Fortunately, my parents never forced me to become another Sourav Ganguly
What is the biggest news that is presently being discussed across all news channels in India? Undoubtedly, all television screens and news channels on YouTube are talking about the Pahalgam attack. Cricket, however, continues to be our top priority despite the chaos.
Therefore, on a Monday night when 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored a century to become the world's youngest T20 centurion, a portion of resources and time across news channels was allotted to cover everything about Suryavanshi.
The Rajasthan Royals' batter has been in the news since his century, and India is celebrating him like there's no tomorrow. As a cricket-crazy nation, this is understandable, but unfortunately, we are once again making a mistake—the mistake of hyping a youngster to a point where it feels nauseating.
Suryavanshi's achievement must be celebrated, but is it worth celebrating if he fails to keep the momentum going? Over the decades, we have seen countless such youngsters put on one or two shows but lose their form and disappear from the face of cricket.
How can we forget the episode of Vinod Kambli, who was once compared with Sachin Tendulkar but slipped into oblivion due to multiple reasons? Not to mention the struggle of Prithvi Shaw, who keeps making headlines now and then.
The worship culture in India, especially regarding cricketers, doesn't need another overhyped chapter with an unhappy ending. Celebrating Suryavanshi is fine, but it is also important to let him stay grounded and humble.
Allow me, the author of this article, to share a personal memoir from the late 1990s and early 2000s. This was the era when the careers of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and several other Indian cricket legends were taking shape.
Hailing from Kolkata, I clearly remember how some kids who used to play cricket wanted to become the next Sourav Ganguly. However, suddenly, there was a boom in cricket academies, with every parent enrolling their kids to make them the next Ganguly. Fortunately, my parents did not force me. I was never into cricket, and my parents understood that not everybody was meant to be a Ganguly, Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan or Kiran Bedi.
Unfortunately, competition has only increased, and even though there's more openness about the well-being of the brain and emotions now, parents still pressurise their kids to pursue a career that they are either not interested in or aren't good at.
In fact, since Suryavanshi hit his century, a question has been popping up on the net: "What were you doing when you were 14?" The question should not exist in the first place because Suryavanshi is an exception, and an exception cannot happen in every home. In short, not every child is supposed to be like Suryavanshi.
Along with the celebration came a strong wave of criticism as well. Nobody cared about Suryavanshi's age until a few days ago, but the moment he hit a century, a section of people started questioning if he is really 14 or not. Yes, there should be transparency, but let us assume that Suryavanshi is not 14 but 15 or maybe 16 at the most. Does that make his achievement any less?
Cricket in India is a delicate topic, and unfortunately, the grass is never green because fans' opinions flip like a coin. However, it's high time fans gave cricket in India a bit of space because right now, players in India look like they are getting choked. The amount of pressure is evident on their faces, which isn't seen much on Australia's players' faces.
