Opinion

I had a spat with a cousin on Facebook about some of his posts. This is a recurring theme, where I pick on something he said and either he or one of our other cousins defend the original post or take issue with my comment. For instance, I remember there was an incident with Dhanush getting the National award and I got burned for asking if he deserved the award or if it was nepotism. I'll quickly mention that this is all in good spirits and we don't really "fight".

The present case is about a post he made about Chennai Super Kings at the beginning of the season.

The most over-rated 'aviyal' team in IPL is CSK...Yesteryear hitters with jaded bowlers!! What a combo...!!

Two 150 plus scores cannot be a good indicator for CSK. They made lot of changes in the last 2 games.

With controversies around, I would be surprised if this team finishes off in the first four.

This was a perplexing statement. Not because CSK have been successful over the years and been predictably consistent. I took issue because 

a. There were no yesteryear hitters in the team. Brendon (Baz) McCullum had just recently spanked the Indian team (and spanked them hard). There was Dwayne Smith who was at the peak of his career. Faf, Bravo, Dhoni, Raina, Jadeja who were all members of the current team and playing well. This statement could have been made in the previous years as the batting mainstay was post-retirement Hayden and later Hussey. But both players proved to be invaluable with the bat and beyond reproach.

b. The 'aviyal' team accusation was also baseless as they had a playing 11 consisting of 6 batsmen, 1 all-rounder and 4 bowlers. They didn't have bits and piece players, i.e. who were neither "proper" batsmen nor bowlers. Again, the statement could possibly be made previously as Bravo and Albie Morkel were not quite allrounders but could bat and bowl. Didn't Bravo win the purple cap for the most wickets last season?

c. They also didn't make many changes in their team and if anything the CSK team is notorious for sticking to their 11 and making far few changes when compared to the other teams.

d. It was too early to call the bowlers jaded as the bowling mainstay of Bravo/Ashwin/Jadeja had a lot of scalps last season and there were two exciting newcomers in Mohit Sharma and Ishwar Pandey. (Mohit played last season and performed admirably).

e. As for the controversies, it would be hard to say if it would affect team morale and thus the performance but being professional sportsmen, one imagines that the team would play to their best potential. It was more likely that the team would struggle with fitting the new players (Baz and Dwayne) as this was a new contract season. (And Bravo who got injured in the first game and might miss the rest of the season would be missed)

My point was that while it is true that CSK has a reputation to live up to and that opinion may differ about if that reputation was well-deserved, the analysis of the situation was completely factually wrong. It didn't look like my cousin was someone who read the game and knew anything about it. And I said so. Plainly. Without mincing words.

And then, CSK won 6 games on the trot. I didn't feel vindicated by their victory any less than I would have been devastated if they had lost. It wasn't about winning or losing or about my support for the team. It was about analysing the context of the game and making keen and insightful observations.

That would have been the end of it but CSK played Kings XI again and withered under the onslaught of Maxwell, Miller and Bailey. My cousin beamed over the loss, loudly exclaiming, "I told you so!"

I called him out and said that if he was going to talk cricket it would help to talk like someone who knew what he was talking about.

I don't know if he took offence but he posted

What I scribble here is my opinion and I do hope I am entitled to write in my own wall.

What you comment is your opinion and I agree you are entitled to provide on my opinion.

Call the Whambulance!!!! 

I replied that while everyone is entitled to their opinion, they are not entitled to their own set of facts. 

It is sad that it needs to be said. And this observation is not limited to cricket. Let me illustrate it with one of the other spats that we have had before.

Tamil writer Sujatha, according to my cousin, is the greatest science fiction writer. Or one of the greatest.

I took issue with that statement because in the pantheon of science fiction writers, from HG Wells to Ray Bradbury, Arthur Clarke to Asimov, Philip K Dick to Heinlein, Sujatha is an obscure writer who would be hard pressed to finish in the top 100. If Sujatha was alive today and the question was asked of him, he would agree. And not out of modesty. Sujatha was inspired by the golden age of science fiction (late 1930s to early 40s) and several of his works, for instance 'En iniya enthira' written in the late 80s echoed this. It wouldn't do to call him the greatest science fiction writer in Tamil. Because that is a lonely race. I don't know another prominent writer of science fiction in Tamil. That is not a testament to his prowess but a scathing rebuke of the science illiteracy and general apathy of the Tamil literary world. We are not just 50 years behind the times, we are regressing. This is why tawdry stuff like 'Enthiran' gets rave reviews when it is so full of utter horse-manure.

My point, apart from the observation that Tamil literature is in a death-sprial, is that he is entitled to his opinion. If for instance he had posted, "Sujatha is my favourite writer of science fiction", I cannot comment on it saying, "No, he is not". I could comment that there are some interesting authors with wonderful books that maybe he should check out. But that is about it. He cannot, however call him the greatest, and hide under the phrase, "in my opinion". Rajini is not the greatest actor. Rahman is not the best musician. Language matters, even if it is a post on Facebook. And for someone who is as prolific as he is, he should pay attention to it sometimes. (Doesn't mean one can't use satire, hyperbole, etc for comic effect)

If he had posted  "I hate CSK. I hope they lose. And CSK fans can suck my balls" - that would be an honest opinion. 

End of rant.