When slapped on one cheek..

..bash the living daylights out of the aggressor, instead of offering the other side. Mahatma Gandhi may not approve of this approach, but i have always admired people who refuse to buckle under criticism or hostility. That is why i liked the way Ricky Ponting , captain of the Australian cricket team, responded to Sunil Gavaskar's remarks on his team's behaviour.

I personally think that the Australians do push the line when it comes to sledging and that, at times, they are an arrogant bunch of individuals. However, they back it up with performances on the field where they have been the undoubted champions for the best part of the decade. One of the reasons behind their success is the self belief and confidence that they have in themselves. Its a fine line that separates confidence from over-confidence; assuredness from arrogance.

Gavaskar himself is no pushover and he did retort to Ponting's remarks , albeit on the back foot and with lesser venom compared to his earlier comments. Ponting has made his point.Critics will think twice before commenting on his team. Could the same be said of the Indian players like Dravid, Sachin, Kumble et all? Ganguly was the honorable exception. And maybe Sreesanth ( remember the mock dance directed at Andre Nel?). Probably the epitome of Indian team's meekness was Srinath. He actually apologised to Ricky Ponting when he hit his head with a bouncing delivery. And Ponting's response? He snarled like a dog and asked Srinath to get back to his bowling crease. This incident would probably sum up the difference in the attitudes of these players. One of my fondest memory of Sachin Tendulkar was when he dished out a barrage of verbal volleys to 'Mr. Loudmouth' Glenn Mcgrath. The baffled look on McGrath's face was priceless.

Even the Indian media needs to learn from the Aussies. Sunil Gavaskar was probably the only one to condemn Barry Richards, when he ridiculed Indians in his column. Gavaskar rightly asked the Indian media to censure Barry and stop endorsing his 'paid-for' views on television or print. And what did our media do? They invited him to India to lecture us on his views on our team, players and suchlike ( NDTV being the prime culprit). No words of condemnation, no boycotting the man who stereotyped an entire nation. All we get to see is Mr. Richards walking all the way to the bank, smirking at our timidity. The irony of the matter is, this behaviour is exactly what Barry Richards deemed as 'Indian fragilities'. And we probably vindicated him. Sigh!

Note: To all S&M fans out there,
With reference to the title of this post, I was talking about the cheeks on our face, and not any other part of the human anatomy. Get those dirty thoughts off your mind, you pervs! :)