Here’s a small question, the well clichéd million dollar question. Who do we really support when we watch a cricket match? Are we supporters of Team 'X' or team player(s) 'X'?

 By Junaid Rajput

A fans lament: “This is why my Heart Bleeds”

Here’s a small question, the well clichéd million dollar question. Who do we really support when we watch a cricket match? Are we supporters of Team 'X' or team player(s) 'X'?

In my experience of watching cricket, whether live on the field or with friends round a TV screen, it appears that in supporting our favorite player we forget to support the team he plays for ie Pakistan!

Take the example of the evergreen crowd pleaser, Shahid Afridi. Most of the “Afridiites” will wait patiently for Afridi to walk over to the crease, as if the rest of the game is just some strange pre-cursor to his batting. They will cheer his every single movement on the field. He may or may not reward them with a dazzling shot (which is a very rare scene in recent times). It doesn’t matter. Even his mis-hits are greeted with earth shattering roars round the ground ( or on the sofa in your living room). Once Afridi’s work is done, and he departs the crease, so will the supporters of one man.

Don’t get me wrong, I too want Afridi to hit big shots, score a million runs in 10 balls - but lets be clear. My priority is to watch Pakistan win. Afridis innings may be a big step towards that eventual goal but its NOT the end!

And this is my lament. My fellow cricket fans are missing a small yet most important point in waiting and praying for Afridi's innings; In some convoluted way, they almost want Pakistan to lose their top or middle order in quick time so that they can see a rare carnage by Afridi.

Are we not asking for trouble for our team in this way? So many times I have heard people saying "Yaar kal Afridi doosri ball pe hi out hogaya match ka mazza hi nahi aya" and "Yaar kal k match mein zara mazza nahi aya, Afridi ne batting jo nahi ki". The fact that Pakistan actually won those matches is lost on some of these fans. Instead of wildly cheering and feeling the pride for Pakistan, they are actually saddened by Afridi's non-performance. 

And then there are also occasions when I have heard people saying "Yaar kal ka match tou har gaye lekin Afridi ki batting ne tou dil jheet liya 160+strike rate se khela hai kal" and "Kal match tou har gaye lekin Afridi ne jo aik over mein 3 chakkay marray woh kamaaal they". 

Is wishing for one player's inning greater than hoping for one’s team to win? Is one player bigger and larger than our Team? Is such hypocrisy alright? Are we of sound minds?!

As with many things in life, some of the fans are simply a reflection of a bigger problem – a selfish society where "my guy" doing well is more important than what happens to the country. 

In the past we have had many real and true heroes in our team, but fans were never had this attitude to the game of cricket. Fans used to cheer for their favorite ones at that time too but with a slight difference, their eyes were always on the Teams victory, not one person's personal glory. 

In the no so distant past people used to chant selective slogans like "Pakistan Zindabad" or "Jheeteyga bhai jheeteyga . Pakistan Jheeteyga!" Nowadays we get to hear more chats of "BoomBoom Afridi" or even "Afridiiiiiiiiiiii Afridi!" Where is Pakistan in all this?

Or is it that due to the spate of negative publicity associated with Pakistani cricket, e.g. recent spot fixing stories, that fans have been forced to make that change in their attitude. 

Unbridled hatred toward players like Salman Butt, Asif and Amir has made us support only specific players instead of the whole team as a unit, possibly because we don’t think we can trust all! Or is it personal charisma and the media hype which has forced us to elevate certain personalities above and beyond cricket! 

Love for a player is one aspect but there is a darker aspect of such emotions – hate for other players!

It seems that we can be so overpowered by our hate for certain players that its not enough to abuse that player but to actually hope for a mistake by him – anything to fan and support our hatred for this player!

There is nothing wrong with supporting individual players, but what really makes one worry is the amount of hate which we have for that one specific player that we forget the term 'modesty' and 'dignity' whilst talking against him. 

Constructive criticism is one thing, but to drag personal life of said player in your argument is simply not acceptable as a fan. After all at the end of the day he is a human who is entitled to have his own way of living his life, we as fans should only concentrate on his game; his on-field antics, not his off-field issues! Shoaib Malik being a good example of such behaviour where his marriage to Sania Mirza is brought into any argument as a player as if it had any bearing on the matter! 

Apart from being die-hard supporters or sworn enemies of any player, there also exists a type of fan who will tear a player down at the slightest provocation. One day, we praise a player on his good performance of that day, but if Allah forbids he fails to deliver in his next match we forget everything what he did in previous game. In the heat of the moment we simply forget that everyone has their good and bad days. Yesterday was his good day but today it turned out to be bad. But we may never understand this, as for us players are like robots that have to perform every time. Not only perform but they also have to be winners every time, in every game. 

My friends, cricket is a game which is being played between two teams, one have to lose and one has to win. Fans should support their players and team in difficult times as we do in good times.

At the end I will request three small favours from you all:

Support your team irrespective of one person's glory!
Criticize any player you want but don't drag their personal life into it!
Support your team/players in good and bad times alike!