For the love of the game!
There’s something about the game of cricket that rouses a whole host of emotions, especially for the ones from the sub-continent. As (relatively) young nations, our collective memories of independence are fairly fresh. Former colonies of the British Raj, the path to freedom for our ancestors came at quite the price (read: sacrifice). Consolation? Perhaps none — but we did inherit some gifts; Tea (deserves a dedicated section of its own), and of course, Cricket.
For Victorian imperialists, cricket was much more than a game. The game represented the British virtues of strength, persistence, and camaraderie, viewed very much as a white man’s sport. For the colonized, Cricket became an effective tool for both diplomacy and resistance to the inequalities of the colonial rule. In 1926, “CK Nayudu hit 153 runs in 116 minutes with 11 sixes”. A defining moment; the Colonized beat the Colonizers at their own game!
Fast forward to 1983, India won its first world cup, add another nine years, Pakistan won its first world cup. Fast forward a bit more to present day, and it’s time we re-visit the behaviors that helped these teams create history. Study the 1983 world cup with Kapil Dev as Captain, or the 1992 world cup with Imran Khan as Captain, and you’ll know that neither of them had it easy. In fact, they bore the burden of high expectations from their respective nations. Nations who perceived the game, more as a morale measure than a mere sport. Couple that with meagre resources (both monetary and access), and you get a combination of talented players, who are unaware of their own genius, their blind spots, and, completely oblivious to their collective capability.
Despite, the miraculous wins, the 83 and 92 wins can’t be attributed to luck alone — it took much more.
Heart-head hybrid:
Imran Khan in an interview said that victory and defeat happen in the mind. Accurately put, because whether it was bad press that Kapil’s team faced in 83, or the naysayers for Imran, both captains found a way to insulate themselves and their teams from crumbling under constant criticism. This meant, being realistic enough to know the challenge (s) that lay ahead, yet moving ahead for the love of the game. They pursued the play with both head and heart.
Humbling Hubris:
Talent alone doesn’t translate into success! Consistent practice is the only path to progression. For example, players like Inzamam-ul-Haq for Pakistan, or Roger Binny for the Indian cricket team, were gifted players who needed to understand their unique value proposition. They required disciplined, consistent practice to hone their skillsets to become key assets for their respective teams. The Captains didn’t let the initial wins (Wasim’s bowling or Kapil’s world record are no small feats) let the teams get complacent. Each practice, each game was a performance that every player was expected to give their best to. It was discipline over distraction!
Halo-ing hope:
With constant inundations of comparisons galore, it’s natural to let negativity and naysayers detract you from the goalpost. Such was the case for both the Pakistani and the Indian cricket teams. Focus then became their superpower. Its common knowledge that Imran had his team on a tough diet, workout and sleep schedule. Kapil, mildly lenient, would have his team uphold strong standards of practice everyday. For them it was an unwavering commitment to the dream. In Khan’s own words “compromise for your dream but never compromise on your dream” and for Dev the mantra was “all you have to do is dream big, and give your best to achieve it”. They gave their best to make their dream manifest, and that resilience is what kept the hope alive. And once they had hope, they had everything they needed.
Irrespective of who plays it — cricket is a game that unites, and the lessons extend well beyond the pitch. Holding on to these lessons, in cricket, corporate and otherwise — victory then becomes a matter that your attitude, behaviors and habits decide.
