Yuvraj Singh: What a boy!

Yuvraj Singh now has a brand new sobriquet ‘ Water Boy’. No, it’s not a reference to the movie of the same name starring Adam Sandler.

A few inebriated fans at the 3rd Test Match between India and Sri Lanka decided that they were not quite ‘having a ball’ imbibing various liquors,the cricket was not entertaining enough and hence decided to vent their spleen on the players and cricketing officials.

Yuvraj Singh was the target of their ire; ‘water boy’ was the insult they came up with when he was performing 12th man duties for the Indian team.

Yuvraj Singh, however, was not one to take it lying down and decided to retaliate in kind.

Yuvraj also reported the incident to the team management and local authorities. The spectators were later removed from the ground by the police.

All said and done, if anyone is to blame for Yuvraj’s current predicament, it is the stylish left-hander himself.

His continued fitness problems and the inability to capitalize on the multiple opportunities given to blazon a permanent marker on the Indian cricket team has made him seem somewhat of a liability to his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.Suresh Raina has been the beneficiary of Yuvraj’s munificence.

But to ask a pertinent question “Was that truly ‘water boy’?”.Perhaps the fans were being kind and endearingly addressed him as ‘What a boy!”

However, it’s time cricket fanatics everywhere realize that if they expect their superstars to be well-behaved and paragons of virtue, it is equally their duty to ensure that they do not tarnish the sublime , rarefied atmosphere of a Test match with unruly, uncouth behavior.

With the amount of money at stake and the burden of pressurized expectations,surely  it is not to be expected that cricketers and/or sports persons should also bear the brunt of ill-bred fans’ pretensions at playing ‘connoisseur of the game’.

This is not the first instance of a cricketer losing his temper with ill-meaning miscreants. Some years back, it was Inzamam Ul Haq who swung his club at mischief-makers during an Indo-Pak game in Canada;the fools seemed to believe that calling him ‘aloo’ or ‘potato’ was the only way to draw his attention.

Also, bear in mind, that it’s not just Yuvraj Singh who caviled at ‘Water Boy’ obligations. Saurav Ganguly earned the title ‘Maharaj’ during his debut series Down Under in 1992 for being an evidently reluctant reserve. However, Ganguly denies the tale vehemently, claiming that he was much maligned by the then Indian team manager.

So where does Yuvraj Singh go from here? Perhaps running to Anil Kumble, who has been appointed mentor to the Indian team ostensibly to aid the younger players in their development off the field. He will be advising them on how to handle themselves and their private lives; perhaps lecture them on the vagaries of fame and fortune; how they are ill mistresses. ‘A simple course on how to handle fame and the accompanying dames’.

‘The Art Of Living’ by Anil Kumble will be in bookstores soon.

Have a great day!