Stoicism is the new aggression: Is the era of roars and clashes coming to an end?

The gentleman's game took a turn in 2014. Aggression and abrasion were the talks of the town. With their determination, Australia and India - the top dogs of the game - turned their grounds into a verbal battlefield. Winning was no longer constrained to runs and wickets; the strikes were mental, and the clashes physical. And soon, 'the brand of aggressive cricket' was born. The evolution was a whirlwind. 

When crossing the line was a regular happening

The show was set; sportsmanship turned into roars after centuries and wickets. The line between sledging and argument was indistinguishable. Personal life knew no boundary; everything about the players present on the ground was weaponised and shot at. It used to get quite ugly. 

Mental disintegration is the term. Players loved getting each other riled up; pent-up frustration and tension would be released in the form of hideous remarks, off-coloured jokes, and out-of-character acts. Sledging was now a form of warfare. 

The verbal battles that made the unethical 'entertaining'

The best examples are the Australia and India clashes between 2014 and 18. Ishant Sharma being suspended, Kohli being called the most "foul-mouthed" player and regular spats where the umpires had to play referee. 

The most memorable of them all was the 2017 Border-Gavaskar series, where creative expletives were heard from both sides. The motive clearly being 'sledge them out to edge them out'. The Brain-faded Steve Smith started the series by outlining his intention of using Kohli's passion against him. 

"He (Kohli) is a very emotional character out on the field. I guess for us as a team, it's trying to get him out of the strong emotional state and try and make him, I guess, a little bit angry and ruffle his feathers and things like that." 

Cricket exhibited that 'What goes around, comes back around'!

Rest is history. The Indian skipper, who would sledge his opponent incessantly, could not score any runs whatsoever. Meanwhile, Kohli's adversary, Smith, batted the Indians out of a few matches before the great Indian tweakers brought the silverware home. 

The Pandemic, humble innings, losses, bad patches and the infamous 'Sandgate' event catalysed disarmament. The greats of the game, the game of mental disintegration: Virat Kohli, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson etc transformed themselves into a stoic state of mind. 

The universe has a way of putting things in perspective. The players who crossed the line got a beating by the stick of life. 

Smudgy quickly realised that his castles stood upon pillars of sand; Capetown's dark blue waves washed out Smith's palace. 

Heavy is the head that wears the crown; King Kohli is getting dethroned by the pawns of his own court. The people you meet on the way up are the people you meet when you spiral down. 

Cricket needs contained emotions, durability and stoicism. Aggression is no longer the default state of the game. If you're not grounded, you'll be wiped out. If you're not in control of your emotions, someone will come in and take control of it for you.