Courage, Conviction, Controversy And Cricket

So much of cricketing passion hinges on victory and defeat, and yet so much of cricket itself happens off the field. Bodyline, the Ganguly-Chappell affair, the many instances of ball-doctoring, accusations of ‘chucking’ and the infamous underarm-bowling incident— tales of strategies, mischiefs and misdemeanours abound in the history of the sport. Equally, cricket is also full of tales of heroism, bravery, fortitude and determination. Players have delivered awe-inspiring performances in spite of terrible injuries, for instance. Malcolm Marshall bowled and batted with a fractured arm, Anil Kumble with a broken jaw and Pataudi played his entire career with just one good eye. Yet, physical rigour is not all there is to the game. There are difficult decisions to be made, ethical questions to be considered. For instance, in 1994, when Dravid declared the Indian innings before Sachin could get to 200, did he win India the match or lose his teammate another milestone? Veteran sports journalist Vedam Jaishankar dives into cricketing history to understand the structure and substructure of cricket, truly revealing the many splendours of the ‘lovely’ game.