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It's only natural

''I had no earthly hope but faith,
And that forbade a selfish death."

If you have faith, you will believe. In your innocence and in the innocence of those you believe in.

Sounds great on paper. But, is this real? Can we really be impervious to all that is said and done around us? I think not. Slivers of doubt, disconcerting as they may be, permeate our minds, and leave us shaken.

For those of you who've been reading my ramblings over the last few weeks, would be quite clear about where my money lies. (Figuratively speaking, of course) I, perfectly unabashedly, have proclaimed on many occasions, that I am a true-blue Kapil Dev fan. The truer, the bluer are all Kapil fans, at this point in time, but hey, nobody ever said hero-worship was going to be easy. Especially, if one is vocal about it at this forum! I've had some suggestions made to me about removing biases from my mind, getting objective, getting real. All well meaning readers, I can assure you, but what can I say? If fans were to get objective, Indian cricket would not be half as much fun.

Getting back to faith, doubt and such touchy-feely matters. Like I said, the current situation is enough to shatter faith, create doubts and make disbelievers of the best of us. You can see it all around you. But, no, lets go play some more cricket. The last time I spoke against more play till the situation sorts itself out, I don't think I had too many takers. But, that seems to be a more real state of affair, as even the powers-that-be are displaying their inclination towards cessation of further action. No more of this, though.

The immediate concern is - what next? The Kapil Dev issue seems to have over-shadowed what really is the larger picture. By wasting bandwidth on a Prabhakar, the moot point has been missed. That there is corruption in this world, and cricket being a part of this world, is not exempt from the darker elements. Therefore, yes, there is corruption in cricket. A simple associative law can do, what has taken recorded telephone conversations, CBI inquiries, much brainpower and very little common sense to prove.

Welcome to the real world. I say that as much to myself as I do to you. I wonder why we express so much shock, disbelief and ire over what is almost the law of nature. Why did we expect cricket or the cricketers to be untouched by what is a human malady?

The good, the bad and the ugly. True for life. True for cricket too.

Yes, it feels awful to see a game so beloved go through such a tumultuous phase, where the troughs are more far reaching than the highs. But, maybe, it serves as a reality check. There are so many who complained on end, about how the game has over-taken all other national passions, about the unnecessary adulation showered on cricketers, oh the money, not to forget. Well, this may just be the speed breaker needed to slow things down. Not the most pleasant of situations, but it is serving a purpose.

Expectations of perfection would lower and cricketers would be allowed to be human. Of course, heroes would no longer be exempt from suspicion and yes, it would certainly take its toll on faith. That is what saddens. The rest of it is, even though it may not seem to be, just good old cricket.

The Betting Scandal: The full story

Abhilasha Khaitan