Casteist BCCI Trend: Discrimination is the root cause of all evils and every society has parasites that are determined enough to sow the seeds of hatred. Spewing venoms of hatred on social media has become a common phenomenon and people have taken the task of subject matter experts, preaching on everything without substance.
Twitter fascia: Caste over Cricket
The recent twitter controversy that started after the iconic Indian batsman Surya Kumar Yadav was rested for the Bangladesh tour is a debacle of a new era. Following the event, a number of twitter users are busy painting the decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with casteist colours.
Twitter trends such as #CasteistBCCI and #Suryakumaryadav are hitting the trend charts. The reason given by the BCCI for resting Surya Kumar is a prudent one: as the player has been playing continuously for the last six months of the season, he is provided time for rest so that he can return afresh.
The controversy was flared by the groundless speculation of a Twitter user who happens to be an agenda-driven columnist. He claimed that Surya Kumar Yadav (SKY) has been dropped from the Indian side due to his belonging to another backward caste.
The tweet with hashtag casteist BCCI went viral as Surya is currently the number one player in T20 cricket. The cricketer has developed a monumental fan base ever since his debut in the international arena in March 2021.
Also read: Surya Kumar Yadav’s unorthodox technique decoded
Contemporary Great: SKY is the limit
Surya has been the most incredible find for Indian cricket in recent years, as he has outperformed legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. In his short cameo of international cricket, especially in the T20s, he has scored 1408 runs in 40 innings at an impressive average of 44.0 and a formidable strike rate of 180.98. The performance of SKY has shattered many previous records of the cricketing legends.
The mind boggling performance has come at the cost of continuous travel and participation. Until this year, SKY has not been rested from the India side ever since June. Therefore, the BCCI came up with the plan to rest him for the Bangladesh tour of ODIs as India has already qualified for the One-day World Cup, 2023.
The move will help the cricketer recoup and spend time with his family and relatives, as he has been on rigorous tours for a long.
The rest will also help him from wearing out due to continuous action and also provide the team with the opportunity for the young players to find their form back at the international level.
Rise of SKY
On the contrary, the progressive move of the BCCI to ‘manage the immense workload of the modern players’ has been accused to be motivated with a ‘casteist flavor’. No rational cricket fan would buy this argument that the BCCI has discriminated against Surya Kumar Yadav in any way.
Ever since 2017, when the cricketer has delivered on the opportunities following his debut of 2013, the team management and the selectors have been considering him for the top spot in the Indian jersey.
The cricketer finally got an opportunity in March 2021 and has not looked back ever since then. In fact, SKY has been provided ample of opportunities at the top of the order in the absence of senior cricketers and the team trusted him even when he got out cheaply playing his fancy shots.
SKY has undoubtedly been India’s most consistent performer over the last 1.5 years, but the credit of the team management cannot be taken for providing him the ideal platform. However, the selection process especially for ICC events has been below par, ever since Dhoni left captaincy in 2017.
But to accuse the top body of cricket in India with casteism and discrimination that too against the most valued player on the current squad is nothing but an uncanny and irrational skepticism.
Also read: BCCI should focus more on new talent for IPL
Media Conspiracy: Two-minutes of fame
A columnist who happens to be from The Print, Dilip Mandal, took to Twitter on November 24, 2022, to trend the “casteist BCCI” hashtag. The move seems to be nothing more than a publicity stunt aimed at triggering the emotions of fans and reaping the benefits of media hype.
Surya Kumar Yadav is the current number one T20 batsman and has been playing non-stop cricket this season. The much-needed break from the ODI series of the Bangladesh tour would help the cricketer come back even stronger. But, it seems that the aforementioned columnist has no respect for the humanitarian and emotional concerns of the cricketer.
It is beyond imagination that Mr. Mandal was not aware of the fact that even the best players need a break to recoup and family time, but rather he purposefully ignited the debate of painting BCCI and Indian cricket with the casteist colors just for the sake of “two-minutes of fame”.
That is to say, the popularity of “SKY is literally touching the sky” and any comments associated with his name were sure-shot viral material in the digital space. Therefore, the entire narrative was created, and the cricketing ecosystem was demonised for petty gains and ideological dissemination.
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