Had the Champions Trophy gone ahead as scheduled it would just have been days or in fact hours away. However, not one from across the world seem to be remembering it any more. In fact, here in Cardiff, even as
Kevin Pietersen?s men trounce South Africa in what has been England?s best one day performance in years, not a single soul mourned the cancellation of the Champions Trophy.
Lets face it: the Champions Trophy is cricket?s version of paracetamol. While it was much required at a time when the game was suffering from high fever (read cash crunch) it is no longer of relevance with the game healthy and hearty. I am aware that administrators will disagree sighting obligatory telecast deals, but it is time to remind them one final time that they are there for the players and not the other way round. When players across the world have heaved a sigh of relief at the possibility of a welcome rest, any attempt by administrators to eat into this period of relative calm would be an offence.
A confession is in order here. Soon after the Champions Trophy was cancelled I expected the hyperactive Indian money makers to jump in and prepone cricket?s version of the Champion League to a now empty September. With perhaps the most high profile of all cricket series coming up in less than a month between India and Australia, this has replaced the Ashes according to some as cricket?s blue ribbon contest, such a preponement would only have resulted in scorn from the really knowledgable Indian cricket fan. After all you need your absolute top side in full throttle against the Australians.
It can very well be argued that had Mahendra Dhoni been around in Sri Lanka during the test series the result may well have been different. This is a potent argument especially because Dhoni was the only Indian to have worked out Mendis within a match, a fact evident from his string of consistent scores in the one day competition that followed the tests. India missed out on Dhoni?s services because he was, understandably, tired and fatigued. The mini break he earned by withdrawing from the test series went a really long way to winning India the one day series. With this experience fresh, no sensible Indian fan would have wanted Dhoni to don the Chennai Super Kings jersey on the eve of the Australia series. This argument is based on the assumption that nationalist sport continues to be the mother of all sport, a truth once again successfully driven home by the olympics. With Lionel Messi refusing to obey the Real Madrid diktat, a new chapter was indeed scripted in the debate between club and country. And with India as a country having very little to boast of in the sporting arena it is absolutely imperative that our governors of sport remember the Messi example.
A fresh Mahendra Dhoni against an Australian attack without a potent spinner on a turner is a mouth watering prospect for the indian cricket fan, far more attractive than the superficial spectacle the champions league will try to create. I therefore have little hesitation in thanking Modi and company for resisting the urge to earn a few more dollars for the sake of the nation.
To round off the argument then: the ICC may well take a leaf out of the book of the so called greedy Indian cricket administrators and bury the champions trophy once and for all. While it will surely lose out on dollars in the short run, cricket fans from across the world will thank the apex body for safeguarding the interests of the sport in the long run.
The writer is Joint General Editor, Sport, Global Society (Routledge)