To think of Australian cricket is to think of the famous green and golden yellow shirt. Of Shane Warne and Steve Waugh in 1999; of Ricky Ponting in 2003; of Adam Gilchrist in 2007 and Mitchell Starc in 2015, of various other heroes from Down Under, who have rendered the hues of the jersey meanings and emotions deeper than the identity of a country’s sporting robes. Green and golden yellow— yellow being the most resplendent hue — stand for power, beauty and courage, those characteristics that define the country’s sporting culture.
For 15 years, yellow was the sign of dread and horror, of jealousy and awe. An apparition of the mere colour was enough to induce a cold sweat and stomach churn. Dress any ordinary player in yellow, and he transformed into a can-do-it-all superhero. No other colour in the game — the different shades of green, blue, maroon or black — could stain, forget discolour, the yellow.
Yellow has not faded this World Cup, but just that a vibrant, bright Blue has put it to shade, shedding a blue light on the tournament. This edition has all been about the men draped in blue. Blue is not only the most omniscient colour, but also the colour that everyone wants to see. For 43 days, it has been a carnival of blue, waiting for a fitting closure, a coronation, an official passing of the crown. It began on a Sunday and would end on another Sunday six weeks later; it began with Australia and ends with Australia.
Between the Sundays, the Men in Blue have produced such a sustained brand of high-art cricket that their journey has remained the central narrative of the tournament. They are the most-watched team not because they are playing at home, but also because they are the most watchable team. Like the Men in Yellow of the aughts, the Men in Blue of 2023 are a blend of outrageous skills and immense personalities orchestrating a version of cricket that’s incredibly thrilling. There has been an unputdownable quality about them — you watch them and are immersed into a world of you and them, an experience that enthralls and educates you, revealing the different multiverses of the game.
Like the Australians from 1999 to 2011, every cricketer commands a space in your psyche. Loyalties were kept aside when one watched Warne and Waugh, Gilchrist and Mike Hussey. Time zones were forgotten. Like them, there is no boring bone in this team. Each one demands a space of his own; you tune into each one for a different experience. Rohit Sharma for the dopamine rush of a batsman ripping new-ball bowlers apart; Shubman Gill for the aesthetics of the game; Virat Kohli is a pill to forget all your problems in life; Shreyas Iyer to feel young again, to transport yourself back into your carefree youth; KL Rahul teaches about the powers to harness the outer reaches of your outsized talents, he breathes peace; Jasprit Bumrah would make you wonder about the diversity of the bowling-kind; Mohammed Shami about the geometric patterns a white leather ball could trace; Kuldeep Yadav about the unfathomable mysteries of the world. In them, cricket finds perfection and symmetry, a sense of fulfillment. There is something for everyone, the romantics, the connoisseurs, the pundits and the lay watchers.
.
(10 नवंबर से 16 नवंबर) राष्ट्रीय हिन्दी साप्ताहिक न्यूज़पेपर में प्रिंट इस सप्ताह की ख़बर.
.