Sport is war, so all is fair even if it's unfair!

Raju Korti
Sportsman's spirit, followed more in breach than practice, is fast blurring the thin line between fame and notoriety. The term, glorified as it sounds in the wake of cut-throat and ruthless competitive element that sportsmen display in their blatant aggression, refers to the quality of showing fairness, respect and generosity towards opposite teams, the umpires and the sport in general. Than the umpire or referee's decision is final, no matter how unjustified it is or looks like, has been confined to the dustbin with sportsmen succumbing to the lucre of money and fame.

"I am my own umpire"

Tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and their progeny elsewhere, are often euphemistically dubbed as "high octane" and "high stakes" where the only thing at stake is money with little or no sportsman's spirit. Accepting a win with humility and defeat with grace are mere figures of speech as sportsmen cross lines of decency and conducts that every sport calls for.

The other day, it was jarring to see Virat Kohli, hero-worshipped as "King Kohli", displaying a boorish behaviour that didn't do his "royal" reputation any good. Dismissed cheaply of what he was convinced as a no ball, he indicated he was not out and even charged at the umpire, swearing at him. Not content at that, he even had the audacity to knock the waste bin near the dressing room with his bat. The hawk-eye system clearly showed it was a fair delivery and was therefore out. He had to dock 50% of his match fees for showing dissent.

Kohli's show of this so called aggression is endemic of what most sportspersons of his stature and fame begin to think in their high-handed wisdom -- that they are bigger than the game that provides them with money and fame. To the self-styled Kohli, it didn't occur that the decision of the match referee -- mind you it was not that of the on-field umpire -- was final and binding. And it was taken considering all parameters, technical and otherwise. But what does one say when umpire's decisions are rudely questioned, dissented like teenaged brats?

The umpires are as human and their job requires as much concentration as the players. The players at least get all the adoration and credit, but an umpire's job is thankless. Rarely acknowledged when performed with all sincerity but castigated when the decision goes wrong. The very concept of an umpire is neutral, and yet, we all know how the concept of a redundant neutral umpire was brought in and their motives suspected. We made little noise against this very idea that was anything but sportsmanlike.

That sportsman's spirit is becoming a lost virtue is evident from the number of examples and citing them here would be stating the obvious. Remember how the entire Australian team formed a consortium to make the Sydney Test against India into a notorious "Monkeygate." Can you believe it? The whole team, not just an individual! The Sri Lankans bowling no balls to deny Sehwag his century, Greg Chappel asking his obedient brother Trevor to bowl underarm, the Mike Gatting-Shakoor Rana incident, the Lillee-Miandad incident, Sri Lankan Angelo Matthews "timed out" by the Bangladeshis -- and the list is quite exhaustive -- show that sportsmen often play on the ground leaving their spirit behind. The conviction is all is fair in sports, even if it is not fair. All in the considered belief that "there is so much money and reputation at stake." Cheating for one! Would sport not be sport if there were no money or fame involved? Ask those who believe that sledging and verbal abuse is a tactical mind-game.

This is not to say all sportsmen are unsportsmanlike. There are any number of instances when sportsmanship of highest class has been on display but the bad ones always bring the game to disrepute. To compound this, the players give their piece of mind on their twitter and other social media handles , sending their admirers and haters into a tizzy. The IPL which has been predominantly responsible for pushing the physical and mental limits of the players, has seen this in almost every of its edition.

Little is spoken about the rules of the game that are frequently tinkered with and changed -- justified though they may be in its progression. The impact player substitution rule, the wide referrals for DRS among others have invited animated discussions which sometimes makes one wonder whether administrators in their superior wisdom think that adverse publicity better than positive publicity. The "Mankading" is one such. There are two schools of thought on it. Unsportsmanlike for the manner in which the batsman is given out and fair because the rule says so. 

A couple of days back. Navjot Singh Sidhu got into a wrangle with his fellow commentator about the use of technology in the Virat Kohli's dismissal. The two argued tooth and nail for and against the dismissal. Interestingly, the broadcaster Star Sports itself tweeted saying the third umpire Mike Gough's decision was correct and fair. Which means what is correct and fair is a matter of individual discretion. No one, just no one is out of this fairness radar, including the spectators who have been vocal in their displeasure over Hardik Pandya being made the Mumbai Indians captain over Rohit Sharma.

Character, integrity, humility and honesty have been thrown in the dumpster. Would their be coaches to inculcate this? The words "fair contest" have become oxymoron. For the morons who swear by the winning-by-hook-or-crook rationale. The debate will rage on, missing the trees for the woods.