What’s with these violent celebrations ?

Cricket as a sport has undergone serious changes over the last few decades or so. Some of the rules and regulations have undergone major reshuffling. Among many changes (positive and negative) player behaviour has changed a bit too drastically for anybody’s liking. It is very true that we are living in a society where people are becoming  increasingly  impatient, aggressive and the tolerance levels have reduced significantly. There is a lot of sledging (so called mental disintegration) going on in the game currently. Having taken all these things into account some of the on field behavior especially when a batsman scores a century or when a bowler snares  a  victim  leaves a lot to be desired. I have always wondered  the motive behind an  angry  outburst  of a batsman (ex Virat Kohli , Gautam Gambhir to cite a few examples ) after completing a century or the cry of anguish of Zaheer Khan or a Pragyan Ojha after taking a wicket. Understandably  players are very passionate about their team performance but they must also remember that  they are role models for millions of youngsters the world over and what  detrimental effect it has on the budding youngsters who look up to these players as role models.

 It is indeed strange that a century reached or a crucial wicket taken at an important juncture of the game instead of being a cause for celebration but you hardly see any expression of enjoyment or fulfillment at a job well done instead what we witness is a very angry or a disgruntled reaction which seems very ugly and baffling to say the least. When a Virat Kohli scores a fighting hundred instead of a smile and a sigh of relief we see him shouting and using foul language with obscene gestures  which begs the question whether they are proving a point to some  media critic or somebody in the dressing room. These sort of angry gestures do not agur well for the team who is banking on Virat Kohli to be one of the pillars of strength for the future. It also begs the question for what purpose these youngsters are playing the game whether it is for the genuine love of the game or whether they are interested in proving some people wrong. If it is for the second reason that they are playing then I am afraid they are in the wrong place because sport has no place for vendetta . We can understand players having an over the top celebration because they are pumped up  and on a high but  using swear words has no place in cricket. The players forget that they are  paid handsomely for representing their country and it is a part of their job to score runs and take wickets so what is the big deal especially when bowlers  signal the way to the pavilion or use foul language to a player who is already upset on his  dismissal. What is all the more surprising is that players like  Kohli and Gautam Gambhir who have played the game for several years have the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid to look up to but they have been unable to imbibe the good qualities of these greats who have never shouted or abused anybody after scoring hundreds but instead have gone about their job without making any fuss about it. It seems that cricket is headed the rugby or the soccer way as far as on field player behavior is concerned which is a shame since cricket has always been a gentleman’s game for years together.