The recent decision taken by the Indian cricket selection board to go into a big Australian series with a young team is definitely a brave one! But this article is not about applauding or criticizing that decision. Its to draw analogy with a documentary which I saw on National Geographic some years ago...(well yea...so I am a little geeky on occasions and I do enjoy watching NGC and Discovery!!)
The film was about a new wildlife reserve being set up somewhere in Africa. So animals were procured from already established wildlife reserves from various parts of Africa, to be introduced into the park. There were giraffes, wild beasts and packs of other animals including a young herd of Elephants. The specialty of this herd was that was that this group was entire consisting of young male and female elephants and no elders, since it was difficult to transport old elephants plus it was difficult for them to adjust to a new environment.
Everything was going well in the park, with the animals adjusting themselves in their new home, but soon a very bizarre occurrence came into light. The young male elephants in the park started getting very aggressive; uprooting trees and causing damage to property and life. A team was flown in to study this sudden destructive behavior that developed amongst the young males. The team noted that not only had the herd become more violent, they had also started mating way before the average mating age in elephants. Their eating patterns and lifestyle were studied intensive and no particular reason could be concluded for this aggression until someone pointed out that it could be the absence of older males in the pack which could be leading to this wreckage. This was noted and three mature male elephants were introduced in the pack as no alternate solutions could be thought of. And indeed it worked; 1 month after introduction of the new elephants, the violence went down and gradually it disappeared.
The explanation given to this entire episode was that the young elephants did not have any guidance or role models to replicate or follow initially and hence went on a rampage showcasing their power and might without any fears. With the introduction of elders in the herd, there was a sense of fear and at the same time an example was set in terms of behavior.
The film was about a new wildlife reserve being set up somewhere in Africa. So animals were procured from already established wildlife reserves from various parts of Africa, to be introduced into the park. There were giraffes, wild beasts and packs of other animals including a young herd of Elephants. The specialty of this herd was that was that this group was entire consisting of young male and female elephants and no elders, since it was difficult to transport old elephants plus it was difficult for them to adjust to a new environment.
Everything was going well in the park, with the animals adjusting themselves in their new home, but soon a very bizarre occurrence came into light. The young male elephants in the park started getting very aggressive; uprooting trees and causing damage to property and life. A team was flown in to study this sudden destructive behavior that developed amongst the young males. The team noted that not only had the herd become more violent, they had also started mating way before the average mating age in elephants. Their eating patterns and lifestyle were studied intensive and no particular reason could be concluded for this aggression until someone pointed out that it could be the absence of older males in the pack which could be leading to this wreckage. This was noted and three mature male elephants were introduced in the pack as no alternate solutions could be thought of. And indeed it worked; 1 month after introduction of the new elephants, the violence went down and gradually it disappeared.
The explanation given to this entire episode was that the young elephants did not have any guidance or role models to replicate or follow initially and hence went on a rampage showcasing their power and might without any fears. With the introduction of elders in the herd, there was a sense of fear and at the same time an example was set in terms of behavior.
Whats the relevence of this with the Indian cricket team? - you may ask. Well, the situation of the new Indian team is quite similiar as that wildlife park; Dravid & Saurav have been dropped from the Indian team, Kumble and Laxman returned after the Test series, and this leaves a whole crop of young boys in the dressing room barring Sachin and Gary Kirsten. There is no doubt that these young boys are like the young elephants of the jungle. The have great potential and talent, and the onus lies on them to take Indian cricket forward; but in the absence of senior pros in the team, it might become difficult for the players to handle sudden fame and media attention. From Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Sreesanth's recent on and off-field behavior its clear that they aren’t the best examples of well behaved gentleman, with Yuvraj swearing and abusing on the field quite frequently during the recently held 20-20 championship.
That is where I believe there is a need for a few senior players to spend time with the boys, not only for technical assistance but also to teach these guys how to live in the media spotlight and not get carried away with the money and adulations causing permanent damage to themselves and Indian cricket like those young Elephants did to the park. But I hope that humans are different from Elephants, and even if there are no seniors in the team, they shall but their best effort in terms of performance as well as demeanor and act as perfect ambassadors on the game.
That is where I believe there is a need for a few senior players to spend time with the boys, not only for technical assistance but also to teach these guys how to live in the media spotlight and not get carried away with the money and adulations causing permanent damage to themselves and Indian cricket like those young Elephants did to the park. But I hope that humans are different from Elephants, and even if there are no seniors in the team, they shall but their best effort in terms of performance as well as demeanor and act as perfect ambassadors on the game.
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