AS A BATSMAN starting out in international cricket, Navjot Singh Sidhu was once described as “the strokeless wonder”. By the time he retired, he had reinvented himself to become a punisher of bowlers. In his third avatar, as a television personality, Sidhu has never been shy of going for his shot, combining bombast with an earthy line in translated Punjabi witticisms. But even by those standards, his reaction to the Sydney Test controversies was bizarre.

Sidhu advocated that India’s bowlers should kick the umpires as they approached the popping crease, perhaps inspired by fading memories of the shoulder-charge an irate Colin Croft gave Fred Goodall at Christchurch in 1980. That such a statement made Sidhu more of a hero in India said much for the popular state of mind, and hysteria whipped up by dime-a-dozen news channels. As Suresh Menon, a veteran journalist, wrote: “If this is what a Test player feels, what of the regular effigy-burners and professional naysayers?” He needn’t have worried. They were out in force, consigning to flames figures of Steve Bucknor, Mark Benson and Mike Procter, the match officials in Sydney. There were even donkeys named Bucknor and Benson, paraded for the benefit of the omniscient cameras.

The response of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to Harbhajan Singh’s three-match ban for alleged racist abuse was equally over the top. At every turn, Sharad Pawar, the board president, kept talking of the nation’s role in the antiapartheid movement, as though that somehow made one billion Indians incapable of uttering a racial slur. And although the International Cricket Council (ICC) have tried to assuage them by scheduling an appeal that will be heard by John Hansen, a New Zealand High Court judge, the Indian board has been playing hardball. However, they finally toned down their threat to pull out of the tour by saying yesterday that they would stay on even if the ban on Harbhajan is not overturned. “There is no question of the tour being called off,” board spokesman Rajiv Shukla quoted Pawar as saying. “He said the two boards intend to maintain good relations as there is no problem with the two,” Shukla said.

There was sympathy for the Indians in the immediate aftermath of a game afflicted by a flurry of dubious decisions, but most of it has evaporated as a result of the BCCI’s strong-arm tactics and self-righteous angst from the media. A former cricketer who has worked with the team over the past decade, and who didn’t wish to be named for obvious reasons, had this to say: “I’m no fan of the institutionalised sledging Australia employs, but nor am I a fan of the Indian team’s ‘poor me’ attitude, especially when it’s used as an excuse. When you sit in the dressing room or commentary box and look for bad decisions, you will find them. The BCCI and the players are quick to complain of the bully-boy tactics of the Australians on the field but have no compunction about being bully-boys off the field. Cricket is in a bad state and these incidents do nothing to help.”

The outpouring of public rage was unprecedented even by Indian standards, and it moved Pradeep Magazine, the author of Not Quite Cricket, to write: “Who rules world cricket? Not the ICC and not the Indian board. Going by the events of the past few days, which have left the sport in tatters and reputations bruised, exposing the ugly underbelly of the sport, the one entity that feels ‘vindicated’ and is in a celebratory mood is the ‘Indian Nation’.” He was talking of sundry opinion polls asking for Bucknor’s removal - a wish subsequently granted by the ICC - and the withdrawal of all charges against Harbhajan.

Funnily enough, the man whose successes against Australia elevated the rivalry to blue-chip status refused to be too critical of the methods they employ. “I admired how desperate they were to win,” said Sourav Ganguly, a few days after his dismissal sparked a furore over Australia and the spirit of the game. “That’s why they have won so many Tests. They sense a chance of a win and do anything to get it.”

It remains to be seen if events off the field have taken Indian eyes off the ball in the build-up to an examination by pace at Perth. With Brad Hogg facing his own inquiry after allegedly calling Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni “bastards” in Sydney, the searing pace of Shaun Tait could be unleashed on the Indians, who have looked none too convincing against Brett Lee. A warm-up match against a mediocre Australian Capital Territory XI provided few answers, though a breezy innings from Virender Sehwag meant he could be risked at the top, allowing Rahul Dravid to move back to No 3.

Sehwag’s inclusion could mean another spell on the sidelines for Yuvraj Singh, who has sleepwalked though the tour as TV crews pry on his personal life, but the real concern centres on the bowling attack. It would be a huge gamble to field two spinners on the fastest pitch in Australia, but with Zaheer Khan having flown home, the pace contingent is as callow as can be. RP Singh and Ishant Sharma should play, and his ability to swing the ball could clinch a spot for Irfan Pathan.

India haven’t played a Test at the WACA ground since February 1992, when they were thrashed by 300 runs. The only redeeming feature of that game was a magnificent 114 by an 18-year-old prodigy. All these years later, many still consider it Sachin Tendulkar’s finest innings, and an encore might be needed if the anger of Sydney is not to be followed by demolition in Perth.