Batting for cricket

Whatever the country’s struggles were in the past, the Sri Lankan cricket team had always been a source of national comfort, and in many instances a unifying presence. But in the past few years, its only genuinely unifying feature has been an ability to bring people together in condemnation of the team’s performances and administrative body.

The latest instance to draw the public’s ire has been the three players who were caught having breached bio-bubble protocols during the team’s ongoing tour of England. The players, who have each subsequently been handed one year bans, were rightfully admonished for their behaviour. 

This has also predictably brought out a variety of opinions, with blame simultaneously being cast on the players involved as well as the Sri Lanka Cricket administrators. Former Minister and World Cup-winning Captain Arjuna Ranatunga has even gone so far as to claim that such a thing would never have happened under his captaincy.

The merits of such statements can be debated at a later date – indeed, if social media had been around during Ranatunga’s time, it would interesting to see the antics that might have been documented for posterity – but in the midst of all the player and team bashing, one thing has been glaringly lacking: understanding. To be clear, this is not to let the players involved off the hook, but rather to try and come to the root of why it is players would do such a thing, when for the watching public – and yes this includes former players – the acts were borderline unthinkable.

The key thing to understand, and something that is many times overlooked, is that everyone’s idea of success is different; while some of us are driven to go right to the very top of our respective fields, others might be content muddling along at a more-than-adequate level, doing just enough to be comfortable in life. Now true, this sort of description fits more in line with a 9-5 job rather than that of an athlete, yet it nevertheless bears mentioning.

The Australian tennis player Nick Kygrios this week caused a slight uproar when he said he was content not winning Grand Slams. While this may seem sacrilegious to fans, to Kygrios, who his still among the best tennis players in the world and earns a more-than-comfortable living from the sport, it does make sense to look at tennis as a means to an end – like any other job – as opposed to expending precious energy striving to be the very best.

The same could be said of footballers, who forego the fame and challenge of playing in football leagues in England and Spain to earn substantially more in the less taxing but extremely lucrative Chinese Super League. As a society, maybe it’s time that we come to terms with the fact that some sportsmen might look at sport as a way to simply make a living, as opposed to being the best in their field. 

So if we are to fix the Sri Lankan cricket team, maybe the issue isn’t discipline. These players after all are still international athletes, the best in their field nationally – in the same category as their counterparts from other nations. But the margins at the very top are fine; not every talented young footballer ends up becoming the next Cristiano Ronaldo. Add to this the added pressures brought on by social media, and is it any wonder players decide to let off steam in ill-advised ways once in a while?

All this is to say, that the solution isn’t merely as simple as shouting down the perceived ill-disciplined nature of these players or their work ethic. Rather, the players need to be felt understood, not persecuted – something particularly difficult to avoid in the age of social media – and those responsible for coaching and counselling them need to work with them – not talk at them – in order to attain excellence.