Cricket and the National Anthem
March 9, 2008
7:50 pm
Praveen
Sports & Games
I have been watching Cricket and other sports for the past 15 years or more. I have noticed that in most International Sports, the National Anthem of the sportspersons playing is being always sung. During competitions such as the Olympic Games, Winter Games, Commonwealth Games etc, the National Anthem of the Gold Medal winner is played at the end of the presentation ceremony. And for many team sports such as Football and Hockey, the National Anthem of both the participating teams is sung one after the other.
But I have noticed that this ritual is not followed compulsorily in Cricket! They seem to sing it only when the match falls on special occasions like Republic Day or Independence Day. Otherwise, they sing at the finals of major tournaments like they did before the start of play in the Finals of the T20 World Cup.
But why don’t they make it compulsory to sing the National Anthem of the team that won after every match? Do they fear that when the matches are played in series, the song will get a little too repetitive and boring? I feel that the habit should come from within the sportsman to spare a minute to sing their National Anthem after every Victorious Cricket Match. What is your opinion about the subject?
Sundar :
Date: March 9, 2008 @ 11:35 pm
In fact, I believe that it’s enough to sing the national anthem on national holidays, and for sporting events, it is better to just get on with the game. It is better to show patriotism by playing the game from the heart.
Surya :
Date: March 10, 2008 @ 12:00 am
Nice idea dude ! but i think it is not possible to every time !
Arun M :
Date: March 10, 2008 @ 12:56 am
Well.. I do remember seeing it for football. Then why not cricket?
Praveen :
Date: March 10, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
@Sundar & Surya - Atleast it could be played at the end of a series or tournament by the winners la? That way, it won’t be a too much repetitve affair…
Gowtham :
Date: March 10, 2008 @ 11:36 pm
Yeah Sundar is correct! It really doesn’t matter, just simply playing the game for the country would do,if not atleast for their fame
ramesh :
Date: March 11, 2008 @ 6:33 pm
Olympic Games, Winter Games, Commonwealth Games etc happens once in 4 years or once in an year(spare me.. am not too sure). if you are going to sing a national anthem for every tournament, it will sound odd and repetitive. imagine the amount of cricket being played all around the world.
but.. it can be made mandatory for all the matches in a world cup.. asia cup and similar tournaments.
Diwakar :
Date: March 11, 2008 @ 6:39 pm
nice idea! hope they start doing it someday!
Sathyanarain :
Date: March 11, 2008 @ 11:23 pm
Hey, Already we Indians are too too patriotic!
Narayana Murthy plays the instrumental version of the anthem and he gets a PIL slapped.
Some lass has the Tricolour on her Saree and again, she faces a barrage of cases.
The Shiv Sena barges into shops selling Valentine’s Day cards as it is against our ‘culture’
Aint we patriotic enough?
As Sundar told, its better if we play keeping our heart out rather than show that we are patriotic.
Patriotism comes from within.
And yes - Mera Bharat Mahan!
Praveen :
Date: March 12, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
@Ramesh - Ya, thats a valid point. International Cricket matches are quite frequent than that of other games…
@Sathya - But in that case, other Indian sports should also cease na? And by the way, you forgot to mention the Sania Mirza Controversy…
Sathyanarain :
Date: March 12, 2008 @ 6:38 pm
Sania Mirza? Now that’s why I called you a KVK the other day! LOL!
Praveen :
Date: March 12, 2008 @ 8:50 pm
I think you are the KVK here. WHy do y ou always think of that way when I say SANIA MIRZA?
Sathyanarain :
Date: March 16, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
@ Praveen,
WHat else did u mean with Sania Mirza other than her short skirt controversy?
Praveen :
Date: March 16, 2008 @ 10:10 pm
I DID NOT mean the Short Skirt Controversy buddy. Thats wasn’t related in anyway to National Sentiments. That had some crap to do with Muslim Critcs and Sentiments. The controversy I meant is a much recent one, the one on which she was supposedly playing with the Small Plastic National Flag on the table with her toes…
Rahul Bansal :
Date: March 29, 2008 @ 10:45 pm
@Praveen
Nice article Praveen!
Now about your query… ICC can make it mandatory to play national anthem in every tournaments final. Making it mandatory for each match will be a little overdose!
By the way patriotism is something should come from heart. Using laws and rules to force it can’t do any good.
Still I respect your concern…
Praveen :
Date: March 30, 2008 @ 3:29 pm
@Rahul Bansal aka Devil - Thanks mate!