Scott Styris:Not long ago Trent Boult said that he will not be entering Newzealand national contract as he wants to focus on family and leagues. The news of Jimmy Neesham also denying to enter the contract have surfaced with this comes a bigger question… Are we shifting away from the patriotic aspect of sports? Well, some will deny it and call it just management but there are more layers to this, we are seeing a cultural shift and all we can do is accept it.
We saw Ben Stokes taking retirement from ODIs which was followed by Aaron Finch… The answer to this is always that they want to focus on other formats and that there is too much cricket and pressure of performing the best when you are on the field that it takes a toll on your body and brain.
It is fair, but when fans associate players to a country and suddenly they are unsure if they will see their favorite players playing consistently for that country, it might be a little disappointing. Since, the game has taken a shift to make it commercial and more entertaining for the viewers, we are in a position where we might have to compromise on this aspect that gratifies a fan’s feeling of cheering their favorite player when they play for their country.
Now the conflict might be gone whether you support the country you associate with and support the other one just because you like how they play (dads anyway frown upon that and anyway you don’t have that choice if you are from India or Pakistan). The shift is towards the fantasy. Just like hollywood or bollywood celebrities, we have started making celebrities out of our cricketers and are focused on their individual performance.
Now since the fantasy games that makes people earn money just by analysing player’s performances and making predictions on the same. We don’t associate them with the team or team’s performance. Their fitness individually is more concerning and so is their playability.
So do we mind if we don’t see Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma not playing for India and only playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore or Mumbai Indians? Well, the spectacle has not taken over in India yet and it is unlikely to happen. Even though it does, it will be a rarity but we should keep it in mind that this phenomenon has taken over in NFL or NBA in west and now it is coming to cricket and we should brace ourselves for this fresh ride.
