Cricket Anthem Controversy: Unfounded Outrage or Reason for Concern?

The second men's T20I between South Africa and India on Sunday saw cricket fans starting to line up hours ahead of the first ball at St George's Park, despite the gates being firmly shut to civilians. The day was characterized by a thin easterly breeze, but the dense cloud cover was fortunately benign.

The atmosphere was heavy with anticipation and the strains of the national anthems of the two competing countries. The first Test played in South Africa, and the first outside Australia and England had been played here at St George's Park in March 1889. The locale and historical backdrop added to the solemnity of the occasion. However, an event that transpired threatened to mar the occasion - the playing of India's national anthem at Kingsmead, where the audio cut out twice but resumed just as frequently. This mishap forced Indian players to continue singing without musical accompaniment, promoting a rerun of the anthem in full, with South Africa's anthem passing by glitch-free.

Despite certain media outlets attempting to fuel a controversy out of this, it did not escalate further. Kingsmead confirmed that no official complaint had been filed by the Indian team. Quiet discussions were held with SuperSport, the broadcaster, by the visitors but the responsibility of anthem playing does not lie with them. 

A negligible uproar persisted among some Indian fans, who considered the mishap as a sign of disrespect and deemed it unacceptable. The extent of the outrage and whether it was genuine or feigned remains unknown. Nonetheless, the unfortunate incident provides food for thought on whether the rituals of patriotism and international sport should intertwine. Despite this questioning, the park had its justification to ensure no hiccups hampered the national anthems on Sunday.