The killing pressures of modern cricket

Port of Spain: The untimely death of Bob Woolmer is a timely reminder revealing the pressures that modern cricket imposes on an individual.

Be it a player, coach or even an umpire, the pressure to perform is rising along with the increasing popularity of the game. The bigger the player profile, the higher is the pressure on him.

For a spectator or a cricket fan everything looks rosy from the outside. Cricketers travel in style, live in style and earn a lot.

But what needs to be remembered is the effort they have to put in to reach that status and the even bigger effort to maintain it.

Competition in the international game is so tremendous that any player is only as good as his last innings.

The pressure to avoid failure is immense. However talented the player is, if he does not have the ability to handle pressure, he will not be able to perform.

When players do not perform to their potential it affects coaches too. Woolmer was a very dedicated coach. On the several occasions I interviewed him after his team's defeats, his face used to be red with anxiety.

Demanding job

One could see him fighting hard to suppress his emotions. As coach Greg Chappell said soon after the news of Woolmer's death: "Coaching is a demanding job. One has to find ways to relax and enjoy yourself when things go wrong."

But everyone need not be as strong-hearted as Chappell is. Pressure from the media, especially in the sub continent, is unbelievable.

The expectations of the fans are very high. It is a shame that fans resort to attacking the houses of their heroes at their very first failure. This kind of irrational behaviour is one of the reasons that transforms some cricketers into arrogant individuals.

Take a close look at Virender Sehwag and the strain on his face is very clear. He is no longer the happy-go-lucky person he used to be when I met him during the first India-Pakistan series in Pakistan. Same is the case with Dravid. There is a world of difference in him from what he was as the vice captain. Fortunately, due to his strong intellectual background he seems unruffled and calm while taking the grilling questions after a defeat.

So, the questions are: do cricketers enjoy their game at all? Is it really worth going through all this stress and pressure for all the fame and money that their short cricketing career brings? Not easy to answer, I'm sure.