Wrestlers’ protest: A not-so-golden silence from the golden boys of cricket

The Class of 1983, or ‘Kapil’s Devils’, which won the first cricket World Cup for India, still enjoys a special place in the collective consciousness of the country.

The joint statement from them (despite the BCCI president Roger Binny distancing himself from it) released Friday 2 June, saying they are distressed and disturbed at the handling of the wrestlers’ protest, is rather significant. It comes at a time when the jarring silence of several currently reigning gods of Indian cricket is getting more noticeable by the day.

June 2 had already turned out to be a milestone in the entire saga, with a major English daily claiming access to the exact allegations in the two FIRs filed with the Delhi Police against Brij Bhushan Singh, the BJP MP and long-serving president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The charges have been graphic and shocking, to say the least, with two instances of demanding sexual favours and at least 15 incidents of sexual harassment against the man in the eye of the storm.

Can the disclosure finally help the agitating wrestlers’ who have been demanding the arrest of Singh? Will the hitherto dilatory investigation finally turn a corner? The pressure has been certainly mounting on the WFI (read: Brij Bhushan) from the top aechelons of sporting governance. The global body United World Wrestling came down heavily on the fracas earlier this week, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voiced strong concerns about the safety and well-being of the likes of Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, among others.

The 1983 World Cup-winning cricketers' statement on the heels of the FIR details may be characterised, perhaps, as better late than never. But the troubling silence of more contemporary cricket idols — with perhaps much more to lose at the peak or inception of their careers? — remains.

Surely, the photos of the likes of Vinesh being dragged on the streets or Olympic medallist Malik being manhandled by a posse of Delhi Police women constables last Sunday has been a tipping point.

While athlete Neeraj Chopra, holding the world's top spot in javelin, and shooter Abhinav Bindra—the only two individual gold medallists for the country in the Olympics — had taken an early lead in showing where their support lay, the number of elite sportspersons who have lent their voices to the women wrestlers' cause (in addition to colleague Bajrang Punia) has been growing steadily.

What has been galling, however, is the deafening silence from some of the icons of Indian cricket, both from the current crop — including Virat Kohli, typically ever so proactive on social media on many issues, captain Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni — as well as their forebears, the Fab Four of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

The likes of Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan, who had lent their support well before matters came to a head during the inauguration of the new parliament building, had been notable exceptions.

If cricket is perceived as a religion in the country, then its reigning deities certainly ought to have served their devotees and indeed, their own ranks, better.

The wrestlers did not pull any punches when Vinesh Phogat expressed her disappointment at the silence of the big names. ‘’During the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, they showed their support. Don’t we deserve even that much?’’ she asked on Twitter.

It’s certainly up to an individual whether or not to opine on the issue, but the wrestlers’ call is only fair. As Vinesh said: ‘’We aren’t saying that you speak in our favour, but at least put up a neutral message and say there should be justice for whichever party.’’

However, there has been any number of entries from Kohli on social media on developing news during these recent months, and none on this issue. He is certainly not usually shy with his takes on current affairs — his famous take on demonetisation in 2016 was that it was "the greatest move in the history of Indian politics".

For Tendulkar, silence has always been golden and it would have been presumptuous perhaps to expect any different this time around. Ganguly response while fielding a question on the matter back in May was embarrassing for him, to say the least. The former Indian captain and ex-president of the BCCI chose to leave the issue outside the off-stump when he said: "Let them fight their battle. That’s what it is. I really don't know what's happening there."

The irony of the entire scenario is, to quote Vinesh once again, that the cricketing stars and Bollywood icons are among the most proactive ones when it comes to congratulatory messages on Twitter when wrestlers or any non-cricketing stars win international medals.

Is it too much to expect a token stance this time around and say at least 'let justice prevail'? After all, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar & Co have now shown them the way — much as they did on the turf once! Perhaps the 'juniors' (even those grown taller than their predecessors over time) have something learn from their idols again?