Sourav sidelined regionalism in the selection process and it was under his reign, that he unearthed few very exciting talents from the streets of India. He created a side which believed in team effort rather than individualism and made new records.

At a time of crusade against “outsiders” in Maharashtra, demand of Telangana in Andhra, Bundelkhand in UP, Gorkhaland in West Bengal, terrorism being used as identity for Hindus and Muslims, riots in Orissa, freedom for Kashmir, attacks on Hindi-speaking people in Assam, water dispute in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, ethnic and cultural differences in other parts. Cricket in this testing time is the only place where you can say: This is “Unity in Diversity”.

Cricket was not like this in the last decade but its face changed ever since the legendary Sourav Ganguly took over captaincy of the national side. He sidelined regionalism in the selection process and it was under his reign, that he unearthed few very exciting talents from the streets of India. He created a side which believed in team effort rather than individualism and made new records. The current Indian team has players from the diversified backgrounds, language and cultures but when they enter the ground, they are Indians and only Indians.

As Pradeep Magazine says, “In the aftermath of the anti-Muslim killings in Gujarat in 2002, while the Indian team was practicing on eve of a one-day international in Baroda, some Hindu spectators were initially taunting Muslims in the crowd. But once Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan entered the ground, this taunting lot started shouting slogans in favour of the two. When Suresh Raina or RP Singh play in Mumbai, nobody is bothered about their home state. The scene of Bhajji, Zak and Ishant celebrating each other’s success is a soother to the eyes.”

The support which people give when the team is in trouble reinforces the fighting spirit and it tries to battle it out till the end. It is India that matters and nothing else when Sachin’s willow speaks or Munaf comes out with a brilliant spell. We all appreciated the efforts taken by John Wright, Andrew Leipus, Greg King and now Gary Kirsten to help the side. People from all walks of life and of every colour and religions are seen together cheering for team India after remarkable success in T20 World Cup and CB series. The whole nation stood behind Harbhajan Singh when he was accused of racism. This typifies the binding power of cricket.

But when I think of what is happening in the country apart from cricket, my very notion of being Indian starts wobbling. The whole credit goes to our political parties who are continuously dividing the people on the basis of religion, region, caste, colour, sex, etc.


They have perpetuated the parochial views and have questioned the “Indianness” in our minds. Perhaps, we need another Sourav Ganguly in Indian politics too, who can sideline the differences and take India forward to achieve the vision 2020. Cricket has given various regional and ethnic identities a sense of national belonging and we want the same on political stage as well. It’s time for the generation which thinks about the nation in a different perspective, free from any religious and regional clutches to come together and realise the dream of taking India and only India to the top. Our spirit of unity got us Independence and same is needed for continuous growth and welfare of the nation.