KEVIN MCCALLUM

Ego is a necessary evil in sport. It can make or break an athlete. Some, like Cristiano Ronaldo, wear their ego like an ermine cloak with a strut and a pout. Others, such as Lionel Messi, keep it inside and restrained.

Ego is the confidence to put your hand up to take penalties. It is a belief in your abilities and worth to your teammates and sport. Egos do not only manifest in arrogance. It is what drove Eric Cantona to stay late after training to work on the basics when he joined Manchester United. Being able to trap or control a ball with a delicate first touch gave him the right to wear his collar turned up.

And, then, gentle pilgrims in this wild world, there are the egos that are all upturned collars, sod-all ability and not a hint of awareness. These are the unmanageable egos of the inwardly insecure and outwardly overconfident. There is no off button for the likes of them, no stage too big they will not gate-crash, no photo opportunity they will miss and no moment they will not sully.

The awards for biggest egos this week go to… Donald Trump and Jay Shah.

The judges said in their notes that Shah, chair of the International Cricket Council, showed a remarkable work ethic in The Greatest Shah on Earth, a short motion picture of the aftermath and emotion of the T20 World Cup final.

The 37-second video, posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on their social media platforms, included 12 shots of Shah hugging and congratulating the players in a performance that was described as neither “normal nor healthy”.

On The Final Word podcast, cricket writer Adam Collins said: “This is not normal to have the guy who is responsible for the biggest decisions in global cricket on behalf of all the members celebrating like he’s in his old job... in his previous position, that would be normal, that would be fine, that wouldn’t be remarked upon. I actually feel sorry for the players.”

This was a repeat performance by Shah. An ICC montage of the World Test Championship final at Lord’s last year was pulled down shortly after it was put up before it was reposted. Shah featured in 11 of the 23 clips in the 45-second video. That was the same number as winners South Africa.

In a quick count, the video had 23 shots in total. Temba Bavuma, the captain, was in five of them, Aiden Markram two, and Australian captain Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada were barely included. As comedian, actor and writer Aatif Nawaz noted: “Looks like Jay Shah shot and edited the video himself on his own phone.”

As to Shah’s co-winner. The judges said Trump’s performance in Iran — the Epstein Files War — was method acting at its finest, as he immersed himself in the role as an erratic, dementia-suffering man-child convict with such intensity it has caused massive disruption of sport around the world.

Some of the South African and West Indies teams at the T20 World Cup were still trying to get home this week after flights over the Middle East were disrupted, to put it mildly.

The football World Cup in June is on shaky ground. Iran have pulled out despite Fifa president Gianni Infantino stating from the echo chamber that is the US president’s anal cavity, assured by Trump, that Iran would be welcome at the tournament.

“We all need an event like the Fifa World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the president of the US for his support, as it shows once again that football unites the world,” said Infantino, lovingly stroking the Fifa Peace Prize and wondering where the world-splitters were.

Rugby may not be immune. South African teams have a deal for the URC with Qatar Airways to fly to Europe and have away matches coming up. The England women’s cricket team had to divert to South Africa because of the war. Fuel costs will hit us all soon, affecting prices on transport, food and beer, the things that make sport go round.

Ego is a necessary evil in sport. Some use it for unnecessary evil.