It was 1983 and the Indian cricket team, led by Kapil Dev, reached England to only 'participate' in the World Cup. There were no expectations from fans back home, even with regard to the team's advancement into the second round of the mega-event. Remember the result.? Kapil's Devils went on to beat all odds and brought the Prudential Cup home.

Fast-forward to the present.  After 24 long years, Team India, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had not even led his state team, participate in the ICC Twenty20. And again, they are there to make up the numbers. The team is packed with youngsters, some are on debut, most have not played the shortest form of the game at the highest level.

Again, no expectations after a not-so-impressive ODI series against England and the decision of the Holy Trinity of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid to pull out. And the result? A magnificent tournament win.

'The media needs to understand that it is one thing to celebrate the team's success, but another to expect the same heroics from them every time they take the field'


It is hard to describe the feeling from a die-hard Indian cricket fan's point of view. But if you evaluate these two glorious moments in the history of Indian Cricket you will find many similarities. In both situations there was no burden of expectation, no media hype, no media analysis. And there they were, right at the top, presenting themselves to the world as determination personified.

Soon after the unexpected 1983 triumph, or if you prefer, upset, expectations began looming large. Four years after the epic victory, the team played the same tournament in front of their very own fans who were assured of them repeating the 1983 feat. And the result was a first-round KO because of this burden of expectations.

And in the World Cup of 2003 nobody expected Sourav's cubs to rally to the final, especially after the disastrous New Zealand tour. And again, this success was not repeated earlier this year in the World Cup with surprise defeats to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The media needs to understand that it is one thing to celebrate the team's success, but another to expect the same heroics from them every time they take the field.

The media continues to celebrate and sit obsessed with the team's success or failure. The way they lavish praise on players and the team is ridiculous. After one good performance the players are given demi-god status and are expected to produce the magic every time they cross the boundary ropes. And when they fail it is the same media which launches scathing attacks, demanding the axe.

Today, India is adorned with pictures of Dhoni and the boys. Dhoni is Captain Courageous and Captain Cool. But the level-headed skipper has already warned his team-mates of this hype. He knows very well that the expectations which are sky-high can fall flat after the current ODI series with Australia. So, dear Indian cricket fans, cheer your heroes and support them, but please, do not expect.

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