charitably compared to Mark Antony for switching sides and writing a eulogy for Tendulkar a day after advocating that he be dropped. I am stumped at the number of people who fail to understand that the first piece was about the selectors (and the rebuilding a team) and the second about celebrating an incredible career. I am also amazed at how many people think this is a zero-sum game.
What pains me is how a large part of discourse on the internet is so limited to black and white. You are apparently either for Sachin or against him. If you question his place in the side, you are a moron who has no right to express an opinion or an ignorant bum who has never held a bat in his life or someone with a vested interest."
This attitude towards Tendulkar is representative of the general malaise that affects cricket following in India and maybe (if I'm allowed to be a bit bombastic for a second) even Indian society in general. Everything has to be black and white. And while I don't agree with Vaidyanathan on dropping Tendulkar from the Test team, its not because I hesitate to see Tendulkar's failings or recognise that he is long past his prime. And I also think that many of the points that he makes are well thought out and true. And I'd love to have a discussion/argument with someone like Vaidyanathan on the topic. Sadly though, that's not something I can say of most Indians I talk cricket to.

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