The Moral of the World Cup Story

India's debacle in the world cup did not come as a total suprise to most astute readers of the game. The story before we thrashed West Indies in India, was much the same. Our South Africa tour was a testimony to the ever widening gap between what we call cricket and what the likes of SA and Australia play. However, in a larger context, the cricketing India could serve as a metaphor for what lies in store for the so called econonomic power-house India, which everyone seems to be celebrating. We are waiting for a day not too soon when one defining moment or event (like the Bangaladesh match) will expose how superficial growth story is. It will open up for us the shallow foundations on which we have been celebrating the coming of age of the Indian economy. We do not seem to realize how small we are in terms of size and more importantly in terms of standards, which the developed economies and the likes of China are setting for themselves. It may be worthwhile to stop the posturing and the celebrations and put our heads down and get back to work and not look up for a few years till the outside world starts acknowledging that the stuff coming out of India is for real and it is built on sustainable foundations. Otherwise, we may have a few stars (with a lot of world-records) but fall woefully short of getting the cup once again.