Arshdeep Singh can do with a warm hug from Chetan Sharma.
Not from the current chairman of national selection committee but the wiry, whippy Chetan Sharma, who instead of becoming the “toast" had become the virtual “roast" of the nation 36 summers back.
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It was also in the UAE but not the newly constructed gigantic concrete structure that Dubai International Stadium is but the more informal Sharjah Cricket Stadium where VIP ticket holders could eavesdrop on the adjacent dressing room chatter or drop in a handwritten note with a landline number.
Chetan intended to bowl a yorker to Javed Miandad, who was the ‘King of Sharjah’ back then and it became a full-toss.
Back in those Doordarshan days, it used to be a basic coverage and only now that we watch IPL at Sharjah Stadium, we do realise that it is a ridiculously small ground where sixes can be hit for fun.
It was one bad ball for Chetan in that 1986 Australasia Cup final, where he was simply unlucky to miss the length.
Cut to 2022, Asif Ali’s heave turns into a skier and Arshdeep, who would otherwise catch it “11 out of 10 times" dropped a sitter, much to the dismay of his teammates.
The two matches have been held 36 years apart but boorish mindset and inability by the masses, to accept a simple human error had scarred Chetan for life back then.
One can only hope that Sunday’s missed catch doesn’t create a deep gash in the mind of an impressionable 23-year-old, who, if all goes well, is certain to be one of the best T20 death bowler in world cricket in coming years.
The Indian public back then didn’t spare Chetan and despite being one of those rare Indian bowlers to have a five-for in a Lord’s Test and recording the first ever hat-trick in ODI World Cup, people remember that single delivery.
On Sunday night, what followed on social media after Arshdeep’s missed catch couldn’t be put in any mild terms. Deplorable, disgusting, shameful are the words that comes to mind while sifting through the social media accounts of so-called fans, who are calling him names.
Obviously, there were a lot of sane voices but in the world of billion tweets, facebook and instagram posts per second, it is difficult to always differentiate between the good, the bad and the ugly.
There could be genuine handles that are pasting the young man or it could be twitter bots created from a particular region that has maligned him with mala fide intentions.
They forgot that the same man, within minutes gathered his faculties and showed his temperament to get the same Asif leg before with a perfectly pitched blockhole delivery.
They forgot that he had only seven runs to defend and in the T20 Universe of 2022, this is just a cakewalk.
They forgot that even Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had an off-day.
“I remember when I played my first game against Pakistan (Champions Trophy, 2009), I was dismissed by Shahid Afridi. That entire night, I kept staring at the ceiling and thought I might never play for India again," senior pro Virat Kohli, recollected a pressure moment from his career and how Arshdeep will have to take it in his stride.
The more one looks at the kind of social media backlash that Arshdeep faced, the more the mind goes back to the days of Chetan when there were only newspapers as the only authentic medium of news source and Doordarshan for live matches, devoid of threadbare analysis that we see today.
Funnily, less than a year after that match in Sharjah, there was another ODI in Kolkata where Saleem Malik literally pummelled the Indian attack to score 72 off just 35 balls. Maninder Singh, the talented left-arm spinner, was butchered but he never faced the public wrath.
Waqar Younis, one of the greatest pacers of all time, was smashed by Ajay Jadeja in the 1996 quarter-finals in Bengaluru but it was Wasim Akram, whose house in Karachi was stoned and he had to remain in Lahore as the public mood was against him, having missed the important game due to an injury.
It gives a sense that more than poor outings, people remember moments. A last ball six, a dropped catch at the death or a missed knock-out match invokes stronger basic emotions than getting out for a duck or being hit for 80 in 10 overs.
At the end of the day, sport is all about moments and the moments do remain in subconscious mind of fans.
Some years back, one of the most distinguished writers in world cricket, Osman Samiuddin had penned a brilliant book named “The Unquiet Ones" based on Pakistan cricket over the years.
It had an anecdote about a train journey during one of Pakistan’s tour of India before brakes were put on bilateral contests.
During that train journey, some of the well-known Pakistani journalists were travelling in the same compartment with Chetan, who by then was a TV analyst.
After some pleasantries exchanged, one Pakistani journalist after some hesitation, gathered enough courage to start a conversation, something in these lines.
“Chetan bhai, ak baat puchni thi (wanted to ask you a question)…..
Apparently, before he could complete his question, Chetan knew what was coming and replied: “Yaar fulltoss ho gaya thaa (It became a full toss)…." It’s the same with Arshdeep. Pressure situation, decibels reaching crescendo and a human error.
May be 20 years down the line, Arshdeep could laugh and say, “Yaar, phisal gaya thaa (it slipped out of my hand)…." In the end, it was never a “War", like some channels would want you to believe.
It’s just a game. It was and it will remain one.
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