Yesterday, I had written a column saying that Rohit Sharma’s decision to travel, or not, for the Perth Test was entirely his, and no one else had the right to be moral police and say whether it was right or wrong. As expected, there were a lot of trolls who decided to comment and abuse.
One suggested that Rohit should have planned such “trivial family things” keeping in mind the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Another amazingly sensitive person went a step further to say that cricket is a masculine game, and Rohit, by not traveling, was not being a man!
These are just samples. There are many other comments that can really light up your morning. And that’s why I decided to go a step further today, and say that what Rohit is doing is right. Rohit is a role model in India, and followed by millions and millions of fans. And the ground reality is that India is still a gender-unequal society with discrimination rampant in several parts of the country. If even a miniscule percentage of his fans see his actions and decide to emulate them, India will be a better society. Far more important than one Test match, this could bring about social change. And, inadvertently may be, Rohit would be the harbinger of it.
We consume things based on what our stars tell us to do. That’s why you see cricketers on almost every second billboard in India. They sell, and hence every product they endorse sells as well. Rohit’s decision to not travel, an acutely personal one, inadvertently contributes to the narrative of empowerment.
I have forever asked the question how sport can impact society in a macro sense? What are the life lessons from sport? How can it make us a better society? Sport has never been simply about winning or losing. Not about medals won or records broken. Of course, results are important, but there are things far more significant than that. That’s why you see cricketers and other stars doing public-sector advertisements, whether that’s Akshay Kumar giving a message on the use of sanitary napkins or Sachin Tendulkar on the importance of the right to vote.
That’s where Rohit’s call, or Virat Kohli’s in 2020-21, becomes significant. If these superstars can do it, so can everyone else. If captains of India prioritise family, the message being conveyed is that it’s the right thing to do. And in the Indian context, that is a very powerful and relevant message.
Some said that it is only a Rohit or a Kohli who could do this. Could any other cricketer have done so? The answer is, of course they can. The decision is entirely up to the individual, and a deeply personal one. There is no right or wrong, and nor is it in anyway connected to patriotism.
To go back to what Tendulkar’s father told him: he would play cricket for a couple of decades, but would surely live for many decades more. And while his father wanted him to be the best cricketer possible, he always wanted Sachin to be a better human being. That was always priority. That’s how he wanted Sachin to be remembered. The message was clear – there were things more important than cricket.
Also Read: Don’t judge Rohit Sharma based on what Gavaskar or Dhoni did