Food for thought in Bedi’s outburst

The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) has installed a statue of its late president Arun Jaitley. It has come up at the stadium previously called Feroz Shah Kotla, which has also been named after the BJP stalwart who held various important portfolios as a central minister, including finance and defence. The practice of naming cricket stadiums after politicians and administrators of the game is not new in India. It has been going on for decades. But Bishan Singh Bedi’s denouncement of the decision to install Jaitley’s statue instead of a cricketer’s has rekindled this debate.

None of India’s 25-odd international cricket venues are named after players. There are stands or gates bearing their names in five or six places. Statues in sports arenas are rare in India, other than those of late cricketers D B Deodhar and C K Nayudu in Pune and Vizag. While Jaitley’s might well be the first life-size statue of an administrator, there are many stadiums named after cricket officials and politicians of different eras and parties. Some of these politicians had no connection to cricket. In contrast, the effort to preserve the memory of cricketers and players in general is unmistakable in the major venues of England, Australia, West Indies and New Zealand. Stadiums, stands, bowling ends, walkways, plaques, photographs and statues, noted players are remembered in various forms in these places.

The Indian subcontinent has been averse to this idea. The story is similar in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Sports nomenclature has historically been a tool for political propaganda in this region. Being the most popular sport, cricket is a natural target. From a broader perspective, the former India captain and legendary spinner’s outburst is a shout against this practice. Administrators play an important role, but they are not meant to get the public to watch the game. That is done by performers on the field, who engage fans, generate revenues and inspire future generations to take up sport. Bedi’s tirade may not change anything, but it reminds one that sidestepping cricketers when it comes to preserving memory is not cricket.