The club versus country phenomenon

Harsha Bhogle, in his column in the Indian Express, talks about the need for all sides to understand each other - and for Indian fans to come to grips with the club versus country phenomenon.

In course of time, the equivalent of the four hundred yards after a Mumbai traffic signal, there will be order again and people will know where they stand. But while that happens, people will do what they think right. However, they will have to co-exist, like the BMW does with the auto-rickshaw, and to be able to do that they must understand each other, appreciate that they need each other, that everybody has a right to be on the road, and that therefore, one is not necessarily more correct than the other.

The lesson from this year’s tour of Australia is that world cricket needs India and Australia to understand each other and their cultures better. Hawkish, sensationalist, stances don’t help. India has the money, Australia play cricket better and harder than the others, the two need each other. Arranged marriages still work, they are still honourable.